ANAHEIM, Calif. -- When the Chicago Blackhawks make their usual visit to Anaheim on Black Friday, they always have a raucous cheering section of jersey-clad fans crowded against the glass from the pregame warmup onward.Although those fans didnt get to see captain Jonathan Toews this time, that only m

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- When the Chicago Blackhawks make their usual visit to Anaheim on Black Friday, they always have a raucous cheering section of jersey-clad fans crowded against the glass from the pregame warmup onward.Although those fans didnt get to see captain Jonathan Toews this time, that only made the Blackhawks latest win in Orange County even more impressive.Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist, and the Blackhawks hung on to beat the Ducks 3-2 for their fifth consecutive win in the clubs post-Thanksgiving rivalry game. The Western Conference leaders have won five straight regular-season games in Anaheim since March 2013.Thats a big two points against a good team without maybe our most important player, Kane said. Youve got to feel good about that one.Artem Anisimov and Ryan Hartman also scored as the Blackhawks snapped their first two-game skid since opening week even without Toews, who missed his first game of the season due to an upper-body injury. Playing the sixth game of its draining circus road trip, Chicago took a 3-0 lead in the second period and hung on against Anaheims late surge with superb play from Corey Crawford, who made 34 saves.When youre missing a captain and one of your better players, you need to step up, Hartman said. I think we all did that and played a really solid game.Nick Ritchie and Jakob Silfverberg scored and John Gibson stopped 22 shots for the Ducks, who wrapped up a five-game homestand on a three-game skid despite fairly solid play during that stretch. Anaheim is used to feeling frustration after facing the Blackhawks, who knocked them out of the 2015 playoffs in a memorable seven-game Western Conference finals.The Ducks fell to 4-4-2 against the Blackhawks on Black Friday. They havent won this rivalry game since 2009.We just have to find a way to get us over the top, Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. Were going to focus on the process. Its hard, and theres a lot of positives, but you cant go down 3-0 to a hockey club and expect to come back in every game.The Ducks inexplicably poor production from their top line continued. Corey Perry hasnt scored a goal in 13 games, and captain Ryan Getzlaf hasnt found the net in 15 games since Oct. 16.Weve got to score goals, and that comes on me, Perrs and whoever plays on our wing, Getzlaf said. We play a lot of minutes, so weve got to put more pucks on net and score some goals. Weve been getting lots of opportunities, lots of looks. When the season starts turning, youve got to put those pucks in the net.The Ducks hosted an afternoon game on the day after Thanksgiving for the 16th time in their 22-season history, including 10 meetings with the Blackhawks. The game has become an annual tradition for both franchises -- and for hundreds of Blackhawks fans who show up in balmy Anaheim in even larger numbers than usual to roar for their cold-weather hometown.Anisimov put the Blackhawks up in the first period by finishing a two-man rush set up by Brent Seabrooks beautiful outlet pass to Kane. Anisimovs ninth goal of the season snapped his seven-game drought.Kane scored his seventh goal on a long shot off another pass from Seabrook during a power play early in the second period.Hartman connected late in the period, but Ritchie trimmed the lead 10 seconds later with an impressive shot in the slot, going through Seabrooks legs and into the top corner.An apparent goal by Anaheims Ondrej Kase was waved off early in the third period when the puck went off his glove before ricocheting into the net. Moments later, Silfverberg scored his seventh goal of a standout season on a wraparound.Game notes Toews was injured Wednesday at San Jose, and he is questionable for Saturdays game at Los Angeles. Rookie Vinnie Hinostroza took his spot, centering a line with Marian Hossa and Ryan Hartman. ... Anaheim dominated the faceoff circle, winning 49 of the 67 draws. ... Logan Shaw debuted for the Ducks, who acquired the forward in a trade with Florida on Nov. 16. ... The Ducks wore their orange third jerseys.UP NEXTBlackhawks: At Kings on Saturday.Ducks: At Sharks on Saturday. Christian Okoye Super Bowl Jersey . They were putting most of their energy into a record-setting offensive display. Joe Montana Super Bowl Jersey . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. http://www.officialkcchiefspro.com/Tanoh-kpassagnon-chiefs-jersey/ . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. Mitchell Schwartz Super Bowl Jersey . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. Daniel Sorensen Super Bowl Jersey . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. The superstitious belief that bad things tend to happen in threes doesnt seem to hold water in the sporting world.That thought became evident again this week with the clamoring for a third UFC fight between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, almost from the moment McGregors arm was raised as the victor in their five-round welterweight rematch Saturday night in Las Vegas.In fact, some of the best rivalries have been bunched in threes. Lets revisit some of the most memorable trilogies in sports history:Muhammad Ali vs. Joe FrazierAli became the boxing legend he was thanks to a handful of gifted opponents, none more than Frazier, who gave Ali all he could handle in their three meetings in the 1970s.I. The first on March 8, 1971, was dubbed The Fight of the Century because it was the first title bout between undefeated heavyweights. Frazier held both belts entering the ring at Madison Square Garden in New York and gradually wore down Ali, even knocking him to the canvas in the 15th round before winning a unanimous decision. Still, Frazier would spend a month recuperating in a hospital afterward.II. Frazier lost the title two years later to George Foreman, so when he and Ali clashed inside Madison Square Garden for a second time on Jan. 28, 1974, no major belts were on the line. The build-up for the fight was intense, however. Ali and Frazier became physical on the set of Wide World of Sports, resulting in fines for both, but the actual fight was the least entertaining of the three, with Ali winning a narrow 12-round unanimous decision.III. Ali and Frazier would clash once more in the Philippines on Oct. 1, 1975, a fight that would later become known as the Thrilla in Manila and go down as one of the greatest bouts in boxing history. With the heavyweight title back on the line because Ali had beaten Foreman, the pair went back and forth for 12 rounds before two big rights from Ali midway through the 13th sent Frazier backpedaling. Ali continued the assault in the 14th, prompting Fraziers cornerman, Eddie Futch, to throw in the towel.Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto DuranThis landmark trilogy featured Leonards first professional loss and last career victory. And in between, Duran provided one of the most indelible moments in boxing history with two words in Spanish that cross all language barriers: No mas.I. Four years after Leonard won an Olympic gold medal in Montreal, he returned to the city on June 20, 1980, to take on the rugged Panamanian slugger. Duran was 71-1 entering the WBC welterweight title bout, amassing most of those wins in the lightweight division, while Leonard was 27-0 and five years younger at 24. Leonard elected to fight toe-to-toe with Duran at the start of the 15-round bout and paid a hefty price before briefly returning to his elusive style. The last three rounds went back to a slugfest, and Duran managed to edge Leonard on all three judges scorecards for what many believe was the biggest victory of his career.II. The rematch came five months later at the Superdome in New Orleans, and Leonard took advantage of his superior hand speed and quickness to flummox Duran, who eventually turned his back on Leonard near the end of the eighth round and quit, uttering the now-famous line, No mas.III. Durans reputation took a big hit as a result of that move, especially in his home country of Panama. Nine years passed before Duran got another shot at Leonard. By then, Duran was 38 years old and no match for the more spry Leonard, who retained his super middleweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision in Las Vegas.Affirmed vs. AlydarHorse racings Triple Crown of 1978 remains the most hotly contested two-horse rivalry in the sports history, as chestnut colts Affirmed and Alydar went head-to-head in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. Affirmed, ridden by Steve Cauthen, won all three times and was the last horse to win the Triple Crown until American Pharoah in 2015. Alydar, with Jorge Velasquez up, finished second in each of three marquee races, the only horse ever to do so.I. Alydar was a slight favorite as the horses were locked in the gate for the Kentucky Derby, but his patented late move began too late and he finished 1? lengths behind Affirmed.II. When they returned for the Preakness two weeks later, Affirmed emerged as the favorite and didnt disappoint, taking the lead at the quarter-pole and holding off Alydar by a neck, 7? lengths ahead of the third-place finisher.III. Three weeks later, the duo was back on the track in Elmont, New York, and this matchup proved the most exciting. The horses raced side by side over the last third of the 1?-mile Belmont before Affirmed outbobbed Alydar at the finish line.Larry Bird vs. Magic JohnsonBird and Johnson combined to reach 14 NBA Finals in their nearly parallel careers, but the Hall of Famers faced off only three times in a championship series.I. The first time was in 1984, which marked Birds second trip to the Finals with the Boston Celtics and Johnsons fourth with the Los Angeles Lakers. The series went seven games with the Celtics prevailing and Bird winning MVP honors after averaging 27.4 points and 14 rebounds.II. They locked up again in 1985, and the Lakers turned the tables by winning their third title of the decade with a six-game victory, finishing off the Celtics in Boston.III. Bird and Johnson led their teams back to the Finals in 1987, and the Lakers again prevailed in six games, boosted by Johnsons game-winning junior sky hook in the final seconds of Game 4. Johnson and the Lakers defended their title against the Detroit Pistons the following season, but Bird didnt reach another Finals.Roger Federer vs. Rafael NadalFederer and Nadal have gone head-to-head 34 times in their storied careers, but only thrice on grass. Those thrilling encounters occurred in the Wimbledon mens final over three successive years and required a combined 14 sets.I. The first meeting came in 2006, when the 20-year-old Nadal entered the championship match having won six of his previous seven meetings against Federer, but the Spaniard couldnt close out several opportunities and fell in four sets, handing Federer his fourth straight Wimbledon title.II. The pair met again the following summer as the top two seeds at the All England Club, and Nadal pushed Federer to five sets, the first time they went the distance against each other in a Grand Slam final. Federer drew the line with a 6-2 win in the final set to win his record-tying fifth straight Wimbledon title.III. Nadall broke through the following year in their most anticipated and epic meeting on grass, a five-set thriller that set a record for the longest Wimbledon final at 4 hours, 48 minutes.dddddddddddd Nadal also ended Federers Open-era record 65-match winning streak on grass.Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ersThe Cowboys and 49ers met in the first two NFC Championship Games in 1970 and 71, but it was the three straight years they collided in the title game during the 1990s that put their rivalry on par with some of the greatest in sports.I. Just three years before the first of those meetings, the Cowboys had finished 1-15, but their 30-20 win in the 1993 NFC Championship Game propelled Americas team to its first Super Bowl since the 1978 season.II. The Cowboys followed the same script the next season behind quarterback Troy Aikman and running back Emmitt Smith, beating the 49ers in the NFC title game and then knocking off the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year.III. Jimmy Johnson departed as head coach of the Cowboys after the 1994 season, and that change seemed to give the 49ers the edge they needed in the 1995 NFC Championship Game. They surged to a 21-0 first-quarter lead before winning 38-28 and denying Dallas a chance at a record three straight Super Bowl wins. Like the Cowboys the previous two seasons, the 49ers went on to win the Super Bowl.Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Oakland RaidersThe matchup was just in its infancy and the quality of play was hardly impeccable, but during the three straight years the Steelers and Raiders met in the AFC Championship Game, a rivalry was born.I. The teams combined for 12 turnovers and Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler completed only 18 of 42 passes in the 1974 AFC title game, a 24-13 win by the Steelers that propelled them to their first Super Bowl victory.II. Pittsburgh might have played even worse the following year, committing eight turnovers in 16-degree weather before holding on a for a 16-10 win. Steelers wide receiver Lynn Swann left the game because of a concussion caused by a vicious hit by Oakland safety George Atkinson. It was the Raiders sixth straight loss in an AFC title game.III. Oakland ended that skid and prevented the Steelers from chasing a third consecutive Super Bowl ring by winning the 1976 championship game game 24-7. Coach John Maddens Raiders followed in Pittsburghs path from the previous two seasons and won their first Super Bowl two weeks later.Randy Couture vs. Chuck LiddellIn a sport known for multiple rematches, Couture-Liddell is remembered as one of the first great MMA trilogies. They tangled in Las Vegas three times for the UFC light heavyweight championship, and all three fights ended by knockout.I. The first took place June 6, 2003, at UFC 43. Couture dropped down from the heavyweight division to take on Liddell for the interim light heavyweight belt that became available when Tito Ortiz was locked in a contract dispute with the UFC. Despite entering as a heavy underdog and just weeks shy of his 40th birthday, Couture forced a stoppage by landing a flurry of punches midway through the third round, becoming the first MMA fighter to win belts in two weight classes.II. Couture still held the light heavyweight title when he was matched against Liddell at UFC 52 on April 16, 2005, an event that set records at the time for live gate and pay-per-view purchases. Angered after he was poked in the eye in the opening round, Couture abandoned his game plan and charged at Liddell, who knocked him out to become the new light heavyweight champion.III. The pair would clash one more time 10 months later at UFC 57, and the event would again shatter records for attendance and pay-per-view buys. Couture made another costly mistake and Liddell capitalized much the same way he did in their second fight, winning by second-round knockout and sending Couture into retirement.Arnold Palmer vs. Jack NicklausPalmer-Nicklaus is still considered golfs greatest rivalry, a competition that peaked at the Masters from 1964 to 66. Nicklaus had won his first Masters in 1963, but Palmer hadnt challenged that year and finished tied for ninth.I. Palmer, at age 34, became the first four-time Masters champion when he beat the 24-year-old Nicklaus by six strokes at the 1964 tournament, a bit of a payback for Palmer after Nicklaus defeated him by three strokes two years earlier at the U.S. Open for his first professional win.II. Nicklaus turned the tables on Palmer and everyone else in the field the following spring, shooting a tournament-record 17-under par -- a mark that stood until Tiger Woods shot 18-under in 1997 -- and winning by nine strokes over the second-place Palmer.III. The Golden Bear continued to steal the Augusta spotlight from Palmer, winning the 1966 tournament after an 18-hole playoff. Palmer missed the three-man playoff by two strokes and finished in a tie for fourth. Nicklaus would go on to win the tournament three more times for a total of six green jackets, a record that still stands.New York Yankees vs. Boston Red SoxTwo of the most storied franchises in the baseball have met three times for the right to play in the World Series, all in a six-season span, and each of those American League Championship Series?matchups was more legendary than the last.I. In the first postseason meeting between the teams, the Yankees had too much pitching and needed only five games to beat the Red Sox in the 1999 ALCS before marching on to secure the second of three straight World Series titles. That series was just a warm-up for the next two.II. They met in the ALCS again in 2003, and this time the Red Sox pushed the series to seven games, reaching the cusp of their first World Series berth since 1986. But Yankees third baseman Aaron Boone hit the first pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning for a walk-off home run, sending New York to the Fall Classic for a third straight season.III. The Red Sox didnt sulk for long, earning another spot in the ALCS the following year. They proceeded to make history against the Yankees by becoming the only MLB team to bounce back from a 3-0 deficit and win a seven-game series. Bostons rally included extra-inning wins in Games 4 and 5 and Curt Schillings bloody sock victory in Game 6. The Red Sox didnt let that comeback go to waste, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals for their first World Series title since 1918. ' ' '