Kane breaks shootout slump as Hawks beat Bruins
For Patrick Kane and the Blackhawks, shootouts have been mostly forgettable this season.
But Kane and the Hawks had a shootout to remember Sunday.
It was Kane scoring the winning goal, snapping a 0-for-9 slump, in the Hawks’ 3-2 win over Boston at the United Center in the first meeting between the two teams since the Stanley Cup Final.
Kane, shooting third, took a slow path in on Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask and snapped a shot past him to the stick side.
“We haven’t been too good in overtime and shootouts, so it was nice to win one like this,” Kane said.
The Hawks were 4-11 in games decided in either overtime or shootouts and 4-6 in shootouts. The victory gave the Hawks a sweep of their key weekend games against Anaheim and Boston.
“Two big games against two great teams,” Kane said. “It’s nice to win at home always. Obviously, we weren’t going as well as we wanted to before these two games, but this game and Friday night’s game against the Ducks were big games for us to get our confidence back up and know that we can play with the best in the league.”
Brandon Bollig’s fifth goal at 9:44 of the second period from a bad angle right made it 2-2 and eventually would get the game to overtime.
“How did that go in? Ha, good question,” Rask said. “I had the post covered and my skate was there. I was ready. Somehow it went over.”
Marian Hossa had opened the scoring at 4:13 of the first period with his 20th goal.
Brad Marchand scored both goals for the Bruins — with 19 seconds left in the first period and 50 seconds into the second.
“They’re obviously one of the best teams in the league and anytime you play against a team like that you want to see how you can
do,” Marchand said. “I think we have to be happy with how we played.”
Corey Crawford was rock solid with 34 saves to win for the 19th time this season.
“We knew it would be a tough game. We’re just glad it didn’t go three overtimes,” Jonathan Toews said with a reference to Game 1 of the Finals that needed three overtimes to decide in the Hawks’ favor.
“It was a great hockey game,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “It started quick and didn’t stop. I thought the pace was tremendous.
“They’re a dangerous team. They get the puck, they make plays, and they hang on to it. They have patience and play recognition. They have all guys active and wanting the puck. It’s a great test, and it’s nice to finally get a shootout win, too.”
Bruins coach Claude Julien agreed with Quenneville that it was a great game even though it came down to a shootout.
“Win or lose, I don’t put too much emphasis on the shootouts because it goes down to individuals, but I think as a game, it was a great game,” Julien said. “I thought both teams played well, both teams competed hard. I thought it was pretty even of a game. We had some chances that you wish you could’ve buried.”
Twice in the later stages, including in overtime, Boston’s Gregory Campbell couldn’t control a rebound with Crawford down and out and the net wide open.
“Again, I guess it just continues to be the same as it was last year, need overtime to resolve these games against us,” Julien said. “I thought it was a real good test, as far as our team is concerned, with the way we’ve played lately. We’ve gotten better, and tonight was another step in the right direction, so we just have to continue playing that way.”