CHICAGO — Patrick Kane scored Chicago's first hat trick in the playoffs since 1994 and helped put the Blackhawks in the final four of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1995 here last night.
Roberto Luongo gave up an incredible seven goals – seven! – as the Canucks failed to make it past the second round for the 37th time in their 39 year history.
Luongo only gave up five goals in the four game sweep against St. Louis.
Kane, who also had an assist, had a big game in Game 6 to put the Calgary Flames away two weeks earlier.
Jonathan Toews, his co-star, also scored two in the 7-5 win.
For a fifth time in six games the Canucks managed to get the first goal of the game in the series. But the Chicago Blackhawks had it tied up 1-1 in short order after a first period with plenty of pace and shots on goal galore.
Not long after Roberto Luongo made a great glove save on Martin Havlat on a breakaway, the Hawks turned the puck over and Mats Sundin, at the end of his shift, made a pass to Mason Raymond who put it past Nikolai Khabibulin with Ryan Kesler providing the distraction in front.
The Hawks, who had twice been down 3-0, 2-0 and 3-0 in the first three games of the series, didn't stay down long.
Exactly two minutes later, at 13:13, Patrick Kane was allowed to skate through the entire faceoff circle to pull the trigger with a wrist shot to tie it up.
The Canucks, who for the first time in the series outshot the Hawks in a period 11-10 in Game 5 in Vancouver, the most shots they had in a period all series, raised the ante on that by outshooting the Hawks 13-9 in the first frame.
The 13 shots was only two short than Vancouver managed here in the entire 60 minutes of Game 4.
It would be a long wait until the Canucks managed to get their next shot.
A pair of power play goals, one by Kris Versteeg and another by Jonathan Toews put the Hawks up 3-1.
It wasn't until 11:09 the Canucks finally managed to get their 14th shot on goal. Fortunately Daniel Sedin, who hadn't scored a goal in the series, put it in the net to put Vancouver right back in it less than a minute after Toews had scored.
It was 'Game On' again with five minutes left in the period when Shane O'Brien, who hadn't scored in 148 games and
who only saw the ice for five shifts in the first period, beat a screened Khabibulin to tie it up again.
The Blackhawks goaltender made a spectacular save on Daniel Sedin on a deflection in the final minutes to keep it tied. By the end of the period the Canucks and Hawks had both registered 21 shots.
Former Toronto Maple Leaf Mats Sundin, essentially invisible in the playoffs until he had a goal and an assist in Game 5, came through with another goal and an assist in this one, giving the Canucks a 4-3 lead on another power play at 3:43 only to watch Adam Burish go glove side on Luongo for the third of four goals in the game less than two minutes later.
Daniel Sedin, with his second of the game off a faceoff win by his brother gave the Canucks the lead again for less than a minute again as Kane scored his second from behind the net off Luongo to make it 5-5.
It was a penalty to O'Brien which provided the power play winner by Toews, his second of the game, at 13:49.
And then Kane, with a backhand, made it a hat trick at 16:17 to send the Hawks to the Western Conference final against either the Detroit Red Wings or the Anaheim Ducks.
