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CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks recalled goaltender Carter Hutton from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL on Thursday.

Blackhawks goaltender Ray Emery was not present for Thursday's practice at Johnny's IceHouse West. Emery is 16-1-0 with a 1.91 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.

The 27-year-old Hutton had a 26-22-1 record with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage in 51 games with the IceHogs this season.

Hutton has not played in any NHL games in his career. He's played in the ECHL and AHL over the last four seasons. He was signed by the Blackhawks as a free agent on Feb. 24, 2012.

The Chicago Blackhawks clinched the top seed in the Western Conference on Wednesday.

The Blackhawks, who were idle Wednesday, secured the No. 1 seed when the Anaheim Ducks lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in overtime. With the defeat, the second-place Ducks, who are 27-10-6 with 60 points, are now unable to catch the Blackhawks, who are 33-5-4 with 70 points. The Ducks can't catch the Hawks in regular-plus-overtime wins, which would be the tiebreaker if they both finished with 70 points. The Ducks have 21 regulation and overtime wins with five games remaining, and the Blackhawks have 27.

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said earlier Wednesday his team hoped to capture the top seed.

"I think how we're playing is priority," Quenneville said after Wednesday's practice. "If we're playing the right way, hopefully we can get points. We'd love to finish on top. That's our motivation. How we go about it, I think we don't want to change too much how we're playing. Our goal was to be first in our division. If we can be more than that, that would be great. I think we're at the point where it'd be a nice achievement."

The Blackhawks last led their conference in points when they had 106 to top the Clarence Campbell Conference during the 1992-93 season.

The Blackhawks also lead the NHL in points this season and could win their first Presidents' Trophy since the 1990-91 season. The Pittsburgh Penguins trail the Blackhawks with a 33-10-0 record and 66 points.

As of Wednesday, the Blackhawks would open the playoffs against the Blue Jackets, who overtook the Detroit Red Wings for the No. 8 spot with their win over the Ducks. The Blackhawks have defeated the Blue Jackets in four one-goal games this season.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville and his players expressed excitement Wednesday about the possibility of playing an outdoor game at Soldier Field next season.

The NHL is planning six outdoor games for next season, sources familiar with the plan confirmed to ESPN.com on Tuesday. One of the games would be for the Blackhawks to face the Pittsburgh Penguins at Soldier Field on March 1.

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CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp participated in Wednesday's optional practice and is questionable for Friday's game against the Nashville Predators.

Sharp, who has five goals and 13 assists in 26 games this season, has missed the team's past two games with an upper-body injury. He also recently sat out 14 games due to an upper-body injury. He had been back for two games before his latest injury.

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Scott Powers enters the Blackhawks chat room at 1 CT.

Submit questions here and come back for the chat.

The NHL is in the final planning stages of its much-anticipated series of outdoor stadium games next season with six outdoor contests set to take place in football and baseball stadiums across North America, sources familiar with the plan confirmed to ESPN.com Tuesday.

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Barry Melrose looks at the candidates for the most favorable first round matchup for the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville's decision on a playoff goalie won't be an easy one with Corey Crawford and Ray Emery playing equally well.

They're both among the league leaders in goal-against average and save percentage, and the Blackhawks have won with both in the net.

But the bigger question may be whether it really matters which one Quenneville picks. While both goaltenders have been consistent, there's also the fact the Blackhawks defense just isn't allowing opponents many opportunities to score.

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CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks were worried about their third-period play not too long ago.

Just last month, the Blackhawks dropped three of four games -- twice to the Anaheim Ducks and once to the Los Angeles Kings -- due to their play in the third period. Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane went as far as calling it the team's first adversity of the season.

The Blackhawks guaranteed the issue would be addressed and addressed it has been. In their last six games, all wins, the Blackhawks have outscored their opponents 8-2 in the third period.

On Monday, the Blackhawks were tested and responded again in the third period. The Dallas Stars evened Monday's game at 2-2 with a goal at 3:07 of third period. One minute and 24 seconds later, the Blackhawks answered with a goal from Andrew Shaw and tacked on two more goals on their way to a 5-2 win.

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CHICAGO -- The questions Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews answered about the team's power play after games last season aren't that much different than the ones he's gotten this season.

The only difference now is the Blackhawks are winning despite their power-play struggles.

The Blackhawks went their ninth consecutive game Monday without a power-play goal as they were shut out on four chances in their 5-2 win over the Dallas Stars. Despite their power-play woes, which have included 19 consecutive scoreless power plays, they have gone 8-0-1 during the stretch.

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CHICAGO -- Here's a quick look at the Chicago Blackhawks' 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars at the United Center on Monday:

How it happened: The Blackhawks allowed an early goal in the third period to tie the game at 2-2, but they bounced back with three unanswered goals in the period to pull out the win. Andrew Shaw gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 advantage at 4:31, and Niklas Hjalmarsson provided another goal at 7:46. Marian Hossa, who had three points in the game, scored an empty-netter in the final minute. Jamie Benn scored both goals for the Stars. Jonathan Toews and Viktor Stalberg accounted for the Blackhawks' first two goals. Toews now leads the Blackhawks with 21 goals. Blackhawks goaltender Ray Emery made 15 saves and improved to 16-1-0 on the season. The Blackhawks failed on four power-play chances and haven't scored a power-play goal since March 29.

Player of the game: Shaw scored his second game-winner of the year. He also had an assist in Monday's win and now has 15 points on the season.

What it means: The Blackhawks extended their winning streak to six games while snapping the Stars' five-game winning streak. The Blackhawks are also on an eight-game points streak. They improved to 33-5-4 with an NHL-best 70 points. The Stars fell to 21-18-3 with 45 points and still trail the Detroit Red Wings by two points for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks defeated the Stars in all three games this season.

What's next: The Blackhawks continue their three-game home stand with the Nashville Predators on Friday and the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp will miss his second consecutive game Monday against the Dallas Stars due to an upper-body injury.

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Chicago Blackhawks' tickets for the first two rounds of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs went on sale at noon on Monday.

Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com and by calling 1-800-745-3000. Each customer is limited to four tickets.

The Blackhawks are currently in first place in the Western Conference with a 32-5-4 record and 68 points. As of Monday, they would face the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs, which begins on April 30.

ST. LOUIS -- Having already clinched the division title, the Blackhawks' next goal is to secure the top spot in the Western Conference.

Sunday's 2-0 win over the St. Louis Blues opened a nine-point advantage for the Blackhawks over second place Anaheim, who lost on Saturday night and will not play again until Wednesday night.

The Blackhawks have seven games remaining in the regular season, starting with Monday night's home game against the Dallas Stars, while the Ducks have six games to play.

The Blackhawks also increased their lead to four points over the Pittsburgh Penguins for the top overall spot in the NHL.

“We're watching (the standings)," Quenneville said.

ST. LOUIS – The Chicago Blackhawks got an early indication of the kind of game they can expect in the playoffs on Sunday, courtesy of the St. Louis Blues.

Playing a rough, physical game, including some extra pushing and shoving after the whistle had blown, the Blues hoped that style of play would knock the Blackhawks off their game.

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