Kane extends point streak in Blackhawks win against Coyotes

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Patrick Kane assisted on Brandon Saad's two goals to extend his point streak to 12 games, and scored in the shootout for the Chicago Blackhawks in a 3-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Saturday.

Corey Crawford made 40 saves plus two in the shootout for the Blackhawks (25-21-6), who are 6-0-1 in their past seven games.
"The excitement is high; we've been winning, we've had a stretch of wins, and any time you're winning you feel good," Saad said. "It's going to be a tight race all the way out, so we're taking it game by game and collecting as many wins as we can."
WATCH: [All Blackhawks vs. Coyotes highlights]
Antti Raanta made 43 saves for the Coyotes (26-21-7), who are 0-3-2 in their past five games and 1-5-3 in their past nine.
"It was up for grabs, it was there for us and, unfortunately, we didn't grab it," Arizona forward Taylor Hall said. "It's tough. As a team, we probably don't have the confidence we had 20 games ago."

Richardson got Arizona within 2-1 at 8:58 of the second period off a rebound along the goal line, and Garland tied it 2-2 with a wrist shot from the left circle inside the far post at 18:20.
"We're battling for a playoff spot, and that was probably the most exciting game of this year," Crawford said. "It was a good job by our guys not to panic after they came back."
Saad gave Chicago a 1-0 lead at 12:08 of the first period on a shot from the left circle inside the near post.
Saad's fourth goal in four games, on a tumbling shot from the low slot after Kane was stopped on a breakaway, made it 2-0 at 4:36 of the second period. The Blackhawks, playing their first game since Jan. 21, had 10 of the first 11 shots in the period.
"It looked like we were flying out there, for a team that had more than a week off," Crawford said.

Raanta prevented a hat trick by blocking Saad's backhand with his left skate while lying forward on his stomach in the crease at 14:29 of the third period.
"Originally when I shot it, I thought it was definitely going in when I got it elevated, but he threw his heel up and made a save," Saad said. "Both goaltenders were great tonight."
The Blackhawks prevented the Coyotes from sweeping the season series for the first time in Arizona/Phoenix/Winnipeg Jets history. Arizona won the first two games, 4-3 in a shootout at Chicago on Dec. 8 and 5-2 at home on Dec. 12.
"People got their money's worth tonight, no question," Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said. "It was a good game. I thought the overtime was fantastic, the quality of our guys. It's unbelievable."
Chicago trails Arizona by three points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Western Conference with two games in hand.
"They made a push and, for us, it's a big character win, sticking with it," Saad said. "Sometimes in the past we kind of falter, but getting that second point is huge, especially in this race."

They said it

"With how loud the crowd was, the chances going back and forth, especially in overtime, it was exciting. It felt like a playoff game, almost. That was a lot of fun." -- Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad
"We can't have four, five six guys pulling zeroes every night, you just can't, or we're not going to go anywhere. Our team is built around 20 guys, and we can't have just 13 guys playing, it's impossible to win. … We can't have four or five guys not there, it's as plain as day." -- Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet

Need to know

The Blackhawks are 8-0-1 in their past nine road games. ... Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (lower body) missed his first game of the season. The captain was injured Thursday in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings. It is not believed to be a long-term injury. ... Kane has 49 points (16 goals, 33 assists) in 41 games against Arizona. ... Hall has 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists) in 24 games against Chicago. ... The Coyotes have a seven-game point streak at home (4-0-3).

What's next

Blackhawks: At the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)
Coyotes: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN1, FS-A, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV)