Hawks pack their bags with a big win

On so many different levels the Blackhawks needed a win Sunday night at the United Center.

And they got it the hard way, beating Anaheim 3-2 in overtime on Viktor Stalberg's tip-in after killing 1:07 of a Ducks power play in the extra period.

Not only did the Hawks snap a four-game home losing streak, the win sends them out on their six-game circus road trip on a positive note having taken 3 out of 4 points on the weekend.

“It wasn't pretty, but we got 2 points and a big win at home after a long time,” said Marian Hossa, who had a goal and an assist along with Patrick Kane.

“We're not going to make any excuses why we've lost so many games at home,” Jonathan Toews said of the Hawks' 5-7 record at the UC. “We know we have to be better than we have been and maybe the no-pressure situation will help us on the road.”

Stalberg tipped Duncan Keith's slap pass over Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller with 28 seconds left in OT for his sixth goal of the year.

The Hawks killed the Anaheim 4-on-3 early in the period thanks to the goaltending of Corey Crawford, who made a huge stop on Ryan Getzlaf.

It was a well-earned win for Crawford, who came into the game 1-4, playing in some tough-luck spots.

“He made some key timely saves, none bigger than the one 4-on-3 on Getzlaf there,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “It was a good win for him and I think he needed that as well as us. He stood tall there at a critical time.”

The Hawks went 2-for-4 on the power play, getting goals from Kane and Hossa after failing in four tries in Saturday's shootout loss at Nashville.

Quenneville tweaked the first unit, replacing Keith and Tomas Kopecky with Brian Campbell and Hossa.

“We switched up some things and it worked pretty well,” Kane said.

“We changed the look and put Hoss on it and Soupy on it a lot of different options with Kaner on the (left) side,” Quenneville said. “It was a fresh look with a lot of skill out there.”

Again the Hawks took a lead to the third period 2-1 thanks to the power-play goals from Kane and Hossa. It was Hossa's first point in seven games.

But the Ducks forced overtime when Corey Perry scored his second goal at 3:36 of the third when he skated around three Hawks to beat Crawford.

While the Hawks still haven't played their best hockey, Quenneville remains of the belief that it's coming.

“I thought that was arguably as good a game as we played all year as far as consistency in the game, offensive-zone time, good habits, changes, things that lead you to win good power play and penalty-kill,” Quenneville said.

“I think the way we've approached the last two or three games, we like the trend, the energy in our game and the rotation of our lines. It's taken us awhile here, but I like what we're seeing here and have something to build off of.”

Tim Sassone's game tracker

<p>Three stars:</p>

<p>1. Corey Crawford, Hawks: Big saves at critical times, especially in the overtime.</p>

<p>2. Corey Perry, Ducks: Best player on the ice for Anaheim with 2 goals.</p>

<p>3. Viktor Stalberg, Hawks: Tipped in game-winner with 28 seconds to play in OT.</p>

<p>Follow the leader: Hawks captain Jonathan Toews is starting to raise his game after a slow start. He didn't have a point but played 22 minutes with 4 shots, 3 hits, 3 takeaways, 2 blocked shots and won 10 of 15 faceoffs.</p>