• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Kane, Lalime give Blackhawks second straight shootout win

Jan 20, 2008 - 7:33 AM GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) -- A pair of Patricks kept the Chicago Blackhawks rolling.

Rookie Patrick Kane scored the decisive goal in the shootout and Patrick Lalime denied both shots he faced in the bonus format as the Blackhawks extended their winning streak to four games with a 2-1 triumph over the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday.

Defenseman Brent Seabrook tallied in regulation and Lalime made 38 saves for Chicago, which improved to 10-9-3 on the road this season after winning just 14 games away from home in 2006-07. Three of the Blackhawks' victories during their run have come in shootouts, including a 2-1 win at Colorado on Friday.

"It's nice to be on a winning streak, especially after the long losing streak," Kane said. "You lose count after a while."

"That was a pretty gutsy game," Chicago coach Denis Savard said. "Give our guys lots of credit, playing last night in a tough game. (Coyotes coach Wayne) Gretzky had them fired up. We have a good character group, and now they are starting to believe."

The Coyotes, who have lost four of six, avoided an overtime loss as goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov denied Rene Bourque on a penalty-shot attempt with 14 seconds remaining in the extra session. But that proved to be the last save the Russian would make as Kane and Martin Havlat each tallied in the shootout.

Drafted first overall last June, Kane was the first shooter in the bonus format. After making a nifty move, the 19-year-old lifted a backhander past Bryzgalov to give Chicago the edge.

"I think I'm 4-of-5 now," Kane said of his shootout success. "It's a good feeling to score and get your team the lead. I think the one shootout we lost, I didn't score. The one time I missed, I didn't have a move in mind, so I try to change it up because there are obviously clips where you see the guys doing the shootout.

"Tonight, I wanted to throw a big fake and then control it to my backhand. I try to change it up every time."

Bryzgalov was aware of Kane's scoring ability in the bonus format.

"I watched the game last night and saw what he did," the goalie said. "Usually, players stick with the one move. I thought he would do the same thing, go back door. That's why I stuck my stick out and poke-checked, but he was smart enough to change it and shot over my glove."

Kane's move also impressed his coach.

"He's fun to watch, fun to coach and structurally, he's getting better at what we want him to do," Savard said of Kane, who leads all rookies in scoring with 45 points. "It was just a remarkable move. Once he scores, he puts a lot on the opponent."

After Joel Perrault hit the right goalpost on Phoenix's first attempt, Havlat beat Bryzgalov low to the stick side with a wrist shot.

"(That) was a good shot," Bryzgalov said. "He has a quick shot and got it close to the post."

Lalime then sealed the win by turning aside rookie Peter Mueller's wrister.

"You never know. You just have to be patient and try to wait until they move and take it from there," said Lalime, who has been in goal for each game during his team's winning streak. "Even if you know what they're going to do, it's hard to stop it. It's so fun playing right now. It's playoff hockey for us, and every game is big."

"He has been phenomenal," Savard said. "Right now, Patrick is seeing the puck very well, and when the shooters are coming down on him, he is big in goal. He deserves all the credit. He got us back in this race right now."

After a scoreless first period, Mueller got the Coyotes on the board midway through the second with a power-play goal. The 2006 eighth overall pick wristed a shot from the blue line that deflected off by Blackhawks All-Star defenseman Duncan Keith and past Lalime at 12:08 for a 1-0 lead.

"I really liked our effort," Gretzky said. "I thought guys played hard. I thought they did a real nice job of killing penalties and I thought we did a nice job of forechecking. We were physical and I thought we played very solid, but we didn't get two points out of it."

Chicago answered with a man-advantage tally less than four minutes later. Seabrook received a cross-slot feed from Kane and ripped a one-timer from the left faceoff circle by Bryzgalov with 4:04 remaining.

"It was huge for our power play because we've been struggling lately," Seabrook said. "Kane made such a great pass, but it was the whole play."

Coming off a devastating loss to Columbus on Thursday in which All-Star Rick Nash scored a spectacular game-winning goal with 21.5 seconds remaining, Phoenix came out strong and constantly was on the attack early. The Coyotes outshot the Blackhawks, 14-7, in the first period, but Lalime kept them off the scoreboard.

Chicago had a chance to strike first early in the second, but defenseman Dustin Byfuglien's wrister - which was headed inside the left goalpost - was snared by the glove of Bryzgalov.

Bourque was awarded a penalty shot late in overtime after being knocked down by All-Star blue-liner Ed Jovanovski, who vehemently argued the call. Bryzgalov missed on a poke-check attempt, but Bourque's shot managed to hit the goalie's stick and sail wide, keeping the contest even at 1-1.

After the game, Jovanovski admitted the right call likely was made.

"I looked at it and I did put my arm out," the veteran said. "I probably should have turned and skated with him. With the new NHL, you expect whatever. It was probably warranted. I looked at the tape and I did grab him a bit. It wasn't something where I grabbed him and really held him down. I guess it could have gone either way."

Bryzgalov finished with 23 saves.