Kane Lifts Blackhawks To 3-2 Victory Over Stars

The Chicago Blackhawks won their 5th game in a row by topping the Dallas Stars, 3-2 in the first half of a home and home series.  Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist, and Corey Crawford stopped 31 shots.

It didn't take long for the Hawks to get on the board.  Just :11 seconds in, Richard Panik scored his 7th of the season, as he poked one past Stars goaltender, Antti Niemi.  The Stars would double that later in the period on a pair of goals by Brett Ritchie, and Curtis McKenzie, giving the Stars a 2-1 lead heading into the 2nd period.

In the 2nd, the Hawks tied the game on a Ryan Hartman slapshot over the shoulder of Niemi.  Tyler Motte's initial shot grazed the crossbar and rolled straight to Hartman.  Shortly after, on a power play, Kane gave the Hawks a 3-2 lead on his 4th goal of the year on a one-timer from Artem Anisimov.

"It was a great play by [Anisimov] at the net, finally came out on the weak side there," Toews said.

From then on, it was the Corey Crawford show as he stopped 12 shots in the 3rd period.  Within the last 2 minutes, Marcus Kruger was called for a 4-minute double-minor penalty.  With the Hawks down a man, and the Stars with an extra attacker on the ice once they brought Niemi to the bench, the Hawks had to fight off a 6-on-4 power play to win the game.

"You don't want to be in that situation at the end, but our guys played it really well," stated Crawford after the game. "They stayed patient, especially with the extra man on for them. Our PK has been really confident of late. That was another solid win for us."

Notable Mentions:  The Blackhawks penalty killing unit has definitely been playing well as of late.  They've killed off their last 15 penalties.  Artem Anisimov's assist on Kane's goal, extends his career high point streak to 10 games (7G 8A). Niklas Hjalmarsson recorded 8 blocked shots in the game.  Ryan Hartman, had possibly his best game as a pro last night.  He was a agitating presence on the ice with 3 big hits to go with his goal.  They were hoping he would be the replacement for Andrew Shaw.  The :11 goal to start the game was the 2nd fastest goal in team history (:08 Brent Sutter, 2/5/95, @VAN).

Three Stars of The Game:
1st - CHI - Patrick Kane (1G 1A)
2nd - DAL - Curtis McKenzie (1G, 4 hits)
3rd - CHI - Ryan Hartman (1G, 3 hits)

Next Game: Sunday, 11/06/16 - Home, vs. Dallas Stars (4-5-2), 6pm CT, TV - CSN-CH, Radio - WGN 720AM

LET'S GO HAWKS!!!