Blackhawks beat Wild in shootout

A shootout victory gave the Chicago Blackhawks their fifth straight road win, 4-3 over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday in a clash of the top two teams in the NHL Western Conference. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews scored in the shootout, while Toews also gave Chicago the lead in the third period only for Mikko Koivu to make it 3-3 a few minutes later and send the game to overtime. Marian Hossa and Michael Frolik had given the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead with second-period goals 89 seconds apart, but Kyle Brodziak and Matt Cullen answered for the Wild later in the period to tie the game. The Wild lead the NHL with 44 points. The Blackhawks, who are 7-1-1 in their past nine games, have 42.In Ottawa, Tim Thomas made 47 saves to help Boston down Ottawa and make it three straight wins.