Patrick Kane not only did a number on the Boston Bruins, he reached some milestone numbers himself.So did Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville.Kane had three goals and an assist as THE Hawks raced to a six-goal lead in the second period before hanging on for a 6-4 victory over Boston on Sunday.Kane’s scoring spree gave him 100 points for the first time in his nine-year career. The win was career No. 800 for Quenneville. ”A special day,” Kane said. ”My 100th point on a hat-trick goal as well. Pretty cool the way it happened. Just one of those nights where things are going in.
”Our line was creating a lot and had a lot of chances. Just a fun night overall.”
Kane was clicking with linemates Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov early and often in the club’s fourth win it its last five games. Panarin had a goal and three assists, while Anisimov added a goal and two assists.
”They were great,” Quenneville said. ”Individually, collectively, fun to watch, nice plays on the goals.”
Quenneville said his 800th win was nerve-wracking as the Bruins fell short with a late comeback. But he was quick to point out the season-long accomplishments of Kane, a top candidate for the NHL’s Hart Trophy as league MVP.
”Getting 40 goals is a big achievement,” Quenneville said. ”Getting 100 points in today’s game, not too many players in the last few years have accomplished that feat. He’s had a special year.”
Jonathan Toews also scored for the Blackhawks, who won’t finish lower than third in the Central Division and will avoid a wild-card playoff seeding.Kane’s second career regular-season hat trick – both this season – lifted him to 43 goals, the most for a Blackhawk player since Tony Amonte hit that mark in 1999-2000. He’s the first Blackhawk to reach 100 points since Jeremy Roenick had 107 in 1993-94.Quenneville is second to Blackhawks senior advisor Scotty Bowman in coaching wins. Bowman has 1,244.Patrice Bergeron had two goals and an assist for the Bruins. He and David Pastrnak scored 11 seconds apart late in the second period. Bruins starting goalie Tuukka Rask was replaced early in the second after allowing a barrage of goals.Brad Marchand scored on a deflection midway through the third to cut it to 6-4, but the Bruins couldn’t overcome the Blackhawks early outburst.
”It cost us the game if you look at it,” Bergeron said. ”We can’t wait for them to score four or five goals to get going, especially at this time.”
Boston, with just two wins in its last nine games, remained one point behind Detroit and Philadelphia for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. The Flyers played Pittsburgh later Sunday.The Bruins have three games remaining, all at home, including one against Detroit on Thursday.
”With what’s at stake, we’ve got to be a lot better,” Bergeron said. ”Focus is definitely what cost the game early on by making mistakes and giving them the space that they wanted and the plays that they wanted.”
Scott Darling made 42 saves in his ninth straight start as Corey Crawford remained sidelined with an upper-body injury. Before the game, Quenneville said he expects Crawford to be ready for the playoffs.Rask allowed four goals on 22 shots before being replaced by Jonas Gustavsson two minutes into the second. Gustavsson permitted two goals on 12 shots.Rask fully understood the reason for the goalie switch.
”Obviously the way we played, we needed to wake up and do something,” Rask said. ”We battled back, but we gave up 6-0 and it’s tough to come back.”
Anisimov opened the scoring during a power play 13:14 in. Kane made it 2-0 with 1:29 left in the first on a breakaway. Kane made it 3-0 with a point-blank tap in of Anisimov’s feed 54 seconds into the second.Barely over a minute later, Toews finished a 2-on-1 break, converting Marian Hossa‘s pass to make it 4-0.Panarin ripped in a one-timer from the slot at 5:17 to make it 5-0. Kane completed his hat trick with a power-play goal with 5:44 left in the second on a one-timer ripped from the right circle.Pastrnak banked in a shot off the right post to complete a breakaway with 16 seconds left in the second to the get Boston on the board. Bergeron cut it to 6-2 just 11 seconds later on a deflection of Adam McQuaid‘s shot from just inside the right point.Bergeron’s second goal, from the left side of the slot at 2:39 of the second, trimmed it to 6-3.
NOTES—Kane’s four points tied his career high. . Before Sunday’s game, Crawford skated and took practice shots from goaltending coach Jimmy Waite for the second straight day. . Hossa left the game late in the third period, but Quenneville expects the veteran forward to play Tuesday. ..Andrew Shaw is out day-to-day with an injury sustained Friday at Winnipeg. . Boston F Jimmy Hayes, scoreless in 15 games, was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. … Linesman Andy McElman worked his final and 1,500th game and was honored by the Blackhawks, Bruins and NHL before the contest.