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Wednesday, Mar. 8 7:30pm ET
Battaglia a one-man show in third | |||||
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BOX SCORE
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- One of the more unlikely players notched the first hat trick in the new home of the Carolina Hurricanes. Bates Battaglia scored three third-period goals as the Hurricanes won their third straight, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 Wednesday night. Battaglia, who grew up in Chicago as an avid Blackhawks fan, hit the side of the empty net twice in the final minute before getting the natural hat trick in the final seconds -- the first by any player through 32 games in the Entertainment and Sports Arena. "I'm sure it's different for everybody, especially when it's your first," Battaglia said, "but I had goose bumps all over when I got that last goal." Battaglia, in his first full season in the NHL, had success on the team's top line to open the season, but was demoted and then benched in midseason after going 15 games without a point and 21 without a goal. "It's all about consistency and you've got to come every night and play as hard as you can," said Battaglia, who now plays on the team's third line and is a team-leading plus-19. The Hurricanes, who matched their season-high winning streak, improved to .500 for the first time since Jan. 9 and remained in contention for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. Boris Mironov's shot from the right circle beat Arturs Irbe high on his glove side 45 seconds into the third period to tie it 1-1. Battaglia scored his 12th goal 1:43 later as he shook off defenseman Anders Eriksson in the corner, skated to the front of the net and beat Jocelyn Thibault from point-blank range. Battaglia iced it with 2:48 left with a 30-foot slap shot and added an empty-netter with 7.7 seconds remaining for his first hat trick of his short career. "I'm sure the parents were watching back home and I'm sure they're pretty happy about it," Battaglia said. Carolina scored five goals in three straight games for the first time since the 1993-94 season on its West Coast road trip, but found few scoring chances against the last-place team in the Central Division until the third period. After a scoreless first, Glen Wesley joined the rush and was able to beat Thibault low on the glove side from the slot for his sixth. Ron Francis received one of the assists to give him a five-game point streak. Carolina's defense scored an NHL-low 15 goals last season, but Wesley's was the unit's 32nd this season. "We just tried to keep things simple, get pucks deep," Wesley said. "We knew this was three games in four nights for them and I thought we took it to them pretty well in the third period." The Blackhawks were 0-for-2 on the power play and are just 1-for-19 with the man-advantage in six games. "I don't question our work ethic," Chicago coach Lorne Molleken said. "They capitalized and we didn't. Their three goals were situations that were unforced." Chicago was without 23-goal scorer Eric Daze (back spasms) and No. 2 scorer Doug Gilmour (bruised ribs). | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Chicago Clubhouse Carolina Clubhouse RECAPS Buffalo 2 Boston 1
Carolina 4 AUDIO/VIDEO   Bates Battaglia goes for the hat trick against Chicago.avi: 548 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1   | |||||