Patrick Kane scored his first career regular-season hat trick and added an assist, and Artemi Panarin had two assists and a goal to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to their tenth straight victory in a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night at Air Canada Centre.
Scott Darling made 28 saves for his third straight win in net and fifth overall this season.
The Blackhawks had eight giveaways in the first period, but Darling turned aside all nine shots he faced, including a poke check save on a 3-on-1 rush, and the game went into the first intermission scoreless.
Chicago (30-13-4) took a 1-0 lead at 13:07 when Kane scored off a Duncan Keith feed through a netmouth scramble just as a power play expired. Kane made it 2-0 with a power play goal at 17:13. The Hawks went on the power play after Maple Leafs defenseman Matt Hunwick high-sticked Kane in the face. Kane took a pass from Panarin and rocked a shot past James Reimer.
Panarin assisted on both goals and finished with three points. Kane now leads the NHL with 28 goals and 39 assists, and is building a strong case in his campaign for the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP.
Early in the third period, and with a two-man advantage, Kane picked up his third point of the night with a backdoor feed to Panarin for his 16th goal of the season. Panarin’s case for rookie of the year is as good as Kane’s is for MVP. He now leads all NHL rookies in goals, and assists (25).
Toronto’s Morgan Reilly brought the score to 3-1 at the 3:47 mark, but Darling played well the rest of the way, made a few stops on high-danger chances, and finished with 28 saves. With about two minutes left, Kane finished off his four point night by completing his first regular season hat trick with the Toronto net empty, and the Blackhawks went on to win 4-1.
Andrew Shaw picked up a loose puck in his defensive zone, rushed up the right side, put a shot on Reimer, and put away his own rebound at 12:08 into the first period. Leafs coach Mike Babcock then asked for a review for offsides on Marian Hossa on the play, and the goal was overturned. It looked like the right call, but it would be nice if they could speed up the decision process.
There has been early speculation about Shaw possibly being involved in a trade or perhaps even as a cap casualty this summer, but his recent play certainly makes that a tougher proposition. Taking into consideration his intangibles and locker room presence, it would be tough for the Blackhawks to replace everything that he does. Now also consider that Shaw is on pace for his best statistical season, his value to the Blackhawks grows even more.
With their tenth consecutive victory, the Blackhawks have now climbed into first place in the Western Conference with 64 points, depending on how the Dallas Stars do against the Ducks in Anaheim later this evening. The Hawks are now one win away from matching an 11-game unbeaten streak, set Feb. 22 to March 6 in 2013.
Chicago returns home Sunday to complete the season series against the Montreal Canadiens at United Center.