Chris Campoli scored a power-play goal, his first as a member of the Blackhawks after his acquisition from the Senators earlier this season, with 6:34 left in the third period to lift the Blackhawks to a much-needed win over the Phoenix Coyotes, 2-1, snapping the Coyotes’ five-game winning streak.
It may have been a costly win, though; Patrick Sharp collided with the Coyotes’ Rostislav Klesla in the first period, left the ice and did not return. We don’t yet know how serious this injury is, but the Hawks can ill afford to lose their leading goal-scorer.
Defenseman Duncan Keith scored the other goal for the Blackhawks, who made a nice comeback from their listless effort in Dallas last Thursday night.
The win lifted the Blackhawks into fifth place in the Western Conference playoff standings with 86 points. The point total is tied with the Kings and Predators, and just one point ahead of eighth-place Dallas, so the Hawks can’t let up with 12 games remaining.
The Hawks get a couple of days off before facing the Florida Panthers at the United Center on Wednesday.