CHICAGO — Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks pushed aside the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Kane had his second hat trick in three games, Scott Darling made 36 saves and the Blackhawks beat the Penguins 4-1 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight victory and 10th in 11 games.

Richard Panik also scored to help Chicago pull within three points of first-place Minnesota in the Central Division and Western Conference. Kane, last season’s MVP, has a team-leading 27 goals — scoring 12 times and adding seven assists in his last 11 games.

Kane said he was pumped up for first meeting this season between the last two Stanley Cup winners.

“It felt like a playoff game out there,” Kane said. “It’s a team we don’t really see a lot. “We knew they’re coming off a back-to-back game, but they still played hard tonight. A tough team to play against.”

Scott Wilson scored for Pittsburgh as the Penguins fell short again after a 3-2 loss at Dallas on Tuesday night. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 25 shots for Pittsburgh in his first start in two weeks.

Despite the second straight loss, coach Mike Sullivan wasn’t upset with his team’s effort, just a couple of breakdowns the Blackhawks jumped on.