Blackhawks battle back to beat Buffalo

The Blackhawks weren't perfect Thursday night.

Far from it.

But they battled back from 3-2 and 4-3 deficits against Buffalo thanks to clutch goals by Artem Anisimov and Brendan Perlini, then prevailed 5-4 in a shootout at the United Center when Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat all converted on their attempts.

Anisimov scored twice in regulation, giving him 5 goals in the last 10 games, and Duncan Keith also scored for the Hawks (28-30-9).

All season, coach Jeremy Colliton has been happy with his team's resilience, but in this case he was less than pleased that the Hawks blew a 2-0 first-period lead by allowing 3 goals in 3.5 minutes early in the second.

"I just wish we didn't have to face adversity to turn our brains on," Colliton said. "To our credit, I thought our third period was pretty good and we got 2 points.

"But at some point we need to take a step there defensively. We have. I mean there's been games where we've been better. But we've got to do it more consistently."

Anisimov, who had just 8 goals in the first 53 games, voiced his displeasure with his production before the Hawks left on a three-game road trip out West last week.

That drought has certainly ended of late, though, and the big center came up with a huge goal when he tied the game at 3-3 at 4:48 of the third period.

It was an impressive effort, too, as Anisimov first outmuscled Zemgus Girgensons as he entered the offensive zone. After his initial shot hit the crossbar and settled in behind goalie Carter Hutton, Anisimov stayed with it and backhanded the puck into the net for his 13th goal of the season.

"He's very active, he's skating well, he's making plays, he's winning battles," Colliton said. "Defensively he's taken a step lately. He's a little more reliable. … It allows us to spread out the lineup like we did tonight and hopefully he can continue and probably even do more."

Buffalo regained the lead on a Kyle Okposo goal at 7:20 of the third, but Perlini knotted the game again when he scored 37 seconds later. It was Perlini's eighth goal of the season and third in three games.

The Hawks, who are at Dallas on Saturday, remain 9 points behind Minnesota and 10 behind the Stars for the two wild-card spots in the West.

Movin' on up:

Patrick Kane registered 2 assists in the win over Buffalo to move past Steve Larmer and into fourth place in team history with 924 points.

"Larmer was a great player - probably should be in the Hall of Fame," Kane said. "Obviously had a great career here with the Blackhawks and one of those guys who played the game the right way. To get by him is pretty special."

Kane now has 40 goals and 56 assists on the season.

Slap shots:

The Hawks took 45 shots on goal against Buffalo on Thursday, their third highest total of the season. … Corey Crawford improved to 10-0-0 vs. the Sabres in his career. ... The Blackhawks observed a moment of silence for Ted Lindsay, who passed away at the age of 93 on Monday. Lindsay won four Stanley Cups with Detroit and played three seasons with the Blackhawks from 1957-60. He scored 379 goals in 1,068 games. … Patrick Kane is just the third player in team history to record a 40-goal season after turning 30. The others were Bobby Hull, who did it three times, and Jim Pappin. … Dylan Sikura and Gustav Forsling were the Hawks' healthy scratches vs. Buffalo.

Blackhawks all-time points leaders

With 2 assists in the Blackhawks' win over Buffalo on Thursday, Patrick Kane moved into fourth place in team history with 924 points:

1. Stan Mikita, 1,467

2. Bobby Hull, 1,153

3. Denis Savard, 1,096

4. Patrick Kane, 924

5. Steve Larmer, 923