>>Kane Lifts Blackhawks Past Panthers

 

Patrick Kane scored 2:24 into overtime to lift the Chicago Blackhawks to their third straight win, 3-2 over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.

 

Kane gained a step on Florida's Mike Matheson, broke in on James Reimer and beat the goalie with a high shot on the stick side for his 11th goal.

 

Chicago captain Jonathan Toews tied it at 2 with 6:02 left in the third period, breaking in alone and also beating Reimer high on the stick side after a terrific pass from Brandon Saad. It was Toews' third goal in five games and No. 9 on the season.

 

Toews and Saad each had a goal and an assist. Blackhawks rookie Alex DeBrincat added two assists.

 

Nick Bjugstad scored in the second for Florida, and Jamie McGinn put the Panthers in front with his fifth of the season 3:53 into the third. Reimer made 25 saves.

 

Corey Crawford had 35 stops for the Blackhawks, who had lost five in a row before their win streak.

 

The Blackhawks had the better chances in the first and broke through when Saad opened the scoring with 3:11 left in the period.

 

Saad partially fanned on a one-timer at the edge of the crease after taking DeBrincat's nifty feed from behind the net, but the puck slid in past Reimer's outstretched left skate.

 

Bjugstad tied it 11:12 into the second when he beat Crawford low on the stick side on a breakaway. Bjugstad got the puck behind Chicago's defense after Aleksander Barkov flipped it from inside the Panthers zone.

 

Chicago center Artem Anisimov missed on a point-blank chance late in the second, and McGinn scored in the third after the Blackhawks lost control of the puck just inside their blue line.

 

McGinn skated in for a 2-on-1 with Vincent Trochek, and then found himself alone on the left side of the crease after Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook fell down. He beat Crawford on the short side, lifting a shot between the goalie's right shoulder and the left post.

 

After Toews tied it, Anisimov tipped a shot off the post with two minutes left in regulation.

 

The Blackhawks visit Winnipeg on Wednesday.

 

>>Lightning Blank Blues

 

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 32 shots, Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point scored and the Lightning beat the St. Louis Blues 3-0 on Tuesday night in a matchup of the NHL's top two teams.

Tyler Johnson added an empty netter as Tampa Bay (22-6-2) earned its fifth straight win. It was Vasilevskiy's third shutout of the season and the seventh of his career.

 

Jake Allen made 22 saves for St. Louis, which had won four in a row. The Blues (21-9-2) were shut out for the third time at home this season.

 

Point put Tampa Bay in front when he lifted in a rebound of his own shot at 19:15 of the first period. From the side of the net, Johnson fed Point in the slot. His shot hit the crossbar and caromed to the right. Point alertly followed the puck and extended his point streak to five games, setting a career high.

 

Vasilevskiy had several nice saves, turning away Vladimir Tarasenko on a 2-on-1 breakaway in the second period. Vasilevskiy leads the league in wins with 20, and Allen is second with 17.

 

The Lightning got to Allen again when Kucherov scored on a wrist shot at 15:37 of the final period. It was his 21st goal of the season.

 

The Blues host Anaheim on Thursday.