Daniel Cleary scored twice for Detroit and the defending Stanley Cup champions downed Chicago 5-2 Sunday in the opener of their Western Conference title series. Johan Franzen had a goal, his ninth of the post-season, and two assists, and Mikael Samuelsson and Henrik Zetterberg also scored for theRed

Patrick Kane got his first career playoff hat trick Monday to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 7-5 win over Vancouver and a berth in the NHL Western finals. Jonathan Toews added two goals for the Blackhawks, who reached the conference finals for the first time since 1995.

Kris Versteeg's goal with 1:50 remaining in overtime Sunday gave the Chicago Blackhawks a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Versteeg scored on a breakaway, skating in alone and firing the puck past Columbus goalie Steve Mason. Nikolai Khabibulin blocked 20 shots to record the 40th shutout

Mark Streit scored twice and Peter Mannino blocked 40 shots in his first NHL start for the New York Islanders Sunday in a 4-2 victory over Chicago. Richard Park had a goal and assist and Frans Nielsen scored for the Isles, who have won five of their last eight games. Streit, who also recorded an assist,

Kris Versteeg scored in the fourth round of an overtime shootout Wednesday, giving Chicago a 3-2 victory over Carolina. The first three rounds ended in a 2-2 tie before Versteeg beat Cam Ward just under the crossbar.