The Morning After: Bulls, 'Hawks Best Foes

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Apr 3, 2010 3:30PM

Blackhawks Shoot-Out Devils
It was a dramatic win on Friday night for the Blackhawks as they beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in a shoot-out. The Devils took an early 1-0 lead in the first, but it would be the only goal Antti Niemi would allow all night. After going the entire night scoreless, the 'Hawks caught a break with less than 30 seconds left when a Kris Versteeg shot deflected off the skate of New Jersey's Mike Mottau and past Devils goalie Martin Brodeur - thanks to a little nudge on Mottau from Jonathan Toews - to tie the game at 1-1. Once the game went to shoot-out, it was once again Toews who would play an important part, scoring the only goal for either team and Niemi was only forced to make one save in the shoot-out to clinch the victory. Overall Niemi had 32 saves on the night. It was also the first NHL game in a little over nine years without a penalty. With the win, the 'Hawks are three points away from clinching their first division title since 1993 and are three points back of San Jose for first place in the Western Conference. Next up is an Easter afternoon affair against the Calgary Flames (2 p.m., WGN).

Bulls Down Wiz
The Bulls made a stop in Washington and wound up with a 95-87 win over the Wizards. Despite awful shooting, the Wizards were able to keep things close until the fourth quarter when the Bulls held them to just 12 points. More importantly, the Bulls are beginning to get healthy. Both Rose (24 points) and Noah (10 points, 8 rebounds) were in the starting lineup and Luol Deng came off the bench for 14 points. The Bulls remain 1.5 games back of Toronto with seven games to play. They return home to face Charlotte tonight (7 p.m., WGN).

Spring Training
The White Sox took the first of a two game series in Atlanta with a 7-2 win. Meanwhile, the Cubs gave up three runs late to fall to the Diamondbacks 5-3.