Ladd scores in Blackhawks shutout of Jets

WINNIPEG --Andrew Ladd scored in his return to MTS Centre, helping the Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Winnipeg Jets 4-0 on Friday.
Scott Darling made 28 saves for his second NHL shutout, which ended a four-game losing streak for Chicago (42-24-6).
The Blackhawks, who won for the first time since March 6, are one point behind the second-place St. Louis Blues in the Central Division.

Ladd made it 3-0 in his Winnipeg homecoming after a trade to Chicago on Feb. 25. Ladd, who played 429 games with the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise and became their captain in 2010-11, took a pass to the slot from Jonathan Toews and shot it past goalie Ondrej Pavelec 3:06 into the third period.

Ladd, who has three goals since the trade and 20 or more in five of his past six seasons, received a standing ovation early in the first period and later after he scored.
"It was different off the hop," Ladd said. "Kind of a weird feeling…seeing a lot of friends and being in this rink on the other side. As the game went on, it kind of went into more just playing hockey and a big two points for us."
"It was awesome. I appreciate the fans and, really, the people of Winnipeg when I was here. I appreciate the ovations and I really can't say enough about the city."
Said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, "[Ladd] is one of those teammates you appreciate and you like. You're happy for him. The fans were great for him and great to him as well. I'm sure it was an interesting day for him, a big hurdle to get through it, but I'm happy he scored as well."

Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice liked the Jets' response to Ladd's return.
"Andrew is a really well-liked guy," Maurice said. "It was a fitting tribute for him. It was appreciated, I think, on our bench by the way our fans acknowledged Andrew and what he has meant to our team."
Chicago scored twice in 26 seconds for a 2-0 lead.
Patrick Kane scored his 39th goal, driving to the net before putting an off-wing backhand past Pavelec at 16:56 of the second period. Marian Hossa followed on a deflected shot to the left circle that he snapped into the net before Pavelec could scramble back into position at 17:22. Hossa's 12th goal gave him 498 in his NHL career.

"There was really nothing going on," Kane said. "To score two there at the end was good for us. It gave us some confidence, especially playing with the lead. We hung in there, didn't really make too many mistakes for the first part of the game and capitalized on our chances.
"I think after that you could see the guys had a little more confidence, and there were a lot more plays being made out there."
Tomas Fleischmann, another Chicago addition prior to the NHL Trade Deadline, made it 4-0 with his 13th goal 1:45 later.
The Jets (29-37-5) have lost 14 of their past 18 home games (4-13-1). They were shut out for the fourth time this season, and the second time by the Blackhawks. The loss was Winnipeg's eighth in the past 11 games.

"They got those two right before the end of the second period, and we just kind of folded after that," Jets right wing Blake Wheeler said.
With Corey Crawford out with an upper-body injury, Darling started for the second game in a row and got his first shutout of the season.
"I think [Darling] needed a game like that, and we needed a win like that," Quenneville said. "It was great for him. We've had a tough stretch. We have lost a ton of ground, and teams are right around us. He had a chance to show he wants the net and took advantage of it and made some key saves."
It was the first time that Darling started consecutive games this season.
"It's definitely nice," said Darling, whose first NHL shutout was March 18, 2015, in a 1-0 win against the New York Rangers. "I felt good [in a 3-2 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday]. I didn't get the result I wanted, but it was good momentum going forward. I built off it and felt good [Friday]."