Duncan Keith scored two goals and assisted on another to help the Blackhawks rally from a two-goal deficit and beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 on Thursday night for their fifth straight win.
The Bruins opened a 2-0 lead in the first 8:02, but Keith and Tomas Kopecky tied it before the end of the first period. Andrew Ladd gave the Blackhawks the lead 102 seconds into the second, and Keith made it 4-2 midway through the period to chase U.S. Olympic goalie Tim Thomas.
Thomas stopped 20 of 24 shots before being replaced by Tuukka Rask, who made 11 saves. The only goal he allowed was Patrick Kane’s shot from the slot that made it 5-2 with just over two minutes left. Kane has 19 goals on the season and points in 10 straight games.
Antti Niemi made 19 saves to help the Blackhawks retake the top spot in the Western Conference, with 65 points to 63 for idle San Jose.
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Scoring machine
The Blackhawks are on a scoring binge, notching at least four goals in eight straight games dating to the last decade. Here they are.
Dec. 26: Blackhawks 4, Nashville 1
Dec. 27: Blackhawks 5, Nashville 4
Dec. 29: Dallas 5, Blackhawks 4
Dec. 31: Blackhawks 5, New Jersey 1
Saturday: Blackhawks 6, St. Louis 3
Sunday: Blackhawks 5, Anaheim 2
Tuesday: Blackhawks 4, Minnesota 1
Thursday: Blackhawks 5, Boston 2
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Backup planning
Beyond the 11 victories in 12 starts, Antti Niemi (left) has made another valuable contribution to the Blackhawks: A fresh Cristobal Huet.
Niemi’s play has allowed coach Joel Quenneville to keep No. 1 goaltender Huet well-rested as the season continues at a breakneck pace with the Olympic break looming in February.
“I feel pretty good,” Huet said. “Maybe it’s because ‘Q’ has given more ice time to Antti. It’s great going into this month and my legs are looking pretty good.
“Not everybody can say they have a [11-2] record with a backup.”
