Big win for Blackhawks to end tough streak

LOS ANGELES - After 3 straight emotional losses, the Blackhawks needed a game like the one Thursday night.

The Hawks dominated the Kings in a 3-0 win at Staples Center, getting 2 goals from Tomas Kopecky and outshooting the losers 37-17. Antti Niemi hasn't had an easier shutout among his 5 this season.

"I thought that was rock solid right from the start," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "You had three really tough ways of losing some games and it was a good response. We checked well and everyone was contributing to what we wanted to do. I'm very happy with this game."

The win moved the Hawks back into first place in the Western Conference ahead of San Jose.

"We got back to where we want to be, although I know we still have a lot of hockey left," Quenneville said.

Despite being without three of their top five defensemen in Brent Seabrook, Brian Campbell and Kim Johnsson, the Hawks played a smothering defensive game in front of Niemi.

Troy Brouwer's 20th goal of the season on a rebound at 11:36 of the second period gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

Kopecky got both his goals in the third, beating Kings goalie Jonathan Quick at 2:48 from past the left circle, then again at 6:08 from in the slot.

"We came into this game and we focused on defense," Kopecky said. "Everything starts with good defense. It was a huge win for us."

Dustin Byfuglien turned in strong effort on defense for the second night in a row in his return to the position because of the injuries after spending most of the last two seasons playing wing.

"It's a nice little diamond in the rough we've found, for me anyway," Quenneville said.

Byfuglien admitted it's a tough transition going back to defense in terms of relearning the position and having to skate backwards again.

"It wasn't easy at all. It was hard," Byfuglien said. "After the second period (Wednesday at Anaheim), I came in and sat down and got a defensive mind-set."

Grading Crawford: Somewhat lost because of what happened to Brent Seabrook on Wednesday was Corey Crawford's first start of the season in goal.

Crawford had 32 saves in the loss and made a bad misplay in the second period past the right circle that resulted in Todd Marchant's short-handed goal.

Crawford came out of the net to try to poke the puck away from Kyle Chipchura only to partially fan.

Joel Quenneville called Crawford's play solid.

"He did good and gave us a chance," Quenneville said. "Tough play on the short-hander, but he did what he had to do and looked comfortable and looked big."

Quenneville maintained Crawford's start was simply a one-game thing with Cristobal Huet sidelined by the flu and with the Hawks playing back-to-back games.

Tip-ins: The same referees who missed so much at Anaheim - Paul Devorski and Ian Walsh - worked Thursday's game and didn't call a single minor penalty on the Hawks. - Cristobal Huet, still out with the flu, was at the rink but didn't dress. - Brent Sopel moved into Brent Seabrook's spot on defense alongside Duncan Keith.

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

<p class="News">Blackhawks 3, Kings 0</p>

<p class="News"><b>Three stars:</b></p>

<p class="News">1. Tomas Kopecky, Hawks: Two goals for the fourth-line winger.</p>

<p class="News">2. Dustin Byfuglien, Hawks: As assist and 5 hits in 21 minutes in his second game on defense in two years.</p>

<p class="News">3. Duncan Keith, Hawks: Led the way defensively with 26 strong minutes.</p>

<p class="News"><b>By the numbers:</b> Who was counting the hits? The Kings were given credit for a 35-18 advantage despite getting completely outplayed by the Hawks. The Kings did win 61 percent of the faceoffs.</p>

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