Crawford, Blackhawks hand Devils fourth straight loss

NEWARK, N.J. -- Corey Crawford made 29 saves for his 250th NHL win, and Kirby Dach scored the deciding goal in the fifth round of the shootout for the Chicago Blackhawks in a 2-1 victory against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Friday.

"I had three moves in my head," said Dach, whose goal came on his first NHL shootout attempt. "Whatever the goalie bites on, I move to that side. I've had a couple of shootouts in junior (with Saskatoon of the Western Hockey League) and it worked there, so I just went back to that. It went in, so that was nice."
After allowing a goal in each of the first two rounds of the shootout, Crawford stopped Kyle Palmieri, Taylor Hall and Jack Hughes to preserve the win.
"It has gone by fast," Crawford said about reaching the milestone. "I feel pretty lucky to play for a team like Chicago and I feel proud of being here 10 years, even longer with the minors. It's an honor to play with this organization."
WATCH: [All Blackhawks vs. Devils highlights]
Alex DeBrincat scored for a second straight game for Chicago (12-12-5), which has won two in a row following a three-game losing streak. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane scored in the shootout.

Hall scored, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 28 saves for New Jersey (9-14-5), which has lost four straight games and is looking for its first win since Alain Nasreddine replaced John Hynes as coach on Tuesday (0-1-1).
"We don't have anything to lose now," Hall said. "There's been a big change in the organization, and when that happens, everyone has to make a change with how they're coming to the rink. It's a new opportunity for everyone, a fresh start, and the coaches have conveyed that to us."
Hall scored a power-play goal on a snap shot from the right circle that went through a screen by Pavel Zacha at 13:31 of the first period to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. It was Hall's fifth goal of the season and first in six games.
"I think [Hall] was probably our best player on the ice," Nasreddine said. "He had numerous chances, his shot looked great, and I think him and [Hughes] did pretty well together."

DeBrincat tied it 1-1 at 9:35 of the second period on a rebound on the power play. Kane took the initial shot from the right circle that deflected off Blackwood to DeBrincat, who quickly scored into an open net from the left circle.
"It kind of bounced out to me and I got a backhander on it," Debrincat said. "Sometimes those go in, sometimes they don't. I'll just keep working hard and hopefully I'll get the chance to put it in."

They said it

"It feels like we had an up and down first quarter of the season. When we are playing well, we can play against any team. It's just limiting those times when things aren't going right so we don't put together long streaks. Any team in a season is going to have tough times, it's just trying to limit it to as short as possible." -- Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford
"It was a tough result but honestly, I think the team played a pretty good game and built off the last game (4-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday). I know it's a loss and I know that stings, but the energy and progress is trending in the right way." -- Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood
"We've only had one practice under a new coach so there's going to be times where there are struggles, but the important thing was the effort was there. I thought we battled and at the end of the day, you put it into a shootout it's kind of a coin flip, so we're right there." -- Devils left wing Taylor Hall

Need to know

Crawford is 250-149-52 in 464 NHL games. ... Kane has a point in 17 of his past 18 games (11 goals, 15 assists). ... Chicago placed defenseman Duncan Keith (groin) and forward Andrew Shaw (concussion) on injured reserve Friday. Keith is retroactive to Nov. 29, Shaw to Nov. 30. ... Devils forward Nikita Gusev had an assist on Hall's goal, his fifth in the past five games. ... Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen left at 4:29 of the third period after being hit in the face by a puck, and forward Nico Hischier did not play because of an illness. Nasreddine said he is hopeful Hischier will play at the Nashville Predators on Saturday; Vatanen is questionable.

What's next

Blackhawks:Host the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, NBCSCH, FS-A, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV)
Devils: At the Nashville Predators on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-TN, MSG+, NHL.TV)