Blackhawks 3, Hurricanes 1: Andrew Shaw capped his two-goal performance with a late empty-netter and captain Jonathan Toews notched his 500th career point with an assist as visiting Chicago edged Carolina.

Corey Crawford turned aside 43 shots – 18 in the second period – and allowed two or fewer goals for the eighth time in nine games while reaching the 30-win plateau for the fourth time in his career. Patrick Sharp recorded a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, who moved within two points of idle Nashville for second place in the Central Division.

Rookie Victor Rask scored his 11th goal of the season as the Hurricanes lost to Chicago for the second time this month and dropped to 1-4-3 over their last eight contests. Anton Khudobin made 22 saves in his fifth straight start.

The Blackhawks scored on their first two shots of the game, starting with Shaw’s one-timer off a centering pass by Marcus Kruger from below the end line 7:48 into the contest. Sharp zipped up the slot to redirect Marian Hossa’s pass from the left-wing boards 79 seconds later for a 2-0 lead.

The Hurricanes outshot Chicago 19-6 in the second session but only could cut the lead in half at 3:54, when Rask chipped in the rebound after captain Eric Staal’s breakaway attempt was denied. Crawford absorbed plenty of pressure in the final 20 minutes as well, stopping all 15 shots he faced while Shaw sealed the win with 40 seconds to go.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Chicago's Joel Quenneville notched his 750th career victory, joining Scotty Bowman and Al Arbour as the only NHL coaches to reach the plateau. … Sharp has registered three two-point performances in the last five games after going without one in his previous six contests. … There was only one penalty called in the game – a holding minor on Kruger 99 seconds into the first period. … Carolina registered the first 12 shots on goal in the second session.