CHICAGO — Patrick Kane has found red-hot chemistry with a pair of Russian linemates.
Kane had a goal and three assists, rookie Artemi Panarin scored twice in the first period and Corey Crawford made 34 saves to lead the Chicago Blackhawks past the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Sunday night.
Artem Anisimov added a power-play goal with 5.1 seconds left. The Blackhawks ended a two-game slide and won for just the second time in six games.
Kane has clicked skating on right wing with Anisimov at centre and Panarin on the left side. He extended his point streak to 10 games and has seven goals and 10 assists during the run — including the primary set-ups on his linemates’ three goals in this one.
“All three of us, the way we want to play is very similar,” Kane said. “I think we do a good job of supporting the puck, hanging on to the puck, trying to make plays.”
Kane’s latest outburst came three days after an upstate New York prosecutor decided not to bring rape charges against him because of a lack of credible evidence following a three-month investigation.
Kane started the season with Anisimov and Panarin, but coach Joel Quenneville juggled combinations as the defending Stanley Cup champions struggled with a depleted lineup and new faces.
“I think we went a little stale there before they broke us up, so it was nice to get back together there,” Kane said.
The 24-year-old Panarin also celebrated the line’s reunion.
“It definitely feels good,” he said through an interpreter. “Maybe even better. Because I scored two goals.”
Crawford wasn’t beaten until Edmonton’s Jordan Eberle scored a power-play goal at 2:56 of the third period on the Oilers’ 29th shot. Andrej Sekera cut it to 3-2 with 1:51 left and Edmonton goalie Cam Talbot on the bench for an extra attacker.
Talbot made 24 saves and the Oilers dropped their second straight without injured rookie Connor McDavid.
Crawford rebounded with a stellar effort after allowing three goals on 13 shots and being pulled after one period in New Jersey on Friday night. The Devils badly outplayed the Blackhawks and beat them 4-2.
“(Sunday’s game) was a good one for me, to get back into it,” Crawford said. “It was a big win for us.”
In this one, Crawford was at his best in the scoreless second period to preserve a 2-0 Chicago lead — even though the Oilers dominated and outshot the Blackhawks 22-6.
“We had a 2-nothing lead and it was all due to Crow,” Kane said. “It was good to see him bounce back from last game and have a big period and a big game.”
Panarin opened the scoring 58 seconds in on a one-timer from the low edge of the left circle. After taking Kane’s diagonal cross-ice feed, Panarin’s shot glanced off the stick of Oilers defenceman Mark Fayne, struck Talbot’s right shoulder and slipped in on the short side.
Panarin made it 2-0 with 2:25 left in the first, capping his rush down the ice with a shot from the slot that flipped over Talbot’s glove and into the upper-right corner of the net. The rookie fooled several Oilers as he danced through centre ice, then cut to the middle of the Edmonton zone for his fourth goal in 15 games.
Crawford had to be sharp in the second when the Oilers took charge. Edmonton had the first 14 shots in the period.
“It was a complete opposite of the first period,” Edmonton coach Todd McLellan said. “It seems like with our team right now, we have to get the garbage out or fall behind and then play from there.”
Crawford kept the Oilers at bay through the frame, coming up with several tough saves. He made one save on a tip attempt and rebound by Teddy Purcell, another against Anton Lander, a point-blank right pad save on Eberle and a block on Leon Draisaitl‘s breakaway.
Eberle cut it to 2-1 early in the third when he whipped in a rebound from the left of the net. Crawford had made a pad save on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins‘ initial drive from the top of the right circle.
It was Eberle’s first goal this season after he missed the first 13 games with a shoulder injury.
Kane made it 3-1 with his 10th goal, on a backhander from the slot with 6:32 left in the third period.
NOTES: Blackhawks D and two-time Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith has resumed skating after undergoing knee surgery (right meniscus) on Oct. 20. … Chicago F Marian Hossa returned on Sunday after missing three games with a lower-body injury. Hossa, 36, appeared in all of the Blackhawks regular-season and playoff games last season. … C Artem Anisimov was back in the lineup after leaving a 4-2 loss Friday night at New Jersey with a lower-body injury and recorded his 200th and 201st NHL points … McDavid, the No. 1 draft pick in 2015, suffered a broken collar bone in a win last Tuesday night against Philadelphia and could be out for up to three months. … A piece of sound-absorbing material fell onto the ice from the ceiling of the United Center during a stop in play in the third period. It caused no damage and was quickly carried off the rink.
