Artem Anisimov propels Blackhawks to win

CHICAGO --The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-2 at United Center on Sunday, winning their fourth straight game on a late goal by Artem Anisimov.
After getting a cross-ice pass from Artemi Panarin, Anisimov scored his 22nd goal to put the Blackhawks up 3-2 with 5:20 left. Scott Darling made three of his 30 saves following Anisimov's goal before Tanner Kero scored into an empty net at 19:57.

The Blackhawks (39-18-5) improved to 9-1-0 in their past 10 games and have 83 points, one behind the Minnesota Wild for the top spot in the Central Division and Western Conference.
WATCH: All Blackhawks vs. Blues highlights
"It's really encouraging watching the team the last few weeks getting cohesion going at this point in the season," said Darling, who started for Corey Crawford (illness). "We're very confident in our team, and that's the way you want to be. You want to be excited to get going at this point in the season, leading into the playoffs and get that good feeling in the room. We're excited about the way we're playing."
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane scored Chicago's first two goals for a 2-0 lead in the first period, but St. Louis tied it 2-2 on goals by Magnus Paajarvi at 16:54 of the first and Alex Pietrangelo at 12:33 of the second.
Jake Allen made 38 saves for the Blues (31-25-5), who lost their third straight game and remain four points behind the Nashville Predators for third in the Central. It was the first game following the break for St. Louis.
"We were right there," Allen said. "We fought our way back in the game and it's a tough one to swallow again. We've got to find ways to get even a point out of these games right now. They're so crucial."

The Blackhawks outshot the Blues 20-11 and led 2-1 after the first period.
Toews made it 1-0 at 4:18 with his 16th goal of the season and ninth in the past 14 games to extend his point streak to six games (five goals, eight assists).
Kane made it 2-0 on the power play at 11:44 with his ninth goal in the past 10 games and team-high 24th. Toews and defenseman Duncan Keith assisted. It was Keith's 500th NHL point.
St. Louis made it 2-1 on Paajarvi's goal, which followed a Blackhawks turnover at their own blue line that created a 2-on-1 scoring chance. Pietrangelo's power-play goal tied the score.
"Team's feeling good in here," Kane said. "We've got a lot of confidence. We still feel we can probably play better than we did tonight, but things are going well right now."

Goal of the game

Panarin's pass slid past Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester and went straight to Anisimov's stick in the right faceoff circle. Anisimov quickly sent the puck inside the right post for the game-winner.
"I saw the puck all the way and it was easy to prepare for the next move … the shot," Anisimov said.

Save of the game

Richard Panik had a chance to break the 2-2 tie with 7:45 left in the third period, but Allen made a great glove save to deny him a goal on a breakaway.

Unsung performance of the game

Defenseman Brent Seabrook led the Blackhawks with five blocked shots. He also had three shots on goal and assisted on Kero's goal.

Highlight of the game

Darling made a save against Paul Stastny to preserve a 3-2 lead with 1:34 left in the third period. Darling moved left to right and just got his skate on the shot.

They said it

"We still had a great opportunity. We had a couple of chances but we just gave up too many tonight." -- Blues coach Mike Yeo
"I do [yoga] all summer. It's nice. You've got to take care of your body, and it helps me utilize my frame in desperate situations and keeps me healthy too."-- Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling, who made three saves by stretching out his 6-foot-6 body

Need to know

The Blackhawks recalled goalie Lars Johansson from Rockford of the American Hockey League to back up Darling. Johansson traveled all day from California, where the IceHogs were on a road trip. … Blackhawks forward Marcus Kruger only played 1:17 in the third period but coach Joel Quenneville said Kruger is healthy. … The Blackhawks won the season series against the Blues 3-2. … Toews tied Jeremy Roenick for eighth in Blackhawks history with his 267th NHL goal.

What's next

Blues: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, SNW, NHL.TV)
Blackhawks: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports, NHL.TV)