CHICAGO _ Rivalries can be fun for fans, exhilarating for players, and they can not matter much to a rookie coach trying to snap his team out of an eight-game losing streak.
There will be time for Jeremy Colliton to care who the opponent is when his Blackhawks are playing the Blues _ sometimes known in these parts as the hated Blues _ but that's for another day.
"It doesn't matter so much who we're playing," Colliton said. "Certainly, if we get two (points for a win) and they get zero, that's good. ... We want to build on the last game and start putting some points together night after night."
For the second straight game, the Hawks got a point. But this time, they finally got a win. Brent Seabrook's second-period power-play goal lifted the Hawks to a 1-0 win Wednesday night at the United Center that gave Colliton his first NHL victory.
Corey Crawford stopped 28 shots for his 24th career shutout. The Hawks improved to 7-8-4 to stay ahead of the last-place Blues, who dropped to 6-7-3.
Neither team put on much pressure during a scoreless and penalty-free first period, but the Blues came out flying in the first two minutes of the second only to get stonewalled a couple of times by Crawford.
A few minutes later, the Hawks drew their first penalty in five periods when Vladimir Tarasenko was called for hooking, and scored only their eighth power-play goal of the season. Blues goalie Jake Allen stopped Seabrook's initial slap shot, but the rebound was accidentally kicked in by defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.
The Hawks' John Hayden was called for hooking midway through the second, and the Blues got a chance to add to the six power-play goals they scored against the Hawks in their first three meetings. The Hawks' penalty kill was solid, though, holding the Blues to one shot on goal but more importantly keeping the puck out of the net.
The Hawks and Blues have a long history of beating up on each other, but rivalries take on a different form when the battle is to stay out of last place. Both teams seemed comfortable waiting for the other to make a mistake in a game that only saw a combined 47 shots on goal.
"When you're in a losing streak, it's difficult to get out of it," Colliton said. "You can't just play one good game and think it's going to happen. You've got to do it night after night after night. If we do that we'll be rewarded for it."
They got their reward Wednesday. The NHL-worst Kings are in town on Friday.
All good things to those who wait.
