Third period felt like old Chicago Stadium

Since when did the United Center become Chicago Stadium?

Try the third period of Monday's Game 6 against the Vancouver Canucks, which is sure to be etched in the memory of anyone who was there as one of the greatest Blackhawks games they've ever seen.

Without question it was the best hockey game played in the United Center, which opened its doors in 1994.

If you closed your eyes in that third period as the Hawks rallied for the 7-5 victory, you would have sworn you were back sitting in the old Stadium, the late great barn that once sat across Madison Street.

"What a treat is was to play out there," said Hawks winger Adam Burish, whose huge goal at 5:41 of the seesaw third period made it 4-4. "I've never been in a building for sports or music or concerts that was as loud as that was."

The noise was so deafening late in the period when Patrick Kane and Jonathan took over the game with 3 goals between them in the final seven minutes that the Hawks couldn't hear coach Joel Quenneville on the bench.

"He was from me to you away and I couldn't hear a word he was saying," Burish said. "We were playing a game of telephone on the bench, just relaying back and forth what he was saying to us. I couldn't even hear the music. At one point they were playing an AC/DC song and I turned to (Ben) Eager and asked, 'What song is that?' I couldn't even hear the song. It was an atmosphere I've never been a part of."

No one fed off the electricity more than Kane, who answered those critics who questioned if he could handle the pounding of the playoffs with the kind of game nobody will be forgetting anytime soon.

Kane's wraparound goal past a stunned Roberto Luongo made it 5-5 with seven minutes to play. Then after Toews scored on a power play with 6:11 left, Kane scored maybe his sickest goal ever, dashing down the left side, cutting into the slot and beating Luongo with a backhander, of all things, under the crossbar.

Kane leaped into Brian Campbell's arms after the goal, which all but assured the Hawks of advancing.

"I didn't know what to do," said Kane, whose first career hat trick gave him a team-leading 8 goals in the playoffs. "I didn't want to go too nuts because the game wasn't over. The next thing I knew the celebration pile was back by Khabibulin. It just gives you chills thinking about it."

The third period was the culmination of a highly competitive series that saw both teams leave it all on the ice.

"The whole series was crazy, everything back and forth, but the third period was the craziest," Toews said.

"It's going to be nice just to sit back and relax after that series," Burish said. "That was a hard series. They were mean and they were nasty, and the travel was hard. Some guys were sick and some guys were tired. Mentally, I'm beat right now."