No hole too deep as Blackhawks top Flames in OT

Consider it the first magical moment of the season for the Blackhawks, who delivered quite a few of them a year ago.

Looking dead and buried after falling behind 5-0 in the first period, the Hawks rallied for an electrifying 6-5 win over the Calgary Flames in overtime Monday night at the United Center.

The 5-goal comeback was a club record and tied the NHL mark.

"I've never been in a game like that, not even close," Hawks center John Madden said. "It was like two different games out there."

The Hawks dominated the second and third periods, coming at the Flames in waves. Patrick Kane ignited the comeback with a goal and 2 assists in a dazzling second-period performance, and Brent Seabrook ended it with a goal through a screen 34 seconds into overtime.

"It's pretty crazy we can come back from a game like that, but also what a fun game to be a part of," Kane said. "From the second period on we just controlled the whole play."

Kane's third goal of the season made it 5-2 at 7:37 of the second period and sparked the big rally. Kane beat goalie Miikka Kiprusoff with a shot from the deep slot through a Dustin Byfuglien screen to get the crowd revved up.

Kane then set up Byfuglien's goal at 13:44 off a 2-on-1 that closed the gap to 5-3.

Less than a minute later, Dave Bolland made it a 1-goal game off a scramble.

Patrick Sharp tied it 4:32 into the third period on a tip-in.

"I think, down 5-0, we figured they were probably going to back off a little bit," Kane said. "When you're up 5-0, you're probably not going to be as interested as they were. We knew we could kind of just keep pressing on the gas and keep chipping away.

"It was fun to see the fans stick around. I've been at games like that where half the building empties out, but they stuck around and you could feel their energy."

The Hawks outshot the Flames 16-10 in the first period yet trailed 5-1 with Madden scoring late to provide some hope.

"The first goal by Madden at the end of the first really sort of gave us a little bit of hope and excitement to come back and get some more," Seabrook said.

The loss left the Flames stunned.

"I thought as the game went on we were giving the puck away and weren't determined enough to get it back," Calgary captain Jarome Iginla said. "This is one of the more explosive teams. If you give them the puck all night, and let their defense join in, and we stopped hitting them, that's the result.

"This one stings all the way through. We all know and we're embarrassed by the result. We know we had a stranglehold on it and there was no reason to have what happened happen."

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville didn't fault Cristobal Huet for the early hole, although he pulled his starting goal seven minutes in after he gave up 3 goals on 5 shots.

"We all should be responsible and all contributed to that tough start," Quenneville said. "They came out hard and we didn't respond. It was tough watching us play and it was tough watching some of the goals go in. That was embarrassing at home."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Tim Sassone's game tracker</p> <p class="News">Blackhawks 6, Flames 5 (OT) </p> <p class="News"><b>Three stars</b></p> <p class="News">1. Patrick Kane: Had a goal and assist in the second period and sparked the Hawks' comeback from a 5-goal deficit with a big-time effort. </p> <p class="News">2. Dave Bolland: Huge night from the Hawks' center, who had a goal and assist and won 17 of 24 faceoffs. </p> <p class="News">3. John Madden: Scored the Hawks' first goal to give them life after it was 5-0 and was a gritty presence on the puck all night. </p> <p class="News"><b>Key stats</b></p> <p class="News">The Hawks outshot the Flames 39-20 and won 64 percent of the faceoffs with Jonathan Toews and Dave Bolland both winning 71 percent of their's. </p> <p class="News"><b>Flame out</b></p> <p class="News">Calgary started as if it had something to prove after last spring's first-round playoff eliminated, going up 5-0 in the first 12 minutes, but the end result was its ninth loss to the Hawks in the last 11 games counting the playoffs. </p> <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=328496">Quenneville says he will 'discuss' goalie situation <span class="date"> [10/13/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>