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 "We try to stress not to play that way," the right winger said.
"We try to play a simple game. I think we're better off looking for
some greasy and dirty goals."
However, sometimes grease gives way to greatness.
Kane scored twice in the third period, lifting the Blackhawks to a
4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night.
Left winger Kris Versteeg added a goal and two assists for the
Blackhawks (16-8-1), who extended their winning streak to four
games.
Defenseman Ian Cole scored the lone goal for the Blues (16-7-2), who
lost in regulation for the first time in six games. The Blues fell
to their division rivals at the United Center for the 11th time in
the past 13 visits.
The Blackhawks scored three times in less than five minutes to break
open a 1-1 tie early in the third period.
"The game is 1-1," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "You're in
perfect position on the road, and we just gave it to them. Made some
checking mistakes. We just gave them the hockey game."
Blackhawks goaltender Antti Raanta stopped 40 of 41 shots in his
first start since Oct. 25.
Blues goaltender Jake Allen turned aside 29 of 33 shots in the loss.
"It was a tough battle," said Raanta, who improved to 2-2-0. "Even
though we got three goals in the third, they were still coming. It
was a really good win."
Blackhawks center Marcus Kruger opened the scoring on a wrist shot
with 4:03 remaining in the first period. The goal was set up by left
winger Brandon Saad, who wrestled the puck from Cole near center ice
and slipped a pass to Kruger to begin a two-on-one break.
Cole made up for his mistake by evening the score at 1-1 with 7:22
remaining in the second period. The Blues had an extra skater
because of a delayed penalty call, and Cole pinched toward the net
and lifted a wrist shot past a sprawling Raanta.
The Blackhawks grabbed a 2-1 lead 59 seconds into the third period
on a one-timer by Versteeg. Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews
shuffled a pass in the slot to Versteeg, who lifted a shot past
Allen for his eighth goal.
Versteeg said he finally was feeling healthy after an injury-riddled
campaign a year ago.
"I really went to work this summer with a lot of good people who got
me to where I need to be this season," Versteeg said. "Whether it
was diet or just working out, they really went to work for me. I
just try to go out there and play as hard as I can every night
because of the work I put in. Now, it's just trying to make it go to
fruition."
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Kane increased the lead to 3-1 at 2:47 of the third period when
he ripped a wrist shot above Allen's right shoulder. Kane pumped his
fist toward Versteeg, whose cross-ice pass landed on Kane's stick to
set up the goal.
Another goal by Kane made it 4-1 at 5:19 of the third. Kane worked
behind Blues defenseman Barret Jackman and scored just inside of the
right post for his second goal of the game and his 12th of the
season.
"When we get a lead, we're in a position where we know we don't have
to press," Kane said. "We can kind of just sit back and wait for
them to make a mistake and then just pounce on their mistakes a
little bit."
Blues defenseman Chris Butler said the game turned on Versteeg's
go-ahead goal.
"You could tell that they captured the momentum when they got that
one in the third," Butler said. "We need to do a better job of
answering and taking that momentum away and having a couple good
shifts in a row."
NOTES: Blackhawks G Corey Crawford will miss two to three weeks
because of a lower-body injury that he sustained during an off-ice
mishap. Crawford told reporters he missed a step while he was
leaving a concert this week. He wore a walking boot on his left
foot. ... Blues G Martin Brodeur served a backup role a day after
joining the team on a one-year deal. Brodeur, who is the NHL's
all-time leader in wins with 688, will start Thursday against the
Nashville Predators, coach Ken Hitchcock said. ... Blackhawks LW
Patrick Sharp (lower body) missed his 12th consecutive game but is
expected to play soon. Sharp returned to practice this week. ...
Hitchcock shuffled his lines, pairing LW Jaden Schwartz with C Paul
Stastny and RW T.J. Oshie.
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