Kane nets hat trick to help lift Chicago over Maple Leafs
Noel Acciari scores 1st goal with Toronto in 5-3 loss
Patrick Kane had his ninth career regular-season hat trick, rookie Cole Guttman scored the game-winner and Chicago beat the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 Sunday night.
Guttman scored his first NHL goal by beating Ilya Samsonov over the blocker with a hard wrist shot from right wing with 8:18 remaining to break a 3-3 deadlock.
"A dream come true," said Guttman, who was playing for Denver University this time last year. "My initial thought was pass, but I think the D took it away."
Mitch Marner had tied it 3-3 on a set play 7:38 into the third period. He raced into the Chicago zone when Morgan Rielly sent a hard dump-in off the boards. Marner picked it up, cut hard to the net, and swung a backhand past Jaxson Stauber before he could react.
WATCH l Kane completes hat trick to guide Chicago past Leafs:
Kane has been the subject of trade rumours all season as Chicago tries to position itself to win the draft lottery. He had been goalless in seven games before scoring twice at Ottawa on Friday, and followed that up with his ninth three-goal game in regular-season play. He has 14 goals in 52 games.
"I've only seen vintage Patrick Kane on TV," Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. "Good to see it live. He's definitely been playing with confidence and swagger."
Kane opened the scoring with a wicked wrist shot 10:44 into the first period beating Samsonov from the left-wing circle.
It was Chicago's eighth shot on goal, and they didn't get another until 7:57 of the second period, when Kane took a pass from Domi and beat a screened Samsonov from 20 feet.
WATCH l : Chicago's Guttman scores 1st NHL goal in 3rd career game:
Kane completed the hat trick 12:49 into the second, corralling a puck behind the Toronto net and caroming it off Samsonov's backside. A replay review proved the puck crossed the goal line completely, which set off a cascade of hats from the standing-room crowd of 20,979 at United Center.
"The last couple of games I've been getting some looks, and it's nice to capitalize on them," Kane said. "A couple times out there, you just get chills with the way the crowd's into it with the position we're in. They want us to win."
Of his gut feeling on a possible trade, Kane said, "I don't know. If I knew that, I think I'd make a decision already."
Domi, who scored an empty-net goal with 1:16 to play, matched a career high with his assists on Kane's three goals. Kane set up the empty-netter.
Toronto's John Tavares tied the game 1-1 on a power play 2:08 after Kane's first goal, tipping in Rielly's shot from the left point past Stauber.
"I just thought we were clearly a very tired group right from the start and made tired mistakes," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said, noting the Leafs played Saturday night. "When you're tired, you've got to be really smart and structured and all of that. Some of the clean looks we gave up tonight are the result of not being smart."
Stauber made 31 saves, Samsonov had 23.
Noel Acciari, picked up by Toronto on Friday in a three-way trade with Minnesota and St. Louis, scored from the left slot to pull the Leafs within 3-2 with 2:14 left in the period. Former Chicago player David Kampf grabbed a high pass from Alexander Kerfoot, threw it to the ice and fed Acciari.
COOKIE'S FIRST AS A LEAF! 🍪 <a href="https://t.co/Edn7G68Sbt">pic.twitter.com/Edn7G68Sbt</a>
—@MapleLeafsToews out indefinitely
Chicago captain Jonathan Toews, who missed his seventh straight game Sunday, said he was suffering from both long COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome, the latter having sidelined him for the shortened 2020-21 season.
"In the last few weeks, it has reached the point where I had no choice but to step back and concentrate on getting healthy," Toews said. He had skated on his own earlier in the week but had to stop.
The Maple Leafs face the Sabres in Buffalo on Tuesday
