NHL - Phoenix Coyotes @ Chicago Blackhawks 2-6 - Tuesday, April 05, 2016

The Chicago Blackhawks have ignited their offense and turned a hot spell into a three-game winning streak. Andrew Ladd scored two goals, rookie left wing Artemi Panarin had three assists, and the Blackhawks defeated the Coyotes 6-2 at United Center on Tuesday.
The Blackhawks (47-26-7, 101 points) have scored at least five goals in each game during the winning streak and six in each of the past two. Their power play is suddenly clicking, and their penalty kill is a perfect 17-for-17 in six games since center Marcus Kruger returned from a wrist injury.
Patrick Kane, whose 102 points lead the NHL, had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, who are four points behind the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues for first place in the Central Division. Each team has two games left, and Chicago plays St. Louis at home Thursday. The Blackhawks must win out and have the Stars and Blues each lose their final two games to win the Central.
Panarin, the NHL's First Star of the Week, has 11 points in Chicago's past three games (three goals, eight assists) and is the first rookie since the Winnipeg Jets' Teemu Selanne in the 1992-93 season to have three consecutive games with three or more points. His line with center Artem Anisimov and Kane has combined for nine goals, 14 assists and 23 points during the winning streak. The top line, centered by Toews, has four goals, three assists and seven points in those games.
Scott Darling made 29 saves in his 10th straight start for Chicago, which played without suspended defenseman Duncan Keith, goalie Corey Crawford (upper-body injury) and forwards Marian Hossa (lower body) and Andrew Shaw (upper body). The Blackhawks went 3-for-6 on the power play and 6-for-6 on the penalty kill. They're 6-for-12 with the man-advantage in the past three games after going 0-for-26 in their previous nine.
Connor Murphy and Brad Richardson scored for the Coyotes, who lost their second straight game and fourth in the past five. Louis Domingue allowed six goals on 32 shots. They have now been eliminated from playoff contention..
The Blackhawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Richard Panik and Toews 7:24 apart in the first period, then padded it in the second, just as they did in a 6-4 win against the Boston Bruins on Sunday. After expressing frustration about his season at the morning skate, Toews set up Panik before scoring a shorthanded goal with a forehand-backhand deke off a breakaway that he created with a stolen pass. It was Toews' 250th NHL goal and fourth shorthanded goal of the season.
Kane scored Chicago's first power-play goal of the night at 6:24 of the second, and Andrew Ladd scored two more in the period to make it 5-0. Anisimov left in the second after being driven into the boards by former Blackhawks center Antoine Vermette, who received a boarding major and game misconduct. Anisimov is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Ladd scored twice on the resulting power play, tipping a shot from the point by Trevor Van Riemsdyk on the first and sliding the puck between Domingue's pads for the second one. Murphy and Richardson scored for Phoenix in the third, and Andrew Desjardins scored the Blackhawks' sixth goal.

Hawks Quotes

Jonathan Toews: "I think we're trying to remind ourselves of what motivates us to play well in these games. We want to get our game together and play the complete game that we're going to need in the playoffs, but at the same time, it's a lot easier to play at the highest level when the playoffs come around and that motivation's right there in front of your face."
"[We'll] keep playing the same way we are right now and we’ll remind ourselves that these points matter [and] can make a difference in where we finish at the end of the year. We'll use [the Blues] as another game to prepare ourselves for the playoffs. We'll get up for it because we know they will be."
Joel Quenneville: "The one line's been dynamic in the three games, as far as generating off the rush or on the power play or in [the offensive] zone. They've really been dangerous. I like the way we played for the most part tonight, did some things in the last three games when you look at the offense, 5 [goals], 6 [goals], 6 [goals] ... we know we can score, and that'll be the ongoing challenge, is to check."