ST. LOUIS — Duncan Keith came clean: He just wanted to clear the puck out of danger. Somehow, it found Jonathan Toews’ stick.
The Chicago Blackhawks captain made the most of a lucky carom, scoring on a breakaway in overtime to beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 on Friday night and give the defending Stanley Cup champions a 3-2 series lead.
“Oh, I’m not going to give myself that much credit,” Keith said. “Maybe some guys would. Lucky break by us.”
The Blues had control before Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford stopped a shot by David Backes.
Seconds later, the Blackhawks were in command. They’ve taken three straight in an ultra-tight series that’s had four overtimes, and can wrap up the series at home with Game 6 set for Sunday.
“It’s huge, it’s a great opportunity,” Toews said. “But you know it’s going to take our best effort that we’ve had so far, and I think we’re ready to give that.”
Momentum changed quickly on the winner.
Keith’s clearing attempt deflected off Andrew Shaw’s shin pad and right to Toews alone at center ice coming off a change and catching the Blues defense on a change. He charged the net with Jordan Leopold and Jay Bouwmeester in futile pursuit, then threw a few fakes at goalie Ryan Miller — the player the Blues acquired to make a Cup run — before scoring on a backhander at 7:36 of overtime.
“I wasn’t even sure where their D-men were,” Toews said. “Just got going as fast as I could. Take advantage of a chance.”
“I was just saying to some of the guys in the other room, I’m trying to get the puck out of the zone and all of a sudden it lands on his stick,” Keith said. “Couldn’t believe it. So, I was pretty happy seeing that.”
St. Louis defenseman Roman Polak saw Toews coming off the bench but reasoned that the Blues had control, so he left the ice about the same time Backes was shooting. Replacement Jay Bouwmeester never had a chance and Toews also got behind Jordan Leopold.
“It was a lucky bounce or something,” Polak said. “It was just a lucky bounce.”
Marian Hossa and Ben Smith also scored for the Blackhawks. T.J. Oshie and Alex Pietrangelo scored for the Blues.
FLYERS 2, RANGERS 1
PHILADELPHIA — Steve Mason stopped 37 shots in his first start of the series, Matt Read and Jakub Voracek scored and Philadelphia beat New York to tie the first-round matchup 2-2.
Ray Emery started the first three games for Mason, who was out with an upper-body injury. Mason played the final 7:15 in a 4-1 loss Tuesday night.
Dominic Moore scored for the Rangers.
Game 5 is Sunday in New York.
DUCKS 6, STARS 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and two assists in his return from injury, and Anaheim scored four power-play goals to take a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.
Corey Perry also had a goal and two assists for the top-seeded Ducks, who confidently moved to the brink of the second round after dropping the last two games in Dallas.
Nick Bonino, Mathieu Perreault, Jakob Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell also scored for Anaheim, which set a franchise record for playoff power-play goals. The Ducks chased Kari Lehtonen with five goals on their first 21 shots.
Jamie Benn and Shawn Horcoff scored for the Stars, who couldn’t score on seven power-play chances.
Game 6 is Sunday in Dallas.
By wire sources