With win over Sabres, Hawks claim sixth straight victory

Phillip Danault admitted it - he was not at all happy about being on the ice when Buffalo tied Friday's game at the United Center with just 8:23 remaining.

So the 22-year-old rookie simply took that anger and put it to good use less than four minutes later by scoring his first NHL goal and lifting the Blackhawks to a 3-1 victory over the Sabres.

"First goal and the winning goal?" Danault said. "I couldn't ask for more."

It was the Hawks' sixth straight win and 13th in their last 17 games.

They controlled most of the game, getting a first-period tally from Niklas Hjalmarsson to take a 1-0 lead, yet failed to extend it despite plenty of good chances. Ryan O'Reilly made them pay when his shot from the left faceoff dot got over Corey Crawford's right shoulder to knot things up at 1-1.

Danault, along with linemates Andrew Desjardins and Teuvo Teravainen, were first-hand witnesses to O'Reilly's goal, but Hawks coach Joel Quenneville didn't hesitate to put the trio back into the fray as the clock wound down.

"(When) I look back, I was trying to remember the last time they gave up a goal," Quenneville said. "Things can happen. They made a comparable play on us last game in Buffalo from behind the net - quick play to the slot. They've got ability."

Crawford, who made 28 saves, continued his amazing play at the United Center. He's allowed either zero or 1 goal in seven of his last 10 games at home.

Afterward, he was asked about being snubbed for the All-Star Game, which will be played on Jan. 31 in Nashville. "It would have been fun to go there, but it's nice to get a little bit of a break too," Crawford said. "It is what it is. I'll just take a break and relax a little bit." Danault was a first-round pick of the Hawks in 2011 and spent the last two seasons playing in Rockford. He underwent hip surgery in mid-August and made his season debut on Dec. 19 in Buffalo.

Danault has been close to scoring a few times of late but never dented the back of the net until Friday. He took a pass from Duncan Keith at center ice, then turned on the jets once he passed the blue line, appearing to catch Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen off-guard. A split second later, Danault fired and it was 2-1 Hawks.

"Last three or four games, I felt like it was coming," he said. "You know, the more you shoot it and they make the saves and you're like, 'OK, what's going on?' … But it went in today and it feels great."

Said Quenneville: "Big goal. Huge goal. You get a goal like that, it can really lift your team. … Great move on the individual rush off the defense and made a quick shot short-side. … Congrats to him."

Hjalmarsson's goal was just his second of the season. He immediately pointed to defenseman Erik Gustafsson after Gustafsson's gorgeous feed from the sideboards. It was Gustafsson's fifth assist in just 12 games.

"He makes plays in the offensive zone like skilled forwards do," Quenneville said of Gustafsson.

Jonathan Toews added an empty-netter with 25 seconds remaining to seal the victory. It was his 15th goal of the season.

The Sabres have dropped six straight overall and nine in a row to the Hawks. Their last win over Chicago came on Dec. 11, 2009. They got 42 saves from goalie Chad Johnson.