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Blackhawks Top Kings, Force Game Seven

Los  Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Patrick Kane assisted on the tying goal 
and  then netted  the winning score late  in the third period, and the Chicago 
Blackhawks  forced  a deciding Game 7  in the Western Conference finals with a 
4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday. 

Kane,  held to  one point in the  first four games of the series, has exploded 
for  seven points in  the last two, including two goals and one helper in Game 
6. 

Ben  Smith  and Duncan  Keith  added  tallies  for  the Blackhawks,  who  have 
rallied from a 3-1 deficit for the second consecutive postseason and can reach 
the Stanley Cup Finals once more with a win on Sunday at United Center. 

Corey Crawford picked up the win thanks to 26 saves. 

"I  don't think anyone  lost confidence or got down after those two goals they 
scored  in the  third,"  Crawford said.  "If anything  we  kept pressing  even 
harder.  Some  great shots by  Duncs and Kaner, some  great plays, and we were 
able to shut then down at the end." 

Dwight  King, Drew  Doughty and Alec Martinez scored for the Kings, who became 
just  the third  team in NHL history  to have their first three playoff series 
advance to a seventh game in one playoff year. 

That  didn't deter  Doughty from adding confidently: "We've had two chances to 
close out this series and we're not going to blow the third one." 

Jonathan Quick stopped only 21 shots in defeat. 

Los  Angeles appeared to  have turned things around thanks to scores in a 2:06 
span early in the third period. 

Doughty's  wrister eluded  Crawford  on his  glove side  at  5:32, then,  with 
Chicago captain Jonathan Toews off for hooking, the hosts moved ahead by a 3-2 
count  with  7:38 played after  Martinez blew a low,  hard shot from below the 
circles through traffic and in. 

Kane sprang to life and guided the defending champs to the win. His slick pass 
on  the left wing found Keith at the inner edge of the circle for a successful 
wrister to knot the game with 8:26 showing. 

Kane  struck once more with 3:45 left in regulation. He trailed a Brandon Saad 
rush  on the right wing, accepted a back pass, then moved from the circle into 
the middle and beat Quick with a wrister to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 edge. 

"It's  unbelievable,  I looked at him,  I think it  was about a minute left, I 
think  there was  a stoppage  of play  and I  almost started  laughing," Toews 
admitted.  "It's amazing what he can do in these big games, when our season is 
on the line and nobody else seems to be able to do it the same way he does it, 
it's pretty amazing." 

Quick  was sent  to the bench twice in  the final 1:15 of the contest, and the 
Kings'  last best chance from Marian Gaborik in the waning seconds was blocked 
by a 'Hawks defenseman's skate before getting near Crawford. 

"We battled back and I think we just made a couple mistakes. I thought we were 
doing  a good job  on [Patrick] Kane and then getting kind of spacey (he) made 
two  great  plays," noted  Kings captain  Dustin Brown. "I  don't think we can 
expect to give up four goals in one game. If we clean that up, we're good." 

King  missed a  contested breakaway chance just prior to the seven-minute mark 
of  the first, but  didn't miss his next chance as the clock ticked down under 
three minutes left in the period. 

Jarrett  Stoll chased  down a  dump  in, beating Blackhawks defenseman  Brent 
Seabrook to the left of Crawford, then flipped a backhanded pass into the slot 
where King one-timed it home. 

Chicago  evened the score  on the advantage, as Toews fed Kane for a one-timer 
in  the right  circle which  beat Quick  to the  far post  just 1:12  into the 
second. 

Smith  managed  to bank a shot  off Quick from  the right side behind the goal 
line  for a 2-1 game at 2:49, and the Blackhawks had a prime chance to put the 
Kings  in  a two-goal  hole minutes  later but Patrick  Sharp hit the crossbar 
during a 2-on-0 with Marcus Kruger. 

                                   Game Notes 

Only  the 2000  New Jersey  Devils have  overcome a  3-1 series  deficit in  a 
conference  final and  advanced to  the fourth  and final  round ...  The 1993 
Toronto  Maple Leafs  and 2002 Colorado Avalanche previously saw each of their 
in-conference  playoff  matchups reach Game  7s, with  the Leafs losing to the 
Kings  and Avs to the Red Wings ... Seabrook added two assists ... Doughty has 
collected seven points (3G, 4A) in the last five games. 

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