COLUMBUS, Ohio _ An ugly loss to the Coyotes was barely in the rear view mirror and a tough meeting with the Lightning, a strong Stanley Cup contender, loomed 24 hours away.
That hot Blackhawks start was in jeopardy of soon becoming a middling one if the Hawks couldn't find a way to take at least a point from the host Blue Jackets.
Just one point? The Hawks decided to take two.
Marcus Kruger's skate redirected a shot from Alexandre Fortin and past Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with 12 minutes, 17 seconds left in the third period to snap a tie and send the Hawks to a 4-1 victory Saturday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Patrick Kane scored with 4:14 left and added an empty-netter _ his seventh and eighth goals of the season _ to seal the victory. Corey Crawford had 37 saves for his first victory since returning from last season's concussion.
The Hawks improved to 4-1-2.
