ANAHEIM, Calif. – Patrick Kane scored two goals and Andrew Shaw and Brad Richards each had a goal and an assist, leading the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
Corey Crawford made 23 saves, helping the Blackhawks win for the fifth time in six games.
Defenseman Hampus Lindholm scored for the two-time defending Pacific Division champions and Frederik Andersen stopped 34 shots in his first career appearance against Chicago.
The Blackhawks were leading 3-1 when Anaheim’s Kyle Palmieri received a 5-minute boarding penalty and an automatic game misconduct with 9.4 seconds left in the second period. He took a run at Johnny Oduya from at least 40 feet away and sent him crashing against the boards between the benches as Oduya was carrying the puck up ice with his head down.
Crawford making his 13th consecutive start, didn’t have to face a shot during the first 7 1-2 minutes with his teammates dominating play at the other end. Richards gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at the 7:58 mark, beating Andersen to the glove side with a 35-foot wrist shot at the end of a 2-on-1 rush.
Shaw made it 2-0 at 13:30 of the first, redirecting the puck past Andersen’s left leg from the low slot after Duncan Keith set him up from the left circle. By then, Chicago had an 11-1 shot advantage, and Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau called a timeout.
The Blackhawks didn’t get a shot on net the rest of the period, and Anaheim got on the board with Lindholm’s goal 3:11 before intermission. He batted in a rebound of Patrick Maroon’s 50-foot slap shot off Crawford’s mask, just seconds after Ryan Kesler received a solid open-ice hit from Niklas Hjalmarsson that knocked him to the ice.
But Kane restored the Blackhawks’ two-goal margin at 10:36 of the second with a one-timer from the low slot after Kris Versteeg made a between-the-legs pass to him from behind the net. Kane has scored a goal in five of his last seven games, including two game-winners. Kane scored his 10th of the season into en empty net with 59 seconds left.
Chicago was 0 for 5 on the power play, ending its streak of six straight games with a power-play goal. The Ducks have yielded five goals in 47 short-handed situations over their last 15 games.
The Ducks, strapped for healthy defensemen, announced during the first period that they had acquired 16-year veteran Eric Brewer from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a third-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Francois Beauchemin is sidelined for a minimum of four to six weeks because of a broken finger on his right hand. He was hurt blocking a shot during Tuesday’s 3-2 win against Calgary.
NOTES: Ducks D Clayton Stoner missed his third straight game because of the mumps. D Jesse Blacker made his NHL debut after getting promoted from Norfolk of the AHL. … The Blackhawks conclude their annual road trip because of the circus Saturday night against the Los Angeles Kings. Chicago and Los Angeles each have won two of the last five Stanley Cup championships. … Ducks D Josh Manson, who was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, has Blackhawks bloodlines. His father, Dave, played his first five NHL seasons with Chicago — where he and current Kings coach Darryl Sutter were rookie teammates in 1986-87. … The Blackhawks are 7-3-0 since LW Patrick Sharp injured his right knee on Nov. 4 at Montreal.
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