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Final Score: Chicago 7 - Columbus 2
Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - Dustin Byfuglien had a hat trick, and the Chicago Blackhawks scored four first-period goals on their way to blasting the Columbus Blue Jackets, 7-2, at Nationwide Arena.
Brent Seabrook, Martin Havlat, and James Wisniewski each had a goal and an assist for Chicago, which has won two of three. Patrick Kane also tallied, and Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 24 shots in the win.
"It's going to be fun tomorrow to show films on how it's done and what it takes to win," Chicago head coach Denis Savard said. "Nothing was special what we did in the game plan; just the fact that the players battled, they won lots of one-on-one battles. We competed in areas where it's tough."
Dick Tarnstrom and Fredrik Modin scored power-play goals for Columbus, which has lost three in a row, and allowed a season-high in goals. Fredrik Norrena allowed six goals on 28 shots, and Pascal Leclaire allowed one goal on three shots -- though Leclaire played just five minutes in relief of Norrena in the first period.
"We can't mope around about it," Modin said. "We're just going to have to be professional about it and come back and make sure we get our game together, because it's now when we have to make a push."
Kane started the frenzy just 3:55 into the game, with the Blackhawks on the power play. He lifted a shot from just inside the right circle that got over Norrena's shoulder and into the net.
Just 1:32 later, Seabrook got a turnover in the neutral zone, raced toward the net and made Norrena dive for the puck. But Seabrook shifted left, and backhanded a shot into net for a 2-0 Chicago lead.
The Blackhawks didn't score again until the 14:09 mark, when Byfuglien notched his first, and Norrena was pulled after allowing three goals on four shots. But Leclaire wasn't much better off the bench, as Byfuglien tallied his second of the night with 2:57 left. Chicago scored four goals on seven shots in the period.
Tarnstrom got Columbus on the board 1:25 into the second -- his first goal as a member of the Blue Jackets. But Havlat pushed Chicago's lead back to four, as he scored on a short one-timer off a feed from Robert Lang from behind the net.
Modin scored at the 13:06 mark of the second, and Wisniewski tallied at 15:23 to give Chicago a 6-2 lead at the end of two periods.
Byfuglien, who had scored once since tallying a goal on December 19, completed the hat trick on a power-play score with 33 seconds left in the game. It was his second hat trick of the season, with the other coming on November 30 against Phoenix.
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