Brouwer sends Blackhawks into break on 4-game win streak

COLUMBUS, Ohio - When Blackhawks winger Troy Brouwer drew 19 minutes in penalties early in the third period Sunday, you figured he was the last guy who would eventually figure in the outcome of the game.

But it was Brouwer's goal in the fourth round of the shootout that gave the Hawks a 5-4 win over the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena, sending them into the Olympic break on a four-game winning streak.

Brouwer came to the aid of Patrick Kane at 5:09 of the third period after Columbus defenseman Anton Stralman went knee to knee with the Hawks star as he carried the puck over the blue line.

Brouwer jumped Stralman, earning two minutes for instigating, two minutes for instigating while wearing a visor, five minutes for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct.

"A hit like that, I thought it was dirty," Brouwer said. "I tried as hard as I could not to get the instigator, but at the same time I had to stick up for my teammate. Kaner looked a little bit hurt there, so someone needs to step in and do something."

The Blue Jackets scored a power-play goal during one of the minor penalties, but Hawks coach Joel Quenneville had no problem with what Brouwer did.

"I thought he did exactly what we'd want him to do," Quenneville said.

Kane laid on the ice clutching his right leg after the hit, but he was able to return to the game.

"It's all right now and I'll look forward to playing in the (Olympic) Games for sure," Kane said. "It's a hit that maybe you don't need to stick up for your teammates, but just to know he did that goes a long way.

"It's unfortunate we couldn't kill off the penalty for him, but he got it back with the game-winning shootout goal. Sometimes you get rewarded when you do things like that."

Quenneville started Antti Niemi for the fourth straight game, and the first-year goalie won them all - the last three in shootouts.

If this signals a shift in the goalie picture as to who is No. 1, Cristobal Huet or Niemi, Quenneville wasn't going there.

He said he was simply staying with the hot goalie. That's his story and he's sticking with it.

"That's all it is, absolutely," Quenneville said.

In the shootout wins over Dallas, Atlanta and Columbus, Niemi stopped 11 of 12 attempts.

"They're valuable points and you go into the break here coming up with 4 tough wins in a row and certainly 8 big points for us," Quenneville said. "I think we can capture some momentum when we return. We go into the break feeling good and we closed that gap on San Jose."

The Hawks trail the Sharks by only 2 points in the Western Conference standings with a game in hand.

"This is exactly what we wanted," Brouwer said. "We came into the weekend with expectations of getting 4 points and anything less was going to be disappointing.

"We ended up going to overtime and a shootout in both games, but ultimately we got the 4 points and that's what we needed."

The Hawks fell behind 2-0 but responded with 4 straight goals by Kane, Bryan Bickell, Jake Dowell and Patrick Sharp.

Dowell had a goal and an assist after being recalled from Rockford to replace the injured Marian Hossa. Bickell was recalled from Rockford on Saturday.

"Two big goals and usually when you get those type of timely goals and big goals from that (fourth line) group you get a lot of energy and find a way to win," Quenneville said.

<p class="factboxheadblack">Tim Sassone's game tracker</p>

<p class="breakhead">Three stars:</p>

<p class="News">1. Patrick Sharp, Hawks: Got 24 minutes of ice time and had a goal and an assist.</p>

<p class="News">2. Jake Dowell, Hawks: A goal and assist after being recalled early Sunday from Rockford.</p>

<p class="News">3. Kristian Huselius, Blue Jackets: A goal, assist and 7 shots on goal.</p>

<p class="News">By the numbers: The Hawks have played three straight shootouts (winning them all) and four in the last five games. They've won four games in a row for the first time since early January.</p>