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Kane is able, as Blackhawks beat Kings to force Game 7

May 31, 2014 - 4:49 AM 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.