On their way to their 5th Stanley Cup, the Chicago Blackhawks took a commanding lead of 4-0 over the L.A. Kings in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Those 4 goals came on 17 shots, forcing former Hawk and at the time Head Coach for the Kings, Darryl Sutter, to pull his go-to goalie, and give Jonathan Bernier his first NHL Playoff experience.
The goal-scoring Hawks started with Andrew Shaw, under 2 minutes in. Then, with under a minute left in the 1st, Duncan Keith netted one assisted by the great Marian Hossa and current captain, Jonathan Toews.
Bryan Bickell ended up with the GWG, which was also a PPG after Dwight King was given 2 minutes for Tripping at 5:28 into the 2nd. And just about 2 minutes after that goal, Michal Handzus, assisted by the Patricks Sharp and Kane, scored Chicago's 4th goal, and sent Jonathan Quick to the bench.
In the 29:20 remaining, the rookie only had to face 9 more shots from the Hawks, but he stopped them all, giving his Kings a chance to get on the board, which they did, but too little, too late. Jeff Carter scored first at 18:57 of the 2nd, and Tyler Toffoli just about mirrored that with a PPG at 18:58 of the 3rd. Hawks won 4-2, with Crawford making 29 saves on 31 shots, and Chicago went up in the series 2-0.
And of course, it wouldn't be a playoff game without a little extracurricular activity - check out Corey Crawford jumping in to defend his captain, while Bernier challenges him from the other end of the ice!
Love to see it!
