Saad does what it takes to get win for Blackhawks

It was a moment that won't show up anywhere on the scoresheet.

But with the score tied in the third period, the Calgary Flames on a power play and the United Center crowd a little uneasy about what they were watching, Brandon Saad went ahead and ignited things.

The Blackhawks' power forward bulled his way to a loose puck in the Flames' zone and then played keep-away from a couple of Calgary players as their man advantage ticked away.

The fans loved it.

The Hawks seemed to find new life because of it.

And fittingly, about a half-dozen minutes later, Saad took a pass from Jonathan Toews, streaked between the circles and wristed one over the right shoulder of goalie Jonas Hiller to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead that held up until the horn.

"That's Saader; he's our man-child," said goalie Antti Raanta, who stopped 23 of 24 shots in what may have been a must-win game for him. "He's skating so good out there."

"Saader had a great game and was rewarded at the end," coach Joel Quenneville said.

Saad admitted that after a tough loss in New York the previous night, it took him awhile to get on track.

"With the back-to-back games I kind of had trouble getting my legs," he said. "Toward the end of the game I started to feel more confident and had a little more energy as well."

He wasn't the only one struggling early on, but this game was all about the finish for the Hawks.

"I thought we were OK for 40 but then took it to another level in the third," Quenneville said. "Commend the guys for leaving it out there tonight."

Jiri Hudler's 12th goal of the season gave the Flames a 1-0 lead at 4:27 of the first. But a couple of sweet passes, starting with Patrick Kane to Toews and finally to Patrick Sharp, led to Sharp's first goal since Oct. 25 and, more important, a 1-1 tie.

It stayed that way until midway through the third period as both teams had some good chances, but Raanta and Hiller weren't having it.

"It was a tough game," Raanta said. "We got the 'W,' so you have to feel pretty good about that."

Even in defeat, Flames coach Bob Hartley was feeling pretty good about his guys keeping up with the red-hot Hawks.

"They're world-class players; this is a team with basically no weaknesses, and I thought that we competed good," Hartley said. "We did a pretty good job of trying to contain those guys. They got that (Saad) goal and it turned out to to be the game-winner."

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