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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Here's a quick look at the Blackhawks' 1-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday night.

How it happened: The Blackhawks only won by a goal, but the final margin could have been bigger. Chicago controlled play for long stretches of the game, possessing the puck at Minnesota's end of the ice, and outshot the Wild 31-20. Jonathan Toews had a would-be goal blown dead in the first period, and Nick Leddy hit the crossbar in the second period. When Marian Hossa scored his first goal since March 16, slicing in front of a Clayton Stoner pass to Mikko Koivu and beating Niklas Backstrom, it would be all Chicago needed.

Player of the game: Hossa made an impressive play on the goal, picking off Stoner's pass in stride and burying his shot. He also was involved in the scrum on Toews' goal that was blown dead, and took two other shots in the game. And Ray Emery improved to 15-1 with his third shutout in his last five games. Emery continues to enhance his case as the No. 1 goalie. He made 20 saves in his third straight start.

What it means: The Blackhawks moved two points closer to securing the top spot in the Western Conference playoffs. They now lead Anaheim by five points, with a game in hand, and seem all but assured of the No. 1 seed.

What's next: Chicago returns home for two days off before playing host to the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night.

The Chicago Blackhawks agreed to terms with forward Garrett Ross, a 2012 fifth-round selection, on a three-year contract on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old Ross had 90 points, which included 44 goals and 46 assists, and a plus/minus rating of plus-31 in 61 games with the Ontario Hockey League's Saginaw Spirit this season. He ranked fourth in the league in goals and seventh in points.

The 6-0, 180-pound Ross had 170 points with the Spirit over four seasons. He was teammates with Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad on the Spirit from 2010-12.

With less than three weeks remaining in the shortened NHL season, a lot of things are up for grabs -- including the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year. Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher holds on to his top billing as this year's potential award winner, but there continues to be a serious charge from behind by Chicago's Brandon Saad who is near the top in all statistical categories and is playing some of his best hockey.

Here's a look at how things shape up this week (statistics are through April 7).

1. Brendan Gallagher, forward, Montreal Canadiens

Previous rank: No. 1

Early on, much of the talk for the Calder Trophy was centered on very high-profile rookies entering this season. When watching Gallagher, a former fifth-round pick play, you can't help but respect the fact that he has always overcome the odds. He's third in overall scoring (just two goals behind the leader), has three game-winning goals and is an impressive plus-9. It all adds up to him potentially winning the prestigious rookie award. One pro scout recently said, "When you watch the Canadiens play now it is common place to see this kid do special things." Standing 5-foot-9 has not stopped Gallagher from playing big.

Read the story here.

Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp will play against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday after missing 14 games because of an upper-body injury.

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CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks center Andrew Shaw is still too happy simply being in the NHL to be concerned which line he's playing on.

The 21-year-old Shaw, who is in second season in the NHL, was recently bumped from the third line to the fourth line while Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville fiddled with his lineup. The third line of Shaw, Bryan Bickell and Viktor Stalberg had been one of Quenneville's favorites for much of the season, but it recently struggled to consistently produce.

Despite the move, Shaw has remained upbeat and continued to play as he always does. He was rewarded Sunday with his first multi-point game of the season as he scored a goal and dished out an assist in the Blackhawks' 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators.

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It's no surprise the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins were ranked first and second again in ESPN's NHL Power Rankings on Monday.

Although they are dominant during the regular season, the Blackhawks (29-5-4, 62 points) and Penguins (29-10-0, 58 points) are unlikely to meet in the Stanley Cup if history is any indication.

Since the NHL went to a No. 1-8 conference seeding system in 1994, only once has the top seed of each conference played in the Stanley Cup when the West's Colorado Avalanche defeated the East's New Jersey Devils in 2001.

Here's a look at the every Stanley Cup since 1994 and the seeding of the teams involved:

2012: No. 8 Los Angeles Kings over No. 6 Devils
2011: No. 3 Boston Bruins over No. 1 Vancouver Canucks
2010: No. 2 Blackhawks over No. 7 Philadelphia Flyers
2009: No. 4 Penguins over No. 2 Red Wings
2008: No. 1 Red Wings over No. 2 Penguins
2007: No. 2 Anaheim Ducks over No. 4 Ottawa Senators
2006: No. 2 Carolina Hurricanes over No. 8 Edmonton Oilers
2004: No. 1 Tampa Bay Lightning over No. 6 Calgary Flames
2003: No. 2 New Jersey Devils over No. 7 Anaheim Ducks
2002: No. 1 Detroit Red Wings over No. 3 Carolina Hurricanes
2001: No. 1 Avalanche over No. 1 New Jersey Devils
2000: No. 4 Devils over No. 2 Dallas Stars
1999: No. 1 Dallas Stars over No. 7 Buffalo Sabres
1998: No. 3 Red Wings over No. 4 Washington Capitals
1997: No. 3 Red Wings over No. 3 Flyers
1996: No. 2 Avalanche over No. 4 Florida Panthers
1995: No. 5 Devils over No. 1 Red Wings
1994: No. 1 New York Rangers over No. 7 Canucks

Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp will travel with the team to Minnesota and might play for the first time in 14 games on Tuesday against the Wild.

Forward Dave Bolland won't travel with the team and remains out with a lower-body injury.

Sharp hasn't played since suffering an upper-body injury against the Colorado Avalanche on March 6. He has five goals and 13 assists in 24 games this season.

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said Sunday the Blackhawks have been cautious with Sharp's return.

"It'll be nice to get him going here," Quenneville said of Sharp before Sunday's game. "We probably added a couple extra days here to his time away. He's been skating well, and he wants to play. Look forward to getting him in the lineup because it gives us a lot more options with the lines as well."

Bolland has missed two games with a lower-body injury. He has seven goals and seven assists in 30 games this season.

Quenneville said Sunday that Bolland's injury is not serious.

The Blackhawks clinched a playoff spot with Sunday's 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators. The Blackhawks are in first place in the Western Conference with a 29-5-4 record and 62 points.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks have had to scratch and claw for a playoff spot the past few years. This season was a much different story.

In 2011, the Blackhawks clinched a playoff spot on the final day of the season. Last season, they achieved it with three games to go.

On Sunday, the Blackhawks became the first Western Conference team to secure a playoff spot by defeating the Nashville Predators 5-3 and improving to 29-5-4 with a league-best 62 points. With 10 games to go in the condensed 48-game regular season, the Blackhawks clinched their spot with 20.8 percent of the season remaining.

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CHICAGO -- Here’s a quick look at the Chicago Blackhawks' 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators at the United Center on Sunday.

How it happened: The Blackhawks responded from a one-goal deficit in third period to score two consecutive goals within 65 seconds to capture the win. After the Predators’ David Legwand put his team ahead 3-2 at 6:54 of the third period, Brandon Saad scored for the Blackhawks at 9:37 to tie the game, and Jonathan Toews put the Blackhawks ahead at 10:32. Patrick Kane added an empty-netter in the third period. Andrew Shaw and Bryan Bickell also scored for the Blackhawks. Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne made 35 saves, and Blackhawks goaltender Ray Emery made 20 saves and improved to 14-1-0.

Player of the game: Toews provided the game-winner. He also had an assist. He has 19 goals on the season.

What it means: The Blackhawks clinched a playoff spot with the victory. They defeated the Predators for the third time in the last week. The Blackhawks improved to 29-5-4 with an NHL-best 62 points. The Predators haven’t won on the road since March 12.

What’s next: The Blackhawks are back on the road as they travel to face the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville didn't dismiss the possibility of using two goaltenders in the playoffs.

"You never know," Quenneville said prior to Sunday's game with the Nashville Predators. "I don't want to say no. We'll see. It's nothing I'm worried about right now."

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CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks forwards Dave Bolland and Patrick Sharp will not play against the Nashville Predators on Sunday, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

Sharp will miss his 13th game since suffering an upper-body injury against the Colorado Avalanche on March 6. He has five goals and 13 assists in 24 games this season.

Quenneville said Sharp was close to playing, and there was a “good chance” Sharp would travel with the team when the Hawks play the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

“It’ll be nice to get him going here,” Quenneville said of Sharp before Sunday’s game. “We probably added a couple extra days here to his time away. He’s been skating well, and he wants to play. Look forward to getting him in the lineup because it gives us a lot more options with the lines as well.”

Bolland will miss his second consecutive game with a lower-body injury. He has seven goals and seven assists in 30 games this season.
Quenneville said “we’ll see” when asked if Bolland would travel to Minnesota.

“We don’t think it’s serious,” Quenneville said of Bolland’s injury.

The Blackhawks (28-5-4, 60 points) host the Predators (15-16-8, 38 points) at the United Center at 6 p.m. The Blackhawks defeated the Predators 1-0 in Nashville on Saturday.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- For the most part, the Chicago Blackhawks kept things simple in their defensive end in Saturday’s 1-0 win over the Nashville Predators, holding their opponents to just 20 shots after the Predators had a season-high 39 in their loss to Columbus on Thursday night.

That being said, there was the matter of the four-minute minor for high sticking assessed to forward Daniel Carcillo at the 7:58 mark of the third period when he caught defenseman Shea Weber in the face with a high stick as the two players fell along the boards. That set up a critical penalty kill that helped secure the victory and preserve goaltender Ray Emery’s second shutout of the season.

“That’s why it was such a big kill, the timing of it, the four minutes,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “They got an opportunity there, and I thought that was the key moment of the game, that kill.”

The Predators mustered only one shot in six minutes of power-play time Saturday afternoon, and that came in the first period, when defenseman Brent Seabrook was whistled for hooking Nick Spaling. After Carcillo was sent to the box in the third, several Chicago forwards turned up the pressure to prevent the Predators from creating very much sustained possession in the offensive zone.

“That’s a team that you really have to play some boring hockey against, and just kind of be in good defensive position and take advantage when you get the opportunities,” Emery said. “I thought we played that strategy to a T tonight, we got an early goal and we were really mindful of not giving them anything.”

Brandon Saad led all forwards with 1:38 of ice time during the four-minute penalty kill, followed by new acquisition Michal Handzus with 1:24 and Marcus Kruger with 1:23.

“We didn’t lose the momentum and did some good things not to give them some chances off of it,” Quenneville said.

The Blackhawks have killed off 85 percent of their penalties so far this season, good for sixth in the league, but they’ve been especially steadfast of late: They have not given up a power-play goal since March 14.

“Throughout the league, you’ll watch, the power plays are down in the league as far as numbers, and I think that helps,” Quenneville said. “We’ve got a couple guys over there that can hit it pretty hard. I thought the guys did a good job positionally.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- His spotless record might be in the past, but Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Ray Emery returned to the form he displayed throughout his 12-0-0 start to the 2013 season in Chicago’s 1-0 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

Emery made 20 saves, stood tall in the face of a frenetic final sequence and melted down the Predators’ best scoring chances with a handful of big stops on his way to his second shutout of the season.

“Rock solid, he did what he had to do,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “I thought he was in control around the net. Against that team, there’s a lot of scrambles, a lot of loose stuff. They create traffic, and I thought he found pucks and froze them and looked very big.”

Emery faced only five shots in the first period, but a handful of defensive lapses opened up opportunities for Nashville in the second and third. In the opening minutes of the second period, he stopped David Legwand’s backhand from the slot after defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson was stripped in his own end. Less than two minutes later, he stayed deep in his net to deny Nick Spaling’s open look from the top of the crease with a glove save.

Then in the final 90 seconds of the third period, he turned away all comers with the Nashville net empty and an extra attacker on the ice.

“That’s a tough team to play against,” Emery said. “We got the lead, I thought we did a great job of keeping that lead and playing well defensively, we got a few chances and made some big saves, and we were able to just keep that one-goal lead and win with it.”

Playing in his first game since a 2-1 loss to Anaheim on March 29, Emery’s goals-against average dropped to 1.95 with the shutout.

“He was a wall back there,” Bryan Bickell said. “He was our best penalty-killer, and in the late part of the game, he was there. They had some tight chances, but Ray Ray said no, and I think we were happy to get the shutout for him and go back home with the two points.”

NASHVILLE -- Here's a quick look at the Chicago Blackhawks’ 1-0 win over the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday afternoon.

How it happened: The Blackhawks jumped out to an early lead when Bryan Bickell fired home his seventh goal of the season at 5:31 of the first period. From then on, both offenses tightened up and struggled to put away their scoring chances. Daniel Carcillo took a 4-minute minor for high-sticking a 7:58 of the third period, but the Blackhawks killed it off without incident. Blackhawks goalie Ray Emery made 20 saves, and Predators goalie Pekka Rinne made 29 saves.

Player of the game: Emery withstood the Predators’ frantic pressure late in the game and recorded his second shutout of the season, pushing his record to 13-1-0.

What it means: If the Blackhawks get a similar effort from Michal Handzus the rest of the way, they’ll be more than satisfied with their primary trade deadline move. Handzus set up the lone goal and logged 15:00 of ice time in his second game with the team. Pending a few results from later on Saturday, the Blackhawks kept alive their opportunity to become the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season on Saturday. If the Edmonton Oilers lose in regulation and the Phoenix Coyotes lose in overtime or regulation, the Hawks are in.

What’s next: Both teams will head to Chicago for the back end of a home-and-home on Sunday evening, the teams’ third meeting this week. The Blackhawks are now 3-0 against the Predators this season.

NASHVILLE -- Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville said goaltender Ray Emery would get the start against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

It will be Emery’s 15th start of the season and his first since a 2-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on March 29. That loss dropped Emery’s record to 12-1-0 this season.

Forwards Patrick Sharp and Dave Bolland did not travel with the team to Nashville, and Quenneville would not say whether either would be available for the back end of the home-and-home series on Sunday in Chicago.

Sharp will miss his 13th game since sustaining an upper-body injury on March 6 against Colorado. Bolland did not return to Monday night’s game against Nashville after blocking a shot off the stick of Predators defenseman Shea Weber in the first period, but he logged 12:57 of ice time and was a minus-2 in Thursday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the St. Louis Blues. Quenneville expected Marcus Kruger to take over second-line center duties in place of Bolland.

“I think Krugs will probably be in there today,” Quenneville said.

The Predators will also have a slightly different look from the teams’ most recent meeting after trading forward Martin Erat and prospect Michael Latta on Wednesday to the Washington Capitals for forward Filip Forsberg, the 11th overall pick in the 2012 draft.

“Whether it’s (Erat) or any of the forwards, they play the same way,” Quenneville said. “They come at you, they’re relentless, they check well. They’re a tight group, the five guys, they all seem to move together. No matter who’s in or out of those lines and that role, you can expect a hard-working type of team that gets to the net.”