Chicago,  IL (SportsNetwork.com)  - Marian Hossa scored the lone shootout goal 
in  the  second round, as  the Chicago Blackhawks clipped the Minnesota Wild, 
3-2, on Thursday at United Center. 

After  the first  two shooters  came up  empty, Hossa  skated in  deliberately 
before  firing  a heavy slapper from  the slot that overpowered Ilya Bryzgalov 
and slipped across the goal line to put the Blackhawks on top. 

Corey Crawford then turned aside the final two shooters with relative ease, as 
Chicago  snapped its three-game slide. The Blackhawks sit three points back of 
Colorado for second place in the Central Division. 

Ben  Smith and Bryan Bickell each scored once, while Crawford finished with 25 
saves for the Blackhawks. 

"I  thought  we played the way  we had to  be: plain and simple," Chicago head 
coach Joel Quenneville said. "We didn't give up much all game." 

Charlie  Coyle and  Erik Haula had a  goal apiece for the Wild, who salvaged a 
point to move five clear of Dallas for the first wild card spot in the Western 
Conference. 

"I  just  felt like mentally we  were tired," Minnesota's Zach Parise said. "I 
don't  know if physically we were, but mentally -- we just looked like a tired 
team." 

Bryzgalov stopped 24 shots in the setback. 

Bickell  broke a  1-1 tie  2:45 into  the final  frame, as  he buried  his own 
rebound  attempt  from the low  right side following  a nice initial save from 
Bryzgalov. 

Haula  brought the  Wild even  with 1:54  to play  when he  threw a  seemingly 
harmless  shot  on net  from the  right circle that  fooled Crawford and snuck 
under the Chicago netminder's glove to make it 2-2. 

An entertaining extra session failed to produce a winner. 

Early  on, Coyle's tip-in  from the low right side with 5:41 left in the first 
gave  Minnesota  a 1-0  lead, but Smith  stuffed home a  rebound 2:29 into the 
second to tie the game at 1-1. 

                                   Game Notes 

Minnesota  wrapped  up a four-game  roadtrip at 2-1-1  ... The Wild dropped to 
18-1-4  this season  when leading after one period ... Both teams went 0-for-1 
on the power play ... Chicago improved to 18-12-8 on the road this season.