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Chicago loses third in a row (plus Toews) against Penguins

NHL: Pittsburgh Penguins at Columbus Blue Jackets

Mar 28, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) celebrates with goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

USA Today Sports

The Chicago Blackhawks didn’t just lose Jonathan Toews to an upper-body injury on Sunday, they also fell 4-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins, dropping their third game in a row in the process.

In that span, they’ve been out-scored 12-4. They’ve also lost four of five contests and have generally looked wobbly since Patrick Kane was injured on March 19 (going 2-4-0 since then).

No doubt about it, though; the biggest loss would be their 25-year-old captain if that left arm (or possible shoulder) issue either keeps him out of action or hampers him greatly as the team attempts to defend its championship in the playoffs.

Update: The early word is that it isn’t a significant problem, but we’ll see.

Here’s one more look at Brooks Orpik’s hit on Toews:

It’s looking exceedingly likely that the Blackhawks will face the Colorado Avalanche in a first-round series, and at the moment, it looks like the Avs might gain home-ice advantage. Colorado holds one more standings point (100 to 99) and has eight games remaining to Chicago’s six.

While the Blackhawks’ star captain left with an injury, the Penguins’ answer to Toews seemed as strong as ever. Sidney Crosby scored the last two goals of the game to ice it for Pittsburgh, giving him 36 goals on the season. He’s now at 99 points in 75 games played; as of this writing, Ryan Getzlaf is the only other player who has even exceeded 80 points on the season (81).

The Penguins are really just playing to get tuned up at this point, so this could be a confidence booster (while the ‘Hawks might just leave this one with slumped shoulders).

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins