Khabibulin, Blackhawks beat Ducks 3-2
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Patrick Kane was thrilled to score a goal in the All-Star Game, but the Blackhawks' star said he'd rather get one Wednesday night against the Ducks when it mattered.
He did.
And so did Jonathan Toews, as the Hawks' best players rose to the occasion coming out of the all-star break in a 3-2 victory over the Ducks at the Honda Center.
The best of the Hawks was goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who made 11 of his 36 saves in a frenzied third period when the Ducks pressed hard for the tying goal.
"Habby was strong the whole game," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "They had a lot of zone time against us and he was big, he was quick, he was alert and took away a lot of their plays around the net. They're a big team down low and he stood his ground all night."
Kane's first-period power-play goal snapped a 12-game drought. He hadn't scored since Dec. 20 at Vancouver.
"It's definitely nice to see one go in and hopefully start a streak the other way," Kane said. "It feels good to contribute to a win, too."
The Hawks showed a lot more energy than they took into the break.
"I liked the energy we had in the room before the game and the enthusiasm we played with from start to finish," Quenneville said.
The Hawks appeared to have their jump back early, getting a goal from fourth-liner Adam Burish at 3:07 to get things started on the right foot. Burish crashed the net to jam home a Brian Campbell rebound.
The fourth line was the only one Quenneville left alone as he shook things up to try to get the Hawks jump-started offensively. Quenneville juggled his lines during the game as well, reuniting Toews, Kane and Patrick Sharp.
Toews' goal, just his sixth in 21 games, came early in the second period and made it 3-1. He finished a pretty passing play with Duncan Keith and Sharp.
The goals by Kane and Toews and the assist by Campbell were positive signs for a team needing more out of its best players than they produced leading up to the all-star break.
"Certain guys are looked upon to score more than others, but at the same time if we get that feeling back where everybody is contributing on both sides of the puck, we're going to find ways to score the timely goals, our special teams will be better and our goals-against will be better," Quenneville said.
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