Blackhawks hang six goals on Khabibulin, Oilers
CHICAGO — Jonathan Toews and Steve Montador each scored twice to help the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-3 on Sunday night for their third straight victory.
Duncan Keith had a goal and assist for Chicago (11-4-3), which handed Edmonton its third consecutive loss. Daniel Carcillo capped the scoring with an empty-net goal.
Ryan Smyth, Jordan Eberle and Shawn Horcoff scored for the Oilers (9-6-2).
Montador, a defenseman playing his 10th NHL season, had his first two-goal game. He scored one of his goals playing in a forward spot — and parked in the slot — on a power play.
Edmonton’s Nikolai Khabibulin surrendered a season-high five goals on 34 shots and lost his second straight game in regulation after starting the season 7-0-2.
Khabibulin, who entered the game with an NHL-leading 1.18 goals-against average and .957 save percentage, has allowed eight goals in the consecutive losses after permitting just nine in his first nine games.
Chicago’s Corey Crawford made 20 saves.
Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook sustained a lower-body injury in the second period and didn’t return.
The Blackhawks jumped ahead 2-0 early in the first on goals by Toews and Montador just 36 seconds apart.
Toews opened the scoring 4:55 in when he circled the net and lofted a shot over Khabibulin’s glove. Montador made it 2-0 at 5:29 when he skated around Oilers center Lennart Petrell and plowed to the net.
Smyth cut it to 2-1 midway through the first by cutting to the net and stuffing a shot under Crawford. But Montador deflected in a power-play goal from the slot with 3:49 left in the period to make it 3-1.
Toews struck again 22 seconds into the second and extended Chicago’s lead to 4-1 by banging a loose puck past Khabibulin’s outstretched left pad.
Eberle finished a breakaway with a backhand shot at 6:17 to cut it to 4-2, but Keith connected 1:30 later on a screened drive from the left point at restore the Blackhawks’ three-goal lead.
Horcoff’s power-play goal, on a tip in, cut it to 5-3 with 45 seconds left in the second.
Carcillo added an empty-net goal with 1:45 left in the third to complete the scoring.