Ryan Johnson, Dave Bolland and Patrick Kane scored in a 4:32 span early in the third period to break open a tight game, and the  Blackhawks beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 on Friday to extend their season-high winning streak to seven games. Jonathan Toews and Bryan Bickell scored in the first period for the surging Hawks, who led only 2-1 after 40 minutes. Toews has goals in four consecutive games, scoring six times and adding two assists in the span. He also stretched his points streak to eight games, with seven goals and seven assists during the run.Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner scored for the Hurricanes, whose two-game winning streak ended.Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp and Chris Campoli each had two assists to help the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks pull ahead of Los Angeles and Phoenix for fourth place alone in the tight Western Conference standings. Carolina fell into eighth place in the East, a point behind the New York Rangers.Corey Crawford, making his 10th straight start, made 18 saves. Rookie Justin Peters started in goal for Carolina, ending a string of 24 straight starts by Cam Ward.Peters was shakey on three of the Hawk goals,and gave up easy rebounds all night. Peters finished with 24 saves as the Hurricanes played their second game in two nights, following a victory a home over Buffalo.After Toews forced Cory Stillman to turn over the puck, the Chicago captain opened the scoring 55 seconds in on the first shot of the game. Toews knocked the puck off Stillman’s stick in the right circle of the Carolina zone, then Sharp fed it back to him in the slot.Staal tied it at 6:23, exploiting a coverage breakdown.Stillman and Erik Cole broke down the ice and eventually were taken out of the play by the Blackhawks’ defense. But Staal swooped in alone on a loose puck in the slot and fired it past Crawford.Bickell put the Hawks back ahead 2-1 midway through the period. Brent Seabrook’s shot from the point hit the post, and Bickell slid the rebound under Peters.Both teams had prime opportunities in the loosely played, but scoreless second. Late in the period, Toews fired a puck toward an open net during a power play with Peters out of position. But Hurricanes defenseman Jay Harrison stopped the shot with his stick just before it crossed the goal line.Johnson, Bolland and Kane scored early the third period to put the Hawks in charge. Johnson made it 3-1 with his first goal as a Blackhawk 2:50 into the third. He cut to the net off left wing and his apparent centering pass deflected in off Carolina defenseman Joni Pitkanen.Just over a minute later, Bolland fired in a rebound of Hossa’s shot to extend the lead to 4-1. Set up by Sharp, Kane beat Peters from the right circle at 7:22 to make it 5-1. Skinner connected from the crease with 7:51 left to complete the scoring.

NOTES—Johnson, hampered by injuries, played in just his 17th game with the Blackhawks after signing as a free agent last summer. … The Blackhawks began a stretch of five straight games against Eastern Conference teams…..The Hawks next four games are on the road. During the trip, the Blackhawks will visit the White House on March 11 before a March 13 game in Washington. … Peters made his first start since Jan. 9 and first appearance since Jan. 17 when he relieved Ward in a 5-2 loss in Boston.It showed.

ORLANDO—Derrick Rose had 24 points and Luol Deng added 16 to help the Bulls hang on for an 89-81 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday night in a matchup of two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.The Bulls bounced back from one of their worst games of the month against Atlanta on Wednesday to post their eighth victory in 10 games. Orlando’s loss snapped a four-game winning streak, and a five-game run against the Bulls at home.Dwight Howard led Orlando with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but also picked up his 16th technical of the season. He faces a one-game suspension Monday night against Portland if the foul is not rescinded by the NBA. Jason Richardson and Brandon Bass each chipped in 16 points.The Bulls end a five-game road trip Sunday at Miami.

ST. LOUIS—Kyle Weems scored on a driving shot in the lane with 1.4 seconds to go, capping top-seeded Missouri State’s 11-0 closing run in a 58-56 victory over Southern Illinois on Friday in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals.Weems, the conference player of the year, scored all but one of his 14 points in the second half after missing all seven shots in the first half. He finished 5-for-15 but made his last three shots, two of them 3-pointers.Adam Leonard scored 20 points for Missouri State (24-7), with two of his five 3-pointers coming in the finishing surge. The Bears beat eighth-seeded Southern Illinois for the third time despite shooting 33 percent.Mamadou Seck had 15 points and 14 rebounds for Southern Illinois (13-19). The Salukis’ last points came with 2:48 to go when Justin Bocot scored on a drive for a 56-47 lead.

SURPRISE—Matt Garza was bruised, though certainly not battered.Garza gave up one single in two scoreless innings Friday, then pulled from the Cubs’ 5-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals after he was hit by a liner off the bat of Jeff Francoeur.The ball ricocheted off Garza to shortstop Starlin Castro, who threw out Francoeur at first base. Cubs manager Mike Quade and the trainer rushed to the mound, but Garza shook off the pain and finished the inning by retiring two more hitters.Max Ramirez came in to hit for Garza, who threw 20 strikes in 26 pitches.Garza joked about the timing of his removal.The Cubs jumped out to a 4-0 lead with Tyler Colvin going 3 for 3, including a home run in the first off Bruce Chen and an RBI double in the fifth off Patrick Keating.Royals rookie Eric Hosmer tied it in the sixth with a grand slam off left-hander John Gaub, who walked Alcides Escobar, Mitch Maier and Mike Moustakas to load the bases.Maier singled home Joaquin Arias, who led off the seventh with a single, for the go-ahead run. Maier is 8 for 8 with two walks in his past 10 plate-appearances to raise his average to .667 during spring training.

NOTES—Colvin, normally an OF, played 1B for the first time since he was a sophomore at Clemson. … Garza forget to pack his uniform and instead of his No. 17 wore No. 94. … The Royals have won five of six, while the Cubs have dropped five of their first six games. … Royals DH Alex Gordon went 0 for 3 and struck out twice, and is hitless in nine at-bats. He has drawn five walks and been hit by a pitch.

TEMPE—Jake Peavy pitched two scoreless innings for the White Sox on Friday against the Angels in his first outing since ripping his right shoulder last July.The 2007 NL Cy Young winner struck out two and walked one in the Angels’ 3-1 win. Peavy reached 92 mph with a fastball that Los Angeles star Torii Hunter grounded into a double play.Right-hander Scott Kazmir worked three scoreless innings, and Howie Kendrick had a pair of RBI singles for the Angels. Kazmir allowed two hits with a walk in his first spring start.Dozens of White Sox fans seated near the third-base dugout gave Peavy a standing ovation when he finished. He had not pitched in a game since he sustained a detached muscle in his shoulder during a game against the Angels.Peavy was limited to 17 starts last season with the White Sox and went 7-6 with a 4.38 ERA. Injuries have limited him to 20 starts since he was acquired from San Diego at the trade deadline in July 2009 for four players, including left-handed starter Clayton Richard.Peavy said the plan is for him to pitch Wednesday against San Francisco.White Sox reliever Chris Sale struck out two and allowed one hit in an inning of relief, and Jessie Crain allowed a run and two hits in one inning while taking the loss.Angels reliever Scott Downs worked a scoreless inning of relief, as did fellow lefty Hisnori Takahashi, who fanned two.

NOTES—Peavy threw 26 pitches, 16 for strikes. … Kendrick finished 2 for 3, as did Mark Trumbo, who doubled.

ST. LOUIS—Justin Bocot scored 13 points, including a key 3-pointer with 5:49 left that gave Southern Illinois the lead for good, as the eighth-seeded Salukis advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating No. 9 seed Illinois State 57-54 Thursday night in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.Kendal Brown-Surles and Mamadou Seck each added 10 points for the Salukis, who won their first game in the tournament since 2007. Southern Illinois (13-18) will play top-seeded Missouri State (23-7) Friday.Illinois State (12-19) was led by Austin Hill’s 13 points. Tony Lewis had 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.Bocot’s 3-pointer broke a 46-46 tie. ISU appeared to tie it at 55 on a long jumper by Hill with 12 seconds left. But after review, the shot was ruled a two-pointer, and SIU went up by three on John Freeman’s slam dunk 6 seconds later.

ST. LOUIS—Dyricus Simms-Edwards 26 points and nine rebounds, career highs in both categories, to lead Bradley to a 63-48 win over Drake in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Thursday night.Andrew Warren added 15 points for 10th-seeded Bradley (12-19), which will face No. 2 seed Wichita State (23-7) in a quarterfinal game Friday night.Rayvonte Rice led seventh-seeded Drake (13-18) with 13 points. Ryan Wedel added 11 points, and Kraidon Woods had 13 rebounds.Simms-Edwards, who hit 11 of 18 shots, has scored at least 15 points in each of his last six games. He teamed with Warren to score 25 points during a 28-7 run that put the Braves ahead 59-42 with 2:53 left.Bradley, which has won six of its last nine, beat Drake 90-64 on Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams.

MESA—There were no fights in the dugout and only one costly error.All in all, not a bad day for the Cubs.Zambrano pitched three scoreless innings in his second spring start, but a split squad of Texas Rangers rallied to beat the Cubs 8-7 on Thursday.The Cubs were far from fine Wednesday, when pitcher Carlos Silva groused about the fielding behind him as he came off the field following a three-error first inning against Milwaukee that included two homers and six runs. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who dropped a pop fly in the inning, had to be separated from Silva by teammates and coaches.Quade responded by holding a team meeting before practice Thursday, and the manager said the matter has “been put to bed.”  Ramirez, who hit a two-out RBI single in the first against the Rangers, said Wednesday the altercation was a misunderstanding and he had moved on. Silva has declined to talk to reporters.Quade said the dugout scuffle was only part of the reason for the meeting, and he spoke mostly about the slew of errors and mental lapses so far this spring.The Cubs’ lone error against Texas came in the sixth, when non-roster infielder Scott Moore dropped a low throw to first. Mitch Moreland hit a three-run homer off Rafael Dolis later in the frame.Zambrano allowed two hits and walked two, then complained of arm fatigue following the outing. But the right-hander called the issue normal for spring training, and Quade said the team is not concerned.American League MVP Josh Hamilton went 0 for 2, including a drive to the warning track in right in the first. Michael Young singled and walked in two trips to the plate for the Rangers.

GLENDALE—John Danks tossed two hitless innings in his spring debut and the White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 6-1 Thursday for their first spring training win.Danks walked two of the eight batters he faced.Gavin Floyd, Mark Buehrle and Jackson also turned in hitless starts for the White Sox this week.Adam Dunn also had a nice day, appearing at first base in his first time in the field this spring and registering his first hit in a White Sox uniform, a single in the fourth inning. He came around to score when Alex Rios went deep for Chicago’s first homer this spring.Luke French threw three scoreless innings for Seattle, allowing two hits and striking out two. French is competing for a spot in the Mariners’ rotation.It was a big improvement from his spring debut, when he allowed two runs and six hits in two innings on Sunday against the Padres.The Mariners’ lone run came on a bases-loaded walk in the sixth inning. They went hitless in 12 chances with runners in scoring position.

NOTES—Jake Peavy will make his spring debut Friday against the Angels. … With Dunn at the plate, French picked off Gordon Beckham at first base to end the third inning. …Milton Bradley went 1 for 2, making him 5 for 8 (.625) so far this spring.

The Blackhawks are starting to look like their old selves.And Jonathan Toews looks as if he’s taking his game to a new level.Toews scored two goals and the Hawks held off the Calgary Flames 6-4 on Wednesday to extend their winning streak to a season-high six games.Michael Frolik had a goal and two assists for surging Chicago, 8-1-2 in its last 11. Brian Campbell, Dave Bolland and Marian Hossa each had a goal and an assist.Toews has led the Blackhawks’ revival with five goals in his last three games. He also extended his points streak to seven, with six goals and seven assists in that span.Former Hawk Rene Bourque scored twice and Jarome Iginla connected once in the third period for the Flames, who fell short in trying to come back from a 4-1 deficit. Alex Tanguay added a goal and an assist for Calgary, which lost in regulation for only the second time in its last eight games.Calgary is 13-3-3 in its last 19. The Flames also have climbed back into playoff contention in the West.Corey Crawford made 21 saves in his ninth straight start.Calgary’s Miikka Kiprusoff started and allowed four goals on 19 shots before being replaced by Henrik Karlsson to begin the third period. Karlsson stopped nine of 10 shots.Pulling Kiprusoff was a response to the Flames’ sloppy coverage, not the goalie’s effort, Calgary coach Brent Sutter said.Tanguay stretched his points streak to six games and has three goals and seven assists during the run.Toews opened the scoring 6:46 in, capping a crisp, cross-ice passing play with linemates Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane. Toews was wide open at the right side of the crease and fired in a shot before Kiprusoff could slide across.Tanguay tied it midway through the first on a power play, beating Crawford with a high screened shot from the left circle.Frolik made it 2-1 with 1:35 left in the period when he drove to the net and scored his first goal since Dec. 17 with Florida. It also was his first point in 10 games since being acquired from the Panthers in a trade Feb. 9.Campbell and Toews scored 1:22 apart late in the second to put the Hawks in charge, 4-1. Campbell rifled in a power-play goal from the top of the right circle and Kiprusoff down with 4:49 left in the period.Toews scored his second goal with 3:27 left in the second when he muscled across the slot and beat Kiprusoff with a screened shot.After Karlsson replaced Kiprusoff, the Flames started the third with a flurry. Bourque cut it to 4-2 at 1:24 of the period on Calgary’s fifth shot of the frame when he fired in a loose puck from the edge of the crease.Iginla ripped in a screened shot from the crease at 8:44 to make it 4-3 Just over two minutes later, however, Bolland connected from the right circle to make it 5-3. Bourque scored his second goal, on a long rebound, with 3:56 left to trim it to 5-4.Hossa scored into an empty net with 39 seconds left.

NOTES—Chris Campoli, acquired from Ottawa on Monday, played his first game for the Blackhawks…..The Flames are 19-5-6 since Dec. 21 when they bottomed out at 14-18-3, and 17-5-6 since Darryl Sutter stepped down as general manager on Dec. 27….The Hawks host Carolina Friday night.