Blackhawks score three in third, defeat Coyotes

CHICAGO -- Artem Anisimov scored the tie-breaking goal with 4:47 remaining in the third period and the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Arizona Coyotes 3-1 at United Center on Sunday.
"We had an OK first period, a below-average second and a real good third," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Lot of good things in that period. Seemed like we had a little bit more pace and jump to our game."

\[WATCH: All Coyotes vs. Blackhawks highlights\]
Anisimov took a pass from Patrick Kane and scored his 13th goal of the season on a shot from the right circle to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead. Nick Schmaltz scored his first goal in seven games at 16:58 of the third period, also on a pass from Kane, to put the Blackhawks ahead 3-1.
"Great play, great pass," Quenneville said. "They had some good looks there, those 2-on-1s and back-to-back opportunities early in the game. Nice to see them cash in on one. That line offensively, and [Anisimov] making a nice shot as well. That line gets hot, it can really make a difference to our team game."

With two assists, Kane moved into sole possession of fifth place on the Blackhawks' all-time scoring list with 781 points, breaking a tie with Doug Wilson (779).
Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford made 31 saves. Crawford is 6-0-2 in his past eight starts and has allowed three or fewer goals in seven of them.

"He's played great for us," Kane said of Crawford. "We put ourselves in some tough positions, some shifts and he's there to bail us out. Another good performance by him."
Chicago (14-11-5) has won back-to-back games after going 0-3-2 in its previous five. Arizona (7-21-5) finished 0-3-1 on a four-game road trip.
"We've got to learn how to play under pressure," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "I think Chicago had seven chances after like 15 minutes and they got that goal there to go ahead and we got it back with five minutes left and then, under pressure again."
Tommy Wingels put Chicago ahead 1-0 at 7:36 of the third period when he one-timed a pass from John Hayden past Arizona goaltender Scott Wedgewood for his fourth goal of the season and second in as many games.

"I'm just staying with it," Wingels said. "Our line struggled a bit throughout the game; first period, second period wasn't where we wanted to be. But you get an opportunity in the third period to make a difference every shift, whether it's to create energy, drawing a penalty or scoring a big goal. Recently our line's been able to do that, the past two games we've executed there. Certainly feels good to score. I think everybody in this game plays to score and at the end of the night when your team wins and you score, there's something to feel good about."
Arizona tied the game 1-1 at 14:02 when Anthony Duclair scored his seventh goal of the season.
Wedgewood made 34 saves.
"I thought we played great," Crawford said. "There were no goals for most of it. But we played well. Had a lot of chances throughout the whole game. Third period was our best period. It was another good win for us at home, something to build off of, keep rolling with it."

Goal of the game

Anisimov's goal at 15:13 of the third period.

Save of the game

Crawford's save on Alex Goligoski at 4:36 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Wedgewood's save on Vinnie Hinostroza at 5:02 of the third period.

They said it

"I think both goalies were playing well, both teams were playing well. Just minor mistakes, caused us to start chasing and then we had to take chances to kind of get back in the game and it kind of opened it up and became more of their style, their freedom to play pond hockey." -- Coyotes goaltender Scott Wedgewood
"That's a pretty humbling group to be associated with. I mean, those guys are great players. I've been fortunate to play with a lot of great players over the years here and have the trust of my coaches and management as well. It's been a fun ride, but hopefully it doesn't stop here. Hopefully it continues." -- Chicago forward Patrick Kane on joining Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, Denis Savard and Steve Larmer in the top-five all-time scorers in Blackhawks history

Need to know

Duclair scored his first goal since he had a hat trick on Nov. 18 against the Ottawa Senators. The Coyotes have played 21 road games, the most in the NHL. ... Chicago defenseman Jordan Oesterle played 20:18 and had the second assist on the goal by Wingels after being a healthy scratch for 11 straight games. Kane ended a four-game point drought with his two assists. It was his longest drought since March 28-April 2, 2009, when he went also four games without a point.

What's next

Coyotes: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; FS-A, SUN, NHL.TV)
Blackhawks: Host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET; SN, NBCSCH, FS-F, NHL.TV)