Blackhawks ride Kane hat trick to rout of Coyotes
CHICAGO -- Patrick Kane registered his third career hat trick, and Jonathan Toews had two assists as the Chicago Blackhawks won for the eighth time in their last nine games, beating the Arizona Coyotes 6-3 on Thursday night.
Kane's third-period goal capped the scoring and finished off the hat trick, which came two days after Toews had a hat trick in a five-point effort against Buffalo. Corey Crawford made 34 saves for the Blackhawks (38-18-5).
Nick Schmaltz, Ryan Hartman and Michal Rozsival also scored for Chicago. Jakub Chychrun, Ryan White and Radim Vrbata registered the goals for Arizona, which got two assists from Alexander Burmistrov and 23 saves from goalie Mike Smith.
The Coyotes (21-31-7) lost to Chicago for the third time this season.
After the Blackhawks watched an early two-goal lead disappear, defenseman Rozsival gave Chicago a 4-3 lead in the opening minutes of the second period. Rozsival, playing the first time since before the All-Star break, tallied his first goal of the season when he took a pass from Schmaltz and fired a shot past Smith.
Kane extended the lead to 5-3 later in the period with his second goal of the night and 22nd of the season.
Chicago relied on three first-period goals to build an early cushion. Schmaltz took a feed from Toews and scored 37 seconds into the game as Chicago's top line continued to flourish.
Hartman and Kane also tallied goals in the opening 20 minutes.
Arizona quickly erased the deficit. Trailing 3-1, White beat Crawford to get the Coyotes to within a goal before Vrbata scored on a tap-in goal 57 seconds later.
Chychrun also scored in the opening period for Arizona, which scored three times on its first nine shots.
NOTES: Coyotes G Mike Smith was back in action Thursday after leaving the Monday game against the Anaheim Ducks under the concussion protocol. ...D Anthony DeAngelo played Thursday after being recalled from Arizona's AHL affiliate to bolster the Coyotes' defense when Michael Stone was traded. ...Coach Dave Tippett said injured LW Lawson Crouse (lower body) might return Friday when the Coyotes play at Dallas. Crouse was placed on injured reserve Feb. 18, but Tippett sounded encouraged that Crouse could be ready to return. ... C Peter Holland and D Kevin Connauton were scratches. ... Blackhawks D Michal Rozsival played for the first time since being injuring his foot in practice before the All-Star break. ... D Niklas Hjalmarsson did not return following the first intermission after sustaining a lower-body injury during the first period. ... Chicago C Andrew Desjardins, RW Jordin Tootoo and C Vinnie Hinostroza were scratches. Arizona scratched D Kevin Connauton and C Peter Holland.