Toews ignites Blackhawks' scoring spree

For a team struggling mightily to put the puck in the net, there was so much to like about the Blackhawks' 5-0 victory Tuesday night at Montreal.

First of all, just scoring more than 2 goals in a game - something the Hawks hadn't done in eight of their previous 12 games - had to top the list.

Kris Versteeg scored twice, Patrick Kane broke a long streak without a goal, and Jonathan Toews scored his 200th NHL goal and later added the 250th assist of his career to cap quite a night for the Hawks, who were coming into the game off a tough shutout loss at home.

Heck, even defenseman David Rundblad got in on the action with 2 assists, his first multipoint performance in 61 career NHL games.

"I thought we played very well the last two periods, did a lot of good things," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "The puck was going in for us tonight; we haven't seen that in some time."

Quenneville, who said earlier in the day that he wanted to see his guys score some greasy goals, got just what he wanted as the Hawks set up shop around Montreal goalie Carey Price much of the night, and it paid dividends.

"I thought we played the right way," Quenneville said. "I liked the balance in our lines, and I thought we had better rotation with our four lines, particularly the last two periods."

Hometown boy Corey Crawford picked up his first victory over the Canadiens in Montreal, stopping all 28 shots he faced. It also was his first shutout win against the Canadiens and the Hawks' first road win over Montreal since 2001.

But there was a major bummer Tuesday as Patrick Sharp suffered an apparent knee injury after a collision with Montreal's Alexei Emelin. "He'll be out for a bit," Quenneville said. "Things like that can happen with a lot of hits going in the puck area."

The loss of Sharp definitely will be a blow for the Hawks, who have been offensively challenged early on this season.

"A lot of important ice time," Quenneville said when asked what the team will miss without the veteran forward. "Someone should look to take advantage of that."

Look for the Hawks to call up a forward from Rockford on Wednesday.

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