Patrick Kane was brilliant for the Blackhawks last night, scoring his second career playoff hat trick. The third just so happened to be the game winner in double overtime, as Chicago eliminated the LA Kings with a 4-3 victory in game five and now move on to face Boston for the Stanley Cup.
Duncan Keith opened the scoring the scoring just 3:42 into the first on a huge slapshot from the point that went right through Kings goalie Jonathan Quick. Kane got his first of the night just over two minutes later, when the puck came to him all alone in front after some miscommunication on a non-icing. All Kane had to do was out wait a down and out Quick before sniping it past him.
The Kings cut the lead in half during the second period on a shorthanded goal. Justin William did all the work, driving hard to the net, and Dwight King was there to chop in the rebound. Then the Kings tied it up on a power play three and a half minutes into the third on a goal from Anze Kopitar. Chicago took the lead back when Kane potted his second of the night with just under four minutes to go and it looked like the Hawks were on their way.
Not so fast.
LA pulled Quick in the final minute, and Mike Richards, the surprise starter after suffering a concussion earlier in the series, had the puck deflect off his pants and into the net with just 15 seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime. In the first OT the Kings had the majority of the chances, outshooting the Hawks 11-6, but couldn't get one past goalie Corey Crawford, who finished with 33 saves on the night.
Then came the second OT, and some pure magic from superstars Kane and captain Jonathan Toews. A bad pinch on the half-wall in the offensive zone by young Kings defenseman Slava Voynov allowed Kane and Toews to break the other way on a partial two on one. Toews fed and absolutely perfect pass across the circles to Kane who wired it top shelf past quick for the series winner. If you don't believe me about how nice this goal was, check out the video:
So now Chicago advances to their 12th Stanley Cup Final appearance and have the opportunity to win their second Cup in four years. They'll have to go through the mighty Bruins to do it, and I'll have a full preview of the Stanley Cup final up on the blog by tomorrow night.
Until then, thanks for reading, and don't forget to check back to the blog, as I'll have more updates and a new poll up soon. Please share and comment if you like the content here at WAAP.
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