Marian Hossa lifts Blackhawks to victory

CALGARY -- Marian Hossa scored the game-winner, and Corey Crawford made 28 saves to help the Chicago Blackhawks to a 3-2 victory against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday.
Ryan Hartman and Brent Seabrook also scored for the Blackhawks (12-4-2), who have split the first two of their seven-game "Circus Trip" and are 10-1-2 since Oct. 22.
"I think now the new guys and the younger guys are more understanding what the coaching staff wants from the system," Hossa said. "Now everyone is syncing to the same page, everybody understands the system better, and right now I think we're playing better."

WATCH: All Blackhawks vs. Flames highlights
Sam Bennett and Sean Monahan scored, and Chad Johnson made 21 saves for the Flames (7-11-1), who lost for the first time in three games.
"Obviously, it's frustrating when you lose games, but at the end of the day, you have to find ways to win," Monahan said.
Johnson got a piece of Artemi Panarin's initial shot with his glove, but the rebound sailed into the air behind him, and Hossa directed it over the goal line for his Blackhawks-leading 10th goal to put Chicago up 3-2 with 2:23 left in the third period.
"Great, hard shot by [Panarin]," Hossa said. "I saw there was a rebound coming. I don't think the goalie knew exactly where the puck was, and the defender tried to put his stick out. I tried to hook on his stick so he didn't touch the puck, and the puck just bounced close to the goal line and I just tried to put it underneath me in the net. It worked."

Hartman scored on a partial breakaway to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 7:42 of the first period. Artem Anisimov got the assist to earn his first point in four games since his 11-game point streak ended Nov. 6.
Bennett and Monahan each ended a nine-game goal drought when they scored on consecutive shots in the second period. Bennett pushed a loose puck in the crease over the goal line to tie the game 1-1 at 3:33, and Monahan's centering pass through the crease deflected off the skate of Blackhawks defenseman Gustav Forsling and into the net to put the Flames up 2-1 at 7:03.
Bennett has been playing with Monahan and Troy Brouwer since Johnny Gaudreau fractured his finger against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
"I'm feeling comfortable and obviously playing with guys like [Monahan] and [Brouwer], it's very special playing with guys like that," Bennett said.
Seabrook tied the game 2-2 with his power-play goal at 14:34 of the second.

Goal of the game

Seabrook stopped a pass from Duncan Keith before sending a slap shot by Johnson's glove, off the post and in from the top of the right faceoff circle to tie it. "He really steps into it," Crawford said. "That one was another hard one there. Key point of the game too, I think. We needed a big goal at that point. He got it for us."

Save of the game

Crawford slid post to post to make a pad save on Dougie Hamilton's one-timer after a cross-ice setup by Monahan with 8:44 remaining in the first.

Unsung moment of the game

Johnson stopped Panarin's initial shot, and Mark Giordano swiped away Jonathan Toews' rebound attempt before it crossed the goal line 54 seconds into the third to keep the game tied 2-2. Video review was inconclusive in determining if the puck crossed the goal line.

Highlight of the game

Hartman took a pass from Anisimov, edged out Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman on a partial breakaway, and shot off the post and in by Johnson's glove 7:42 into the game to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead. "It was a really good heads-up play," Hartman said. "They got a D caught down low there. We got the puck and got it up right away. I saw my break. Really good pass by [Anisimov]."

They said it

"It was another big goal by him. Very timely as well. He's scored some goals from right around that net here to get us a point or two, and tonight's a good illustration of how important he's been for us." -- Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville on Marian Hossa
"These ones are tough games. I thought we played well. We needed a little bit more out of our specialty teams, but overall, we played a good game, it's just unfortunate what happened." -- Flames coach Glen Gulutzan

Need to know

The Blackhawks went 3-1-2 during their "Circus Trip" last season and are 29-12-4 since coach Joel Quenneville was hired in 2008. They opened the trip Tuesday with a 4-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. … Chicago has earned at least a point in 19 of its past 20 games against Canadian teams (17-1-2). … Calgary is 5-8-1 against the Western Conference this season and 3-4-0 against Central Division opponents.

What's next

Blackhawks: At the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CSN-CH, NHL.TV)
Flames: At the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, NHLN-US, FS-D, NHL.TV)