CHICAGO _ It's time for the Blackhawks to take a much-needed break.
After beating the Islanders, 3-2 in a shootout at the United Center on Tuesday, the Hawks head into the All-Star break and then their bye week just one point away from having the fewest in the NHL.
When the Hawks resume their season on Feb. 1 in Buffalo, they will be playing for pride but almost certainly not a playoff spot over their final 31 games.
They began the season 6-2-2 and it has mostly been downhill from there. The Hawks are 12-22-7 over their last 41 games and are on pace to finish with their fewest points since the 2005-06 season.
After an exciting overtime period where both teams had several good chances, the Hawks played in just their second shootout of the season.
Jonathan Toews went to his backhand to beat Islanders goalie Robin Lehner on the Hawks' first attempt. After Cam Ward stopped Josh Bailey, Patrick Kane converted his attempt and Ward stopped Mathew Barzal to complete the Hawks' victory.
Valtteri Filppula's unassisted goal 2 minutes, 19 seconds into the game gave the Islanders an early lead, which has been enough for them lately. They posted shutouts in their two games prior to Tuesday and had allowed just three goals in their past five contests.
The Islanders' scoreless streak ended at 1:58:58 when Dylan Strome's power-play goal on a five-on-three tied the score at 1. It marked the ninth straight game the Hawks scored a power-play goal and was the first the Islanders had allowed in their past seven games.
But 1:28 later Barzal picked up a Connor Murphy turnover inside his own blue line and scored on a breakaway to put the Islanders back ahead, 2-1.
The Hawks dominated the second period, outshooting the Islanders 18-7 and tying the game on Toews' power-play goal, his 22nd of the season.
