Kane scores twice in Blackhawks win against Stars

DALLAS -- Patrick Kane scored two goals and had an assist for the Chicago Blackhawks in a 5-2 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Thursday.

The Blackhawks (12-19-6) have won two games in a row for the first time since Oct. 23-25.
Alex DeBrincat had a goal and two assists, and Cam Ward made 26 saves in his second straight start for Chicago since No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford sustained a concussion in a 7-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. Ward made 30 saves in a 2-1 win against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
WATCH: [All Blackhawks vs. Stars highlights]
"I think we're playing better," Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said. "But when the results aren't there, it gets old in that case even if you do believe it. Nice for the team. Nice for the mood to get a little positive reinforcement. Hopefully, that gives us the energy, the motivation to keep going, because it's hard to play the way we need to play to win. It's worth it in the end."
Tyler Seguin and Taylor Fedun scored for the Stars (17-15-3), who are 1-5-0 in their past six games following a four-game winning streak. Ben Bishop made 24 saves.
"We played pond hockey tonight, especially the first 30 minutes," Dallas coach Jim Montgomery said. "It cost us. We were down 3-0 for a reason."
DeBrincat gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead 1:12 into the game with a wrist shot from the top of the left face-off circle following a face-off win by David Kampf.
"It's pretty much how we drew it up, placement and everything," DeBrincat said. "I think we got lucky; our guys were in front of Bishop, but that's pretty much the way we want it to go."

Erik Gustafsson scored on the power play with a one-timer from the right circle off a return pass from DeBrincat to make it 2-0 at 17:23. The Chicago defenseman has seven goals in his past 13 games after scoring once in his first 21.
The Blackhawks entered the game last in the NHL on the power play (12.0 percent).
Kane scored at 1:56 of the second period to give Chicago a 3-0 lead. He took a pass in stride from Artem Anisimov, got behind Dallas defenseman John Klingberg, and scored with a backhand shot to the glove side.
Seguin pulled the Stars to within 3-1 at 8:15. Jamie Benn passed from behind the net to the low slot, where Seguin put a wrist shot between the blocker and the post.

Fedun scored the rebound of a Benn shot in the crease at 6:16 of the third period to cut the Blackhawks lead to 3-2.
"It was a matter of trading a lot of chances today," Fedun said. "They capitalized on some of theirs, and we didn't."
Kane scored the first of two empty-net goals for the Blackhawks to make it 4-2 at 18:10.
Brendan Perlini scored the second at 18:50 for the 5-2 final score.
Kane, whose 17 goals lead Chicago, said it has taken some time for the Blackhawks to adjust to the style of Colliton, who took over for longtime coach Joel Quenneville on Nov. 6.
"It seems like we're going to have to be more of a defensive team," he said. "That's the way it is if we're going to win games. I think everyone's OK in here kind of playing defense first, trying to capitalize when we get those chances."
Klingberg was minus-3 with two shots on goal in 24:30 in his first game since Nov. 8, when he broke his right hand.
"I felt OK," he said. "My timing was a little off."
Luke Johnson played center on Chicago's fourth line in place of Marcus Kruger, who was placed on injured reserve Wednesday after sustaining a concussion against Nashville. Johnson had one shot on goal in 10:46.

They said it

"Corey's obviously a big part of the team and a guy that you really can't replace. I've just got to go out there and try to give our team an opportunity to win. And we have to play a simple, sound game, and I thought these two (games) have been really good."-- Blackhawks goalie Cam Ward on their mindset with goalie Corey Crawford out with a concussion
"It was good to have him back. We were more dynamic offensively with him back in the lineup."-- Stars coach Jim Montgomery on defenseman John Klingberg

Need to know

Colliton said he hasn't decided whether Ward or goalie Collin Delia, recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Monday, will start Friday against the Colorado Avalanche. … Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy left the game with 2:52 remaining after being elbowed in the face by Stars forward Tyler Pitlick, but Colliton said he expects him to play Friday. … Seguin has three goals and three assists during a four-game point streak.

What's next

Blackhawks: At the Colorado Avalanche on Friday (9 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN360, ALT, NBCSCH+, NHL.TV)
Stars: At the Minnesota Wild on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-SW+, KTXA, NHL.TV)