The Associated Press
CHICAGO–Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks pushed aside the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Kane had his second hat trick in three games, and Scott Darling made 36 saves, as the Blackhawks beat the Penguins 4-1 last night for their fifth-straight win and 10th in 11 games.
Richard Panik also scored to help Chicago pull within three points of first-place Minnesota in both the Central Division and Western Conference.
Kane, last season’s MVP, has a team-leading 27 goals–scoring 12 times and adding seven assists in his last 11 games.
Kane said he was pumped up for first meeting this season between the last two Stanley Cup winners.
“It felt like a playoff game out there,” he noted. “It’s a team we don’t really see a lot.
“We knew they’re coming off a back-to-back game, but they still played hard tonight,” Kane added.
“A tough team to play against.”
It’s tougher to play against the Blackhawks right now, especially with Kane at top speed.
“He’s made some great shots,” said coach Joel Quenneville.
“He’s a threat to shoot and he’s a threat to make a play, so I think you’ve got to respect the other option, which is not easy on goalies.”
Darling started a second-straight game in place of Corey Crawford, the No. 1 goalie who has been fighting an illness.
Crawford said he felt much better following yesterday’s morning skate and was on the bench to back up Darling.
“Scotty had some huge saves and we got some timely goals tonight,” Kane said.
Scott Wilson scored for Pittsburgh as the Penguins fell short again after a 3-2 loss at Dallas on Tuesday night.
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 25 shots for Pittsburgh in his first start in two weeks.
Despite the second-straight loss, coach Mike Sullivan wasn’t upset with his team’s effort–just a couple of breakdowns the Blackhawks jumped on.
“I thought we competed hard,” Sullivan said.
“I think we can play a little bit smarter in a couple of the areas where we gave up a couple of odd man rushes, but what I really liked is I thought we had a heightened intensity.”
Tampa Bay edged Carolina 4-3 (OT) in the only other NHL game last night.
