CHICAGO _ Playing without one of the best players in the league in Jonathan Toews is not an ideal situation for the Blackhawks.
But it has given the Hawks a chance to prove their mettle _ and depth _ early in the season.
The Hawks played their fourth consecutive game Thursday without Toews, who remains sidelined with what a source told the Tribune is a back injury.
But the Hawks continued to get positive results without Toews and claimed their third triumph in their last four games with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Devils at the United Center.
Marian Hossa scored the winner at 1:31 of overtime.
It appears as if the Hawks will have to do without Toews for at least one more game, with coach Joel Quenneville saying Toews was "doubtful" to play Saturday against the Flyers. Quenneville did say Toews could skate Friday before the Hawks left for Philadelphia. Quenneville insisted the injury is not serious and that the Hawks are being cautious about rushing Toews back.
"We want to make sure he's ready to go when he hits the ice," Quenneville said. "From there, we'll get a better idea when (he can) play."
Meanwhile, the Hawks carried on without him Thursday. They have made a habit of starting slowly this season, but Thursday it was as if the Hawks were trying to outdo themselves. The Devils had the first eight shots on goal and got on the board when Travis Zajac scored his sixth goal.
There were several bodies in front of goaltender Corey Crawford, who could not smother the puck. The Devils kept poking away at it until Zajac was able to lift it above Crawford's outstretched left leg that was guarding the post.
The Hawks played better as the period went on _ they couldn't get much worse _ but failed to generate significant chances on Devils goaltender Cory Schneider even on the two power plays they had during the period.
The Hawks, however, tied the score from one of their more unlikely scorers, Marcus Kruger, early in the second.
Brent Seabrook began the sequence with a stretch pass from the Hawks zone to Dennis Rasmussen. Rasmussen touched the puck to Kruger, who was streaking on the rush. Kruger then buried his shot from the right circle at 1 minute, 2 seconds for just his second goal of the season and second since the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Zajac gave the Devils the lead back with his second goal of the night in the second period on a power play when he roofed a shot past Crawford from the slot at 10:43. The goal came after an Artem Anisimov hooking penalty, but Anisimov would avenge that mistake a few minutes later when he tied the score at 2.
Anisimov was in good position to follow up a Duncan Keith rebound. He transferred the puck from his forehand to his backhand as Schneider tripped him. Anisimov scored as he was falling to the ice.
The Hawks got another goal from an unlikely source to take the lead late in the period.
Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson sent home a shot from the high slot for his third goal. His career high is four.
But Zajac completed his hat trick midway through the third period to tie it at 3.
Keith and Brent Seabrook finished with two assists each.
