Two goals to Patrick Kane gives Blackhawks vital lead in series against Boston.
Patrick Kane scored two goals and the Chicago Blackhawks moved within one victory of capturing the Stanley Cup by defeating Boston 3-1 on Saturday in game five of the National Hockey League Final.
The host Blackhawks took a 3-2 edge in the best-of-seven championship series with game six on Monday in Boston and a seventh game, if needed, set for Wednesday back in Chicago.
“Kane stepped up and had two huge goals for us,” said Blackhawks’ goaltender Corey Crawford, who made 23 saves. “They put some pressure on us, but we were able to close the door on them.”
The Bruins are trying to lift the trophy for the second time in three seasons, but Chicago can claim the Cup for the second time in four seasons by outscoring Boston one more time.
“(We have to) keep playing hard, don’t get away from playing the way we have been,” Crawford said.
Kane opened the scoring with 2:33 remaining in the first period, when a shot broke the stick of Bruins’ defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and bounced to the left of Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask and to Kane perched at the side of the goal.
Kane gained control of the puck and flicked it into the net to give the Blackhawks the early advantage.
Just 5:13 into the second period, Bryan Bickell took his own rebound and skated around the back of the Boston net, then flipped a pass out front to Kane, who backhanded the puck into the net for a 2-0 Chicago lead.
The Bruins answered just 3:40 into the third period when defenseman Zdeno Chara scored to trim Chicago’s lead in half.
But when the Bruins pulled Finland’s Rask from the net in the dying seconds in favor of an extra attacker, the Blackhawks made them pay, Dave Bolland finding the empty net for the clinching goal with 14 seconds remaining.
The Bruins announced that Patrice Bergeron had been taken to a hospital with an undisclosed problem. He had skated off the ice without incident in his last shifts.
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