Patrick Kane felt his play slipping, the Blackhawks declining with him and another season moving steadily in the wrong direction.
Motivated to take it upon himself to do something — anything — about it, Kane delivered a vintage performance in a 5-3 victory Sunday against the Wild that ended the Hawks’ four-game losing streak.
‘‘I don’t think I’ve been playing as well the past 10 games or so, so I want to start playing better for the team,’’ Kane said. ‘‘If I play better, it’s obviously going to bring more to the group and a better chance for us to win.’’
Kane scored twice in the first 12 minutes, finished with seven shots on goal and capped his sixth career hat trick with an empty-netter.
As caps cascaded onto the ice at the United Center, delighting a crowd that began the night heartily booing coach Jeremy Colliton, and Kane pointed and smiled at longtime partner-in-crime Jonathan Toews, the gloom of the Hawks’ 4-3 loss Saturday to the Blues — in which they squandered a 3-0 lead in the third period — was miraculously forgotten.
That’s because the Hawks, despite their many weaknesses, have proved to be a resilient group in back-to-backs this season. They’re 6-1-0 in second legs, somehow unaffected by the fatigue of two games in a 24-hour span.
It’s just another weird quirk in a season that so far has been full of them.
‘‘I saw when we play every other day, our record hasn’t been very good,’’ Colliton said. ‘‘But then when we have a lot of rest or no rest, we’re good. You break that down for me.’’
‘‘It was nice that we played again [Sunday], to be honest with you,’’ Kane said. ‘‘Never want to sit on that for a few days.’’
Kane now has scored 18 goals, tied for ninth in the league. He’s on pace for 96 points, which would be the third-most in his much-decorated 13-year career.
While so many other members of the Hawks’ core desperately search for their old ‘‘A’’ games, Kane clearly hasn’t taken a step back. He’s a bright spot — albeit one virtually taken for granted at this point — on a blatantly dysfunctional roster.
‘‘He has such patience with the puck, and he’s so accurate with his shot,’’ said goalie Robin Lehner, who made 23 saves. ‘‘He doesn’t shoot in the conventional [way]. . . . He goes between the arms, between the legs, over the pads. It’s very hard, as a goalie, to get a read. He waits you out, and then it’s in.’’
The dysfunctional aspect of the Hawks isn’t eliminated by one game, either. They still managed to blow the 2-0 lead Kane gave them — their fourth blown multigoal lead in their last seven games — and conceded more shots and scoring chances (at five-on-five) than they generated.
But having a superstar of Kane’s caliber gives them a chance to keep the game at least somewhat balanced every night. And he proved that again against the Wild.
‘‘Sometimes when I’m not playing as well, I’m waiting around for [the puck] instead of going and getting it myself,’’ Kane said. ‘‘Both goals that I had tonight, I get the puck and I’m moving and I have the puck in motion.’’
He was in motion on both goals, the first a surprising wrap-around stuff-in ruled a goal upon review and the second a wrist shot from the slot that glanced off the stick of a Wild player.
The Hawks hadn’t had much luck with either of those things earlier this season. But a monster game from their best player is enough to change that pattern.
‘‘He had a hell of a game,’’ Lehner said of Kane. ‘‘He’s one of our leaders, and he stepped up and helped turn this around for us.’’
