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Kings lose to Blackhawks, 5-4, in double overtime of Game 5

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Michal Handzus scored a little more than two minutes into double overtime to lift the Chicago Blackhawks to a 5-4 win at United Center on Wednesday.

The Kings lead the best-of-seven series, 3-2, heading into Game 6 at Staples Center on Friday.

After falling into a 2-0 hole early in the first period, the Kings rallied to take a 4-3 lead by the end of the second period behind goals by Jarret Stoll, Marian Gaborik, Dustin Brown and Tanner Pearson.

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Ben Smith scored the tying goal for the Blackhawks in the third period. Patrick Kane had four assists and Brent Seabrook, Johnny Oduya and Brandon Saad scored for Chicago.

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick and Chicago netminder Corey Crawford each made 40 saves.

Kings 4, Blackhawks 4 (start of double overtime)

Through the overtime period between the NHL’s last two champions, the Blackhawks have 44 shots on goal, the Kings 43.

Drew Doughty has played 38:27 while Chicago’s Duncan Keith has skated for 37 minutes. Dustin Brown and Chicago’s Bryan Bickell and Andrew Shaw each have eight hits.

Last year, the Kings were eliminated in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Patrick Kane’s goal 11:40 into the second OT -- the longest game in Kings’ history.

Now a second overtime period begins again.

Kings 4, Blackhawks 4 (end of first overtime)

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Despite numerous scoring chances for both teams, Game 5 of the Western Conference finals is heading into double overtime.

Drew Doughty, continuing his monster game, poked away a possible Chicago breakaway in the closing seconds of the first overtime period.

Jonathan Quick deflected a blast up close by Patrick Kane with 8.8 seconds left.

At one point, there was a 7:56 stretch of uninterrupted play that generated several good scoring chances for both teams.

And it’s on to overtime No. 2. here at United Center.

Kings 4, Blackhawks 4 (overtime, 12:51 left)

Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews was rushing toward a one-on-one when he was sandwiched by the Kings’ Anze Kopitar and Jake Muzzin, the crowd pleading for a penalty.

Dwight King blasted a shot that Corey Crawford knocked away, and Jonathan Quick responded with two of his olwn impressive saves.

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Marian Hossa and Marcus Kruger applied massive pressure on Quick that he withstood. The Kings brought their own. Still tied, 12:51 left in overtime.

Kings 4, Blackhawks 4 (start of overtime)

Overtime is underway in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, the Kings and Chicago Blackhawks are tied 4-4, with the Kings leading the series three games to one.

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty has played a game-high 28 minutes, 33 seconds, firing a career-high nine shots on goal while standing plus-two in goal differential while on the ice.

Brandon Saad and Andrew Shaw of Chicago are both plus-three.

The Blackhawks have scored four times on Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, sending 36 shots his way. His Chicago counterpart, Corey Crawford, blanked the Kings in the third period with eight saves.

Kings 4, Blackhawks 4 (end of third period)

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The Kings and Chicago Blackhawks are going to overtime in Game 5 at United Center, tied 4-4.

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick stopped a shot by Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa in the final 30 seconds, batting the loose puck away with his stick.

The Kings, leading the Western Conference finals three games to one, haven’t been in overtime this postseason since Game 1 of their conference semifinal win over the Ducks.

Kings 4, Blackhawks 4 (third period, 5:32 left)

Both goalies have stopped 27 of 31 shots at this point. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty has nine shots on goal.

The Kings waste time passing on the power play and could not score. Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin decked Blackhawks forward Marcus Kruger with a clean hit.

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Kings 4, Blackhawks 4 (third period, 9:47 left)

Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell is going to the penalty box for delay of game, knocking the puck out of play 8:22 into the third. Mitchell argued he was merely in a puck battle.

Crawford gloves a Drew Doughty short-handed shot.

Saad commits goaltender interference, barging into Quick on a Nick Leddy shot.

It’ll be 4-on-4 hockey for 57 seconds, then the Kings will have a power play for 1:03.

The Blackhawks have shown their champion’s heart in the early going of the third period, bringing roars from the home crowd on a goal by Ben Smith 77 seconds into the period to make it 4-4.

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick is under heavy pressure, but he stopped a Brandon Saad shot with his right leg, and patiently waited to deny an Andrew Shaw try seconds later. More Chicago pressure forced Quick to cover a loose puck to his right, the crowd belting its approval for the effort of the NHL’s top-scoring offense.

Chicago has out-shot the Kings 8-3 thus far, 7:02 into the third.

Kings 4, Blackhawks 4 (third period, 18:43 left)

Ben Smith has scored for Chicago, rebounding a shot from Brandon Saad that bounced off the pads of Kings goalie Jonathan Quick 1:17 into the third period. Saad beat Jarret Stoll to the rebound.

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Kings 4, Blackhawks 3 (third period)

With the third period underway, the Kings lead the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 and can advance to the Stanley Cup Final by holding on. The Kings have found their winning formula after falling behind 3-1 in the first period.

They’ve out-hit Chicago 28-16, won 23 of 42 faceoffs and have blocked three more shots.

Kings 4, Blackhawks 3 (end of second period)

The Kings out-shot the Blackhawks 15-9 in the second period, scoring twice in three shots on the Dustin Brown and Tanner Pearson goals.

The United Center masses wanted a penalty on Willie Mitchell for wrestling down Andrew Shaw, but there was no call.

Corey Crawford -- his team having now surrendered 19 goals since the second period of Game 2 -- stopped a Drew Doughty shot with 1:48 left.

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At the buzzer, Quick knocked down a blast by Chicago center Jonathan Toews, and it’s 4-3 Kings, who are now 20 minutes from advancing to the Stanley Cup final against the New York Rangers-Montreal Canadiens winner a week from tonight.

Kings 4, Blackhawks 3 (second period, 6:52 left)

This time, Jonathan Quick stood up to rapid pressure from the Blackhawks following a goal by stuffing Brandon Saad’s point-blank shot with just more than seven minutes remaining.

Now it’s 4-3 Kings on a goal by Tanner Pearson, with 6:52 left in the second. The Kings won a faceoff out of their own zone, starting a rush that Pearson capped by beating Crawford high to his stick side.

Now there’s a penalty on Chicago’s Johnny Oduya.

Kings 3, Blackhawks 3 (second period, 8:52 left)

Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin went to the penalty box with 8:01 into the period for cross-checking Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, who has three assists tonight.

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Willie Mitchell of the Kings committed a near-penalty seconds later, but there was no call. On the power play, Chicago center Andrew Shaw and Kane fanned on chances.

Kings forward Dustin Brown then tied the score, following a Marian Gaborik shot off Crawford, making it 3-3. Brown started the pressure, but Seabrook blocked his shot, the puck moving to Gaborik.

The Kings have now scored in 10 consecutive periods dating to the second period of Game 2.

Blackhawks 3, Kings 2 (second period)

There was some stick abuse at the end of the first.

Chicago goalie Corey Crawford stormed off the ice pounding his stick after allowing two goals on nine shots in the first, which kept the Kings within reach.

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, who played a staggering 10 minutes, 13 seconds in the period, smashed his stick after twice sending passes toward the crease that neither Tyler Toffoli nor Dwight King could convert. The teams had good early scoring opportunities in the second. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick was embededded under his net when he extended his glove outward to stop a Brandon Saad shot.

Kings center Jeff Carter (four goals, five assists in the series) then had a clear look that Crawford stopped. The goalie received help from defenseman Brent Seabrook, who slid to block a Justin Williams shot.

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More than seven minutes into the second, it remains Blackhawks 3, Kings 2.

Blackhawks 3, Kings 2 (end of first period)

Pond hockey came to United Center -- or at least an imitation of wide-open 1980s hockey.

There were five goals scored on 14 shots and Chicago took a 3-2 lead after one period, led by an energized Patrick Kane, who assisted on all three goals.

The Kings had held Kane in check, for the most part, for the first four games of the Western Conference finals series. Kane had one assist in the first four games.

Scoring for the Kings were center Jarret Stoll (second goal of the playoffs) and winger Marian Gaborik (11th). Gaborik was held without a goal in the first three games of the series but now has goals in back-to-back games. For Stoll, it was his first shot of the series.

Drew Doughty led all in terms of ice time with 10 minutes 13 seconds in the first.

Overall, the Kings had nine shots in the first period, as did Chicago.

Blackhawks 3, Kings 2 (first period, 6:46 left)

The Kings and Blackhawks continued with surges of offense.

Three more goals came in rapid succession -- the Kings scored twice and the Blackhakws once. It all added up to a 3-2 Chicago lead.

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The Kings got back into it with Marian Gaborik’s 12th goal of the postseason, cutting Chicago’s lead to 3-2 at 13:16. Assisting on it were NHL playoff scoring leader Anze Kopitar and captain Dustin Brown. Seconds earlier, Kings goalie Jonathan Quick made a big save on Jonathan Toews at the other end.

Earlier, just when the Kings got a little momentum, the Blackhawks stomped it out as the teams traded goals with Chicago taking a 3-1 lead.

The Kings didn’t get much going until midway through the first period but they made the most of their chances when an opportunistic Jarret Stoll scored at 9:49, cutting Chicago’s lead to 2-1. Dwight King had the lone assist.

But Chicago went up 3-1 when Brandon Saad scored at 11:06 as the Blackhawks took advantage of a miscue by Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell.

Blackhawks 2, Kings 0 (first period, 16:20 left)

Chicago got off to the start it wanted, taking a 2-0 lead just 3:40 into the game. The Blackhawks scored twice on their first five shots, goals coming from defensemen Brent Seabrook and Johnny Oduya.

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Seabrook’s goal was a power-play effort and Oduya’s came at even strength.

The Blackhawks scored on their first shot of game, just 73 seconds in, a blast from the blue line by Seabrook. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty had gone off for tripping Chicago captain Jonathan Toews.

Oduya extended the lead to 2-0, at 3:40, converting a rebound off Patrick Kane’s shot. For Kane, it was only his second point of the series.

The Blackhawks were sparked by their early power play. It had been struggling the first four games of the series, going just two for 13.

Pregame

Chicago forward Brandon Saad says despite the team’s 5-2 defeat, his teammates believe they outplayed the Kings in the third period Monday in Staples Center.

“The third period was a big momentum for us, even though we lost the game,” Saad said before Wednesday night’s puck drop. “I think we started to believe and started to feel good about ourselves. I think having that last game, we can carry that over and use that confidence.”

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Chicago out-shot the Kings 8-5 in the third and got a goal from forward Bryan Bickell. The Kings were in their patented defensive posture, however, and scored an empty net goal by Tanner Pearson to put the game away.

But the Blackhawks, who also claimed Wednesday that the Kings are under more pressure for Game 5 despite leading the series three games to one, are running with this third-period performance as motivation.

“Lately our habits and doing the little things have gotten away from us,” Saad said. “And when we make turnovers, or simple mistakes, they’re a skilled team, a good team and they capitalize on it. We take out the turnovers and dumb penalties and I think we should have success.”

The Blackhawks also have last year to reflect upon, considering they rallied down 3-1 to eliminate the Detroit Red Wings in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals. “That’s a big reason why we have the confidence,” Saad said. “Not only that, but you see a lot of teams this year –won three games in a row.”

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The Kings will look to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in three years with a series-clinching win Wednesday over the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals at United Center.

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After losing the series opener in Chicago, the Kings handed the Blackhawks their first home playoff loss of the season in Game 2 before winning two more games at Staples Center to take a 3-1 series lead.

The Kings have dominated the Blackhawks in the special teams department, scoring on five of their last 10 chances on the power play. They’ve held Chicago to one goal in its last 11 opportunities with the man-advantage.

For their part, the Blackhawks overcame a 3-1 deficit in the second round last season against the Detroit Red Wings, so they know it is possible. They also will have the advantage of being at home, playing in the league’s loudest arena.

A win over the Blackhawks would see the Kings avenge their Western Conference finals loss to Chicago last year.

If the Kings win, they’ll play either the New York Rangers or the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final. If they lose, Game 6 will be played at Staples Center on Friday.

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