Columbus,  OH  (SportsNetwork.com) - The  Blue Jackets, battling for a playoff 
spot,  came  within seconds  of  securing  a  valuable  point and  possibly  a 
second. 

Ben  Smith scored  with 3.9 seconds remaining in the third period, lifting the 
Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-3 win over Columbus at Nationwide Arena. 

A point shot by Duncan Keith went off Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky's glove 
and  triggered a  goal-mouth scramble, with Smith pushing the rebound into the 
open net. 

"Somehow that puck found its way in," Smith said. 

Keith had three assists and Antti Raanta made 24 saves for the Blackhawks, who 
moved to within a point of second-place Colorado in the Central Division. 

Bobrovsky  had  34 saves for Columbus,  which still holds the second wild-card 
spot in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets, who have lost 13 in a row to 
the Blackhawks, are one point ahead of ninth-place Toronto and three points up 
on 10th-place New Jersey. 

"It  doesn't matter it  was a Western Conference team. I don't look at it that 
way.  I just  look at it as  a chance to get  points and we weren't able to do 
that," said Blue Jackets head coach Todd Richards. 

Derek MacKenzie gave Columbus a 1-0 lead when he skated hard down the slot and 
scored on a rebound 1:32 into the contest. 

The Blackhawks tied the game on Jeremy Morin's goal with 2:50 remaining in the 
first  period,  but Ryan  Johansen put  the Blue Jackets  back on top, beating 
Raanta high glove at the 36-second mark of the second period. 

Chicago  went up 3-2  later in the middle stanza on goals by Patrick Sharp and 
Marian  Hossa. Sharp ripped  a slap shot from the top of the right circle past 
Bobrovsky for a power-play goal at 4:14. Hossa scored on a rush, handling Kris 
Versteeg's pass and moving to the middle before beating Bobrovsky blocker side 
at 10:42. 

The  Blue Jackets  countered 2:05 later on  a power play as Artem Anisimov put 
the puck in off Chicago defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson at 12:47. 

                                   Game Notes 

The Blackhawks  last lost  to the Blue  Jackets on Feb.  18, 2011 ... Chicago 
has also won nine straight at Columbus since an 8-3 setback March 25, 2010.