The Chicago Blackhawks made up for the loss of injured forward Marian Hossa with Patrick Kane's four points, Scott Darling's 35 saves and a strong special-teams performance at United Center. Kane had a goal and three assists, Darling was sharp in his first start since Jan. 22, and the Blackhawks scored four power-play goals in a 7-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Chicago, which ended a three-game losing streak, was 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
Andrew Shaw (goal, two assists) and Duncan Keith (three assists) each had three points. Rookie left wing Artemi Panarin had a goal and assist. The Blackhawks got goals from seven players: Kane, Shaw, Panarin, Teuvo Teravainen, Brandon Mashinter, Brent Seabrook and Viktor Svedberg. Mark Arcobello and PA Parenteau scored for Toronto. James Reimer allowed all seven goals. Chicago swept two games from Toronto, winning by a combined margin of 11-3.
It was the second four-point game for Kane against Toronto this season. He got the first regular-season hat trick of his NHL career and had an assist in the Blackhawks' 4-1 win at Air Canada Centre on Jan. 15. That victory was the Blackhawks' 10th in their 12-game winning streak, the longest in their history. This one helped Chicago erase some of the sting from going 0-2-1 in the first three of a four-game homestand. Even without Hossa, who will be out at least two weeks after sustaining a lower-body injury Saturday in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks, the Blackhawks got off to the fast start that eluded them in their previous three games.
Mashinter and Shaw scored in the first period, and Seabrook's goal at 1:55 of the second made it 3-0. The Shaw and Seabrook goals came on Chicago's first two power plays. Panarin, Kane, Teravainen and Svedberg scored four straight goals in the first 10:20 of the third to make it 7-0, including two more power-play goals, before Arcobello and Parenteau got a couple back for Toronto.
Mashinter made it 1-0 at 2:33 of the first with his third goal of the season, and Shaw pushed it 2-0 at 11:39. Those goals opened the game up and forced Toronto to chase the lead in the second. The Maple Leafs got three power plays in the second period, when they outshot the Blackhawks 15-5, but Chicago made it 3-0 on Seabrook's goal. Darling made seven of his 15 saves in the second when Chicago was shorthanded and made two against Nick Spaling that stood out during 5-on-5 play. He went low to make a save at 4:48 to deny a goal off Spaling's rush, and then made a diving glove save at 5:47 off his one-timer from the slot. Kane felt a little relieved watching the puck go into Darling's glove. The Blackhawks had turned the puck over in their own zone, leading to the scoring chance.
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was equally impressed. He called it a "wow" play but wasn't happy with the defensive play during that sequence. Toronto concluded a five-game road trip and will head back home to play their next four games at Air Canada Centre. Chicago will play at the New York Rangers on Wednesday, visit the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday and head to Minneapolis on Friday to begin preparing for the 2016 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game against the Minnesota Wild at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday. Kane leads the NHL with 82 points and scored his 34th goal.
Hawks Quotes
Patrick Kane: "We wanted to come in tonight and not take this game lightly. We wanted to make sure we were playing the right way and capitalize on our chances. I don't want to say it was an easy game. [Toronto was] still effective 5-on-5. I thought our power play was effective and kind of took over the game there to give us some breathing room.""It was unbelievable to watch. I was on the ice for it. I was right there, and you figure you're taking a minus on that play. So, to see him dive across and make that save ... I'm sure it felt good for him, but it was a huge save at that time of the game too."
Scott Darling: "The puck shot out, I missed my push, so I just dove across and tried to keep my eye on it. I got it with my glove, so a lot of things needed to go right for a save like that to happen."
Joel Quenneville: "I didn't like what happened before that, which made that save much more appreciated, as far as him at that end of it. But the other five guys, I wasn't too pleased with."
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