Blackhawks score four in first, hold off Maple Leafs

TORONTO --The Chicago Blackhawks scored four goals in the first period before holding off the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 5-4 win at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.

"For us, that's all that matters is getting the two points really," said Blackhawks forward Brendan Perlini, who had a goal and two assists. "We played a really good first two periods and then let our foot off the gas, but the main thing is we got those two points. We're in the chase (for the Stanley Cup Playoffs) so we just have to move on now and go again."
Brandon Saad had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks (31-30-9), who have won four straight and trail the Arizona Coyotes by four points for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. Corey Crawford made 17 saves before leaving after the second period because of an illness. He was replaced by Collin Delia, who made 26 saves on 29 shots in the third period.
WATCH: [All Blackhawks vs. Maple Leafs highlights]
"It felt like an eternity, those final seconds felt like a half an hour," Delia said. "I was sweating pretty heavily after the game. After skating pretty heavily this morning, it definitely felt like a full game that third period."
Andreas Johnsson, Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly each had a goal and an assist, and William Nylander and Mitchell Marner each had two assists for the Maple Leafs (42-23-5), who have lost three of their past four (1-2-1) and trail the Boston Bruins by four points for second place in the Atlantic Division.

Frederik Andersen was pulled for the second straight game after allowing four goals on 14 shots. He was replaced at the start of the second period by Garret Sparks, who made 24 saves.
"We put ourselves in a hole and we did our best to come back from it, but too little too late," Rielly said. "When you look back at the start and the position we put ourselves in after the first period, that's the problem. The last period is great, but you don't want to be in that situation in the first place."
Duncan Keith gave Chicago a 1-0 lead at 3:19 of the first period on a slap shot that deflected off Nylander's stick and beat Andersen five-hole.
Perlini made it 2-0 at 12:55 when his shot from the slot deflected off Maple Leafs forward Nic Petan's stick, and Dominik Kahun extended the lead to 3-0 at 17:13 off a 2-on-1 with Patrick Kane.
Saad made it 4-0 at 18:46 on a backhand past a sprawling Andersen in front.

Alex DeBrincat pushed the lead to 5-0 at 12:32 of the second period, and Johnsson made it 5-1 at 18:27 on a redirection five-hole of Crawford.
"There's no question we have to tighten up in all three zones and then play more like we did the last two periods, where we started to work and wear the other team out," Maple Leafs center John Tavares said.
Toronto outshot Chicago 29-12 in the third period.
Matthews scored at 7:57 of the third period to make it 5-2 when he banked a shot off Blackhawks forward Dylan Strome from behind the net, and Rielly scored on a one-timer from the point on the power play to cut it to 5-3 at 10:55.

Tavares made it 5-4 with 1:31 remaining in regulation on a shot from a sharp angle with Sparks pulled for an extra skater. The goal was Tavares' 39th of the season, an NHL career high.
The Maple Leafs had several chances to tie the game in a frantic final minute but couldn't get another puck past Delia.
"We probably should have tied it with the amount of shots and chances we had," Tavares said. "We did everything but tie it up. Pucks were bouncing around the crease, we just couldn't find them in time."

They said it

"If somebody didn't believe we could make the playoffs, they wouldn't be here. It's a really good group here and we all expect the best from each other. The League has been funny this year, too. One week we're in it, one week out of it, then back in it again. Really, just stay there until the very end, until the final game goes and whatever happens, happens." -- Blackhawks forward Brendan Perlini
"We just have to figure it out. We don't have to be concerned, but we have to realize that we have 12 games to figure out how well we want to come prepared to games. If we don't, we're going to be playing very short in the spring." -- Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen

Need to know

Toronto defeated Chicago 7-6 in overtime the first time the teams played on Oct. 7. … The Maple Leafs' 29 shots in the third period were four shy of the NHL record for a single period, set by the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Blackhawks on Oct. 21, 2018. … Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman was a late scratch because of the flu. … Maple Leafs forward Kasperi Kapanen missed his second straight game because of a concussion. … Nylander's assist on Johnsson's goal was his 100th in the NHL. … Matthews played in his 200th NHL game. … Kane is one point shy of reaching 100 points for the second time in the NHL; he led the League with 106 in 2015-16.

What's next

Blackhawks:At the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CITY, SNE, TVAS, WGN, NHL.TV)
Maple Leafs:Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, NBCSP+, NHL.TV)