Chicago Advances To NHL Finals

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks are four wins away from their third Stanley Cup championship in six seasons after winning the Western Conference finals.

The Hawks have advanced to the finals against Tampa Bay by defeating the Ducks in Game 7, 5-3 in Anaheim. Toews put the Blackhawks ahead to stay just 2:23 after the opening faceoff before making it 2-0 with a power-play goal midway through the first period.

Brandon Saad and Marian Hossa added second-period tallies to put Chicago ahead 4-0. Corey Crawford finished with 35 saves and blanked the Ducks until Ryan Kesler scored with 69 seconds remaining in the second period.

Patrick Kane had three assists for the Hawks, who won the last two games of the series by a combined 10-5 margin.

The Blackhawks split their two regular-season meetings with the Lightning, winning the first 3-2 in a shootout and losing 4-0 at Tampa. Game 1 of the finals is Wednesday in Tampa.