Kane’s hat trick sends Blackhawks to finals

CHICAGO - Patrick Kane skated toward the middle of the ice, dropped to his knees and pumped his right arm, surrounded by a sea of red jumping up and down in waves.

The hats began to come down as the Chicago Blackhawks rushed in to celebrate another trip to the Stanley Cup finals.

It was an emphatic checkmate at the end of a long night. The Los Angeles Kings’ NHL reign is over. Kane scored his third goal of the game 11:40 into the second overtime period and the Blackhawks beat the defending champion Kings 4-3 on Saturday to advance to the finals.

Corey Crawford made 33 saves, and Duncan Keith scored in his return from a one-game suspension as the top-seeded Blackhawks eliminated the Kings in five games in the Western Conference finals.

AP