CHICAGO _ Charlie McAvoy scored 1 minute, 19 seconds into overtime as the Blackhawks fell to the Bruins 2-1 Wednesday night at the United Center.
The Hawks have played three consecutive overtime games since the All-Star break ended, dropping the last two to fall to 25-21-8.
The Bruins outshot the Hawks 40-22.
The Hawks' Zack Smith took a terrible penalty with 2:26 left in the third when he struck Torey Krug in the head with his shoulder, giving the Bruins a chance to win the game in regulation. Drake Caggiula appeared to score short-handed but it came seconds after a delayed penalty on Krug was called, and the referee ruled the play was dead before Caggiula's shot went in.
The Hawks had 55 seconds of power-play time to start the overtime but didn't convert. Krug had a breakaway as soon as he came out of the box, which Robin Lehner stopped. A few seconds later, McAvoy beat Lehner for his first goal of the season.The Hawks moved within two points of the Flames for the final Western Conference wild-card spot. Each of the other contenders, including the Flames, were off on Wednesday.
The Hawks were dominated in the first period for the second straight night. But unlike on Tuesday against the Wild when the Hawks had trouble putting one foot in front of another, the Bruins simply put their superior talent on display.
Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand each had three shots on goal while the Bruins outshot the Hawks 16-5 in the period, which remained scoreless only because Lehner was brilliant while making his first start since Jan. 21.
The Hawks picked up their first power play midway through the second period when David Krejci was called for boarding Adam Boqvist, who left the game with a right shoulder injury and didn't return.
The Hawks took advantage when Kirby Dach tried to stuff a shot past Jaroslav Halak, who made the save, but Alex DeBrincat was there for the rebound to give them a 1-0 lead. It was DeBrincat's 13th goal, his ninth on the power play.
But it was a short-lived lead. A little less than six minutes later, the Bruins tied it on Sean Kuraly's fifth goal of the season.
