Jonathan Toews scored two goals in the opening minutes, Corey Crawford made 35 saves and the Chicago Blackhawks roared into the Stanley Cup Finals with a 5-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals Saturday night.
Brandon Saad, Marian Hossa and Brent Seabrook also scored for the Blackhawks, who will play for their third NHL championship in six seasons when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning beginning Wednesday night in Florida.
After six games of tense hockey in an extraordinary series, Game 7 was an incongruous rout. Toews was responsible for it, burnishing his reputation for big-game brilliance with a rebound goal just 2:23 in and another power-play score before 12 minutes elapsed.
The Blackhawks extended to a 4-0 lead before Ryan Kesler scored late in the second period for the Ducks. Corey Perry scored for Anaheim with 8:24 to play, but Seabrook scored on a power play shortly afterward.
Patrick Kane had three assists for Chicago, which won three of the series' final four games to seize another Western Conference title.
The Blackhawks have defied conventional NHL parity to reach three Stanley Cup Finals and five conference finals in a seven-year stretch under coach Joel Quenneville.
Frederik Andersen made 21 saves for the Ducks, giving up three goals on Chicago's first seven shots.
Matt Beleskey scored a power-play goal in the final minute for the Ducks, who finished one game shy of their first Stanley Cup Final since 2007.
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