LDN - Sports

Kane, Blackhawks pull away from Flames

[November 02, 2016] CHICAGO -- The game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Calgary Flames was scoreless, and the puck skittered across the neutral zone during a harmless play.

That was when a sellout crowd at the United Center erupted with joy.

"We knew what it was all about," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said with a grin.

The crowd roared, first in luxury boxes with TV sets, and then through the seats as word spread that Addison Russell belted a grand slam for the Chicago Cubs in Game 6 of the World Series. A couple of hours later, fans roared again -- this time, in response to the Blackhawks' resounding 5-1 win Tuesday night.

Right winger Patrick Kane scored a goal and dished out a pair of assists to lead the Blackhawks. Center Artem Anisimov and left winger Artemi Panarin each added a goal and an assist.

Chicago (6-3-1) won its third consecutive game and improved to 5-1-1 on home ice.

"There are some positive signs in there," Quenneville said. "Our penalty killing is getting better. We had a couple lines that are getting better. A little bit more balance in our rotation of lines."

Right winger Michael Frolik scored the Flames' lone goal. Calgary (4-6-1) dropped its second straight game after winning the previous three in a row.

The score was even at 1 after the second period. The Blackhawks pounced with four goals in the third period to subdue the Flames.

"That's a terrible way to lose a game," Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano said. "We've got to learn from that. That's a team over there that believes they can win every night. A break against us, they get one, we sort of had a letdown there, and then we started taking chances and they made us pay.

"But we were playing a great game, we really were. We had control, we did a lot of great things, and then it seemed like in the last 10 minutes, it all fell apart."

Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford stopped 33 of 34 shots to improve to 4-3-1.

Calgary goaltender Brian Elliott stopped 17 of 21 shots to fall to 3-5-0.

Anisimov scored the go-ahead goal on the power play to give Chicago a 2-1 edge with 12:16 to go in the third period. Kane threatened to shoot from the right circle but instead snapped a hard pass to Anisimov, who tapped in his seventh goal from the front of the crease.

"The most frustrating part for me is that we made the exact same mistake on the penalty kill that we did the night before, which we addressed this morning," Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan said.

Chicago increased its lead to 3-1 with 7:26 remaining in the third period. Rookie Tyler Motte charged to the net and swept a shot past Elliott's right leg pad for his third goal.

"The bench was yelling, 'Speed,'" Motte said. "So I just tried to take (the defenseman) wide, happened to get the puck to the weak side of the net and slide one in."

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Blackhawks center Artem Anisimov (15) celebrates his goal against Calgary Flames with Duncan Keith (2) and right wing Patrick Kane (88) during the third period at the United Center. The Hawks won 5-1. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Panarin added an empty-net goal with 3:01 to go to put Chicago on top 4-1.

Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson finished the scoring with an even-strength goal with 1:44 remaining.

A dazzling play by Kane opened the scoring for Chicago with 1:02 to play in the first period. The reigning Hart Trophy winner carried the puck across the blue line, maneuvered past Calgary defensemen Deryk Engelland and TJ Brodie, and ripped a wrist shot beneath Elliott's glove.

The sequence marked Kane's 19th goal in 33 career games against Calgary. No other player on the Blackhawks' roster has scored more than nine career goals against Flames.

Calgary evened the score at 1 on a short-handed goal by Frolik with 12:54 left in the second period. Center Mikael Backlund slid a pinpoint pass to Frolik during a two-on-one rush, which developed after Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith broke his stick in the offensive zone.

Chicago finished 1-for-4 on the power play. Calgary was held scoreless in four power-play attempts.

"Our guys are on the side (of the net) there to clear rebounds and get rid of anything else," Crawford said. "A little bit of a slow game to start, and then once we got going, we just scored in bunches."

NOTES: Blackhawks D Gustav Forsling returned after missing the previous two games due to an upper-body injury. ... Flames C Freddie Hamilton was a healthy scratch for the fourth consecutive game. ... Chicago D Michal Kempny was a healthy scratch for the second time this season. ... Calgary LW Matthew Tkachuk appeared in his fourth straight contest after sitting out a pair of games as a healthy scratch. ... Blackhawks LW Andrew Desjardins (lower body) took part in Tuesday's morning skate and could return Sunday against the Dallas Stars, coach Joel Quenneville said.

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