NEW YORK (AP) Anton Forsberg stopped 30 shots to help the Chicago Blackhawks snap a five-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday night.
Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad scored in the second period, and Brent Seabrook added an empty-netter for the Blackhawks.
John Tavares scored late in the third period and Jaroslav Halak finished with 22 saves as the Islanders lost for the fifth time in six games and 13 in their last 15 (2-9-4).
Chicago was eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 2008 following its 5-1 loss to Colorado on Tuesday, and pushed the struggling Islanders to the verge of being knocked for the second straight year.
Kane opened the scoring 2:36 into the second period with his team-leading 26th of the year. With the Blackhawks on the power play after Thomas Hickey was whistled for tripping Tomas Jurco as the two battled for a puck along the boards, Kane’s shot from the right circle deflected off Adam Pelech’s stick blade and through Halak.
It took the Blackhawks 1:49 to add to their lead as Saad tapped a rebound off of his initial shot – which ricocheted off the end boards – along the goal line before the puck bounced off the back of Halak’s left skate into the net.
Forsberg made the lead hold up, even though he only faced 18 shots in the final 40 minutes. His lone mistake was Tavares’ unassisted goal with 2:42 left, but Seabrook’s empty-netter with 1:14 left ended the scoring.
Neither team scored in an opening period which was mostly played at even strength, except for an Islanders power play late. New York outshot the Blackhawks 10-9 in the period.
NOTES: The teams split the regular season series, with the Islanders winning 7-3 at Chicago on Jan. 20. … The Blackhawks went 1 for 2 on the power play. The Islanders were 0 for 2. … New York outshot Chicago 30-25. … Chicago C Jonathan Toews missed his second straight game with an upper body injury. … The Blackhawks scratched LW Anthony Duclair. … D Dennis Seidenberg and RW Chris Wagner were the Islanders’ scratches. … The announced attendance was 13,091.
UP NEXT
Blackhawks: Host San Jose on Monday night.
Islanders: Host Florida on Monday night.
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