Blackhawks score eight, end skid with victory against Flames

CALGARY -- Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews each had a goal and two assists, and the Chicago Blackhawks got their first win in six games, 8-4 against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday.

Alex Nylander scored twice, and Robin Lehner made 38 saves for the Blackhawks (26-24-8), who were 0-3-2 in the past five games.
"It's nice to see the result, but regardless you've got to keep working, you have to bring your best no matter what happens," Toews said. "You've got to turn it around mentally and find ways to battle back and create something, even if the good feelings aren't always there. It's the way you've got to play in the playoffs. This has to be playoff hockey for us now. It's do or die."
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Elias Lindholm and Sam Bennett each had two goals for the Flames (30-24-6), who are 0-4-1 in the past five home games. David Rittich allowed four goals on 15 shots and was pulled in the second period. Cam Talbot made nine saves in relief.
"It [stinks], especially at home," Calgary forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "We want to make this place a real tough place to play and for some reason right now we're just not having success. I can't put my finger on it, but if I could we would change it. The good thing is we're in the [playoff] race."

Brandon Saad gave Chicago a 3-2 lead at 4:24 of the second period, and Nylander intercepted a cross-ice pass by Dillon Dube and deked Rittich to make it 4-2 at 5:28. Rittich was replaced by Talbot after the goal.
"You always want to score every game and want to help the team win," Nylander said. "Finally, it's come. We've had a lot of chances and [we're] finally getting the bounces in. I'm happy, and we need to build on this as we have really important games the rest of the season."
Lindholm trimmed the lead to 4-3 at 10:56, but Alex DeBrincat scored on a pass from below the goal line by Dylan Strome to make it 5-3 at 17:47.
Nylander, who had two goals in his prior 34 games, scored on a shot from the slot after taking a pass from Matthew Highmore from behind the net 27 seconds later for a 6-3 lead.
"It was a tight game," Toews said. "I took a penalty when it was 4-3. We got a big kill there and turned around and scored two goals, going into the third period with a nice, comfy lead. It was definitely big for our confidence."
Lindholm's shot from the slot on the power play brought Calgary within 6-4 at 14:06 of the third period. He has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in a 10-game point streak.
Kane made it 7-4 at 16:48, and Kirby Dach scored at 18:59 for the 8-4 final.
"It's nice to see all four lines get in on the offense tonight," Toews said. "I think it helps everyone's confidence. We'll stick with playing the right way, doing the things we know we have to do and playing with energy, and we can get offense from [everyone] in our lineup."
Toews scored 30 seconds into the first period on the game's first shot, which went over Rittich's glove on a 2-on-1 to put Chicago up 1-0. Bennett tied it 1-1 at 2:07 on Dube's cross-crease pass.
Dominik Kubalik put the Blackhawks up 2-1 at 9:17 before Bennett tied it 2-2 on a breakaway at 12:57.
"It's a little frustrating right now," Bennett said. "We pushed back after they scored early. For whatever reason, our defensive zone and our turnovers, we fell apart and gave up way too many odd-man rushes and good looks and they capitalized."

They said it

"It's really nice to get the win tonight. We played really well against [the] Vancouver (Canucks, a 3-0 loss on Wednesday) but didn't get the bounces. We just need to keep building off this. We play good like this and get pucks to the net and good things will happen our way. We have really big games coming up. We need to be sharp and win them." -- Blackhawks forward Alex Nylander

"All in all, it's a team that I think if we could've beat them tonight it puts them in a tough spot. It's a big gap. Now they're right back in it and this race is heating up. These are the types of games when we play like this it seems like every other team wins. Back to the drawing board tomorrow, I guess." -- Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk on the Blackhawks, who are six points behind the Arizona Coyotes for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference

Need to know

Kane has 25 points (six goals, 19 assists) in his past 18 games. … The Flames have allowed a goal on their first shot against in nine games this season, most in the NHL, per Sportsnet. … Lindholm is the second player to have a point streak of 10 or more games in each of his first two seasons with the Flames, joining Doug Gilmour in 1988-89 (once) and 1989-90 (twice).

What's next

Blackhawks: At the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, TSN3, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)
Flames: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Monday (4 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SNW, PRIME, NHL.TV)