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Blackhawks ground Flyers to extend winning streak

Dec 27, 2008 - 6:12 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- A record-breaking crowd watched the Chicago Blackhawks make some history of their own.

Defenseman Brian Campbell and Dave Bolland notched a goal and an assist apiece as the Blackhawks tied a franchise record with their eighth straight victory with a 5-1 triumph over the Philadelphia Flyers before an announced crowd of 22,712 on Friday.

Andrew Ladd, former Flyer Patrick Sharp and rookie Kris Versteeg added tallies, while Martin Havlat and Patrick Kane each had two assists for the Blackhawks, who last won eight straight from January 4-21, 1981.

"It's pretty impressive," Sharp said. "We are not giving up much defensively and that is the key. We have four lines and six defensemen that are playing there roles. You can't ask for more than that."

Captain Mike Richards netted his 15th goal of the season and Martin Biron made 33 saves for the Flyers, who experienced some difficulties with traveling and did not have a morning skate.

"We knew from the start it was going to be (mentally tough day) today," Richards said. "It is tough coming off a break and not skating in the morning. But it didn't seem like the effort was there - it was 2-0 before we knew we were in game. If it wasn't for (Biron), it would have been a lot worse."

Chicago has entertained 16 sellout crowds in as many home games and leads the NHL with an average of 21,552 fans per game this season. Its latest gathering also saw the Blackhawks beat the Flyers for the second time in over 11 years.

"I thought tonight was one of our better games this year, all aspects were very solid," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "It was a good start and it was nice to get a quick two-goal lead. We needed it because the second period, we couldn't get that third goal we were looking for."

They entered having tallied only nine goals while dropping six straight to the Flyers, and were 1-12-0 against them since December 12, 1997.

Ladd opened the scoring 73 seconds into the contest and Sharp netted his team-leading 19th goal of the season 82 seconds later.

"It's great when the first line scores on the first shift, and you haven't even hit the ice yet," Kane said. "It was important to get off to the quick start and get our big crowd behind us."

Richards converted passes from Arron Asham and Jeff Carter 7:42 into the session, but Nikolai Khabibulin was impenetrable the rest of the way. The Russian netminder finished with 17 saves en route to notching his fifth straight win against Philadelphia.

Chicago improved to 11-1-4 at home this season.

"For whatever reason, we seemed ready to use our travel problems as an excuse from the start," Philadelphia coach John Stevens said. "You can't do that against a team that has lost only one game (in regulation at home) all season."

The Blackhawks outshot the Flyers, 38-18, overall and by a 14-1 margin in the second period. However, it was not until the third that Chicago ran away with the victory.

"It's great to be behind the bench, I'll say that," Quenneville said. "Everyone is chipping in and wants to play. Hopefully we will keep it up."

Campbell unleashed a slap shot from in front of the blue line for his sixth tally of the season while on the power play 39 seconds into the final session.

Leading all rookies with 26 points, Versteeg beat Biron while sitting on the doorstep 4:07 into the third and Bolland capped the three-goal rally with a wrist shot from the slot one minute later.

"The key is everyone is buying into the system and we have four lines that can score," Versteeg said. "Our fourth line has played great and they inspire the rest of us."