Verein » with 3:02 left in the first quarter.

CHICAGO -- Michal Handzus is every day of 37 years old and 15 seasons in the NHL. He knows hes near the end of his career. He knows hes slower than most of his Chicago teammates. He also knows how to finish a play in a big spot. Handzus scored at 2:04 of the second overtime, and the Blackhawks beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 in Game 5 on Wednesday night to stay alive in the Western Conference final. Brandon Saad made a nice pass to the middle, and the oldest player on the ice beat goaltender Jonathan Quick with a backhander for his second goal of the playoffs. The Slovak centre celebrated by pounding the boards behind the net as the sellout crowd of 21,871 roared. "Saad, two guys went on him and I got open," Handzus said. "I was surprised I got open like that but he waited and waited and gave me a great pass." Handzus has been all over Chicagos lines all season long as the Blackhawks searched for a second-line centre behind captain Jonathan Toews. His biggest value right now is on the penalty kill, but it was his offence that kept alive Chicagos title defence. "I want to help the team as much as I can," Handzus said. "Im playing on the PK a lot. Im not playing very well offensively. Im glad I came through." Saad had a goal and two assists to help Chicago stop a three-game losing streak. Brent Seabrook, Johnny Oduya and Ben Smith also scored, and Patrick Kane set a playoff career high with four assists. "Personally, I thought Saader was the best player on the ice tonight," Kane said. "He was bringing so much speed and puck protection." Game 6 is Friday night in Los Angeles. "We go home and we come out with a better effort," Kings defenceman Jake Muzzin said. "Weve got some experience and veterans in here who know what it takes to stop it." Marian Gaborik and Dustin Brown each had a goal and an assist, and Jarret Stoll and Tanner Pearson also scored for the Kings, who led 4-3 after two periods. It was Gaboriks NHL-best 11th playoff goal. Quick and Chicagos Corey Crawford each stopped 40 shots. Los Angeles was in position to advance to its second Stanley Cup final in three years before Smith drove to the net and swept in a rebound 1:17 into the third. Smiths third goal of the playoffs set the stage for a frantic finish as both sides pushed for the winning score. "Its not easy," Kings forward Justin Williams said. "Attaining your ultimate goal is never easy and were going to do our best to get it done." Quick made a solid stop on Marian Hossa in overtime, and the loose puck was swept away by the Kings. Los Angeles star Anze Kopitar had a chance to win it about 9 minutes into the first overtime but his shot went off the side of the net. Crawford had a kick save on Stoll in the first OT after Toews turned it over in the Blackhawks zone. "Overtime, Ive seen a lot of games, been involved in a lot of games," said Chicago coach Joel Quenneville, a former NHL defenceman. "That might have been the greatest overtime Ive seen." Back at home for Game 5 after a disastrous stay in Los Angeles, the Blackhawks put together a terrific start. But the Kings weathered the storm and then stepped up their attack in the last part of the first period. Seabrook, Oduya and Saad helped the Blackhawks to a 3-1 lead just 11:06 into the game. Chicagos second line of Saad, Andrew Shaw and Kane was a headache for Los Angeles all night long, creating numerous high-quality scoring chances. But the Kings grabbed the momentum back with a terrific sequence with 7 minutes left in the first. Quick made a great stop on Toews, and Kopitar set up Gaborik at the other end to get the Kings within one. It was reminiscent of Game 2, when Quick denied Seabrook on a 2-on-1 and the Kings went on to score six straight goals in a 6-2 victory. This time around, Brown had a nice rebound goal after Crawford made a great save on Gaborik, and Pearson made it 4-3 with a wrist shot from the right circle at 13:08 of second. Pearson deftly used Blackhawks defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson as a screen on his fourth goal of the playoffs. Quick also had an outstanding save on Saad from inside the goal early in the second. Pearsons goal stunned the crowd, but it woke up again when Saads perfectly timed shot set up Smiths tying score. Saad had a plus-4 rating in almost 24 minutes of ice time in one of the best games of his young career. NOTES: Los Angeles police say they are investigating a battery report from a fan who says Crawford sprayed water in his face during Game 4 at Staples Center. The report alleges Crawford used a water bottle to spray the face of the heckling fan, who was thrown out of the arena and later filed the complaint with police. ... Kings D Robyn Regehr missed his 11th straight game with a knee injury. 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The Sioux Falls Canaries scored two in the seventh and three more in the eighth to come back from a 3-0 deficit and defeat the Winnipeg Goldeyes 5-3 in front of 6,769 at Shaw Park on Sunday afternoon.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - On the night Dirk Nowitzki overtook Dominique Wilkins on the career scoring list, Brandan Wright was a human highlight film all by himself. Wright made all 10 of his shots to finish with a season-high 23 points off the bench, and the Dallas Mavericks strengthened their hold on a playoff berth with a 107-95 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. "Thats what he does for us," Nowitzki said. "He makes some great stuff happen for us. Tonight he didnt miss a shot. He was phenomenal." Wright, who has come off the bench in all 53 of his games this season, began the day averaging 9.0 points and a team-best 67.5 per cent from the field (199 for 295). "I cant remember the last time I had a game where I didnt miss a shot, so its a good feeling — plus, we got the win," said the six-year veteran swingman. Nowitzkis 27 points increased his career total to 26,778, putting him in 11th place and within 32 of Oscar Robertson. "Unbelievable. Its been a crazy ride for 16 years, and its been surreal," Nowitzki said. "I used to be a big fan of Dominique, watched all of his dunk contests and the many ways he could score. Sometimes he would miss his shot and be the first one there to dunk over two people. He was so much fun to watch." The Mavericks, back at Staples Center one night after beating the Clippers, played their first road game against the Lakers since beating them 99-91 on opening night of last season. They have won all three meetings with the Lakers — the first time they swept the season series since this rivalry began in 1980-81. "I said it last night — that a win against the Clippers meant nothing if we lost today. And thats how we came out," Nowitzki said. Jodie Meeks had 25 points for the Lakers, who have dropped 13 of their last 17 and are 25-51 — their most losses since finishing a franchise-worst 30-52 in 1974-75. "It was an up-and-down game," Wright said. "Coming off a physical, tough game last night and then playing a team tonight with a lot of young guys and skill guys who were fresh and had nothing to lose, it was a recipe for a loss. But we took note of what they did to Phoenix the other night." Lakers centre Pau Gasol was sidelined for the sixth time in seven games because of a severe case of vertigo. Xavier Henry is done for the season because of residual pain from an injured right knee and a torn ligament in his left wrist that has limited him to 43 games, and he will undergo surgeery in the near future.dddddddddddd Coach Mike DAntoni, who hasnt had a full deck to work with for most of this injury-jinxed season, sent out a starting lineup consisting of Meeks and four others who had started a combined total of 23 NBA games entering this season: Jordan Hill (20), Kendall Marshall (three), Kent Bazemore (none) and rookie Ryan Kelly. "Theyre playing inspired basketball," Bazemore said of Dallas. "If anyone needs to win right now, its them. It was definitely a total team effort from them, and Dirk Nowitzki kept us at arms length all night, hitting big shots, and Brandan Wright was very good for them." The Lakers led 54-52 at halftime against another team on the playoff bubble that took them a bit too lightly at the start. Dallas concluded a contentious 10-game stretch in which four games were settled in overtime and four others were decided by margins of six points or fewer. Three of the overtime games resulted in losses to Minnesota, Brooklyn and Golden State. The Mavericks opened the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run, which Wright capped with a short jumper that extended their lead to 91-78 with 10 minutes to play. The Lakers got no closer than 10 the rest of the way. NOTES: Dallas F Shawn Marion recorded his 1,725th career steal, breaking a tie with Magic Johnson for 17th place, when he intercepted a pass by Wesley Johnson with 3:02 left in the first quarter. ... Umpires Joe West, Marty Foster and Alan Porter, who are in town to work the Dodgers-Giants series, attended the game. ... The Lakers havent been under .500 this deep into a season since 1993-94, when they were 21-35 after 56 games and finished 33-49. That was the first of only two times that they didnt make the playoffs during the 34 seasons that the franchise was owned by the late Jerry Buss. ... Steve Nash had seven assists in 18 minutes and increased his career total to 10,330, four shy of Mark Jackson for third place. ... Vince Carter, who was 0 for 8 from 3-point range, needs one more 3-pointer to become the seventh player in NBA history to make at least 1,800. ... The Lakers face the Clippers for the final time this season on Sunday, after losing six of their last seven meetings with their Staples Center co-tenants. The only win was on opening night. Since then, the Clippers have humiliated them by margins of 36 and 48 points. ... The Mavericks have to win four of their final five regular-season games to record their 14th 50-win season in club history and 12th in 14 years. ' ' '