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Blackhawks' Kane stays hot with 2 goals

A lot of good, a couple of scary, but in the end the best in the West were simply no match for the Blackhawks, who continued their roll on the circus trip with a dominating 4-1 victory over the Ducks in a Friday matinee in Anaheim.

And once again the leading man was the red-hot Patrick Kane, who scored twice to make it 13 points in his last seven games for the Hawks, who have now won four of five on this trip. "Kaner all game long was dangerous," coach Joel Quenneville said.

And so were his linemates, Brad Richards (goal, assist) and Kris Versteeg (2 assists). "That line has been excellent, and give credit to all three of them," Quenneville said. "They've been really good since they've been together."

The Hawks opened the scoring courtesy of a beautiful outlet pass by Brent Seabrook to Richards that set up a 2-on-1 with Versteeg. Richards had a choice of whether to pass or shoot and opted to wrist one past Frederik Andersen.

As pretty as that play was, it was nothing compared to the Hawks' next goal, which began with a no-look pass from Daniel Carcillo to Duncan Keith.

Keith faked a shot from the circle but instead zipped a pinpoint pass to Andrew Shaw at the side of the net, where Shaw simply pushed it into the wide-open net for his second goal in two games.

"That Carcillo play with Duncs and Shawsie might have been our best play of the year," Kane said. "It was a great start."

The Ducks cut the lead to 2-1 late in the first on a fluke goal as the puck caromed off the glass behind the net and back out to the crease, where Hampus Lindholm bunted it in out of midair past Corey Crawford (23 saves).

But it was all Hawks the rest of the way, and it was Kane who finished the scoring with goals No. 9 and 10 of the season, the final one an empty-netter.

But it was No. 9 that turned some heads. On that one, Richards kept the play alive behind the net, and Versteeg, with his face toward the glass, sent a no-look backhand out front to Kane, who roofed to make it 3-1.

"You take a quick shoulder check and listen where he is," Versteeg explained. "If you put it in an area of a great player, generally great things happen."

It wasn't all fun and games Friday for the Hawks, however. There were a couple of scary moments.

As the clock wound down in the second period, Kyle Palmieri knocked Johnny Oduya headfirst into the boards near the Hawks' bench.

"It was a dangerous hit," Quenneville said. "It wasn't from behind, but (Oduya) was exposed."

Oduya returned for the third period, but late in the game the Ducks struck again when Corey Perry sent Marian Hossa to the ice courtesy of a vicious cross-check to the side. Hossa left the game, but afterward Quenneville said Big Hoss "seemed OK."

• Follow Mike's Hawks reports on Twitter @dhspellman.

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