Columbus Blue Jackets 0, Chicago Blackhawks 7 FINAL

CHICAGO (AP) _ Craig Anderson got a lot of help from his Chicago teammates _ and the goal posts.

Anderson made 30 saves for his first NHL victory and shutout, and seven players scored for the Blackhawks in a 7-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.

Anderson, a Chicago-area native, entered the game with an 0-11-2 record in his two-year NHL career, including an 0-8-0 mark in nine games this season.

``I've been waiting for this my whole career,'' Anderson said. ``It was great that it was a shutout. I don't have to worry about my first win now.''

Columbus rang three shots off the posts.

David Vyborny beat Anderson with a backhanded shot eight minutes into the second period, but the puck deflected off the crossbar. Darryl Sydor had a chance late in the second, but his close-range shot hit the near post. Jaroslav Spacek also hit the near post with a power-play slap shot early in the third.

The goalie stuck to basics in the final minutes.

``Make the other players beat you with a good shot,'' Anderson said. ``Don't give them easy goals.''

Travis Moen, Bryan Berard, Steve Sullivan, Mark Bell, Tyler Arnason, Igor Korolev and Ryan Vandenbussche scored to help Chicago set a season high in goals and snap a five-game winless streak.

``A couple of pucks went in,'' Chicago coach Brian Sutter. ``We were ready and played the same way we did the last couple of games. You'd like to see some of the goals that went in tonight go in the last couple of games.''

``Definitely getting a win like that showed we can come out and play,'' Arnason said. ``It was a nearly flawless game.''

Columbus, 3-4-3 in its last 10 games, was held scoreless for the seventh time this season. Columbus backup Fred Brathwaite faced 39 shots.

``We weren't ready from the start,'' Luke Richardson said. ``We left Freddy out to hang by himself. Even when they didn't score they were creating confusion.''

The teams will meet again Saturday in Columbus.

``Its the type of game that you remember the embarrassment, but forget the way you played,'' Richardson said. ``We have them at our place on Saturday.''