EAST RUTHERFORD—So now the Bulls lost the season series(2-1)to the lowly New Jersey Nets!!!!  Terrence Williams had a text message from north of the border waiting for him after the New Jersey Nets’ stunning double-overtime win over the Bulls.Williams was certainly the catalyst in the Nets’ big win that prevented the Bulls from taking over the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.He had a career-high 27 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in leading New Jersey to a 127-116 victory and becoming the first Nets rookie to post a triple-double since 2001.The Bulls’ loss coupled with the Raptors’ loss in Atlanta left the teams tied for eighth in the conference with 38-41 records and three games left in the regular season. The teams meet in Toronto on Sunday. The Raptors have the tiebreaker should they finish with the same record. Derrick Rose had 25 points before fouling out in the second overtime. The Bulls easily could have won this game, one which they rallied from a 12-point, fourth-quarter deficit.However, they allowed Brook Lopez to slam home a rebound with 0.1 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and then blew a seven-point lead with 69 seconds to go in the first overtime.The Nets (12-67) got the job done by scoring the final seven points in the first overtime and the first seven in the second extra session.Lopez added 26 points and 14 rebounds, and Harris scored 19 as the Nets won for the fifth time in nine games. Yi Jianlian chipped in with 15 points and 12 rebounds.Brad Miller scored a season-high 27 points with 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who lost for only the fourth time in 11 games.After Harris put New Jersey ahead for good, Williams hit a jumper to stretch the lead to 116-112 with 3:12 to play. Harris hit one free throw on the play Rose fouled out, then set up Yi for a dunk with 2:19 to play that seemingly took the air out of the Bulls, who were playing their second game in two nights.The Bulls nearly had the game locked up in the first overtime, scoring the first seven points and eventually leading 112-105 with 1:07 to play.New Jersey rallied, taking advantage of two turnovers by Rose in the final minute. Lopez hit two free throws to tie the game at 112 with 12.8 seconds to play and Rose missed a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer.The Nets were in danger of losing in regulation before Lopez made a spectacular rebound stuff of a missed floater by Courtney Lee to tie it at 103.The play was not without controversy, because replays seemed to show the ball might have been on the cylinder when Lopez jammed it home. Del Negro appealed for the officiating crew to review the play, but it was not reviewable.New Jersey used a 20-10 run bridging the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth to open an 87-76 lead on a layup by Josh Boone. The Bulls outscored the Nets 17-7 in the final 4:42 of regulation, with Miller scoring 12 in the run.The Bulls,who had not led since early in the third quarter, took a 100-99 lead when Joakim Noah tipped in a missed drive by Rose for a 100-99 lead with 48.6 seconds to go.A drive by Harris got New Jersey within 102-101 with 4.6 seconds left and Rose left the door open, making 1 of 2 free throws with 3.6 seconds remaining in regulation. Lopez’s controversial stuff forced the overtime.

J.J. Hardy never recovered from a slow start last year, so it’s safe to say he’s enjoying this.Hardy drove in Joe Mauer with a single in the 11th inning, and the Minnesota Twins beat the White Sox 4-3 on Friday night for their fourth straight win.The go-ahead rally started when Mauer, pinch hitting for rookie Drew Butera, drew a leadoff walk against Tony Pena (0-1). He was sacrificed to second by Denard Span and moved to third on Orlando Hudson’s line drive to deep center.That set the stage for Hardy, who fell behind 0-2 before knocking a 2-2 slider past diving shortstop Alexei Ramirez to make it 4-3.Hardy’s hit made a winner of Brian Duensing (1-0), who pitched two scoreless innings. Jon Rauch worked the 11th for his third save in three chances, although the White Sox threatened.Alex Rios singled with one out but got caught stealing, and Omar Vizquel followed with another one before Span made a diving catch on Ramirez’s sinking liner to center to end the game. Pena took the loss despite allowing just one hit in three innings.Justin Morneau had three hits for the Twins, Hardy had two more to put his early average at .333, and Jim Thome received a standing ovation when he pinch-hit for Nick Punto in the 10th. He responded by tipping his helmet and then struck out in his first appearance at U.S. Cellular Field since the White Sox traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers last season.The White Sox had runners on first and second with one out in the bottom half after back-to-back singles by Gordon Beckham and Carlos Quentin, but Mark Teahen grounded into a double-play to remain hitless this season.The White Sox, meanwhile, continue to struggle at the plate. They’ve scored three runs in each of their three losses since a season-opening 6-0 win over Cleveland and were just 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position on Friday.John Danks and Minnesota’s Francisco Liriano each threw six innings.Danks, a 13-game winner last season, allowed two runs and struck out six while walking one against a team that had nine homers and at least one in each of the first four games.Liriano, coming off a five-win season, allowed three runs and four hits.The Twins scored two in the sixth to take a 2-1 lead, but the White Sox responded with two in the bottom half. Their bullpen just couldn’t protect the one-run cushion.Scott Linebrink walked Span leading off the seventh and Hardy with one out before Morneau tied it at 3 with a double to the right-field corner off Randy Williams. The White Sox intentionally walked Michael Cuddyer to load the bases for Jason Kubel, who fouled out. Rookie Sergio Santos then struck out Delmon Young and pumped his fist as he walked off the mound.

NOTES—At 4-1, the Twins are off to their best start since 2007….Span broke an 0-for-10 skid with a single in the first….Omar Vizquel made his White Sox debut, starting at third.

CINCINNATI—-Drew Stubbs figured the pitch would be somewhere in the strike zone. His guess was right on, and so was his timing.Stubbs hit his first career grand slam off Esmailin Caridad in the eighth inning, rallying the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-4 victory Friday night that left the Cubs with a sense that they’d let yet another one get away.The Reds managed only three hits in the first seven innings, then took advantage of Caridad (0-1), who walked only one batter during 14 spring training appearances. Under much more pressure in a game that mattered, the right-hander quickly got himself in trouble.Caridad walked the first two batters, and Chris Dickerson bunted for a single that loaded the bases and brought up Stubbs.Stubbs knew that Caridad wouldn’t want to walk him, too, so he expected a strike and got it on the second pitch.Stubbs flipped his bat away as he left the batter’s box, knowing that nobody was going to catch the ball. It landed deep in the Reds’ bullpen area for a 5-3 lead.It was the second time that the bullpen failed to hold a late lead. On Wednesday, Chipper Jones hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning off John Grabow for a 3-2 Atlanta win.The Cubs fell to 1-3 because of the two bullpen breakdowns and a lineup that has failed to hit consistently.Micah Owings (1-0) got the victory with three innings in relief of Homer Bailey. Francisco Cordero converted his first save chance of the season, barely holding the lead.Derrek Lee hit a solo homer that cut it to 5-4. Chicago loaded the bases with two outs on Kosuke Fukudome’s single, third baseman Scott Rolen’s fielding error and Mike Fontenot’s infield single, his fourth of the game. Pinch-hitter Chad Tracy hit a check-swing grounder back to Cordero for the final out.Stubbs, who also tripled, has been one of the Reds’ few consistent hitters during the opening week. His first homer of the season broke open a game between two teams struggling to hit.Right-hander Carlos Silva held the Reds to one run in six innings – Stubbs tripled to open the first, then scored on Orlando Cabrera’s sacrifice fly. Silva settled in on a chilly, 54-degree evening, preventing the Reds from rallying until he was out of the game. He left when his shoulder began to stiffen.The Cubs failed to make the most out of a ragged start by Homer Bailey, who went deep in counts and lasted only five innings. The 23-year-old Bailey was trying to extend his sensational closing stretch of 2009, when he had a 1.70 ERA in his last nine starts – the best in the majors during that span. A little wildness got in the way. Bailey gave up seven singles in five innings, but also walked two batters, hit two and committed a balk. He needed 106 pitches to get that far, the best sign of how much he struggled.Aramis Ramirez hit a sacrifice fly, and Xavier Nady and Lee had run-scoring singles off Bailey.The Reds’ starting lineup featured three first-round draft picks: Bailey (2004), right fielder Jay Bruce (2005) and Stubbs (2006). Right-hander Mike Leake, the Reds’ top pick last year, will make his debut on Sunday. Nady started in RF as Piniella continued to give his reserves some playing time, looking to spark the offense.

NOTES—One of the Reds’ mascots walked around the field pregame with a cardboard sign that read, “Got Goat?” a reference to the Cubs’ mythical curse from 1945…..Carlos Zambrano is 1-5 in seven career starts against Cincinnati’s Aaron Harang. They go head-to-head again on Saturday.

For the Bulls, it’s rather simple. Win their last four games,and they make the playoffs. Of course easier said than done.LeBron James watched from the sidelines, nursing some bumps and bruises, and Antawn Jamison might be joining him there.For a team with championship aspirations, the Cleveland Cavaliers are looking a little vulnerable.Derrick Rose scored 24 points, Kirk Hinrich had 23 and the Bulls gave their playoff hopes a big boost by surviving some shaky free-throw shooting down the stretch to beat the Cavaliers 109-108 with James on the sideline Thursday night.The Bulls moved into an eighth-place tie with Toronto in the Eastern Conference with one more meeting between the teams. Although the Raptors already own the tiebreaker, Chris Bosh is injured.Whoever comes out ahead figures to meet Cleveland in the first round, no easy task no matter how banged up the Cavaliers are. While James sat for precautionary reasons, Antawn Jamison suffered a bruised right foot while scoring 23 points, and both are questionable for Friday’s game against Indiana. Throw in Shaquille O’Neal’s thumb injury, and the league’s top team isn’t exactly a picture of health.Mo Williams of Cleveland led everyone with 35,including six 3 pointers.Luol Deng had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Joakim Noah added 17 points and 15 boards, and the Bulls prevailed even though Rose and Deng each missed two free throws in the final 15 seconds.The Bulls let a 12-point third-quarter lead disappear and couldn’t put Cleveland away after going back up by seven in the fourth. They made enough stops down the stretch, though.Taj Gibson blocked Williams’ layup with 26 seconds left, and Williams missed a turnaround jumper with Hinrich draped on him. Deng then missed two free throws after getting fouled on the rebound with 14.4 seconds left, but the Cavaliers couldn’t take advantage after he missed both shots. Anderson Varejao put up an airball on a jumper after a few head fakes and Jamario Moon had a layup blocked by Noah with 1.9 seconds left.Rose missed two free throws, but Noah got the rebound, preserving the victory. With the league’s best record locked up and the playoffs approaching, Brown is taking a cautious approach with James. The last thing he needs is to see his superstar go down like Bosh, who suffered a facial injury against the Cavaliers, or Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut.So James watched from the sideline dressed in a suit.

NOTES—Williams scored 12 on four 3-pointers in the fourth, and Jamario Moon added nine of his 14 in the quarter….Delonte West missed his second straight game with lower back spasms….Sebastian Telfair had eight points in his first appearance since the Cavaliers acquired him from the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team deal….The Bulls’ remaining games are at New Jersey on Friday and at Toronto on Sunday. They host Boston on April 13 and visit Charlotte the following day.

ATLANTA—Randy Wells and the Cubs called on their Georgia connections to get their first win of the season.Tyler Colvin, who was born in Augusta, Ga., and Marlon Byrd, from Sprayberry High near Atlanta, hit home runs and Wells pitched six scoreless innings to lead the Cubs past the Atlanta Braves 2-0 on Thursday night.Carlos Marmol stranded two baserunners in the ninth inning for his first save.Atlanta’s Chipper Jones left the game after the third inning with a strained right oblique and said he may miss the team’s weekend series at San Francisco.Colvin and Byrd said they grew up as Braves fans. Colvin’s hometown is across the state line in North Augusta, S.C. He said it was easy to pull for the Braves as a kid.Pinch-hitter Eric Hinske hit a fly ball to deep center field which allowed Escobar to advance to third base, but Marmol struck out Melky Cabrera to end the game.Wells (1-0) allowed six hits with two walks and stranded three runners on third base. Wells left runners on first and third in the second inning and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third when Troy Glaus hit into a double play to end the inning. Escobar hit into a double play with runners on first and third to end the sixth inning. Hanson (0-1), third in the 2009 NL Rookie of the Year voting, gave up four hits and two runs in 5 1/3 innings. Wells was sixth.Jones said he first felt pain in his side during batting practice. He said it “really stung” after taking a big swing in the third inning. He remained in the game, drew a walk from Wells and was forced out at third later in the inning.Omar Infante replaced Jones to start the fourth inning.Martin Prado had three hits for Atlanta.Braves manager Bobby Cox used the same lineup for the third straight game. Outfielder Matt Diaz, expected to share time in left field, may start at San Francisco on Friday against left-hander Jonathan Sanchez.Piniella said he’ll continue to find playing time in the outfield for Colvin and Xavier Nady. Piniella said he plans to start Nady at Cincinnati on Friday. Colvin hit his first major league homer in the second inning. Colvin, who hit .468 in spring training to win a roster spot, gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead with the shot into the right field seats. He started for Alfonso Soriano in left field.A fan threw the home-run ball back onto the field. A ball boy then tossed the ball into the stands by the right-field line as Cubs players yelled from the edge of the dugout for Colvin’s souvenir to be saved.Byrd’s fourth-inning homer increased the lead to 2-0. The Cubs managed only four hits.Wells, who combined with four relievers on the eight-hit shutout, outpitched Tommy Hanson in a matchup of top 2009 rookies. The Cubs avoided a three-game sweep.John Grabow, who gave up Jones’ two-run homer in the eighth inning of the Braves’ 3-2 win on Wednesday night, was called on in the eighth again. He walked Brian McCann, the only batter he faced, to put runners on first and second.Marmol ended the inning when Troy Glaus grounded out to third base.Marmol gave up a leadoff single to Yunel Escobar in the ninth. Rookie Jason Heyward, who was 0 for 4, struck out on three pitches before Marmol walked Nate McLouth.

NOTES—Marshall retired the only two batters he faced while appearing in his third straight game. Esmailin Caridad added a scoreless inning behind Marshall. … Cubs LHP Ted Lilly has a stiff back and won’t make his scheduled minor league rehabilitation start for Triple-A Iowa on Friday. The start was pushed back to Sunday. Lilly is on the 15-day disabled list as he recovers from shoulder surgery. … The Braves claimed RHP Cristhian Martinez off waivers from Florida and assigned Martinez to Triple-A Gwinnett. Martinez, 28, was 1-1 with a 5.13 ERA in 15 games, all in relief, with Florida in 2009.

Asdrubal Cabrera hit a tiebreaking, two-out single in the 11th inning and Grady Sizemore drove in three runs Thursday night, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 5-3 victory over the White Sox.The Indians won two of three in the opening series and moved over .500 for the first time since they were 81-80 on the next-to-last day of 2008.Luis Valbuena opened the 11th with a bunt single off J.J. Putz (0-1). He went to second on Lou Marson’s sacrifice and, after Putz struck out Michael Brantley, Cabrera dumped a single into right field to put Cleveland ahead. Sizemore followed with his second RBI double of the night.Jensen Lewis (1-0) worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Chris Perez pitched a perfect ninth for his second save.After Carlos Quentin’s two-run homer off Joe Smith gave the White Sox a 3-2 lead in the seventh, the Indians tied it against Matt Thornton in the eighth when Travis Hafner singled and scored on Jhonny Peralta’s two-out, two-strike double.Both starting pitchers performed well, with Cleveland’s Justin Masterson allowing one run on four hits in five innings and Gavin Floyd giving up two runs on five hits in six innings.The pitching staffs combined for 28 strikeouts. Floyd contributed seven of the Sox 16.The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the third as Brantley singled, advanced on Floyd’s errant pickoff throw and scored on Sizemore’s single. They went up 2-0 in the fifth when Brantley walked and came all the way around on Sizemore’s two-out double.The White Sox pulled within a run in their fifth when Quentin drew a bases-loaded walk off Masterson, who then struck out Paul Konerko to get out of the jam.

NOTES—Former White Sox (and Indians) slugger Jim Thome’s new team, Minnesota, comes into U.S. Cellular Field for a series starting Friday. Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen says he’s not sorry he valued versatility and speed over what a 39-year-old Thome could have brought to the DH job. “Do we miss him? Yes, but we’re going a different direction,” Guillen said. “I talked to Jimmy about why he can’t be here. I don’t have enough at-bats for him. At least I was honest with him.” … Indians 1B Russell Branyan (sore back) began a rehab assignment Thursday at Triple-A Columbus. He went 3 for 3, doubled and drove in a run. …Alexei Ramirez fouled off nine pitches in the third inning before Masterson struck him out on the 14th pitch of the at-bat.

Duncan Keith, Ben Eager, Bryan Bickell and Kris Versteeg scored in a 3:08 span in the first period and the Blackhawks held on to beat the St.Louis Blues 6-5 on Wednesday for their fifth straight victory.Andrew Ladd and Jordan Hendry also scored to help the Hawks reach a franchise-record 109 points and tie San Jose for first place in the Western Conference.Versteeg added three assists to set a career high for points in a game and become the first Blackhawk player to have a four-point game this season.David Perron, Roman Polak, Erik Johnson, T.J. Oshie and Brad Boyes scored for the Blues, who nearly overcame a 6-1 deficit. St. Louis played its first game after being eliminated from playoff contention Tuesday night when Colorado beat Vancouver.Blues forward Keith Tkachuk announced his retirement before the game. The 38-year-old Tkachuk played his 1,200th game Monday night, but was scratched Wednesday night because of a lower-body injury. He will play his final home game Friday night.Marian Hossa left the game after one shift in the second period because of an unknown injury. Hossa appeared to have sustained the injury after being hit and knocked to the ice by St. Louis left wing Brad Winchester at 8:07 of the first. Hossa played several shifts after the incident. Antti Niemi made 26 saves in his seventh straight start and 10th in the last 11 games.St. Louis starter Chris Mason was replaced by Ty Conklin 7:43 into the first after allowing three goals on four shots. Conklin gave up three goals on 22 shots.Perron opened the scoring 4:22 in with 20th goal, scoring on rebound when he was left open at the edge of the crease.Then the Blackhawks scored four goals on six shots in just over three minutes.Keith tied it at 1 at 6:17 when he pinched into the left circle and completed a give-and-go with Versteeg during a 4-on-4.Just under a minute later, Eager banged in a loose puck from the crease to make it 2-1. Bickell scored 30 seconds later and sent Mason to the bench when his screened 45-foot shot from the left boards sailed over Mason’s glove into the top corner. Versteeg’s short-handed goal at 9:25 capped the flurry. He scored from the slot after moving 2-on-none with Patrick Sharp and taking Sharp’s feed.Ladd stretched it to 5-1 at 5:54 of the second on wrist shot from the left circle. Hendry made it 6-1 midway through the second, before Polak cut it to 6-2 with 4:08 left in the period. Johnson converted a wrist shot from the left circle at 3:43 of the third to make it 6-3, and Oshie trimmed it to 6-4 with 6:16 remaining.Boyes closed it to 6-5 on a penalty shot with 30.9 seconds remaining. He was awarded the attempt after he was hacked by Dustin Byfuglien on a breakaway.

NOTES—Hossa has 24 goals and 26 assists in 50 games this season. He missed the Blackhawks’ first 22 games following offseason shoulder surgery. … The Blackhawks recalled Bickell from Rockford of the AHL on Wednesday. …Tomas Kopecky sat out with an undisclosed injury, as did D Kim Johnsson who missed his 13th game. RW missed Troy Brouwer missed his second straight game due to personal reasons. St. Louis D Barret Jackman and C Patrik Berglund sat out with upper-body injuries.

ATLANTA—Chipper Jones hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Atlanta Braves held off the Cubs 3-2 on Wednesday night.Martin Prado hit a one-out double off John Grabow (0-1), ending a string of 15 consecutive outs by Braves batters, before Jones connected for his first home run of the season.Peter Moylan (1-0) worked around a hit and a walk during a scoreless eighth and Billy Wagner finished for his first save with Atlanta. Alfonso Soriano singled with one out in the ninth but Wagner responded by striking out pinch-hitter Xavier Nady and Geovany Soto to end the game.Braves phenom Jason Heyward hit an RBI double in the second and finished 1 for 3 with two strikeouts. The 20-year-old rookie homered and drove in four runs in his major league debut on Monday.The Cubs scored two unearned runs off Jair Jurrjens in the fifth to take a 2-1 lead. With one out and the bases loaded, pitcher Ryan Dempster hit a sharp grounder to first base that Troy Glaus bobbled for an error, allowing Soriano to score. Ryan Theriot followed with a sacrifice fly to center.Soriano helped set up the inning when he beat out a potential double-play grounder in a close play. Braves manager Bobby Cox briefly argued first-base umpire Marvin Hudson’s call.Jurrjens allowed five hits over five innings, with two walks and two strikeouts.Dempster gained momentum after the third, striking out Heyward and Nate McLouth to open the fourth and Melky Cabrera and Martin Prado to open the fifth. He finished with nine strikeouts in six innings yielding only three hits.

NOTES—Glaus had four strikeouts, giving him six in his first two games with the Braves. … Kosuke Fukudome singled and stole second in the eighth, the Cubs’ first stolen base of the season. … CF Jordan Schafer, who opened the 2009 season as the Braves’ starter, had his left hand and wrist examined, and was scheduled to report to the team’s minor league camp on Thursday. After being sent down to Triple-A Gwinnett last season, Schafer had season-ending surgery on the wrist on Sept. 5 and has been discouraged that the injury has been slow to heal. … Former Atlanta RHP John Smoltz, who has not retired but has agreed to work on some local telecasts of Braves games, visited the Braves’ dugout during batting practice. Smoltz also will serve as an analyst for the TBS and MLB.com networks.

Fausto Carmona allowed one hit over six wild innings and the Cleveland Indians rallied to beat the White Sox 5-3 Wednesday night for their first win under manager Manny Acta.Grady Sizemore drove in two runs, and Matt LaPorta delivered the tiebreaking double in the seventh after the Indians erased an early 3-0 deficit.Jake Peavy struggled through five innings and failed to protect the lead after Paul Konerko delivered a sacrifice fly and his second two-run homer in as many games.The Indians scored three against Peavy in the fourth to tie it and took the lead in the seventh, when Shin-Soo Choo led off with a single against Randy Williams (0-1) and scored from second when LaPorta doubled to center against Tony Pena. They got another run in the ninth on Andy Marte’s bases-loaded grounder to third. Carmona (1-0) got the win despite walking six on a night when the game-time temperature was 43. Aaron Laffey and Joe Smith then shut down the White Sox before Chris Perez worked the ninth for his first save.He walked Mark Kotsay with one out before Alex Rios struck out. Marte made a diving stop on A.J. Pierzynski’s grounder to end the game.Peavy had a tough act to follow after Mark Buehrle’s season-opening gem and was nowhere near as dominant as he was at the end of last season, when he went 3-0 in September. Instead, the 2007 NL Cy Young winner struggled through five innings, allowing three runs and seven hits while walking two and hitting two batters.The early lead disappeared when the Indians sent up nine batters in the fourth.Peavy hit Mike Redmond to load the bases with one out before Michael Brantley singled in a run. Sizemore tied it with a two-out, two run single to right, and Choo walked to reload the bases before Travis Hafner ended the inning with a fly to center.That rally quieted a crowd that was chanting “Paulie! Paulie!” after Konerko went deep in the third.

NOTES—Andruw Jones will usually play the outfield when he’s in the White Sox’s lineup rather than serve as the designated hitter, manager Ozzie Guillen said. He’s still part of the DH committee, though. “I’m not going to say he’s not DH-ing – he might be DH-ing,” Guillen said. “But Andruw’s in the lineup, why not take advantage of his glove?” A winner of 10 straight Gold Gloves with Atlanta, Jones hasn’t started this season. … Acta said 1B Russell Branyan, out with a bad back, will likely start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus this week. … Acta wouldn’t put the blame on C Lou Marson for Jake Westbrook’s club record-tying four wild pitches in the opener. “It’s not easy to block pitches in the dirt,” Acta said. “It’s very unpredictable at times.”

DALLAS—Marian Hossa scored 36 seconds after the opening faceoff, Colin Fraser had the first of his two goals in the final minute of the first period, and the Blackhawks stretched their winning streak to four games with a 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.Antti Niemi made 26 saves in his sixth straight start, and Jonathan Toews contributed a short-handed goal for the Blackhawks.Joel Quenneville hasn’t officially named Niemi as his playoff starter over Cristobal Huet, but that seems to be the direction in which Quenneville is leaning based on recent starts.Jonathan Toews also scored for the Central Division champs, who have three games left to pass San Jose for top playoff seed in the West.Steve Ott connected on the power play to reach the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career, and James Neal scored his 27th goal of the season for Dallas.Rookie Matt Climie stopped 33 shots for the Stars, who have been eliminated from playoff contention and have two games left.Dallas will miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season, something that hasn’t occurred since 1987 and 1988 when the franchise was in Minnesota.Hossa gave the Hawks early momentum when he skated around Dallas defenseman Nicklas Grossman and to the net where he converted Toews’ centering pass for his 24th goal of the season.Fraser’s deflection at 19:28 of the opening period pushed the lead to 2-0.The Blackhawks dominated the first period with a 15-5 edge in shots.Toews capitalized on a 2 on 1 rush during a penalty kill for his 24th goal of the season at 5:58 of the second period to give the Hawks a three-goal pad.Ott struck on the power play 64 seconds later to pull Dallas within 3-1.Fraser scored his second of the night and fourth of the season at 2:27 of the third period, and Kane made it 5-1 with his 30th of the season at 9:53 of the third.Neal’s goal at 12:45 of the third narrowed the deficit to 5-2.

NOTES—The Hawks host St.Louis Wednesday night, travel to Colorado Friday,then close the regular season with Detroit at the United Center Sunday afternoon. If they win all three remaining games,they would earn the #1 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs no matter what San Jose does…..The teams split the four-game season series. … Dallas has gone 7-10-2 since the Olympic break to fall out of the playoff race. … Former U.S. goaltender Jim Craig performed the ceremonial puck-drop before the game. … Dallas LW and captain Brenden Morrow was scratched due to a bruised foot sustained in Saturday night’s 2-1 loss at St. Louis. … Climie made his fourth career NHL appearance in what will be his only start this season. Coach Marc Crawford will use Marty Turco and Kari Lehtonen in the final two games. … Brad Richards assisted on Neal’s goal for his 91st point, tying a career high.