Blackhawks wrap up homestand with win

CHICAGO -- Scott Darling made 23 saves in his fifth straight start and the Chicago Blackhawks wrapped up a four-game homestand with a 3-1 win against the Dallas Stars at United Center on Sunday.
Marian Hossa, Artem Anisimov and Artemi Panarin scored for the Blackhawks (18-8-4), who played without goalie Corey Crawford, center Jonathan Toews and defenseman Brent Seabrook. Chicago begins a three-game road trip at the New York Rangers on Tuesday.

"This is] definitely a good test of what the team can do without key players," said Hossa, whose goal at 2:17 of the second period tied it 1-1. "It's hard to replace guys like that, all three of them, but I think with the little things, guys doing baby steps, those [young] guys get opportunities to play more and they're taking advantage of it. That's good for the future, when everybody's going to be back."
**[WATCH: All Stars vs. Blackhawks highlights**
Darling is 2-2-1 since replacing Crawford, who's recovering from an appendectomy.
Hossa and Anisimov scored in the second period and Panarin scored on a power play in the third.
Devin Shore scored a goal and Kari Lehtonen made 24 saves for the Stars (11-13-6), who lost 4-2 at the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. It was Dallas' third straight loss against Chicago, all this season.
"We've got a lot of catching up to do," Stars left wing Jamie Benn said. "We put ourselves in a tough spot, but no reason why we can't turn this around. We've got to find a way to dig deep here and give ourselves a chance to get back in this."

Shore gave the Stars a 1-0 lead at 1:25 off a 4-on-2 rush by scoring his third goal in two games. Hossa tied it 52 seconds later with a wrist shot from above the left faceoff circle.
Anisimov gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead at 12:30 with his 12th goal, which was scored when Stars defenseman Stephen Johns knocked a loose puck off Anisimov's left leg into the net.
Chicago made it 3-1 on Panarin's power-play goal at 10:03. After drawing a slashing penalty on Stars forward Jason Spezza at 9:30, Panarin scored his 11th goal off a one-timer from the bottom of the left faceoff circle.

Goal of the game

Panarin's goal in the third provided the Blackhawks with a 3-1 lead off a sharp angle to the short side of the net. Defenseman Duncan Keith fed him a pass and Panarin's one-timer went between Lehtonen's glove and right pad. "I wanted to see it again," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "It was a pretty amazing angle. It was an amazing shot … that he can do."

Save of the game

Lehtonen, starting his fifth straight game, kept it 0-0 with 7.5 seconds left in the first period with a glove save. Hartman created a 2-on-1 rush by blocking a shot at the Chicago blue line and tried a wrist shot to the short side.

Unsung performance of the game

Ryan Hartman assisted on Hossa's goal, had four shots and was credited with three takeaways in 16:10. Hartman didn't get an assist on Anisimov's goal, but he created the scoring chance with a backhand seconds after getting out of the penalty box.

Highlight of the game

Darling went post-to-post at 3:44 of the third period to stop a one-timer by Shore during a Stars power play. It preserved a 2-1 lead for the Blackhawks.

They said it

"This will be the season for us, I really feel, going back home where we've played pretty well. (We) haven't played that well on the road, and we've got to try to build some momentum." -- Stars coach Lindy Ruff
"That's a good, high-powered hockey team over there, and we did a really good job defensively tonight. Helped me out big time." -- Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling

Need to know

Toews skated for the first time in a week, but missed his ninth straight game. … Stars defenseman Jamie Oleksiak served the first of a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head. ... Dallas forward Jiri Hudler played for the first time since Nov. 1 and defenseman Johnny Oduya played for the first time since Nov. 19. … The Blackhawks flew Eric Semborski and his wife, Kaitlyn, in for the game. Semborski was Chicago's emergency backup goalie in a 3-1 loss at the Flyers on Dec. 3, the day of Crawford's appendectomy.

What's next

Stars:Host the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET; FS-SW, PRIME,
NHL.TV
)
Blackhawks: At the New York Rangers on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports, MSG 2, CSN-CH,
NHL.TV
)