Western Conference playoff preview for Blackhawks?
The Blackhawks moved one step closer to the Western Conference title and a date with Colorado in the first round of the playoffs on Friday night.
All the Hawks need to do to make it happen is beat Detroit in their regular-season finale Sunday afternoon at the United Center.
The clinching could happen before Sunday if San Jose loses tonight at home to Phoenix.
In what now is looking like a first-round preview, the Hawks beat the Avalanche 5-2 at the Pepsi Center behind Antti Niemi's strong work and 2 more goals from fourth-line center Colin Fraser.
"We had to take care of what we had to do and we'll see what happens (tonight) with San Jose," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We'll see how it all sorts out. We could play anybody."
With Detroit beating Columbus on Friday 1-0 in a shootout, the Red Wings moved into fifth place with 100 points. Los Angeles and Nashville have 98 points.
The Hawks and Sharks each have 111 points, but the Hawks own all the tiebreakers with the first being more wins (52-50).
The Hawks have won six games in a row and set another club record with their 23rd road victory.
The Avs rested regulars Craig Anderson, Milan Hejduk, Marek Svatos and Adam Foote against the Hawks, then lost prized rookie Matt Duchene, their third-leading scorer, in the first period with what the club called a torso injury.
The loss of Duchene for an extended period of time would be a big deal since the Avs already are without center Peter Mueller, who has a concussion.
"They're a dangerous team," Quenneville said. "They were missing a few guys that can really enhance their lineup tonight. They work hard, have a lot of speed and have skill."
The Hawks got first-period goals from Fraser and Jonathan Toews to take control early.
The power play had been 0-for-18 in the previous seven games before Toews walked out from the side of the net and stuffed it past Avs goalie Peter Budaj for his 25th goal of the season.
The Hawks had been 8-for-67 on the power play since the Olympic break.
"It was nice to score," Quenneville said. "It's been a long time and I think it's going to help. I thought it was better and nice to see some production. It was a little thin and that might be not exaggerating."
Patrick Sharp's 25th goal gave the Hawks a 3-1 lead heading to the third period. Darcy Tucker cut the deficit to 1, but Fraser answered 38 seconds later for his second 2-goal game of the week.
During this six-game winning streak the Hawks' fourth line of Fraser, Tomas Kopecky and Ben Eager has contributed 9 goals.
Troy Brouwer missed his third straight game because of a family matter while Jordan Hendry sat out with a lower body injury Quenneville said wasn't serious.
<p class="factboxheadblack">Tim Sassone's game tracker
<p class="News">Blackhawks 5, Avalanche 2</p>
<p class="News"><b>Three stars</b></p>
<p class="News">1. Antti Niemi, Hawks: Another big effort with 30 saves for his sixth straight win.</p>
<p class="News">2. Colin Fraser, Hawks: His second 2-goal game in four nights.</p>
<p class="News">3. Brent Sopel, Hawks: Plus-3 with an assist and 2 blocked shots in 17 minutes.</p>
<p class="News"><b>Club 20</b></p>
<p class="News">Kris Versteeg's empty-net goal was his 20th of the season, making him the sixth Hawk to hit 20. He joined Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Troy Brouwer.</p>
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