CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks lost No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford to a lower-body injury three weeks ago, forcing the Stanley Cup champions to hand the
net over to an untested rookie from Finland. The Blackhawks had no idea what
they had in Antti Raanta. They hoped for the best, and they got it. Raanta made
26 saves in his first NHL shutout, Brandon Saad scored in the first period, and
Chicago beat Los Angeles 1-0 on Monday night, sending the Kings to their first
three-game losing streak in nearly a year. "There was only one goal for us, so I
knew if we wanted to win the game, I had to stop all the pucks," Raanta said. "I
thought about it maybe the last two or three minutes." With Crawford nearing a
return, Raanta improved to 10-1-3 while bouncing back from one of his worst
performances. He allowed two late goals in Chicagos 6-5 shootout loss at St.
Louis on Saturday. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was non-committal when
asked about the teams goalies after Crawford returns. But it is hard to imagine
Raanta returning to the minors after the impressive start to this NHL career.
"Its a nice situation," Quenneville said. "He really, really helped solidify
something that looked a little bit concerning at that time." Saad scored his
sixth goal in his last 11 games. Chicago, which leads the NHL with 158 goals,
played its lowest-scoring game since a 2-1 shootout win at Dallas on Nov. 29.
Los Angeles Martin Jones made 29 saves in his second straight loss after
beginning his career with eight consecutive wins, tying the NHL record. The
Kings, who have yielded a league-low 80 goals, played a tough, physical game
after losses to Dallas and Nashville. But they are on their first three-game
slide since dropping the opening three games of last season in January. "We had
our chances. They had some chances," Kings centre Mike Richards said. "We just
didnt capitalize on our looks at the net." Chicago forward Patrick Kane had a
career-best point streak snapped at 14 games. He had eight goals and 17 assists
in the surge. Last seasons Western Conference finalists faced off for the second
time this season. The Blackhawks scored three first-period goals, and Raanta
made 21 saves in a 3-1 victory over the Kings on Dec. 15. Raanta lost his
shutout chance in that one when Kings defenceman Alec Martinez scored with 3:54
remaining. This time, he finished the job. Raanta faced his biggest test in the
second period when Dustin Brown made a strong charge to the net. The 24-year-old
Finn turned away the rush by the Kings captain, and then stopped him again when
he was awarded a penalty shot. "Its nice to have a great 60 minutes," Raanta
said. "Last game in St. Louis, it wasnt so great the last three minutes, so its
nice to bounce back like this." Anze Kopitar also had a chance in front of
Chicagos net with 2 minutes to go, but Raanta was there when the centre tried to
stuff the puck into the net. The Kings had a couple of chances to stop the
Blackhawks scoring chance that produced the only goal. Bryan Bickells pass to
Saad went off the stick of Los Angeles defenceman Matt Greene, and Richards had
an opportunity to knock away the puck before Saad flipped it in at 7:05 for his
14th goal. "It was just a broken play, and their guy was able to pick up the
loose puck," Jones said. "I mean thats the difference in the hockey game right
there, a broken play like that. The little things make a big difference." The
Blackhawks appeared to have a second goal in the third, but Andrew Shaws tip-in
was waved off because his stick was above his shoulders. NOTES: Browns penalty
shot was Los Angeles first this season and the sixth against the Blackhawks. ...
Crawford participated in the morning skate, but didnt play. He has missed 10
games. ... Kane is the only NHL player with multiple point streaks of at least
10 games. ... The Kings scratched Martinez and forwards Daniel Carcillo and
Matt Frattin. ... The Blackhawks also scratched defencemen Michael Kostka and
Sheldon Brookbank. ... The teams will meet once more on Feb. 3 in Los Angeles.
MINSK, Belarus -- Canadas Margaret Purdy and Michael Marinaro moved up two spots
Thursday to finish fifth in pairs at the world junior figure skating
championships. Purdy, from Strathroy, Ont., and Marinaro, from Sarnia, Ont.,
seventh after Wednesdays short program, delivered the fifth best free skate to
finish with a score of 141.76 points. Katherine Bobak and Ian Beharry of
Waterloo, Ont., were seventh. "It wasnt the easiest skate we ever had but we are
happy with it," Marinaro said. "There were mistakes but we did most of our
planned moves. This was a very tough field and to get a top-five is very
satisfying." Wenjing Sui and Cong Han won their third consecutive world junior
crown with a score of 175.69, while Chinese teammates Xiaoyu Yu and Yang Jin won
silver with 167.48. Vasilia Davankova and Andrei Deputat of Russia were third
with 153.66. Bobak and Beharry wereent pleased with their
performance.dddddddddddd. "We could have done better," Beharry said. "But this
was our first world juniors and first year together so I guess its not bad."
Hayleigh Bell of Acton, Ont., and Alistair Sylvester of Stratford, Ont.,
finished 12th. In mens singles, Liam Firus of North Vancouver, B.C., was seventh
after the short program, posting a personal best score of 62.10. Nam Nguyen, a
13-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., who is the youngest male skater in the
competition, was 18th. "I felt really good out there," said Firus. "I was
especially pleased to land my triple-triple toe and Axel. There was a little
stumble but I bounced back from that and had a really good score." Less than two
points separate the top three with American Joshua Farris in the lead, Han Yan
of China second and Denis Ten of Kazakhstan third.
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