Bruins fight for playoffs

Bruins roster

"When I got the hat trick, I was really happy. It had been a long time," said Kristich, who had only one goal in his previous 12 games. "We played well as a line and create a lot of opportunities in their zone."

The Bruins were the most improved team in the NHL last season, but this year the team appears to have regressed. At the moment Boston trails eighth-place Florida by two points for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

The Bruins had a 4-0 lead early in the second with two goals from Khristich, who fished his hat trick in the third period, Ray Bourque and Cameron Mann. However, Alexei Zhamnov, Chris Chelios and Eric Daze then scored to cut the Bruins' lead to 4-3 after 40 minutes.

"We forgot in the second period how to do a good job and let them back into the game," said Khristich, who leads the Bruins with 24 goals.

Bruins coach Pat Burns replaced Tallas with Byron Dafoe at the start of the third period.

"We came out playing one way, then changed halfway through and decided to play another way," Burns said. "We responded in the third period and played the same way we did in the first."

The Blackhawks fell to 2-10-1 in their last 13 games and 19 games under the .500 mark overall (16-35-8).

"It's frustrating. Guys aren't competing on a nightly basis," Chicago coach Dirk Graham said.