Hawks solve Quick after dominating in first period

The shots were coming fast and furious, but Jonathan Quick had an answer for each and every one of them.

Patrick Kane shooting from close range?

No problem. The Kings' goalie simply leapt toward No. 88 and smothered the shot.

Three attempts from Nick Leddy?

No tickling the twine on any of them.

In all, the Blackhawks peppered the Los Angeles goalie with 17 shots in the first period — nearly a shot per minute — and Quick stopped every one of them, all of this while his teammates mustered only 2 shots at the other end of the ice.

Yet somehow, someway the first period ended with the Kings ahead 1-0.

“That was thanks to an unbelievable individual effort by Jonathan Quick,” Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr said. “You've got rose colored glasses on if you're looking at it that way.

“We weren't very good in the first two periods. We can play a lot better … and we have to.”

But Quick was good all game, stopping 34 of 36 shots, and simply out of this world in the first period.

“He's one of the fastest goalies in the league, if not the fastest. Whatever he sees he's going to stop,” said Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa.

“He makes saves when he sees the puck and he makes saves when he doesn't see the puck,” Patrick Sharp added.

It seemed like the kind of start to a game and series that could've easily frustrated the Hawks, who swarmed the L.A. end from the get-go Saturday.

It wasn't.

“No not at all; just the opposite actually,” Kane said. “Being down like that and playing that well, we knew were going to have to play the same way.

”So, it was a good start to the series. I thought we came out great, had some chances, had a lot of shots on him like we wanted to do and they caught a lucky break on their goal ... but that's exactly how we wanted to play.”

Sharp and Hossa ended up solving the mystery that was Quick in the second period.

Sharp's eighth goal of the playoffs came on a rebound of a Johnny Oduya blast, and tied the game midway through the period, and Hossa followed a few minutes later with the eventual game-winner on a sweet redirection of Duncan Keith's shot.

“I saw the puck coming, so I just tried to somehow touch the puck,” Hossa said. “(It was) one of those goals when the puck goes your way. It just hits your stick and beats the goalie.”

And if the Hawks hope to leave Chicago with a 2-0 series lead by Sunday night, they know the road goes through Quick. And they know that road better feature some bumper-to-bumper traffic.

“You have to have traffic in front of him,” Hossa said. “Pin him in the blue paint, and put lots of pucks in the corners or in his feet and go for the second chances.”