"so hes close.

[jinshuiqian0713]

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks were coming off an ugly loss, and they had the surging Los Angeles Kings coming to town for a rematch of last seasons Western Conference finals. Enter Jonathan Toews. The Chicago captain set up two of the Blackhawks three first-period goals, leading the defending Stanley Cup champions to a 3-1 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday night. "We got a great start and didnt really let up for the next 40 minutes," Toews said. "It was a much better effort tonight. It doesnt take us long to get back to our good habits." Rookie Antti Raanta made 21 saves to help Chicago bounce back from a 7-3 loss at Toronto on Saturday night. Marian Hossa had a short-handed score that snapped Los Angeles NHL-record streak of 18 games without allowing a first-period goal. "I just tried to keep on doing the right things and tried to find the puck all the time," said Raanta, who was pulled after two periods in the loss to the Maple Leafs. Raanta was working on his first career shutout before Alec Martinez scored at 16:06 of the third. The Kings then had a power-play opportunity when Andrew Shaw was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct. But the Blackhawks managed to kill it off. "We didnt have the puck very much," Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter said. "So a lot of the shots were standing at the blue line or sneaking in. We werent in their zone much, so we werent very effective." Kris Versteeg and Patrick Sharp also scored as Chicago improved to 7-0-2 in the second half of games on back-to-back nights. It was win No. 684 for Joel Quenneville, tying Pat Quinn for fourth on the leagues coaching list. The Kings (22-8-4) had won six in a row and were hoping to complete a perfect four-game trip in the same building where their Stanley Cup title defence ended in June. But the matchup of the NHLs best offensive team and the leagues stingiest defence went to the high-scoring Blackhawks, who have won four of five and lead the NHL with 53 points. "It wasnt the start that we wanted and its hard to play catch-up," Kings centre Anze Kopitar said. "Its quite a bit to overcome when its that kind of team. Its no secret we lost the game in the first period." Ben Scrivens had 37 saves for Los Angeles in his first start since Dec. 2, keeping the Kings in the game with a handful of nice stops in the last two periods. Scrivens and Martin Jones have done a terrific job in goal since Jonathan Quick was shelved by a groin injury last month. The Blackhawks (24-7-5) also were without their top goaltender, Corey Crawford. The 29-year-old Crawford is out with a lower-body injury, and its unclear when he might return. Raanta has started every game since Crawford went down on Dec. 8. He made his best stop against Los Angeles in the second, sticking his right skate out to turn away Kopitar on a prime opportunity. "It shows a lot that a young rookie goaltender like him can come back and play with confidence like he did tonight," Toews said. Chicago beat Los Angeles in five games in the playoffs, and went on to win the title for the second time in four seasons. The series against the Kings culminated with a hat trick for Patrick Kane in the deciding game, including the decisive score in the second overtime off a pass from Toews. Toews picked up right where he left off in the first game of his season between two of the NHLs best teams. First, he won a battle for the puck with Los Angeles defenceman Jake Muzzin behind the Kings net, and then threw it in front for Hossas 14th goal at 5:45 of the first. After Versteeg scored on a 2-on-1 break, Toews made a great cross-ice pass to Sharp for a power-play goal that made it 3-0 with 29 seconds left in the period. "I think Jonathan Toews in the first period pretty much just said, OK boys, my time there," Sutter said. NOTES: It was Bryan Bickell bobblehead night, but the big forward remained out with a lower-body injury. Quenneville said Bickell probably will accompany the team to Nashville for Tuesdays game against the Predators, but its more likely he returns on Friday against Vancouver. "He did well today," Quenneville said, "so hes close." ... Kings D Willie Mitchell was scratched due to an illness. He played in each of Los Angeles first 33 games of the season. ... Quenneville said goaltender Jason LaBarbera "could be in the mix" with the Blackhawks soon. LaBarbera was acquired in a trade with Edmonton on Saturday and assigned to Rockford in the AHL. Tokyo, Japan - Former world No. 1s Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic will meet for the title at the Pan Pacific Open after winning semifinal matches on Saturday. The second-seeded Wozniacki outlasted Spains Garbine Muguruza, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, in the first match before the third-seeded Ivanovic upended top-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany, 7-5, 6-3. Kerber was last years runner-up. Wozniacki, the 2010 Tokyo winner, saved 19 of the 23 break points she faced Saturday, holding off the more aggressive Muguruza. The Spaniard had 53 winners, but also committed 50 unforced errors. Ivanovic was down 5-3 in the first set, then rolled from there. She dropped just three of the next 13 games to advance to her sixth final of 2014. The 26-year-old Serb is 3-2 in finals this year. She beat Venus Williams in Auckland to start the season and topped Jovana Jaksic in Monterrey in April before losing to Maria Sharapova in Stuttgart a few weeks later. Ivanovic then beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova at the Wimbledon tune-up inn Birmingham before falling to Serena Williams in the Cincinnati final prior to the U.ddddddddddddS. Open. This is Ivanovics first event since a stunning second-round exit at Flushing Meadows. She hasnt dropped a set this week. Wozniacki is also playing for the first time since the U.S. Open, when she fell to Serena Williams in the final. The Dane is 22-4 since Wimbledon, with three of those losses coming against the top-ranked Williams. Sunday will mark her third final of 2014. Before the loss to Williams in New York, Wozniacki won the Istanbul title against Roberta Vinci in July. She is 22-14 lifetime in title matches. Ivanovic is 14-7 all-time in finals, including a loss to Martina Hingis in the 2007 Tokyo title match. Wozniacki beat Elena Dementieva for the 2010 Tokyo crown. Ivanovic is 4-2 lifetime against Wozniacki, including a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win in the semifinals at Monterrey earlier this year. The two have never met in a final. This weeks champion will collect $196,670. ' ' '