Robert Lang and Patrick Kane kept the Chicago Blackhawks on the road to recovery.
Lang and Kane scored in a shootout and Patrick Lalime had 22 saves to lift Chicago to a 2-1 victory over the Avalanche on Friday night, giving the Blackhawks their third consecutive victory after losing eight in a row.
“We went through a little skid,” Lang said. “The last three games people stepped up and filled the gaps for the guys that are missing.”
Milan Hejduk scored the only shootout goal for Colorado, which had its three-game winning streak end.
Kane scored twice in Wednesday’s win over St. Louis, and he had Chicago’s only regulation goal Friday night. The rookie has 12 goals and 44 points this year, 12 points more than teammate Jonathan Toews in the rookie scoring race.
His goal Friday came on the first shot of the game. He got behind the Avalanche defenders, Martin Havlat hit him with a pass at Colorado’s blueline, and he beat Jose Theodore just 2:32 in.
“I tried to find a seam and he found me right going right down the middle,” Kane said. “I thought I got hooked, but I got a shot off and it went in.”
Andrew Brunette tied it midway through the first period when he knocked in his own rebound over Lalime for his ninth goal of the season.
Each team had chances to take the lead in the second period.
Rene Bourque got a step on the Colorado defense as he entered the Avalanche zone, but before he could get off a shot, defenseman John-Michael Liles made a diving poke check.
Later in the period, Hejduk’s shot rebounded off Lalime to Brunette, but he missed the open net.
“It was kind of bouncing around,” Brunette said. “I really didn’t get much wood on it.”
The Avalanche played without center Paul Stastny, who will miss at least two weeks after having an appendectomy Thursday. Stastny was selected to represent the Avalanche in the All-Star Game in Atlanta on Jan. 27 but will not play.
The loss of Stastny, combined with injuries to Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth, means Colorado has lost three of its top four forwards for a significant stretch.
“It’s a real good test for us,” Brunette said. “It’s a good chance for a lot of our young guys to get a chance to play and prove themselves in this league.”
The Blackhawks know what Colorado is going through. Forward Jason Williams will be out at least six weeks after he had surgery Friday to repair a sports hernia, and Toews missed his ninth straight game with a sprained knee suffered Jan. 1.
