Gaborik's 2 goals rally Kings to OT win vs. visiting 'Hawks
LOS ANGELES — Marian Gaborik put only three shots on net against the Chicago Blackhawks. His last two went in at just the right time for the Los Angeles Kings.
Gaborik scored the tying goal with 5:55 left in regulation and added his fifth of the season 2:04 into overtime, lifting the Kings to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.
"It was tough today, but our team never quits until the last whistle," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said.
"It started with a pretty good second period. We just wanted to continue to take it to them, get pucks into the zone, play physical and try to get back into the game. And that's what we did. It was great to get the win, and it really good for Gabby — because now he's going to get hot."
Gaborik spoiled a record-setting night for Chicago's Patrick Kane. The winger broke an NHL mark for U.S.-born players with a point in his 19th consecutive game, scoring on a power play and assisting on Niklas Hjalmarsson's first goal of the season.
Kane leads the league with 37 points, and 31 of them have come during the streak, which eclipsed the record previously shared by Eddie Olczyk and Phil Kessel. Olczyk is a color commentator for Blackhawks games and Kane knows him well, and Kessel was Kane's teammate on the U.S. Olympic hockey teams in Vancouver and Sochi.
"You think about how many great American players have played the game," Kane said. "I've become pretty close with Eddie over the years here, and to the point where I ask him for advice on a lot of different things and he's willing to share a lot, too.
"I've known Phil pretty well since I was 16 years old — so two great players, two great careers, and it's fun to be there with them. It was pretty exciting when it happened, and it looked like it was going to be a fun night there. But it's kind of overshadowed by the loss."
The Blackhawks beat Anaheim 3-2 in overtime on Friday night after trailing 2-0 with less than two minutes left. In this one, they blew a 2-0 third-period lead.
It was the first time the defending Stanley Cup champions lost when leading after two periods in the regular season since April 12, 2014, when the Nashville Predators rallied from a 3-2 deficit at home to win 7-5. Chicago had won 34 straight since then.
Jeff Carter ignited the Kings' comeback, converting his own rebound 52 seconds into the third.
Gaborik got the equalizer with a short wrist shot from the slot after defenseman Brent Seabrook overskated the puck while trying to carry it out of his own end and lost it to Anze Kopitar. Gaborik's second game-winner of the season came on a shot that beat Scott Darling low to the stick side.
Playing in his 600th regular-season game, Kane opened the scoring with his 14th goal of the season at 11:10 of the first on the power play. It was the sixth man-advantage goal allowed by Los Angeles in its last six games.
Kane is two games shy of the Blackhawks' franchise record for consecutive games with a goal or an assist, set by Bobby Hull during the 1971-72 season.
The last time Kane was held off the scoresheet was Oct. 15 at Washington. The longest point streak in NHL history is 51 games, by Wayne Gretzky with the 1983-84 Edmonton Oilers.
Quick stopped 20 shots, including a breakaway by Andrew Shaw at 11:15 of the second period. Hjalmarsson made it 2-0 at 12:56 of the second, ending a 29-game goal drought by the defenseman since his goal against the Kings on March 30.
It was the second meeting of the season between the Kings and Blackhawks, who have each won two of the last four Stanley Cup championships. The defending champion Blackhawks also beat the Kings 4-2 at Chicago on Nov. 2.
NOTES
The Kings were 10-15-0 against the Blackhawks during the four seasons in which they took turns winning the Stanley Cup, including postseason play. Chicago beat Los Angeles in five games to win the 2013 Western Conference finals, and the Kings returned the favor the following year by beating the Blackhawks in a seven-game conference final that was decided by Alec Martinez's overtime goal. ... Darling's only other start against the Kings was back on March 3, when he made 31 saves in a 4-1 victory at Chicago.
