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Bondra aims for 500th goal when Blackhawks meet Red Wings

Dec 14, 2006 - 3:26 PM Detroit (17-8-4) at Chicago (12-12-5) 8:30 pm EST

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Off on the right foot with his new team, Peter Bondra is on the verge of a significant milestone.

A 16-year veteran, Bondra can become a member of the 500-goal club when the Chicago Blackhawks host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

Signed as a free agent last Sunday, the 38-year-old Bondra is a five-time All-Star who spent the bulk of his career with the Washington Capitals. He scored a career-high 52 goals in 1995-1996 and again two seasons later.

Bondra, who netted 21 tallies with the Atlanta Thrashers last season, made an immediate impact with Chicago by scoring his first goal of the campaign in Tuesday's 3-2 triumph over the St. Louis Blues.

Jeff Hamilton scored his eighth tally and Radim Vrbata added his sixth for the Blackhawks, who collected three goals in a 2:34 span of the third period to give recently-hired coach Denis Savard a 5-0-3 mark.

Detroit is in second place in the Central Division with a nine-point lead over Chicago. The Red Wings outscored their opponents, 14-5, during last week's three-game winning streak before Tuesday's 3-2 loss to Ottawa.

Robert Lang scored his eighth goal and Pavel Datsyuk added his sixth for Detroit, which lost despite a 45-22 edge in shots on goal.

After going 7-0-1 against the Blackhawks last season, Detroit continued its success over an "Original Six" rival with a 2-1 victory on November 2.