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CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks kick-started their league-leading offence by holding on to the puck -- and shutting down New Jersey defensively. Perry Riley Jersey . Patrick Sharp scored twice and Patrick Kane, Bryan Bickell and Nick Leddy also connected to lead Chicago to a 5-2 win over the Devils on Monday night. Stephen Gionta and Michael Ryder had goals for the Devils, whose season-high four-game point streak (3-0-1) ended. New Jersey was lucky to get those two scores -- off a failed clearing attempt and a close-in turnover -- as Chicago outshot the Devils 37-12, and controlled the puck and the play. "I thought it was one of our better games all year as far as puck possession, directing plays," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "I thought we did everything we were looking to do in the game. I liked their energy, I liked their thought process, our purpose." The Blackhawks spent little time in their zone. With only a couple of exceptions, they moved the puck to their forwards efficiently and left the Devils. Sharp, who recorded his third two-goal game this season, was one of the beneficiaries. "It starts with the defence making great plays in the D-zone," he said. "Weve had great forwards here for a while that want the puck and want to score goals." The 25-year-old Kane has been better offensively this season, his seventh in the NHL. He has points in 12 straight games, matching his career high -- set earlier this season and just before his run. Kane has seven goals and 14 assists in his streak, and at least one point in all but one of his past 25 games, helping him climb into second in the NHL scoring race behind Pittsburghs Sidney Crosby. "If we can play defence like that every night, I think youre going to see more scores like that," he said. Bickells goal was his first since Nov. 10, but he missed 14 of Chicagos 19 games during that span with a knee injury. Chicago rookie Antti Raanta blocked 10 shots in his seventh straight start -- all since Blackhawks top goalie Corey Crawford suffered a lower-body injury on Dec. 8. He faced the fewest shots against Chicago in a game this season. New Jerseys Cory Schneider made 32 saves. "Theyre a relentless team," Schneider said. "They dont give up on the puck and theyre always trying to force turnovers. They didnt take their foot off the gas. "We just didnt play at the level we need to play to compete." The Blackhawks outshot the Devils 12-2 in the first period and led 1-0 after 20 minutes. Sharp opened the scoring at 12:59 when he snapped off a 40-foot shot from the left boards. New Jersey defenceman Mark Fayne reached toward the puck with his right glove, but deflected it past Schneider. One of the Devils two shots in the period was a dump-in from their own blue line while killing a penalty. Gionta tied it at 1 at 5:37 of the second on a deflection at the doorstep and the Devils fourth shot on goal. Following a failed Chicago clearing attempt on the left boards, Jon Merrill fired from the top of the slot. The puck struck the skate of Blackhawks defenceman Michael Kostka, then ticked in off Giontas stick. Kane put Chicago back ahead 2-1 just over 2 minutes later when he drove to the net and slammed in a rebound of Leddys shot. Schneider made a glove save on Leddys drive from the slot, but it dropped to the ice and Kane plowed over Devils defenceman Marek Zidlicky to score. Bickell made it 3-1 with 7:33 left in the period, connecting on a rising, screened shot from the right circle after taking a feed from Brandon Saad. Ryder swept in a backhand 59 seconds into the third to cut it 3-2 after he picked off a clearing pass by Chicago defenceman Brent Seabrook. The Devils managed to come back from a two-goal deficit against Washington on Saturday to win in overtime. The Blackhawks didnt let that happen. "Tonight we gave away way too much space and way too much opportunity to move the puck as well," Ryder said. "Were pretty stingy on defence usually, and tonight we got away from that and tonight it shows on the scoreboard." Set up by Marian Hossas stretch pass, Sharp scored his second goal on a breakaway at 5:54 to extend Chicagos lead to 4-2. He took the feed at centre ice, streaked in alone and fired a low shot under Schneiders glove. Leddys power-play goal, on a drive from the top of the circle with 7:01 left, completed the scoring. Sharp narrowly missed a hat trick, firing the puck off the post with 39 seconds left. NOTES: Crawford has resumed skating and is expected to start practicing after Christmas, according to Quenneville. ... Giontas goal was his second in four games after not scoring in his first 20 games this season. ... Devils RW and leading scorer Jaromir Jagr was held without a point for the first time in seven games. ... New Jersey RW Damien Brunner missed his second game with a lower-body injury and C Andrei Loktionov sat out his second with an illness. ... Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin, who used to work in the Blackhawks front office, attended the game. Janoris Jenkins Jersey . The Kings were beaten on a goal by Logan Couture after the Sharks played the entire 89 seconds of overtime on the power play. The Kings were received penalties for both hooking and goaltender interference in the final minute of regulation play. Jared Cook Jersey . Jones had to work hard against Korean skip Kim Jisun and didnt hold a lead until the seventh end. Jones, lead Dawn McEwen, second Jill Officer and third Kaitlyn Lawes were 8-0 going into the game and had already clinched a berth in the semifinals.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Carolina Hurricanes were shut out in their most recent trip to the ice, but their offensive struggles are nowhere near as alarming as what is currently plaguing the Calgary Flames. The Canes look to bounce back after having their longest winning streak of the season halted as they host the Flames on Monday night. The Flames will not have Mike Cammalleri in their lineup after he suffered a concussion in the Flames 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Carolina won the first four of their recent five-game win streak by one-goal margins, netting 14 goals in that span. Following a postponed game versus Buffalo due to weather, the Hurricanes routed the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 on Thursday, but saw their offense go cold in a 3-0 setback at Columbus the following night. Anton Khudobin made 21 saves for the Hurricanes, who were shut out for the third time this season and for the first time since Dec. 9. "The first period was like a chess match type of game for both teams," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. "Nothing was going on, which we were quite happy with. "Then, one or two breakdowns and they capitalized. Theyre a good team. They play a good system. They dont give up much. We dont give up much either, but we werent able to sustain that second and third opportunity and capitalize." The Blue Jackets were able to slow down Canes forward Jeff Skinner, who went into the game with 17 goals in his previous 17 contests but couldnt find the back of the next on Friday despite a team-high seven shots on net. Skinner could get some help on Monday if captain Eric Staal can return from a lower-body injury that has sidelined him the past three games. Staal, who had played in 191 consecutive games, was able to return to practice on Sunday and has 10 goals and 35 points in 42 games this season. "Weve got to see how hhe responds to (Sunday). Kendall Wright Jersey. We want to be smart," Muller told Carolinas website. "We have all the days off after that, so we want to make sure if hes ready to go (Monday), its nothing that sets him back." Carolina will now take on a Calgary team that has been in an offensive rut for the last two-plus weeks. The Flames have been outscored 13-1 over a three-game slide and 26-6 over their past eight games, a span in which they have been shut out five times while going 1-7-0. Calgary was nearly blanked again on Saturday versus the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins until Mikael Backlund scored at 11:29 of the third period in a 2-1 loss. Backlunds goal snapped a club-record 196-minute, 59-second scoring drought at home for the Flames. Reto Berra was solid in the loss with 24 saves. "I wasnt as good as the guy on the other side tonight," said Berra. "You know, the guys in front made some blocks and I was able to make some saves, but not enough." The Flames will play two straight and four of their next five on the road. Calgary didnt light up the lamp all that much in its first meeting with Carolina this season, but still managed a 2-1 home victory in overtime on Dec. 12. Chris Butler scored the winning goal with inside of four seconds left in the bonus frame, while Karri Ramo made 29 saves. That included a stop on Skinner during a third-period penalty shot. The Flames beat the Hurricanes for the sixth time in the past eight meetings, but have lost two straight in Carolina. Skinner had a goal and Justin Peters made 28 saves for Carolina. The Hurricanes activated forward Riley Nash off injured reserve on Saturday while sending forwards Zach Boychuk and Brett Sutter to the minors. Nash had missed the past five games with a lower-body injury and has four goals with six assists in 36 games this season. cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '
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