This was a much easier series for the Los Angeles Kings before Patrick Kane started scoring.
For Game 5 of the Western Conference Final (a potential elimination game for Chicago), Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville shuffled his lines, placing Kane on a unit with Andrew Shaw and Brandon Saad. The result was a brilliant game for all three and four assists for Kane—this after the Chicago star had previously managed just a single helper in Games 1-4.
As we noted after that contest, the emergence of a second impactful line for the Blackhawks posed a formidable challenge for L.A. entering Game 6, a change to a script that had seen the Kings dominate the depth battles.
It was a challenge that Darryl Sutter and his team failed to meet.
Kane scored Chicago’s first goal, assisted on the tying goal halfway through the third period and then buried the winner with just under four minutes left in the contest. While both of the goals were strong plays, his best scoring moment for my money was the assist on Duncan Keith’s critical marker:
CBC’ ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
Red-Hot Patrick Kane Bedevils Kings as Chicago Forces Game 7 in Thrilling WCF
May 30th, 2014 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
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