Toews, Hossa lead way as Blackhawks clobber Oilers
Marian Hossa had a goal and three assists, and Jonathan Toews scored twice as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Edmonton Oilers 7-1 Saturday night.
Marcus Kruger, Kris Versteeg, Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane also scored for the Blackhawks (12-7-1), who have won three straight and five of six.
David Perron scored for the Oilers (6-13-2), losers of six in a row overall and seven straight at home. Edmonton has yet to win a game against Western Conference opponents, dropping to 0-10-1.
The Blackhawks took control with goals on their first two shots.
Four minutes into the first period, Brandon Saad made a nice cross-ice pass to a wide-open Toews, who switched from his backhand on a deke before sliding the puck through the legs of Oilers starting goalie Ben Scrivens for his eighth goal of the season.
Just 55 seconds later Edmonton defender Justin Schultz made a soft no-look backhand attempt to clear the puck and it was picked off by Kruger, who beat Scrivens with a hard one-timer up high to make it 2-0.
Chicago took a three-goal lead with four minutes left in the opening period as Hossa outhustled the Oilers to a puck in the corner and sent it back to Seabrook, who sent a slap shot through traffic that Toews got a piece of on the way into the net.
The Hawks had just eight shots in the first period against five by the Oilers on Chicago goalie Corey Crawford.
Chicago took a 4-0 lead just over a minute into the second period on a two-man advantage. The puck dribbled underneath Scrivens and was headed into the net before Oilers defender Andrew Ference gave it a helping hand in a goal that was credited to Versteeg.
The Blackhawks scored again on the second half of the power play as well. Bryan Bickell shot was deflected on the way to the net and the rebound came to Hossa on the doorstep for his third of the year.
Scrivens was pulled after allowing five goals on 13 shots, with backup Viktor Fasth coming in to replace him.
The move didn't do much as the Blackhawks scored on their second shot on Fasth, with Keith moving in from the point and unleashing a hard shot for the goal. The three goals to start the second period came in a span of 2:31, giving the Blackhawks six goals at a time the Oilers had just five shots.
Edmonton finally broke Crawford's shutout bid with 12 minutes left in the second period as Perron tipped Justin Schultz's shot into the net for his second of the season.
NOTES: It was the first of three games this season between the two teams. The Blackhawks swept three games from the Oilers last year, scoring five goals in each. The last time Chicago lost in Edmonton was on Feb. 2, 2012, a game in which Sam Gagner recorded eight points for the Oilers. ... Antti Raanta was expected to get the start in net for Chicago but came down with an illness before the game, forcing Crawford to play in goal without a backup on the bench. Forward Phillip Danault made his NHL debut after being called up from the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League on Friday. Danault was Chicago's first-round pick, 26th overall, in 2011. ... Out with injuries for the Blackhawks were Patrick Sharp (knee), Trevor Van Riemsdyk (knee) and Andrew Shaw (upper body), while the Oilers were missing forward Benoit Pouliot, who broke a foot blocking a shot on Friday against the Devils. Perron took his place on the Oilers' top line Edmonton defenseman Nikita Nikitin was a healthy scratch, with Keith Aulie coming in as his replacement.
