Blackhawks strike fast in third, rally past Avalanche
CHICAGO >> Jonathan Toews scored twice and Richard Panik and Artemi Panarin each had one in a span of 3:02 in the third period to erase Colorado’s two-goal lead and rally the Chicago Blackhawks past the Avalanche 6-3 on Sunday night for their fifth straight win.
Patrick Kane scored his team-leading 32nd goal and Marcus Kruger added an empty-netter for Chicago, which won for the 17th time in its last 20 games to pull seven points ahead of slumping second-place Minnesota in the Central Division. The Wild dropped their fifth straight, 5-4 to Winnipeg on Sunday.
With Chicago trailing 3-1, Toews tipped in Kane’s bouncing shot at 10:17 of the third period to cut it to 3-2. The goal withstood a video review that showed Toews may have been offside. Panik rifled in a loose puck from the slot 17 seconds later to tie it at 3. Panarin put Chicago ahead 4-3 just 17 seconds after that. PENGUINS 4, PANTHERS 0 >> Sidney Crosby again picked up the slack with Evgeni Malkin out, getting his 10th career hat trick and leading the Pittsburgh Penguins past the Florida Panthers.
Crosby’s natural hat trick came in a span of 11 minutes between the second and the third period, pushing his goal total to an NHL-high 40 and moving him into a tie with Edmonton’s Conner McDavid for the league scoring lead with 80 points. Linemates Conor Sheary and Jake Guentzel assisted on all three of Crosby’s goals. BLUE JACKETS 4, DEVILS 1 >> Lukas Sedlak and Brandon Dubinsky scored on penalty shots and the Columbus Blue Jackets clinched their third playoff berth in franchise history with a victory over the New Jersey Devils.
This was only the third time in NHL history that a team scored twice in a game on penalty shots. Thomas Gradin and Ivan Hlinka of Vancouver did it against Detroit in 1982, and Ryane Clowe and Joe Thornton of San Jose converted against Washington in 2009. JETS 5, WILD 4 >> Josh Morrissey one-timed in a goal with 7:17 left to end Minnesota’s rally from four goals down and give the Winnipeg Jets a chaotic victory over the Wild.
It was Minnesota’s fifth straight loss. The last time the Wild lost five in a row was the final five regular season games last spring. They only have two wins in their last 10 games. CANADIENS 4, SENATORS 1 >> Carey Price made 30 saves for his 33rd win of the season and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators to sweep the home-and-home series.
Tomas Plekanec, Jordie Benn, Paul Byron and Nathan Beaulieu scored for the Canadiens, who lead the Atlantic Division by four points over the Senators, who still have one game in hand.