CHICAGO -- Ben Smith wasn’t expecting any style points for how the Chicago Blackhawks pulled off their 5-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

A prime example of that was the Blackhawks scoring the game winner when the puck bounced off a Wild defenseman’s skate and skidded into the net. They also relinquished a two-goal lead in the final 20 minutes before fighting to get it back.

At the end of the day, though, what Smith and the Blackhawks will remember about Tuesday is the result. They found another way to win despite still being without Corey Crawford and having to play without top defenseman Duncan Keith, who was sick and missed his first game of the season.

“Guys have to step up, fill jobs and find a way to get the job done,” said Smith, who finished off the Wild with an empty-net goal in the game’s final minute. “Tonight, we did that. It wasn’t perfect throughout the game. Find the way to get the job done with who’s out there. We’re definitely excited about getting two points tonight.”

Playing without Keith was a new and unique obstacle for the Blackhawks. They have been searching for a consistent sixth defenseman since Trevor van Riemsdyk was injured last month, and four defensemen have all seen time in there. With Keith out, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was forced to play an even more inexperienced defenseman group.

Quenneville fiddled with the pairings after being displeased with them in the first period and ended up putting Johnny Oduya with Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson with Michal Rozsival and Tim Erixon with David Rundblad. Like the game, the group wasn’t without a few errors, but the six defensemen picked up Keith’s minutes and got the job done.

“Losing Dunc tonight, that’s obviously a big hole, a Norris Trophy-winning defenseman,” said Seabrook, who had a goal, two assists and played 23:06. “You don’t just replace those. It was nice to see a group effort from our forwards to our defense to our goaltending to step up and play well and get a win.”

The Blackhawks’ goaltending has emerged since Crawford injured himself while leaving a concert on Dec. 1. Since he’s been out of the lineup, the Blackhawks have gone 7-1-0 with Antti Raanta and Scott Darling filling the net. Raanta improved to 5-2-0 on the season by stopping 26 of 29 shots on Tuesday.

The Blackhawks lead the Central Division with a 22-9-1 record and 45 points largely because their stars come to play in most games –- Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane combined for two goals and four assists Tuesday -- but it’s also because they have overcome whatever adversity that’s come their way.

“Our group has a lot of enthusiasm, a good consistent approach,” Quenneville said. “A four-line rotation hasn’t changed regardless of who’s been in the lineup or out. The guys are paying attention to detail, more so on the defensive side of the things. When we do that, we can generate a little bit more.”

And they generated just enough to win again Tuesday.