RALEIGH, N.C. -- Here’s a quick look at the Chicago Blackhawks’ 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday at PNC Arena:

How it happened: The Blackhawks set the tone by scoring on their first two shots, helping Joel Quenneville to his 750th win as an NHL head coach. Chicago went up 1-0 on its first shot at 7:28 of the first, as Andrew Shaw beat Anton Khudobin over the left shoulder from the doorstep with Marcus Kruger and Patrick Sharp on the assists. Then at 9:07, Sharp scored stick side on a rush with Marian Hossa and Niklas Hjalmarsson on the helpers. Carolina cut the lead in half at 3:56 of the second, when Victor Rask followed Eric Staal's shot on a breakaway. Shaw got his second goal into an empty net with 40 seconds left in the game, with Joakim Nordstrom picking up the primary assist and Jonathan Toews getting his 500th career point on the secondary.

What it means: The result left the Blackhawks three points behind the first-place St. Louis Blues and two behind the second-place Nashville Predators -- with a game in hand on each -- in the race for the championship of the Central Division.

Player of the game: Corey Crawford practically stood on his head in goal, stopping 43 shots to improve to 30-15-5.

Stat of the game: Carolina had 44 shots on goal to 24 for the Blackhawks. The big difference was in the second period, when the Hurricanes outshot Chicago 19-6. And there was plenty of five-on-five hockey, as just one penalty -- holding call on Kruger only 79 seconds into the game -- was called.

What’s next: The Blackhawks visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. Chicago won the teams' only other meeting of the season 4-0 at home on Oct. 21.