BLACKHAWKS WIN DESPITE PLAYING WITHOUT STARS

» The Blackhawks are taking a more direct approach to generating offense without injured star forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. So far, it’s working. Rookie Jeremy Morin scored and set up Patrick Sharp’s goahead goal in the second period, and injury-depleted Chicago held on to defeat the Blues 4-2 on Sunday for its third consecutive victory.

The Blackhawks ground out the victory despite playing without Toews’ powerful skating and Kane’s puck-handling skills for the third game. Forward Brandon Saad was a last-minute scratch.

We’ve simplified our game quite a bit,” said Sharp, who scored his team-leading 33rd goal.

The Blues, who were shut out by Colorado on Saturday, have scored two goals or fewer in eight of their past 10 games.

St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said his team is looking a “little bit tired” and needs to “find a way to re-energize” and start skating, buzzing and shooting again in the offensive zone.

“Our offensive game is based on offensive energy,” Hitchcock said. “When we don’t have it, we don’t have near enough zone time.

“We score by volume (of chances), and when we don’t get the volume, we don’t score. The last couple of games, we haven’t gotten the volume we normally get.” SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS Boone Jenner and Mark Letestu each had a goal and an assist, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 31 shots for his second shutout of the week to lead the Blue Jackets past the Islanders 4-0. The Blue Jackets, desperate to hang on to a playoff spot in the East, matched a season high with three power-play goals. … Sean Bergenheim scored with 4:31 left to break a third-period tie, and the Panthers snapped a fivegame losing streak in a 3-2 win over the Stars. Bergenheim put the Panthers ahead for good when he redirected Colby Robak’s drive from the left circle into the net. … Brayden Schenn scored two goals, and the Flyers broke a four-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Sabres. Philadelphia maintained third place in the Metropolitan Division, and with four games remaining, the Flyers trail the second-place Rangers by two points, but have a game in hand. … Taylor Hall scored a power-play goal and added two assists to lead the Oil

to a 4-2 win over the Ducks.