CHICAGO (AP) - The Blackhawks appeared to be in big trouble when Patrick Kane was whistled for hooking in overtime, handing a power play to the potent Dallas Stars.
Then Scott Darling came up with a huge stop, and Marian Hossa finished another big win for Chicago.
Darling made a terrific kick save on Patrick Eaves, Hossa scored at 4:31 of overtime and the Blackhawks beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 on Sunday night for their sixth consecutive victory.
“It took every inch of me to get that one,” the 6-foot-6 Darling said.
Jonathan Toews had a goal and two assists and Kane scored for the third time in four games, helping the Blackhawks sweep the home-and-home set with the Stars. Kane had a goal and an assist in Saturday night’s 3-2 victory in Dallas.
“We’ve been focusing really well on the process of just playing well and improving our overall game,” Toews said. “A while back, the focus was our penalty kill had to get better. I think we’ve improved every single game.”
Kane’s second hooking call of the night set Dallas up with a prime opportunity in overtime. But Darling got over to knock away Eaves’ shot, helping the Blackhawks to their 18th successful kill in their last 19 tries.
“He made a great save on me,” Eaves said. “That was the look we wanted and it just didn’t go in.”
Hossa then drove one by a screened Kari Lehtonen for his sixth of the season. Darling, subbing for red-hot starter Corey Crawford, made 32 stops as the Blackhawks improved to 7-1-1 at home.
“The good thing is this team never quits,” Hossa said. “Six wins in a row, I think we’re on the right path.”
Gemel Smith scored his first two NHL goals for Dallas, including a short-handed breakaway in the second. Tyler Seguin also scored in the opener of a five-game road trip.
“Those are hard losses,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “We had our opportunity with the power play in overtime.”
The Stars had a 2-1 lead in the third when Dallas winger Antoine Roussel was sent off for playing the puck with a broken stick. Then Kane was whistled for hooking at 3:02, making it 4 on 4 for 94 seconds.
The Blackhawks made the most of the extra space on the ice, jumping in front with two goals in a span of 56 seconds.
First, Hossa made a terrific pass through the legs of Dallas defenseman John Klingberg to a streaking Toews for a beautiful one-timer at 3:39. After Darling denied Jamie Benn with a pad save on a breakaway, Toews was stopped by Lehtonen on the other side, but the puck went right to Artem Anisimov for the rebound goal.
Anisimov’s team-best eighth goal, extending his career-long point streak to 11 games, looked like the winner until Smith redirected Klingberg’s shot past Darling with 1:20 remaining. The tying goal came moments after Dallas pulled Lehtonen for an extra attacker.
Lehtonen finished with 29 stops in his first start since Oct. 29. Antti Niemi made 29 saves in Saturday night’s loss.
Seguin’s sixth goal at 15:34 of the first put Dallas in front and stopped Chicago’s penalty-kill streak at 15 in a row. With Duncan Keith in the box for hooking, Seguin knocked in a rebound for his sixth point in his last four games.
Smith made it 2-0 when he beat Darling with a nice backhander at 8:29 of the second.
The Blackhawks played with a short bench for the last part of the game after rookie forward Tyler Motte was ridden into the boards by Stars forward Radek Faksa with about seven minutes left in the second. Coach Joel Quenneville said Motte had a lower-body injury and the team will know more on Monday.
NOTES: Hossa’s goal was his 1,100th career point. … Stars C Jason Spezza was scratched with a lower-body injury after he got hurt in the second period Saturday night. … The Stars placed C Jiri Hudler (illness) on injured reserve and center Justin Dowling was promoted from Texas of the AHL. Dowling was scratched, and D Patrik Nemeth played forward in his first game since Oct. 29. … Blackhawks LW Andrew Desjardins was a healthy scratch. Desjardins was activated from injured reserve on Saturday, but Quenneville wanted to stay with the same lineup from the victory in Dallas. Desjardins could make his season debut Wednesday at St. Louis. “We’d like to get him in here, yeah,” Quenneville said. “I don’t want to say for sure.” … Blackhawks D Trevor van Riemsdyk (right arm injury) skated Sunday. He was placed on IR on Saturday.
UP NEXT
Stars: Visit Winnipeg on Tuesday
Blackhawks: Visit St. Louis on Wednesday night.
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Jay Cohen can be reached at https://www.twitter.com/jcohenap
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