Down 3-0, Hawks roar back for impressive win

TORONTO - How much fun is this?

It's been a long time since the Blackhawks had this much firepower and it was all there on display again Saturday night.

Storming back from a 3-0 deficit, the Hawks got third-period goals from Patrick Kane and Ben Eager before Dave Bolland struck 49 seconds into overtime to stun the Maple Leafs 5-4 at Air Canada Centre.

The win made the Hawks a perfect 3-0 on the first half of their six-game road trip.

"When we went down 3 goals we could have said, 'You know, that's it. We already have 2 wins on this road trip and 2-1 is not so bad,' " captain Jonathan Toews said. "It really showed our character and how badly we want to win by the effort we gave to come back and recognizing the game wasn't over.

"We just kept coming, Habby (goalie Nikolai Khabibulin) made some big saves and we got some bounces."

The Hawks dominated the third period, outshooting the Maple Leafs 15-9 while rolling mostly their first three lines over and getting one great shift after another.

"It seemed like every time we were out there we had a scoring chance," said Patrick Sharp, whose 2 goals late in the second period brought the Hawks back within 3-2. "You just want to get back out there when that happens. It was a great team effort."

Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson didn't think it was so great watching his team collapse.

"It was 3-0 and they weren't even in the game generating anything," Wilson said of the Hawks. "In the third period we rarely got beyond the red line. They just kept coming and coming and coming. The outcome was inevitable."

The Hawks trailed 4-2 entering the third period, but Kane scored at the 58-second mark off a sweet feed from Kris Versteeg behind the net.

Bolland made a similar pass in front to Eager for the tying goal with 7:33 to play.

Bolland's OT winner was set up by Martin Havlat. Bolland picked up the puck in the slot, made defenseman Jeff Finger look bad with a move and tucked a backhander under goalie Vesa Toskala.

Bolland, a Toronto area boy, was named the game's No. 1 star before a Hockey Night in Canada national TV audience and more than 50 family members and friends watching in the stands.

"It was a pretty fun night to have them here and to do it in front of them," Bolland said. "Once Kaner got that first one in the third period we wanted to get another one and another one."