By Canadian Press

Kane gets hat trick as Blackhawks beat Senators for 1st win

Nov 1, 2021 | 7:52 PM

CHICAGO (AP) — Patrick Kane had three goals and an assist in his return to the lineup, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Ottawa Senators 5-1 on Monday night for their first win of the season.

Led by Kane and Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 29 saves in another solid performance, Chicago improved to 1-7-2 in front of a half-full United Center. Brandon Hagel scored twice, and captain Jonathan Toews had three assists.

Kane was sidelined for the previous four games because of the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol, and Chicago sorely missed his unique offensive ability. It lost 1-0 at St. Louis on Saturday night, finishing with 25 shots on goal.

Matt Murray made 26 stops for Ottawa in his first game since he was kneed in the head during a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Oct. 23. Alex Formenton stopped Fleury’s bid for his 68th career shutout with his second of the season 1:41 into the third.

Kane’s seventh hat trick in the regular season gave him 408 career goals, moving him ahead of Steve Larmer for third on the franchise list. He also jumped over Denis Savard for third on the Blackhawks’ points list with 1,097.

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Chicago grabbed a 2-0 lead when Kane converted a backhand on a power play 2:09 into the second. Kane then buried a cross-ice pass from Erik Gustafsson 1:22 into the third, and made it 5-1 when he beat Murray through the goaltender’s legs on a breakaway with 12:43 left.

The Senators lost for the fourth time in five games overall. It was their seventh consecutive loss to the Blackhawks.

Chicago caught a break 27 seconds into the third when Hagel’s shot from near the blue line got past a screened Murray for a 3-0 lead. It was Hagel’s third of the season.

POSTPONED

The Blackhawks have postponed Marian Hossa’s legacy night in the wake of an independent report that showed the organization badly mishandled allegations that an assistant coach sexually assaulted former first-round pick Kyle Beach during the team’s Stanley Cup run in 2010.

Hossa is being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 15. His legacy night was scheduled for Nov. 9.

“Everyone agreed that this is an important time for our organization to reflect rather than celebrate,” the team said in a statement. “Marian and the club’s leadership team all know we must build back our community’s trust as we ensure accountability within our organization following Kyle Beach’s courage in coming forward.”

UP NEXT

Senators: At the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.

Blackhawks: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night.

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Jay Cohen can be reached at https://twitter.com/jcohenap

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More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Jay Cohen, The Associated Press