Chicago Blackhawks Stay Alive, Win Game 5 In Double OT

Well, that was something else.

Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane waited until he couldn’t wait anymore to break his playoff goal-scoring drought. He tallied the game-winning goal early in the fifth period of Game 5 against the St. Louis Blues, giving the Blackhawks another breath in their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series with a 4-3 double-overtime victory.

Kane had a spectacular shift prior to the goal, and the winning play was fun to see. Kane received the puck just above the circles after Elliott turned away another Chicago attempt. Kane then toe-dragged past a Blues defenseman and threw the puck at Elliott. It trickled past him and toward the post to Elliott’s right. There was a massive scramble in front, but only Kane seemed to know where the puck was, as he flew around the net and tapped it into the wide-open crease.

Elliott vehemently argued he was interfered with on the play, but there was no on in the blue paint. His stick was actually impeded by Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who was contending with Jonathan Toews just outside the crease.

Kane’s goal allowed the Blackhawks to take the series back to the United Center, though they still trail 3-2.

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Game 6 will take place Saturday evening at 7 p.m.

The goal also made sure the Blackhawks weren’t guilty allowing another third-period letdown to let them suffer a rare loss when leading after two periods. The Blackhawks carried a 3-1 edge into the third after Artemi Panarin tallied with less than one second remaining in the second frame, but the Blues dominated play in the third. Robbi Fabbri and David Backes netted goals in the third to tie things up, and a too many men on the ice penalty with less than five minutes to go in the final regulation period gave the Blues a golden chance.

But the Blackhawks held on then, and they held on through a first overtime in which the Blues against dominated play. St. Louis only outshot Chicago 11-7 in the first overtime, but it felt like it could’ve been 30-7. Thankfully, the Blackhawks didn’t wait too long to jump on the Blues in the second overtime, with Kane immediately coming out and giving linemate Richard Panik a scoring chance between the circles. That preceded Kane’s game-winning tally.

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Artem Anisimov and Marian Hossa also scored for the Blackhawks, with Hossa’s goal coming while the Blackhawks were shorthanded. Jaden Schwartz had a goal for the Blues. Corey Crawford stopped 43 of 46 shots for Chicago and rebounded after allowing Schwartz’s weak goal in the second. His counterpart Elliott recorded 31 saves on 35 shots.

Despite the Blackhawks winning, they still have a lot to improve upon (yet again) before Game 6. More lineup changes are likely in score, as Andrew Shaw will undoubtedly return to the lineup. The David Rundblad experience is probably also over, as he couldn’t even crack seven minutes of ice time in a double-overtime affair. Hopefully some rest for Michal Rozsival will get him back in the lineup and looking like he did in Game 1 instead of Games 2-4.