CHI@COL: Toews beats sprawling Lehner in close

DENVER -- The Chicago Blackhawks scored four straight goals in the third period to rally for a 5-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center on Saturday.

Jonathan Toews had a goal and two assists for the Blackhawks (15-16-6), who have won two straight games and three of four. Robin Lehner made 28 saves.
"Big two points for us and something we can feel really good about," Chicago coach Jeremy Colliton said. "Hopefully, it's a reminder of how we need to play. We have a lot of character in our group and we've shown we're not going to quit, but the next step for us is to bring it all the time, and not when our backs are completely against the wall."
WATCH: [All Blackhawks vs. Avalanche highlights]
The Blackhawks closed to 3-2 at 11:22 of the third when Patrick Kane scored off a pass from Dominik Kubalik and tied the game 3-3 at 11:50 when Kirby Dach scored from the right face-off circle off a cross-ice pass from Erik Gustafsson on a 2-on-1 rush.
Kubalik gave Chicago a 4-3 lead at 16:43 when he scored from the slot off a pass from Toews.

CHI@COL: Kane wires wrister home short side

Connor Murphy scored an empty-net goal with 39 seconds remaining for the 5-3 final.
Matt Calvert scored two goals, and Philipp Grubauer made 27 saves for Colorado (22-11-3), which has lost two straight games and three of four.
The Avalanche allowed three goals in the final 2:56 of the third period Thursday in a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
"Same as last game, last five minutes of the period," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said when asked when he began seeing defensive breakdowns. "... It's like we got five guys standing in the house, and they put it right into the one guy that's in there (Kubalik), and no one gets a stick on it. ... We have opportunities, we're good in coverage, but yet they seam it right in the middle of all three of our guys, and he scores. So we're there, we're in good spots, we're not finishing the job."
Dach ended a 16-game goal drought dating to Nov. 17 when he tied it.
"I've been through this before, in a scoring slump," Dach said. "I think as a skill player, if you want to say that, as a guy who's supposed to put up points, the biggest thing is not to get frustrated and not to change anything. You just kind of keep being you and keep playing. The puck is going to find your stick and go in."
The Avalanche took a 1-0 lead at 6:01 of the first period when Ryan Graves scored with a one-timer from the right point off a pass by Joonas Donskoi from the side of the net.
Toews tied it 1-1 21 seconds into the second period. After a turnover by Colorado's Mikko Rantanen, Toews passed to Kane in the right circle, went to the net, and put in the rebound of Kane's shot.
The Avalanche went ahead 2-1 at 2:40 when Calvert poked his own rebound between Lehner's pads.
Calvert made it 3-1 at 19:09 when he chased his own rebound into the left corner and banked the puck in off Lehner, who was down and had stacked his pads.

CHI@COL: Kubalik one-times go-ahead goal from slot

They said it

"This is what it's going to take to turn it around. It's not going to be anything else but the guys in the room. I thought we had a good game from start to finish. They're a good team and you know they're going to get some momentum and chances, and they capitalized. But the thing I think was great was we just stuck with it, we didn't panic. We competed hard and were rewarded with goals and a win." -- Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith
"I thought we were playing great until those last handful of minutes in the third period in the last two games. Real frustrating for us, but I mean, it can't happen. We're a young team, but we know how to win now, so I think it's something you got to know how to finish off when you have that opportunity ahead of you. That's four points that we let slip away right before the (Christmas) break, and we can't let it happen." -- Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson on blowing a third-period lead in consecutive games

Need to know

Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad, who injured his right ankle Wednesday in a 4-1 win at the Winnipeg Jets, was placed on injured reserve. ... Chicago was 0-14-0 when trailing entering the third period. Colorado was 17-0-1 when leading entering the third. ... Kane has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in the past five games and needs one goal to tie Denis Savard (377) for fourth in Blackhawks history. ... Toews has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in the past 10 games. ... Colorado forward Nathan MacKinnon, named captain of the Central Division for the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Game earlier Saturday, had his point streak end at seven games (three goals, six assists).

What's next

Blackhawks: Host the New Jersey Devils on Monday (8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV)
Avalanche: At the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN, ATTSN-RM, ALT, NHL.TV)

Blackhawks rally to win with four goals in the 3rd