Coyotes win again

NHL teams

"I think we thought this was going to be an easier game than it was," Phoenix coach Jim Schoenfeld said. "This is what you call an ugly win for us, but a win nonetheless."

The game also was 15th in a row in which the Coyotes have held opponents to two goals or less, the longest streak since the 1958-59 Montreal Canadiens set the NHL set the record of 18 straight.

Nikolai Khabibulin in the Coyotes net made 30 saves to win his seventh straight start and run his personal unbeaten streak to eight games (7-0-1).

Keith Tkachuk scored two goals and assisted on Jeremy Roenick's goal who also had an assist. Dallas Drake also had two assists in the Coyotes' league best sixth straight win.

"We kind of played a little terrible in the second period," Tkachuk said. "In the third, we came out gunning. I thought we played pretty good in the first, we had a lot of chances. In the second, they really took it to us and we sat back. Getting those two goals early puts them in a tough spot."

Tony Amonte scored his league-leading 14th goal and Ethan Moreau also had a goal for Chicago, which has lost three straight and won only once in its last 14 games (1-11-2). The Blackhawks again failed to get the 2000th victory in franchise history. Chicago is 1,999-2,098-750 since joining the NHL in 1926.