In Anaheim Friday night, the Chicago Blackhawks found themselves at home in the Honda Center as Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp lifted the Hawks to a 4-1 win over the Ducks.
“I don’t know what it is about this building this year, but it seems like we’ve had some pretty — I don’t want to say ‘perfect games’ — but you could probably say the perfect road game,” Kane said. “Big win, for sure, against a great team, the best team in the NHL this year. We knew they were coming off a back-to-back game and three in four nights, so it was important for us to come out and have a good effort.”
Sharp had four assists in the including helpers on Kane’s 24th and 25th goals of the year.
“Kane and [Brad Richards] both want the puck out there in offensive situations,” Sharp said. “They both can hang on to it for an extra second longer and make plays. So I kind of take it upon myself to move my feet a little better, get to the dirty areas trying to get them the puck as much as possible. I probably am a shooter more than playmaker, but tonight, if you move the puck around and it goes in like that, we’ll gladly take it.”
Kane had those two goals and chipped in an assist on the night.
“I think that they outplayed us this year, and if we want to get to our ultimate goal, we’re going to have to go through teams like that,” Ducks defenseman Ben Lovejoy said of the Blackhawks. “Right now, they think they can beat us whenever they play us, and that’s definitely a concern.”
Bruce Boudreau was unwilling to suggest the Ducks had fallen off but did recognize that his club was schooled in the loss.
“Let’s not talk like we’re … Buffalo,” he said.
“You can tell how far you have to go to be the best,” Boudreau said. “You can be in first place, but they turned it up, and we weren’t able to handle it today. As a measuring stick, I hope this stays in our minds for a long time.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.