Panthers 1 - 3 Blackhawks
Final
  for this game

Kane lifts Chicago over Florida

Jan 21, 2012 - 8:25 AM Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers at United Center.

Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith also scored for the Blackhawks, who have won three straight. Ray Emery made 18 saves for the win.

Jason Garrison scored the lone goal for the Panthers, who have dropped four straight and six of seven. Jose Theodore was tagged for all three goals on 22 shots.

"Right now we're a little, I wouldn't say sloppy, but we're just battling that adversity," said Panthers center Tomas Kopecky. "We've got to learn to push through it."

In the latter part of the first period, Kane sent a lead pass to Toews and he shifted to the backhand before lifting the puck into the net with 2:20 to play.

The 'Hawks then took a 2-0 lead on the power play as Keith's big blast from the high slot got past Theodore with just 16.2 seconds left on the clock.

Chicago went ahead 3-0 at the 13:05 mark of the second as Kane skated into the Florida end on a 2-on-1 and buried his shot from the right circle for his 11th of the season.

"It was nice to see him get that goal because he's been working real hard every day," said Chicago head coach Joe Quenneville about Kane, who has just two goals in his last 15 games. "He's been putting the effort in and his defense has been fantastic, so it's good that he scored, he deserved it."

Emery made 15 stops through the first two periods, but Garrison broke the shutout just 43 seconds into the third on the power play.

However, Florida was unable to get any closer as Chicago improved to 19-5-4 at home this season.

Game Notes

Florida, which has lost eight straight on the road, plays in Winnipeg on Saturday...Chicago, which leads the NHL with 64 points, plays in Nashville on Saturday...The game was delayed by a half-hour due to bad weather in the area.






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