LDN - Sports

Blackhawks ride Kane hat trick to win over Pens

[March 02, 2017] CHICAGO -- Offensive production rarely seems to be an issue for the Chicago Blackhawks. But on the nights when breathing room is limited like it was Wednesday night, top-notch goaltending can make the difference.

Enter Scott Darling.

Darling made 36 saves and Patrick Kane registered his second hat trick in a week as the Blackhawks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 to win for the 10th time in 11 games.

Darling, starting in place of Corey Crawford, who missed his second straight game due to illness, protected a 2-1 lead in the third period before Kane scored two late goals, including an empty-netter, to continue Chicago's hot streak.

Kane took care of the rest.

"Scotty stood on his head tonight," said Kane, who has scored 12 goals in his last 11 games. "We can probably be better overall, but at the same time, sometimes you're going to need some goaltending performances like that. He played awesome."

Darling made a sprawling glove save with the Blackhawks leading 2-1 after Sidney Crosby found Matt Cullen directly in front of the Chicago net. His play in net allowed the Blackhawks (40-18-5) to hold on until Kane tallied his final two goals.

"We score there and it's a tie game and it's anybody's game," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.

Kane's late flourish opened up what had been a tight game throughout the night. Pittsburgh (38-15-8) got a solid night in net from Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 24 saves for the Penguins, who were playing for the second time in two nights.

"He was really good in there -- made some big saves," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "They've got some talented guys that can move the puck and he had to move from side to side fairly often to make some big saves. It was great to see him have a great performance like that."

Kane and Darling found a way to overshadowed as the Blackhawks skated to their fifth straight victory.

Richard Panik capped an eventful second period and gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead when he weaved around Evgeni Malkin by putting the puck between his legs and off his skate and fired a shot into the left corner and out of the reach of Fleury with 23.9 seconds remaining.

That was the difference maker until Kane scored again to widen the margin.

"He had the wow factor tonight," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "That was an amazing play."

Added Kane: "That has to be up there with the goals of the year, no doubt."

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Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) after tallying a hat trick during the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center. Chicago won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Kane gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at the 8:49 mark of the second period. Nick Schmaltz corralled a Penguins turnover at center ice and found Kane, who found himself with a two-on-one chance. Kane fired a shot that got under Fleury's pads to break the scoreless tie.

Scott Wilson tied the game with three minutes remaining in the second period when he slipped a shot just under the crossbar. The puck rung around the inside of the crossbar and officials initially ruled the puck hadn't found the net. After video review, the call was overturned, which drew the Penguins even.

But the Penguins weren't able to solve Darling more than once and the Blackhawks found themselves with several odd-man rushes as Kane continued to score at a torrid pace.

"I thought we competed hard," Sullivan said. "I really liked our compete on the puck. I think we can play a little smarter...but we're not going to play a perfect game every night. I thought we had a heightened intensity. Obviously, we have a lot of respect for the Hawks -- they're a good team and when you play a team like that, you better bring a certain level of intensity if you're going to have success."

NOTES: Chicago F Artem Anisimov left the game with an undisclosed injury midway through the second period. ... Penguins D Kris Letang (upper body) missed his third consecutive game. ... The Penguins acquired D Mark Streit from Tampa Bay and D Frankie Corrado from Toronto on Wednesday. Corrado will be sent to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Streit, 39, was traded twice on Wednesday, moving from Philadelphia to the Lightning before being shipped to the Penguins. Streit was scratched Wednesday night. ... Blackhawks D Johnny Oduya did not play Wednesday, a day after he rejoined his former team in a trade with the Dallas Stars. Oduya is coming off an ankle injury that kept him out for 15 games before he played Feb. 26. ... Chicago D Niklas Hjalmarsson (upper body) did not play. He remains day-to-day. ... Blackhawks LW Andrew Desjardins and RW Jordin Tootoo (illness) were scratched.

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