Blackhawks lead Blue Jackets 2-0 after second period

Columbus got a goal back and ruined Corey Crawford’s bid for a shutout when Jack Johnson scored to make it 3-1.

“If we’re waiting for something bad to happen, that was it”, Hartnell said.

The goal was Anisimov’s second of the season.

Artem Anisimov and Teuvo Teravainen scored 65 seconds apart and Marian Hossa chipped in his first goal of the season to propel the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-1 victory over the winless Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night at the United Center.

Before the game, Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen declined to speculate on the future of any player or coach within the organization and reiterated that he has a good working relationship with Richards, a coach he admires and respects.

The same wasn’t true for the Blue Jackets (0-6-0), who lost their sixth straight game to open the season and are left searching for answers. He stopped Artemi Panarin on a one-on-one and also made a good save on Patrick Kane.

Teravainen was credited with a power-play goal that made it 2-0 with 3:20 remaining in the period when his centering attempt, intended for Anisimov, deflected in off the left skate of Columbus defenseman Dalton Prout.

McElhinney, confident and composed from the start, was at his best late in the first period.

Saad, who was playing in Chicago for the first time since his offseason trade from the Blackhawks to the Blue Jackets, was honored during the first television timeout.

Hossa’s goal proved to be the dagger, putting the Blackhawks up 3-0 in the third.

After yielding five unanswered goals to Ottawa in a 7-3 home loss on Wednesday, Columbus permitted three over the final 16 minutes of Friday’s 6-3 setback to visiting Toronto. The Chicago Blackhawks scratched D David Rundblad and RW Viktor Tikhonov….

Remember the buoyant Blue Jackets, loaded with offensive talent and a mostly competent defense, a team expected to challenge for the Metropolitan Division title and make noise in the Stanley Cup playoffs?

The Hawks came into the second period with 1:32 left on their powerplay but couldn’t muster any solid chances and it was killed off. Chicago started to pick it up in the second period as they registered 15 shots this period compared to the six they had earlier.