Lehner makes 53 saves for Blackhawks in win against Maple Leafs

CHICAGO - Robin Lehner made 53 saves, and the Chicago Blackhawks scored twice in 10 seconds during a four-goal first period in a 5-4 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at United Center on Sunday.

Patrick Kane had two goals and an assist, and Kirby Dach, Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad also scored for Chicago (6-7-4), which is 3-1-2 in its past six games after going 1-4-1 in the previous six. Alex DeBrincat had three assists.
The Blackhawks were outshot 26-7 in the third period.
"It was a tough one, but way to battle together and get the two points," Lehner said.
WATCH: [All Maple Leafs vs. Blackhawks highlights]
William Nylander had two goals and Auston Matthews had four assists for Toronto (9-6-4), which saw its five-game point streak end (3-0-2). Michael Hutchinson made 29 saves.
"Well, we didn't start very good obviously," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "They shot it in our net. We thought we competed way earlier than the third, but in the end we didn't compete good enough to win. We had a lot of chances. Their goalie was real solid, he made lots of saves. In saying that though, the first 10 minutes of the game wasn't good enough, so you spend the whole night battling."
Kane gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 5:18 of the first period when his shot from the right face-off circle deflected off Cody Ceci's stick and went between Hutchinson's pads.
Dach made it 2-0 at 12:00 with his second NHL goal off a rebound, and Kane scored 10 seconds later with a backhand shot from the slot to make it 3-0 at 12:10.
"It was good," Dach said. "Obviously, I had chances in a couple of games to put some pucks in the back of the net and was fighting it a little bit, but it was nice to find the back of the net."
Nylander scored during a 4-on-4 situation at 16:29 of the first to make it 3-1, but Toews restored the three-goal lead at 17:28 during a 4-on-3 power play from the top of the right circle to make it 4-1.

Nylander's second goal of the game made it 4-2 at 2:27 of the third period, and John Tavares cut Chicago's lead to 4-3 at 12:41 from in front of the crease.
"I mean, they're a great team," Lehner said. "We came out good and capitalized on our chances. They were pretty good in the first too. They're a good hockey team over there, and they started getting some momentum, they got the goal there, it's 4-2, of course they're going to get some life. Some of the best players in the world on that team, so I give our guys a lot of credit. We fought hard."
Saad gave the Blackhawks a 5-3 lead at 16:26 of the third off a pass from Toews.
Andreas Johnsson scored at 19:18 of the third for the 5-4 final.
"It's really frustrating. I think everyone in the locker room is frustrated," Matthews said. "I think it's just the mindset coming in, that first period we've got to be ready to play, it's got to come within each other, within the guys that lead this group and wear letters. We've got to be ready to go from puck drop."

They said it

"It's not good enough. It starts with myself, leaving our goalie out to dry, one of the best players in the League coming down the slot, uncovered, untouched. We made it too easy for them and then the rest of the game we played hard, we competed, structure was much better and we gave ourselves a great opportunity. We just can't start like we did and, again, it starts with me." -- Maple Leafs captain John Tavares
"Geez, he was unbelievable there. From the second [period] on, he really made some unbelievable saves. You have a 4-1 lead, you feel pretty good about that. But we've got to play better in front of him, we've got to keep playing, controlling the puck, making plays, kind of like we were in the first 20 [minutes] and not step off the gas." - Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane on goalie Robin Lehner

Need to know

The Maple Leafs announced during the game that forward Mitchell Marner, who injured his ankle in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday,
will be out at least four weeks
. … Matthews had 10 shots on goal, and Toronto defensemen Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin each had six. … It was the fifth time since 1989-90 the Blackhawks scored twice in 10 seconds or fewer, and the first since Nov. 23, 2013 at the Vancouver Canucks, when Andrew Shaw and Marcus Kruger scored nine seconds apart. … Lehner's 53 saves matched his NHL career high on Nov. 1, 2013, against the New York Islanders. ... Kane has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in a six-game point streak after having one assist in his previous five games.

What's next

Maple Leafs: At the New York Islanders on Wednesday (Nassau Coliseum, 7 p.m. ET; SN, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Blackhawks: At the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN)