Blackhawks soundly defeat Kings in Game 1 of Western Conference final
The Chicago Blackhawks took the first game of the Western Conference final on Sunday afternoon, with a convincing 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
Chicago's Brandon Saad opened the scoring after some quality pest-work by Blackhawks forward Brandon Bollig resulted in a first period power-play opportunity. The Blackhawks appeared to add to their lead in the second frame, but a Jonathan Toews marker was bizarrely disallowed, and shortly thereafter Kings forward Tyler Toffoli scored to tie the game at 1.
But the score wasn't tied for long, as Blackhawks defender Duncan Keith beat Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick with a point shot that took a couple of funny hops and found the top-corner.
Chicago shut things down effectively from there, at least for the most part. Dangerous Kings winger Toffoli nearly scored his second goal of the contest early in the third period, but the puck ricocheted harmlessly off of the post.
The Blackhawks tightened up their defensive game thereafter, permitting little in the way of quality chances in the latter stages of Game 1; and Chicago captain Jonathan Toews managed a late third period insurance marker to put the result out of reach.
Game 2 goes Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Star performer
This won't come as a surprise to hockey fans at this point, but Toews was excellent on Sunday afternoon. Toews was a baffling call away from a two-goal game, and even so he managed to score a critical third period insurance marker that put the game out of reach:
[Courtesy: NHL.com]
Turning point
Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith restored Chicago's one goal lead with a fortunate second period goal. Keith's goal allowed the Blackhawks to shut things down in the third frame, which they managed expertly - allowing only 4 shots to a trailing Kings team in the final 20 minutes.
[Courtesy: NHL.com]
Highlight reel
Dustin Brown, meet Marian Hossa - he's very strong on his skates:
[Courtesy NBC/TSN]
Quote of the game
"Play with a little more urgency, we need to do that to beat a good hockey club." - Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell on what the team needs to improve on in Game 2.
Series at a glance
Game 1: Blackhawks 3, Kings 1 (Blackhawks lead 1-0)
Game 2: Wednesday, May 21 - 8:00 p.m. ET
Game 3: Saturday, May 24 - 8:00 p.m. ET
Game 4: Monday, May 26 - 9:00 p.m. ET
Game 5*: Wednesday, May 28 - 8:00 p.m. ET
Game 6*: Friday, May 30 - 9:00 p.m. ET
Game 7*: Sunday, June 1 - 8:00 p.m. ET