Patrick Kane scores double-OT goal, Blackhawks survive Blues (Video)

If the St. Louis Blues were going to lose Game 5 of their divisional semifinal series against the Chicago Blackhawks, this was the last way they wanted to lose it.

Patrick Kane scored his first goal of the playoffs at 3:07 of the second overtime, giving Chicago a 4-3 win in a game that saw them blow a 3-1 lead in the third period.

That’s a polite way of saying that the Blues, now up 3-2 in the series, had this one in their sights, especially in a first overtime session that they dominated. Instead, the Blues watched as the Blackhawks’ star players woke up from their offensive slumber and, more importantly, survived elimination in momentum-swinging dramatic fashion.

The play began with Corey Crawford making a save on a Troy Brouwer deflection. Jonathan Toews took the puck and sent it ahead to Kane, who skated through the Blues’ defense and nearly ended the game on a wraparound.

The Blackhawks kept the puck in the Blues’ zone, with Richard Panik eventually sending it back to Kane. That’s when the NHL’s leading scorer worked his magic. He deked Brouwer out of his jock in the slot and split two defensemen for a shot that trickled wide of Elliott.

Yet somehow, the Blues allowed Kane to slip behind the cage and tuck the puck home for the game winner with 16:54 left in the second OT, the fifth playoff overtime goal of his career.

"He’s a clutch player Obviously, he’s a great player. Not a lot of players can do what he did, or does," said coach Joel Quenneville, via the Sun-Times.

The Hawks mobbed Kane en masse along the boards, knowing that they’d play another day – Game 6 on Saturday, back in Chicago, with Andrew Shaw back in the lineup.

It was a night when their impact players finally made an impact. Marian Hossa scored a shorthanded goal. Kane had the primary assist on Artemi Panarin’s goal with 0.4 seconds left in the second period; Panarin had the primary assist on Artem Anisimov’s goal.

Meanwhile, all Duncan Keith did was skate 42 minutes in the game. Wow.

The Blues can rest assured that they have two more chances to end this series. But one wonders how solid that assurance is now that the champs have new life.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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