Blackhawks shut out Kings
Antti Raanta made 26 saves as Chicago trimmed Los Angeles, 1-0, in a matchup of NHL powerhouses.
ANTTI RAANTA made 26 saves in his first NHL shutout and Brandon Saad scored as the Chicago Blackhawks beat visiting Los Angeles last night, 1-0, and sent the Kings to their first three-game losing streak in a year.
With Blackhawks No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford nearing a return from a lower-body injury, Raanta improved to 10-1-3 while bouncing back from one of his worst performances. He allowed two late goals in Chicago's 6-5 shootout loss at St. Louis on Saturday.
Saad netted the only goal in this one in the first period. Chicago, which leads the NHL with 158 goals, played its lowest-scoring game since a 2-1 shootout win at Dallas on Nov. 29.
Los Angeles' Martin Jones made 29 saves in his second straight loss after beginning his career with eight consecutive wins, tying the NHL record.
The Kings, who have yielded a league-low 80 goals, played a tough, physical game after losses to Dallas and Nashville.
Chicago forward Patrick Kane had a career-best point streak snapped at 14 games. He had eight goals and 17 assists in the surge.
Last season's Western Conference finalists faced off for the second time this season. The Blackhawks scored three first-period goals, and Raanta made 21 saves in a 3-1 victory over the Kings on Dec. 15.
Raanta lost his shutout chance in that one when Kings defenseman Alec Martinez scored with 3:54 remaining.
This time, he finished the job.
Raanta faced his biggest test in the second period when Dustin Brown made a strong charge to the net. The 24-year-old Finn turned away the rush by the Kings captain, and then stopped him again when he was awarded a penalty shot.
In other games
* At Ottawa, Kyle Turris' goal helped the Senators beat the Washington Capitals, 3-1, and earn their first winning streak in 51 days.
Ottawa has won three straight at home for the first time this season.
Mika Zibanejad and Clarke MacArthur, with an empty-net goal, also scored for Ottawa (17-18-7). Craig Anderson stopped 34 shots.
Joel Ward scored the lone goal for the Capitals (20-15-5), who have lost back-to-back games.
* At Nashville, Colin Wilson had two goals and an assist, and Mike Fisher scored a goal and helped set up two others in the Predators' 6-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
Fisher has three goals and three assists in Nashville's past two games.
Noteworthy
* The Calgary Flames acquired forward Kevin Westgarth from the Carolina Hurricanes for minor league forward Greg Nemisz.