Kane has hat trick, assist in Blackhawks win against Maple Leafs
Patrick Kane had a hat trick and an assist for the Chicago Blackhawks in a 5-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at United Center on Sunday.
It was Kane’s ninth regular-season NHL hat trick. His first came in a 4-1 win against Toronto on Jan. 15, 2016.
“Just got some chances tonight, obviously,” said Kane, who has five goals in his past two games. “Going back to the last couple games, playing with Max Domi and [Philipp Kurashev], been getting some looks, and [it’s] nice to capitalize on them. Always nice to have a game like that at home.”
Domi had a goal and three assists, Cole Guttman scored his first NHL goal, and Jaxson Stauber made 32 saves for the Blackhawks (18-32-5), who have won two in a row since a 5-2 loss at Toronto on Wednesday.
Earlier Sunday, Chicago captain Jonathan Toews announced he is stepping away to deal with the effects of long COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome. He has not played since Jan. 28.
“We never backed down. Anytime they got a goal, we went right back at them,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. “We had good, fast shifts the other way, and that’s a good responding point for our team right now. We have different guys in the lineup, and they’ve been in and out for two or three games together, and they’re starting to jell a little bit and get comfortable.”
Mitchell Marner and John Tavares scored for the Maple Leafs (34-15-8), who were coming off a 5-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
“I just thought we were clearly a very tired group right from the start and made tired mistakes,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “When you’re tired, you’ve got to be really smart and structured and all of that. Some of the clean looks we gave up tonight are the result of not being smart.
“Those kind of mistakes you look at, but in terms of the energy and the execution, as a group, we knew this was going to be a tough one today.”
Ilya Samsonov made 23 saves after missing one game because of a stomach illness.
“I had a skate [Saturday], 30 minutes, probably,” Samsonov said. “I feel better today, but it’s still a little bit hard after I lost a lot of water. A little bit hard today. That’s a hard game for us, for the whole team.”
Marner tied it 3-3 at 7:38 of the third period. After Morgan Rielly shot the puck from Toronto’s blue line, Marner outraced the Chicago defense, collected it off the end boards and scored around the outstretched pad of Stauber.
“I was kind of curling back there. I saw I had a bit of speed, and I saw that [defenseman] trying to hold that blue line,” Marner said. “I went eye to eye with [Rielly] and tried to say end wall. I was lucky enough [that] he heard me. I think me and him have connected a couple times on that play and it hasn’t resulted in a goal, but it’s a great little bounce pass off the wall from him.”
Guttman put the Blackhawks back in front 4-3 at 11:42 when he streaked down the right side and scored from the right face-off circle.
Guttman was playing in his third NHL game since being called up from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.
“It felt amazing,” Guttman said. “That was definitely a dream come true. I’ve thought about that my whole life, so it felt great to put it in.”
Domi scored an empty-net goal at 18:44 for the 5-3 final.
Kane gave Chicago a 1-0 lead at 10:44 of the first period, scoring glove side from the top of the left circle after receiving a drop pass from Domi.
Tavares tied it 1-1 at 12:52, tipping in Rielly’s shot from the top of the left circle on a power play.
Kane responded for the Blackhawks to make it 2-1 at 7:57 of the second period when he skated down the slot, faked a shot and scored from the left circle. He then completed the hat trick by collecting a rebound and banking it in off Samsonov from behind the net at 10:49 to make it 3-1.
“I’ve only seen vintage Patrick Kane on TV, so to see it live … but he’s been definitely playing with, obviously, confidence and swagger that you’re normally going to see him with,” Richardson said.
“He hasn’t complained once this year. He’s done anything we’ve asked and more. And he’s kind of a quiet leader.”
Noel Acciari cut it to 3-2 at 17:46. David Kampf knocked down a centering pass by Alexander Kerfoot near the right post before sending a cross-crease pass to Acciari.
It was Acciari’s first goal with the Maple Leafs since being acquired from the St. Louis Blues with Ryan O’Reilly on Friday.
“It felt great to get it out early,” Acciari said. “You know, ‘Footsie,’ good poise bringing it in and ‘Kamper,’ I don’t know how he [did it]? Glove to stick? To me, it was great and I put it in.”
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