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Blackhawks visit Panthers, aim for ninth straight win

Mar 8, 2011 - 4:10 PM (Sports Network) - The Chicago Blackhawks will try to match the longest winning streak in club history this evening as they battle the Florida Panthers on North American soil for the first time in over two years.

The Blackhawks bring an eight-game winning streak into tonight's meeting at BankAtlantic Center, a run that has helped vault Chicago into fourth place in the Western Conference with 80 points, six back of first-place Detroit in the Central Division.

Saturday's 5-3 victory in Toronto gave Chicago its first eight-game win streak since Nov. 9-25, 2009 and the Blackhawks can win a club record-tying nine in a row for the first time since Dec. 7-28, 2008.

Captain Jonathan Toews continues to lead the club as he was one of five goal scorers on Saturday. The forward has seven goals in his last five games as well as eight tallies and seven helpers over a nine-game point streak.

"We're getting opportunities to score and I think we've got a lot of guys stepping up and finishing plays off and that's really helping us," said Toews, who has scored once in four career games against the Panthers.

Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist in the win over Toronto, giving the forward a goal in six of his past seven games as well as six tallies and five assists over a seven-game point streak. Corey Crawford ended with 30 saves as Chicago won the opener of a four-game road trip.

The defending Stanley Cup champions are 5-0-2 in their last seven road games and haven't lost as the guest in regulation since Feb. 7. They are likely to have Duncan Keith on the ice tonight when they try to extend that point streak even though the defenseman missed the end of Saturday's victory with a hand injury.

Chicago and Florida met twice last year, splitting a season-opening series in Finland. The Blackhawks last visited the Panthers on Feb. 19, 2009 and notched a 4-0 victory to give them a 3-0-1 mark with a tie in their last five trips to Sunrise.

Florida, which is set to visit Chicago on March 23, is likely to face Crawford for the first time as it looks to snap a season-worst five-game losing streak.

The Panthers' last two games have both gone into overtime and resulted in losses within the first minute of the extra frame. Atlanta scored 25 seconds into overtime on Saturday to best Florida before Washington's Alexander Semin tallied just 48 ticks into the deciding period on Sunday in a 3-2 contest.

David Booth tied the game with a power-play goal with 2:36 left in regulation and Bill Thomas also scored for the Panthers, who are 5-11-7 in their last 23 games and have fallen 11 points back of a postseason spot with 16 games to play.

"I thought we deserved a better fate for how hard we worked," said Florida head coach Peter DeBoer after the loss to Washington.

Scott Clemmensen made 22 saves as Florida suffered its fifth straight home setback in the opener of a seven-game residency.

Defenseman Alexander Sulzer sat out Sunday's game with an undisclosed injury suffered the previous game versus the Thrashers and is questionable for tonight.

DeBoer could go back with Tomas Vokoun in net tonight and he is 11-11-0 with four ties and a 2.64 GAA in his career versus the Blackhawks after starting both games in Finland last year.

Clemmensen has never before faced Chicago.

Winger Michael Frolik, who was drafted 10th overall by the Panthers in 2006, will face his former club for the first time after getting traded to the Blackhawks on Feb. 9 in a five-player deal. He has two goals and two assists in 12 games since the trade, including a goal versus the Maple Leafs.