Richard Panik powers Blackhawks past Oilers

EDMONTON -- Richard Panik had two goals and an assist, and Scott Darling made 30 saves for the Chicago Blackhawks in a 5-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Saturday.
The Blackhawks won the final five of a six-game road trip before beginning their five-day break.

"I liked our trip, it was very positive even in the first game in San Jose (3-1 loss on Jan. 31). I thought we did a lot of good things with consistency," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "That's probably the best four-line rotation we've had in any stretch all year long."
WATCH: All Blackhawks vs. Oilers highlights
Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists, and Trevor van Riemsdyk and Artem Anisimov scored for the Blackhawks (35-17-5).
"We're definitely improving our team game," Quenneville said. "It's tough to win five games in a row on the road."
Pat Maroon scored for the Oilers (29-19-8), and Cam Talbot allowed four goals on 20 shots before being replaced by Laurent Brossoit for the third period. Brossoit gave up one goal on five shots. The game was Edmonton's first after its five-day break.
"We anticipated a little bit of rust as far as timing and passing and maybe finding our legs, but that doesn't account for structure or systematic play because that didn't change over the break," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "And it certainly doesn't account for blue paint play, around our net and their net. They were much, much hungrier than we were in that area."
Maroon scored at 4:01 of the first period to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead, converting a pass in front of the net from Connor McDavid, who stripped defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson of the puck deep in the Blackhawks zone.
Panik tied the game 1-1 at 5:49, one-timing a shot from the blue line past Talbot. Kane gave Chicago a 2-1 lead on the power play midway through the period.

"I don't think we played too, too bad," Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. "It was just mistakes that shouldn't happen anymore at this point of the year. It was a frustrating loss for us."
In the second period, van Riemsdyk capitalized on a turnover by defenseman Oscar Klefbom to make it 3-1.
Panik put the Blackhawks up 4-1 at 18:26 on the power play, collecting a rebound in front of the net and lifting it over Talbot.
Anisimov scored his 20th goal at 15:49 of the third period to give Chicago a 5-1 lead, fighting off a check in front to tap in a pass from Kane.
"I think now each line -- we have four lines that can score -- and they're playing the best hockey right now," Panik said. "We have a few days off now and we have to use them to our advantage and be ready when we come back."

Goal of the game

Kane banked a shot in off Talbot from behind the net at 9:54 of the first period.

Save of the game

Talbot slid across his crease to stop a one-time shot from Kane at 6:55 of the second period.

Unsung performance of the game

Defenseman Duncan Keith played a Blackhawks-high 23:15, mostly against McDavid, and helped limit the leading scorer in the NHL to one assist.

Highlight of the game

Van Riemsdyk intercepted an errant pass in the Oilers zone and scored to give the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead at 8:37 of the second period.

They said it

"When you don't get to play a lot, every game is so important for you to contribute to the team. You only have one shot, maybe two a month to show the boys you're pulling your weight, so it feels extra good to get a win." -- Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling
"He's so fast and he changes speed so quick that he's hard to defend. They get a lot of their chances as a team off the rush, so you try to have a good [defensive] gap and you just close your eyes sometimes." -- Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith on Oilers captain Connor McDavid
"You look at Minnesota, Chicago, Columbus, the Rangers and all those teams at the top of the standings, everyone is chipping in, they aren't just relying on two or three guys to score for them night in and night out. We need more guys to step up and chip in with more goals." -- Oilers forward Milan Lucic

Need to know

Maroon ended a 10-game scoring drought. … Kane scored his 270th NHL career goal to tie Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Bobby Orr. … Edmonton has two regulation goals in its past four games.

What's next

Blackhawks: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN, NHLN-US, WGN, NHL.TV)
Oilers: Host the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-A, NHL.TV)