The scoring came early and then it came often for the Chicago Blackhawks in a 5-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. The 'Hawks skated to a 3-0 goal lead by the end of the first period, and nearly had their first shutout of the season. Unfortunately, Chicago's weird season-long streak of no shutouts will continue as Columbus' Rick Nash put in his 25th goal of the season with just eight minutes left to get the Blue Jackets on the board. Whatever, I suppose. The 'Hawks improve to 41-25-8 (90 points) while Columbus falls 23-43-7.
Just :37 seconds into the third period, Patrick Sharp pushed Chicago's lead to 4-0 when he scored his second goal of the night and 30th goal of the season on a power play. Teammates Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith were credited with assists. Four minutes later, Hossa would score off feeds from Andrew Shaw and Duncan Keith. It was Hossa's 900th career point.
Andrew Shaw and Brent Seabrook also had goals for the 'Hawks.
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