Kane and Panarin lead Blackhawks over Wild

Ducks send slumping Caps to 4th straight loss

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa (right), takes the puck away from Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (left), of Russia, after Ovechkin collided with defenseman Brandon Montour (center), during the first

period of an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, California on March 12. (AP)

CHICAGO, March 13, (AP): Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin scored on Chicago’s first two shots and Corey Crawford made 42 saves as the Blackhawks beat Minnesota 4-2 on Sunday to pull within a point of the Central Division-leading Wild.

Trevor van Riemsdyk and Marian Hossa also scored for the Blackhawks, who ended a two-game slide and won for the 13th time in their last 16. Kane’s goal was his team-leading 30th and 10th in eight games.

Ducks 5, Capitals 2 In Anaheim, California, Corey Perry had two goals and an assist, Ryan Getzlaf added a goal and two assists, and Anaheim sent NHLleading Washington to its fourth consecutive loss.

Ryan Kesler also had a goal and two assists for the Ducks, who won three of four to move ahead of the Calgary Flames for second place in the Pacific Division. Rickard Rakell also scored his 29th goal, and Jonathan Bernier made 25 saves.

John Carlson and Marcus Johansson scored for the Capitals, who are on the longest skid of their outstanding season. Alex Ovechkin failed to score a goal in his 10th straight game. That’s the longest drought of his 12-season, 907-game NHL career.

Kane

Rangers 4, Red Wings 1 In Detroit, Ryan McDonagh scored twice and Kevin Hayes added a goal and an assist to help New York beat Detroit.

Derek Stepan also scored for the Rangers. They won their NHL-leading 25th road game of the season and improved to 19-5-1 this season in games following a loss.

Antti Raanta made 23 saves, allowing only Frans Nielsen’s goal.

Canadiens 4, Oilers 1 In Edmonton, Alberta, Paul Byron scored twice and added an assist in Montreal’s victory over Edmonton.

Max Pacioretty also scored twice, and Carey Price made 24 saves. The Canadiens have won seven of their last eight.

Milan Lucic scored for the Oilers. They have dropped three in a row.

Sharks 5, Stars 1 In San Jose, California, Joe Pavelski scored twice, backup goalie Aaron Dell made 29 saves to win his fourth straight start, and San Jose beat Dallas.

Patrick Marleau, Joel Ward and Chris Tierney also scored to give the first-place Sharks their sixth win in eight games. San Jose remained seven points ahead of Anaheim in the Pacific Division with a game in hand.

Remi Elie scored his first career goal for the Stars, who got off to a rough start to a four-game road trip.