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Blackhawks force Game 7 with 5-2 win

The Blackhawks forced a Game 7 of the Western Conference finals with a 5-2 victory Wednesday night at the United Center.

Patrick Kane, Brandon Saad and Brad Richards scored over a 3-minute, 45-second span of the second period in front of a charged-up 22,089 fans. Now those fans are hoping the next game they see on home ice is Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The tireless Duncan Keith assisted on all 3 of those goals, which gave the Hawks a 3-0 lead, only increasing his Conn Smythe Trophy candidacy for playoff MVP if the Hawks go all the way.

But first things first as they still need to beat a Ducks team that's only lost once this postseason in Anaheim, that being in triple overtime to the Hawks in Game 2.

Anaheim fought back Wednesday, making it 3-2 early in the third period, but Andrew Shaw provided a huge insurance goal with 3:32 left remaining and an empty-netter with 49 seconds on the clock.