Hawks outlast Coyotes 5-4 in shootout, then reacquire Kris Versteeg from Florida

Jonathan Toews and rookie Brandon Pirri scored in a four-round shootout, and the Blackhawks beat the Phoenix Coyotes 5-4 on Thursday night for their fourth straight win.Radim Vrbata had the lone shootout goal for Phoenix, 7-1-1 in its last nine games.Pirri tied the score 4-all 3 minutes into the third, and 4 seconds after a Hawk power play had elapsed. He connected on a midair deflection of Brent Seabrook’s drive from the top of the circle.Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa also scored in regulation for the Blackhawks, who extended their point streak to eight games (7-0-1).The Hawks fired a season-high 52 shots through overtime at Coyotes goalie Mike Smith.

Then after the game. the Hawks announced today that they have reacquired forward Kris Versteeg and forward Phillippe Lefebrve from the Florida Panthers in exchange for forward Jimmy Hayes and defenseman Dylan Olsen. Lefebrve will report directly to the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL.

“We are excited to bring Kris back to Chicago and are pleased to add a player with his experience and versatility to our lineup” said Vice President and General Manager Stan Bowman. “Kris is well respected within our organization and will be able to make a seamless transition to our team because of his familiarity with many of our players and with Coach Quenneville. This move strengthens our team depth and Kris’ skill is a great complement to our current roster.”

Versteeg, a member of the Blackhawks 2010 Stanley Cup championship team, has registered seven points (2g, 5a) in 18 games this season with the Panthers. The 27-year-old forward recorded a season-high two points on two occasions (Oct. 11 vs. PIT and Nov. 10 at NYR).