Blue Jackets stay hot with season-sweep shutout over Blackhawks
Jet Greaves made 21 saves for Columbus' second consecutive shutout in their 4-0 win over visiting Chicago on Wednesday night.
It was the final game before the Olympic break for both teams.
The Blue Jackets shut out the New Jersey Devils 3-0 in Newark on Monday night behind Elvis Merzlikins. Greaves got the fourth shutout of his career and second of the season on Wednesday.
Columbus has not allowed a goal in 146:25 of game time.
Defensemen Zach Werenski and Ivan Provorov, Danton Heinen and Sean Monahan scored for the Blue Jackets, who won their seventh straight and have 11 wins in their last 12. Charlie Coyle had two assists.
Spencer Knight stopped 16 shots for the Blackhawks, who lost for the sixth time in seven games (1-4-2).
Goals by defensemen gave the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead in the first period.
Werenski got his 20th, 4:46 into the game when his shot from the bottom of the left circle off the rush deflected in off the skates of both Blackhawks' defensemen, Louis Crevier and Alex Vlasic.
Provorov scored with 7:10 left in the opening period on another shot from the bottom of the left circle. It came just seconds after Chicago's Ryan Donato leveled Columbus' Mason Marchment, who got the second assist, with a check at the top of the left circle.
Heinen made it 3-0, 2:55 into the second period to capitalize on a turnover by the Blackhawk's Nick Foligno in his own zone. Heinen also beat Knight from the bottom of the left circle.
Monahan added an empty-net goal with 4:27 left.
Chicago defenseman Wyatt Kaiser left with a lower-body injury after Werenski was checked awkwardly into Kaiser's leg a little over seven minutes into the first period. That left Chicago with five defensemen for the remainder of the contest.
The Blackhawks' Colton Dach left the contest early in the second period with an undisclosed injury.
The Blue Jackets' Kirill Marchenko missed his second game with an illness.