Kane's goal lifts Chicago Blackhawks in overtime
It sure wasn't pretty. But in the end, it's 2 points.
And that's all that matters to the Chicago Blackhawks as they try to erase the memories of a 33-win campaign that left them out of the postseason party for the first time since 2008.
The Hawks - despite playing careless, turnover-prone hockey much of the night - notched a 4-3 victory over host Ottawa on Thursday when Patrick Kane roofed a backhanded shot over Craig Anderson's left shoulder 38 seconds into overtime.
Kane raised his stick to the sky, let out a primal scream and was engulfed by Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and the rest of his ecstatic teammates.
Alex DeBrincat, Toews and Brent Seabrook also scored, and Cam Ward bounced back from a rough first period in which he allowed 3 goals on 10 shots.
Seabrook's goal tied things at 3-3 with 7:42 left in the game. The big defenseman took a pass from Kane and one-timed a shot after sneaking into the middle of the offensive zone.
"Kind of a good feeling to be down like that and have a comeback win, especially for the first game of the season," Kane said. "Gives us a little confidence."
The best news for the Hawks may have been the play of Toews as the captain won 20 of 29 faceoffs, took 4 shots on goal and assisted on Kane's game-winner.
"Tazer had a big game," coach Joel Quenneville said. "He did everything tonight. … He had the puck a lot, (and) I thought he had real pace to his game. That line had a lot of threatening shifts in the offensive zone."
Toews gave his team a 2-1 lead at 10:30 of the first period, but Ottawa was ahead 3-2 at the first intermission as the Hawks resorted to the undisciplined play that was the hallmark of last season. They finished with 17 turnovers and managed just 3 takeaways.
Still, a win's a win.
Ward finished with 22 saves, including several huge ones in the final 40 minutes to keep the Hawks alive.
The most impressive came with 4:51 remaining in the second period when the 34-year-old veteran lunged to his left and managed to stave off a point-blank one-timer by Mikkel Boedker. Then, with 8:14 left in the game, Ward gloved a Ryan Dzingel breakaway attempt after Henri Jokiharju misplayed the puck near center ice.
"He just didn't quit tonight," Kane said. "For him to bounce back and shut the door the last two periods gives us a lot of confidence in him, and I'm sure he's feeling pretty good about it, too."
The Hawks finished with 77 shot attempts (43 on goal) to Ottawa's 56 (25 on goal). Kane had 12 total attempts (6 on net) and played a game-high 23:49 among forwards.
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