Tootoo, Campbell unlikely heroes in latest Blackhawks victory

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Jordin Tootoo fights Nashville’s Cody McLeod during the first period Saturday night. (Getty Images)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After he had finally broken through with his first goal — his first point, even — in his 38th game of the season, Jordin Tootoo raised his stick high above his head with one hand, and unleashed a ferocious fist pump with the other. He held the pose for maybe a second or two before Duncan Keith — not exactly the most demonstrative player — bear-hugged him from behind and smushed him into the boards with a huge smile on his face. Tootoo was then greeted by a giddy bench, delivering the traditional fist-bumps as he skated by.

Tootoo has barely played in half of the games this season. And he likely won’t play much down the stretch, or in the playoffs. But you could see how much his teammates enjoy having him around by the way they celebrated his second-period goal Saturday night. Which, naturally, followed a first-period fight.

“He got in a fight and gave us momentum, he drew a penalty that we scored on, he scored a goal, and he [generated] a lot of momentum on his shifts,” Brian Campbell said. “He hasn’t played a whole lot lately. [But] he’s the first one out there [in practices] helping the goalies out. It’s nice that he gets some recognition.” 

It was Campbell who scored the game-winning goal with 65 seconds left in the game in the Blackhawks’ 5-3 victory — their seventh straight win, their second straight dramatic win, their 12th win in their last 13 games, and their franchise-record eighth straight road win. And it was Patrick Kane who had two more goals, giving him 14 in his last 13 games.

But it was Tootoo who was the unlikely star of the show, a force throughout the game against his former team.

“Kind of takes the monkey off my back,” he said of his goal. “Feels good. Bottom line is we got two points against a divisional team, and that’s all we care about.”

The Hawks now sit atop the Central Division and the Western Conference, though Minnesota — one point back — has three games in hand. Even without their top-line left wing, their proposed shutdown pairing, and their backup goalie, the Hawks just keep rolling.

“It’s fun, but we want to keep moving along here, keep trying to get points,” coach Joel Quenneville said.

The Predators came out firing, peppering Corey Crawford with the first 10 shots of the game, all in the first five minutes. But Tootoo’s fight seemed to give the Hawks life, and after he drew a high-sticking penalty, Kane scored from the left circle at 16:23. Tootoo then pounced on a Brent Seabrook rebound at 11:03 of the second to make it 2-0.

The celebration was short-lived, however, as Viktor Arvidsson bulled his way past Keith for a goal just 1:17 later to make it 2-1. Jonathan Toews popped in a power-play goal at 19:03 of the second, but Calle Jarnkrok beat Crawford from the left circle just 14 seconds later to make it 3-2. Arvidsson beat Crawford again with a sharp-angle shot over the shoulder at 4:13 of the third to tie it up, but Toews set up Campbell in the slot for the game-winner, and Kane sealed it with the empty-netter in the final minute.

The Hawks were shorthanded and short on sleep, but for the past month, they never seem to be short on heroics.

“The last couple games, it’s just having that belief to the end, no matter what happens throughout the game,” Kane said. “Stay patient and hang in there, and have that belief.”

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@MarkLazerus.

Email: mlazerus@suntimes.com

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