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December 23
Kane gets on board, but game slips away
From chicagoblackhawks.com: (link)
PHILADELPHIA -- Patrick Kane was unable to pick up a point during the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final, but his Chicago Blackhawks still held a 2-0 series lead.
On Wednesday night in Game 3, Kane had his best game of the Final, scoring a goal and adding an assist, but it came in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Kane gave the Blackhawks a brief 3-2 lead 2:50 into third period, but Ville Leino drew the Flyers back even 20 seconds later and Claude Giroux's goal won it in overtime.
After the bittersweet game for Kane, he spoke to the media in front of his locker.
Q: Does it feel like you let one slip away here?
Kane: We're in good position. It would have been nice to have, obviously. We would have put ourselves in great position. But we're still in a good position. Hopefully we can steal one (Friday) and take it back home.
Q: Did the Flyers do anything different in Game 3?
Kane: I thought they brought a pretty good effort the first two periods. After they scored to tie it up 3-3 they had a lot of momentum, feeding off the crowd. They're a good team. If they're here for any reason at all, I think it's because they battle hard. They've had their ups and downs and they're just proving themselves again. It's going to be a tough task. We knew it wasn't going to be a cakewalk. Tonight was one we'd definitely like to have.
Q: Were the Flyers being more physical with you tonight?
Kane: You can tell my face is a little messed up right now, but we'll see what happens.
Q: Do you think the Flyers are making an effort to finish more checks against you?
Kane: That's the way hockey's played. Sometimes you end up in those positions. I think there was one big hit where my helmet came off. Besides that, I don't know if they had any good licks on me. You can't worry about that. If you're worried about that, you're not going to be playing hockey as well.
Q: Does all that hitting take you and your line (Jonathan Toews, Dustin Byfuglien) out of your game?
Kane: I don't think so. To be honest with you, I think it gets us into the game a little bit more. Sometimes you do that, get hit a few times, punched in the face, whatever it may be, you can take advantage. It makes you want to do some different things. I don't know. It's an intense game. It's the Stanley Cup Final. They're not going to take it any lighter. It's going to be a great test.
Q: Does it feel good to score even though it was in a loss?
Kane: It was nice. It's always nice. It would've been nice in a win. It would've been nice to get another one in overtime. But hopefully I'm saving those for later.
Q: Even though it came in a loss and your scoreless streak was only two games, does a game like this give you confidence?
Kane: Yeah, for sure. It's always nice for your confidence to put up a few points. First game, I thought I was terrible. Last game, I thought I was getting a little bit better. Tonight, I thought I played pretty good. Hopefully we can just keep getting better throughout the series. Sometimes, when you haven't seen a team for a while, you try to feel them out for a little bit. That's pretty much how I played throughout my whole career. I'd rather not score and win than score and lose.
Q: How do you explain Ben Eager getting points whenever he makes an appearance on the top line? He had an assist on your goal tonight.
Kane: Yeah, 2-for-2. Pretty good percentage. I don't know. Sometimes you just throw him in there for energy. They took me off the line last game and he ended up scoring. He ended up going for (Byfuglien) today and I ended up scoring. It's one of those things. It's kind of funny how it works out.
Q: Do you think the line of Patrick Sharp, Troy Brouwer and Marian Hossa took a step back tonight?
Kane: I don't know. It would be great to have all four lines flying. It's just one of those nights where's it not perfect. I think right now, we need everyone to be playing with confidence, or we're just playing relaxed like it's another game. I know it's the Stanley Cup Final, but it should be fun and should be a great test.
Q: Is this one of the tougher losses you've suffered in your career?
Kane: It's tough. To be honest with you, the way the game's going, you could probably see we needed to change things up real quick to get ourselves some chances, to start scoring goals. You can see that (Kris) Versteeg had a few chances in OT. Would've been nice if one of those went in. But obviously they dominated the game pretty much from the third period on.
PHILADELPHIA -- Patrick Kane was unable to pick up a point during the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final, but his Chicago Blackhawks still held a 2-0 series lead.
On Wednesday night in Game 3, Kane had his best game of the Final, scoring a goal and adding an assist, but it came in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Kane gave the Blackhawks a brief 3-2 lead 2:50 into third period, but Ville Leino drew the Flyers back even 20 seconds later and Claude Giroux's goal won it in overtime.
After the bittersweet game for Kane, he spoke to the media in front of his locker.
Q: Does it feel like you let one slip away here?
Kane: We're in good position. It would have been nice to have, obviously. We would have put ourselves in great position. But we're still in a good position. Hopefully we can steal one (Friday) and take it back home.
Q: Did the Flyers do anything different in Game 3?
Kane: I thought they brought a pretty good effort the first two periods. After they scored to tie it up 3-3 they had a lot of momentum, feeding off the crowd. They're a good team. If they're here for any reason at all, I think it's because they battle hard. They've had their ups and downs and they're just proving themselves again. It's going to be a tough task. We knew it wasn't going to be a cakewalk. Tonight was one we'd definitely like to have.
Q: Were the Flyers being more physical with you tonight?
Kane: You can tell my face is a little messed up right now, but we'll see what happens.
Q: Do you think the Flyers are making an effort to finish more checks against you?
Kane: That's the way hockey's played. Sometimes you end up in those positions. I think there was one big hit where my helmet came off. Besides that, I don't know if they had any good licks on me. You can't worry about that. If you're worried about that, you're not going to be playing hockey as well.
Q: Does all that hitting take you and your line (Jonathan Toews, Dustin Byfuglien) out of your game?
Kane: I don't think so. To be honest with you, I think it gets us into the game a little bit more. Sometimes you do that, get hit a few times, punched in the face, whatever it may be, you can take advantage. It makes you want to do some different things. I don't know. It's an intense game. It's the Stanley Cup Final. They're not going to take it any lighter. It's going to be a great test.
Q: Does it feel good to score even though it was in a loss?
Kane: It was nice. It's always nice. It would've been nice in a win. It would've been nice to get another one in overtime. But hopefully I'm saving those for later.
Q: Even though it came in a loss and your scoreless streak was only two games, does a game like this give you confidence?
Kane: Yeah, for sure. It's always nice for your confidence to put up a few points. First game, I thought I was terrible. Last game, I thought I was getting a little bit better. Tonight, I thought I played pretty good. Hopefully we can just keep getting better throughout the series. Sometimes, when you haven't seen a team for a while, you try to feel them out for a little bit. That's pretty much how I played throughout my whole career. I'd rather not score and win than score and lose.
Q: How do you explain Ben Eager getting points whenever he makes an appearance on the top line? He had an assist on your goal tonight.
Kane: Yeah, 2-for-2. Pretty good percentage. I don't know. Sometimes you just throw him in there for energy. They took me off the line last game and he ended up scoring. He ended up going for (Byfuglien) today and I ended up scoring. It's one of those things. It's kind of funny how it works out.
Q: Do you think the line of Patrick Sharp, Troy Brouwer and Marian Hossa took a step back tonight?
Kane: I don't know. It would be great to have all four lines flying. It's just one of those nights where's it not perfect. I think right now, we need everyone to be playing with confidence, or we're just playing relaxed like it's another game. I know it's the Stanley Cup Final, but it should be fun and should be a great test.
Q: Is this one of the tougher losses you've suffered in your career?
Kane: It's tough. To be honest with you, the way the game's going, you could probably see we needed to change things up real quick to get ourselves some chances, to start scoring goals. You can see that (Kris) Versteeg had a few chances in OT. Would've been nice if one of those went in. But obviously they dominated the game pretty much from the third period on.
