The Chicago Blackhawks were the first team to advance to the Conference Finals in the 2009 postseason, downing the Vancouver Canucks in a thrilling Game 6 to avoid making the trip back to Vancouver for Game 7. Crucial to the Hawks’ success, as he has been all season, was young superstar Patrick Kane. Kane became only the 3rd player to score a hat trick in this postseason, joining Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, who both matched the feat in Game 2 of their star-studded series.
This game was one of the most exciting elimination playoff games of this postseason, with five lead changes over its course. Kane scored his first goal of the game late in the first to tie the game, and the Hawks would score two powerplay goals in the early stages of the second to go up 3-1. However, in the second half of the period, Daniel Sedin and Shane O’Brien put the Canucks back at level pegging to start the 3rd.
In the 3rd, Mats Sundin gave Vancouver an early jump, but Chicago quickly answered with a goal from Andrew Burish. After Sedin scored his 2nd goal of the game to give the Canucks yet another lead, Kane and Jonathan Toews simply took the game over. Kane scored 45 seconds after Sedin’s goal to tie the game, and Toews got a lucky bounce off of a Vancouver defenseman to put the Blackhawks up for good less than a minute later. With under four to play in the game, Kane rifled a backhand shot past Luongo, who made only 23 saves in this one, to ice the game for Chicago.
In the end, this game simply was a coming out party for the young Blackhawks, especially Kane. Many did not believe that the youthful Hawks would have what it took to last in a tough Western Conference playoff series, but they have simply outworked both teams they have faced, and have gotten the clutch production from their superstars to match it. Kane may not be putting up Crosby-esque numbers, but neither is anyone else not named Ovechkin or Malkin. He has proven that when his team needs him to step up, as they did in Game 6, he is more than capable of meeting the challenge. This team should be fun to watch in the Conference Finals, as they continue to gain confidence and valuable playoff experience.