Chicago Blackhawks 2007-08 Season

- Next Game: Saturday, Feb. 24: Chicago Blackhawks at Anaheim Ducks

- Game Day: Saturday, Feb. 23: Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings

Down 1-0 in the first period, Patrick Sharp tied the score 1-1 in the first period, and the Chicago Blackhawks rattled off a barrage for 4 goals in the second period to take a convincing 5-1 lead into the third period.

The Los Angeles Kings responded and tied the game 5-5 with 13 seconds remaining, but the Chicago Blackhawks prevailed 6-5 in overtime in an afternoon affair at Staples Center.

For the Chicago Blackhawks, in the second period for goals were scored in a span of a little more than four minutes inclduing goals scored by Marty Havlat, Andre Zyuzin (who filled in for an injured Brent Sopel), Johnathan Toews (on his own shot rebound), and Jason Williams (back from injury). Patrick Sharp poked in a shot 1:48 into the overtime period with assists by Brent Seabrook and James Wisniewski.

Reserve goaltender Patrick Lalime started in goal for the Chicago Blackhawks and stopped 34 shots on the night. He filled in for Nikolai Khabibulin who was scratched from starting the game with back spasms.

In scoring for the Los Angeles Kings, Peter Harrold scored his first goal of the season 5:23 into the first period to give the Los Angeles Kings a short-lived 1-0 lead. In a 10-minute flurry in the third period, the Los Angels Kings rattled off four goals. Michael Cammalleri, Tom Preissing, Patrick O'Sullivan, and Anze Kopitar (tied the game with less than 15 seconds remaining in the third period) all scored for the Los Angeles Kings.

In net for the Los Angeles Kings, Dan Cloutier allowed five of the six goals scored by the Chicago Blackhawks and stopped 12 shots and Eric Ersberg allowed the game-winning goal but stopped 18 shots.

The win brings the Chicago Blackhawks to 29-26-7 on the season while the Los Angeles Kings fell to 26-34-4 in front of over 18,000 at Staples Center.

For a ful box score of this game: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280223008

- Game Day: Wednesday, Feb. 20: Minnesota Wild at Chicago Blackhawks

The Minnesota Wild have defeated the Chicago Blackhawks nine times in a row, but with the Blackhawks riding a hot streak, the Blackhawks gritted out a 3-0 win in front of nearly 18,000 fans at the United Center.

Chicago Blackhawks points leader Patrick Kane put the team on the board first less than four minutes into the game, the only score of the period.

Rookie Dave Bolland scored his second goal of the season with just 20 seconds remaining in the third period, and he lit the lamp once more in the third period to cap off the night's scoring.

Veteran goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin started in net for the Chicago Blackhawks, as he returned from a knee injury suffered last week. He stopped 38 shots on the night to earn the victory with big saves. The Minnesota Wild also hit the post three times, just inches from scoring.

Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding stopped 27 shots in the loss.

The Chicago Blackhawks improve to 28-26-6 on the season while the Minnesota Wild fell to 34-22-6.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280220004

- Next Game: Tuesday, Feb. 19: Chicago Blackhawks at St. Louis Blues

Marty Havlet scored just over a minute into the first period to set the tone for the Chicago Blackhawks, but the powerful power play of the St. Louis Blues exploded when it needed it the most. The St. Louis Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 at Scottrade Center.

For the St. Louis Blues, Barret Jackman, Lee Stempniak, and Keith Tkachuk each scored power play goals..

Brad Boyes notched his 32nd goal of the season while Jay McClement capped off the scoring with an empty net score.

Veteran goalie Manny Legace picked up the win for the St. Louis Blues with 19 saves while backup goalie Patrick Lalime suffered the loss despite stopping 32 shots.

The loss cools off the hot Chicago Blackhawks 27-26-6 while the St. Louis Blues improve to 28-22-9.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280219019

- Game Day: Sunday, Feb. 17: Colorado Avalanche at Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks hadn't played at home in weeks and with the final curtain dropped on NFL season, the Chicago Blackhawks were due to be greeted with a large crowd. Just nobody imagined the crowd would be a complete sell-out including standing room only ticket purchases.

And the record crowd of 21,715--as announced by Gene Honda over the public address system--stood as a milestone last reached in 1994, the year the United Center opened its doors.

The hometown crowd definitely went away happy as the Chicago Blackhawks pulled out a big win against the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 at the United Center to pull within six points of the final spot in the Western Conference Playoffs.

Just five minutes into the first period James Wisniewski rocketed a slapper past Colorado Avalanche goaltender Jose Theodore to put the Blackhawks up 1-0 as the crowd roared. The goal was later credited to Dustin Byfuglien, his 12th, as he deflected Wisniewski's rocket.

Mary Havlat pocked in a rebound 2:53 into the second period to put the Chicago Blackhawks up 2-0, a score that stood until Jaroslav Hlinka poked in his seventh goal of the season with less than three minutes remaining in the game.

Behind a series of pentalty kills, which led to a 6-on-4 disadvantage for the Blackhawks within the closing minutes, the Chicago Blackhawks emerged victourious. Following the game, the entire Blackhawks team came to center ice and soluted the sold-out crowd with raised sticks.

Backup goalie Patick Lalime earned the win behind 21 saves while Jose Theodore suffered the loss with 25 saves.

With the win, the Chicago Blackhawks improve to 27-25-6 on the season while the Colorado Avalanche fell to 30-24-5.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280217004

- Game Day: Thursday, Feb. 14: Chicago Blackhawks at Nashville Predators

With two straight wins on the roadtrip, the Chicago Blackhawks ran into one of the NHL's hottest teams. However, the Chicago Blackhawks once again errupted in a flurry of goals including three goals in the first period. The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Nashville Predators, to end the long road trip, 6-1 at Sommet Center.

Duncan Keith scored his eighth goal of the season just over a minute into the game while Jonathan Toews capped off first period scoring with two goals of his own. Rene Bourque and Cam Barker each lit the lamp in the second period for the Chicago Blackhawks to push a 5-0 lead into the third period. Patrick Sharp scored his team-leading 27th goal of the season, in the third period, and has now scored a goal in five of the last six games.

Jason Arnott scored the lone goal for the Nashville Predators, his 20th season, on the power play, at the 6:12 mark of the third period.

Patrick Lalime, who earned the win for the Chicago Blackhawks with 24 saves, was scheduled to start in place of veteran goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, even before it was ruled Khabibulin had suffered a knee injury the previous night in Columbus. Khabibulin is expected to miss one or two weeks with the injury.

For the Nashville Predators, goalies Dan Ellis and Chris Mason combined to stop only 14 shots in the loss.

The win improves the Chicago Blackhawks to 26-25-6 while the Nashville Predators fall to 30-23-6 on the season.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280214027

- Game Day: Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008: Chicago Blackhawks at Columbus Blue Jackets

A fiesty Chicago Blackhawks team scored four goals in the first period, with three of the games first four shots lighting the lamp, to trample the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena 7-2.

In the win, for the Chicago Blackhawks, Dustin Byfuglien scored twice in the first period, while Patrick Kane and Brent Seabrook helped pad the Blackhawks to a 4-0 first period lead. Marty Havlat and James Wisniewski each scored in the second period and Robert Lang tallied the lone goal of the third period, within the game's final minute of play.

The Columbus Blue Jackets scored both of its goals in the second period on the power play. Dick Tarnstrom and Fredrik Modin beat Chicago Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who stopped 24 shots on the night in the win.

The NHL leader in shut-outs this season, Pascal Leclaire was not able to start the game because of a bout with the flu, but the poor play of Colombus Blue Jackets backup goaltender Fredrik Norrena required him to participate.

The Chicago Blackhawks evened its record tp 25-25-6 on the season while the Columbus Blue Jackets fell to 26-24-9.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280213029

- Game Day: Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008: Chicago Blackhawks at Vancouver Canucks

Cam Barker put the Chicago Blackhawks up 2-1 late in the third period with his second goal of the season in what appeared to be the winning tally until Markus Naslund of the Vancouver Canucks tied the game at 2-2 at the 18:42 mark of the period.

Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo made 16 saves on the night and held the Chicago Blackhawks scoreless in the shootout as the Vancouver Canucks came back to win 3-2 in a shootout at General Motors Place.

Alex Burrows scored the first goal of the game, for the Vancouver Canucks, his seventh of the season.

For the Chicago Blackhawks, Patrick Sharp tied the game at 1-1 just 5:44 into the third period for his team-leading 26th goal of the season. The goal also marked his fourth straight game in which he's scored a goal.

Despite the loss, the Chicago Blackhawks welcomed rookie sensation Johnathan Towes to the lineup. He had been out since injuring his knee on New Year's Day. Toews contributed an assist on the night.

Nikolai Khabibulin once again put forth a great effort in net for the Chicago Blackhawks, but earned the tough loss despite 34 saves on the night.

The heartbreaking loss drops the Chicago Blackhawks to 24-25-6 while the Vancouver Canucks improve to 28-22-7.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280210022

- Game Day: Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008: Chicago Blackhawks at Calgary Flames

The Chicago Blackhawks gritted out a win to dig them out of last place in the Western Conference with a 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

Nikolai Khabibulin was back in net for the Blackhawks and saved 26 shots to earn the win, his first following a 10-game winless streak. Khabibulin has been dominant over the Flames in his career.

For the Chicago Blackhawks, Duncan Keith and Patrick Sharp netted goals in the second period, and Yanic Perreault scored an empty-net goal with 12 seconds remaining.

Former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Adrian Aucoin tallied the lone goal on the night for the Calgary Flames. Goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 25 shots on the night in the loss.

The win raises the Chicago Blackhawks to 24-25-5 on the season while the Calgary Flames slip to 27-20-8.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280207003

- Game Day: Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008: Chicago Blackhawks at Edmonton Oilers

With all of the buzz in and around Chicago for Chicago Blackhawks hockey, one would assume the team was not in last place in the Western Conference leading up to tonight's game against the Edmonton Oilers, but that is exactly where the team stood in the standings.

Despite the change in goal, Patrick Lalime and the rest of the Chicago Blackhawks fell to the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 at Rexall Place.

Former Blackhawks winger Ethan Moreau, Dustin Penner, and Jarret Stoll each scored goals for the Edmonton Oilers in the second period, while Joni Pitkanen put the Oilers up 4-1 less than a minute into the third period.

Patrick Sharp once again got the Chicago Blackhawks on the board first, but the team wasn't able to put additional shots by Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mathieu Garon who stopped 40 shots on the night.

Taking the loss, Patrick Lalime stopped 23 shots, as the Blackhawks fell for the fifth straight game.

The loss lowers the Chicago Blackhawks to 23-25-5 on the season while the Edmonton Oilers creep two points closer to securing a seed in the NHL Playoffs with a 25-26-5 record.

For a full boxscore of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280206006

- Game Day: Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008: Chicago Blackhawks at San Jose Sharks

Whenever the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks face off, it seems the Sharks, no matter how well the Blackhawks play, seem to always have the upper hand. The San Jose Sharks have beaten the Blackhawks ten straight times including a 3-2 shoot-out win at HP Pavilion.

For the victorious San Jose Sharks, star Jonathan Cheecho scored a power play goal in the second period while Marc-Edouard Vlasic lit the lamp in the third period. Former Chicago Blackhawks star Jeremy Roenick tallied what ended up to be the winning goal in the shootout for the San Jose Sharks.

Patrick Sharp scored his 23rd goal of the season in the first period while defenseman Duncan Keith knocked in his sixth goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2 early in the first period.

The Chicago Blackhawks hope to soon see the return of Johnathan Toews to the lineup. He's still suffering from a knee injury, but reports indicate he has begun a skating program.

Despite the loss, veteran goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin merely stood on his head for the Chicago Blackhawks. He stopped 37 shots on the night in the loss, while winning netminder Evgeni Nabokov also played well and stopped 19 shots.

The loss lowers the Chicago Blackhawks to 23-24-5 while the San Jose Sharks improve to 29-16-7 on the season.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280202018

- Game Day: Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008: Chicago Blackhawks at Colorado Avalanche

The Chicago Blackhawks didn't exactly burst out of the gates to start a long road trip in the team's first contest following the NHL All-Star Game break. The Colorado Avalanche dropped the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 at the Pepsi Center.

In a scoring spree for the Colorado Avalanche, Marek Svatos scored two goals while Andrew Brunette, Milan Hejduk, Brad Richardson, and former Blackhawks stand-out Tyler Arnason scored one goal each.

For the Chicago Blackhawks Yanic Perrault scored two goals in the third period and Robert Lang lit the lamp at the 3:17 mark of the second period.

Goaltender Jose Theodore saved 10 of 11 shots while Peter Budaj finished the night in goal for the Avalanche. For the Chicago Blackhawks, veteran Nikolai Khabibulin surrendered all six goals and stopped 24 shots on the night and took the loss.

The loss drops the Blackhawks to 23-24-4 on the season while the Colorado Avalanche improve to 27-20-4.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280130017

- Game Day: Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008: Columbus Blue Jackets at Chicago Blackhawks

Veteran goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, who had watched backup Patrick Lalime go 4-1 in the last five games, got his first start in a long time, and shined. However, Pascal Leclaire, netminder for the Columbus Blue Jackets fared even better, as he earned a 1-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center.

Jared Boll, a suburban-Chicago native, scored the lone tally of the game, his fifth of the season, at 7:20 into the second period. Leclaire's shutout puts him at eight shutouts on the season, an NHL high, while Khabibulin is now winless over his last eight games.

The Blackhawks played its last game on United Center ice until a Feb. 17 matinee against the Colorado Avalanche.

The loss drops the Blackhawks to 23-23-4 while the Blue Jackets improve to 25-20-6 on the season.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280124004

- Game Day: Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008: Chicago Blackhawks at San Jose Sharks

With a couple streaks on the line, something had to give. The San Jose Sharks had not won in four straight, and the Chicago Blackhawks took home exciting wins in the previous four. The San Jose Sharks got the best of the Chicago Blackhawks with a 3-2 win at HP Pavilion.

The San Jose Sharks excelled on special teams as two of the team's goals were scored on the power play including Sandis Ozolinsh at the 13:39 mark of the first period and Christian Ehrhoff 15:58 into the second period. Joe Pavelski scored ejust before that second period goal with a shorthanded effort.

For the Chicago Blackhawks, Jack Skille lit the lamp for the first goal of the game within the game's first five minutes. The Hawks' scoring highlight came halfway through the third period when Adam Burish lit the lamp for the first time in his NHL career. He had gone 58 games before hitting the back of the net for this first time.

The Chicago Blackhawks out-shot the San Jose Sharks 30-23 but Evgeni Nabokov outlasted Patrick Lalime. The Blackhawks haven't beaten the San Jose Sharks in nine straight meetings.

The loss drops the Blackhawks' record to 23-22-4 while the San Jose Sharks improve to 26-15-7 on the season.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=280122018

- Game Day: Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008: Chicago Blackhawks at Phoenix Coyotes

For the second night in a row, the Chicago Blackhawks took home a win following a shootout as the Hawks beat the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 at Jobing.com Arena.

Peter Mueller got the scoring started for the Phoenix Coytoes 12:08 into the second period, but Brent Seabrook knocked in his sixth goal of the season, on the power play with just over four minutes remaining in the second period. The rest of the game, including the overtime period went scoreless.

With fourteen seconds left in the overtime period Rene Bourque of the Chicago Blackhawks failed a rare penalty shot opportunity.

In the shootout, the Phoenix Coytotes went scoreless while Patrick Kane scored on his first opportunity for the second day in a row. Martin Havlat followed him with a score, which resulted in the game winner.

Patrick Lalime once again had a hot hand in net for the Chicago Blackhawks as he stopped 38 shots on the night to earn his fourth straight victory. Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov was impressive for the Phoenix Coyotes with 23 saves on the night in the losing effort.

The win raises the Chicago Blackhawks' record to 23-21-4 while the Phoenix Coyotes fall to 24-21-2 on the season.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280119024

- Game Day: Friday, Jan. 18, 2008: Chicago Blackhawks at Colorado Avalanche

Robert Lang knocked in the winning goal during the shootout for the Blackhawks as the team won its third straight game, this time a 2-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center.

Patrick Kane scored for the Chicago Blackhawks at 2:31 into the first period. It only took about six minutes for the Colorado Avalanche to tie the game with Andrew Burnette's ninth goal of the season to tie it up. From that point on, the game remained 1-1 until Lang's game winner.

Patrick Lalime earned his third straight win with 22 saves on the night. The outstanding Jose Theodore also stopped 22 shots on the night, but earned the loss.

The win brings the Chicago Blackhawks once again over the .500 mark at 22-21-4 while the Colorado Avalanche to 25-18-4.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280118017

- Friday, Jan. 18, 2008: Blackhawks News Update

Already having a career season with 22 goals, the Chicago Blackhawks awarded Patrick Sharp with a 4-year, $15.6 million contract. Also, the Chicago Blackhawks also traded for Craig Adams of the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hawks surrendered a pick for the 2009 NHL Draft in the deal.

- Game Day: Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008: St. Louis Blues at Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks kicked their lengthy winless streak to the curb on Sunday night, and then further extended their win streak to two games, Wednesday, with a 6-1 United Center drubbing of the division rival St. Louis Blues.

For the Chicago Blackhawks, rookie Patrick Kane lit the lamp twice and chipped in an assist. The Blackhawks saved the third period for their biggest scoring frenzy of the game with four goals in total.

Rene Bourque, Dustin Byfuglien, Yanic Perreault and Jack Skille also scored goals for the Blackhawks.

Backup goaltender Patrick Lalime won his second straight game as he stopped 32 St. Louis Blues shots.

For the St. Louis Blues, Lee Stempniak scored the lone goal, in the first period. Manny Legace started in goal for the St. Louis Blues but left following the first period with a right arm injury. Marek Schwarz finished the game for the Blues in net, but surrendered four of the six goals scored by the Blackhawks.

The win puts the Blackhawks at 21-21-4 on the season while the loss, the third straight for the Blues, lowers their record to 22-16-6 on the season.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280116004

- Game Day: Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008: Chicago Blackhawks at Nashville Predators

The Chicago Blackhawks finally ended their 8-game winless streak with a 3-2 shoot-out win over the Nashville Predators at Sommet Center.

Patrick Sharp knocked in his second goal of the game, in the shootout, to secure the win for the Blackhawks and leads the Blackhawks in goals scored at 22. Robert Lang also scored for the Blackhawks, his 16th tally of the season.

Backup goaltender Patrick Lalime stopped 35 shots for the win. Dan Ellis took the loss in net for the Predators following 28 saves on the night.

In the second period, the Nashville Predators scored both goals on the power play. Marek Zidlicky lit the lamp at the 4:49 mark and David Legwand added to the scoring at 14:32.

With the win, the Blackhawks improve their record to 20-21-4 while the Nashville Predators take a step back to 21-19-4.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280113027

- Game Day: Friday, Jan. 11, 2008: Minnesota Wild at Chicago Blackhawks

Just signing a contract extension this week and returning from injury today, Brent Sopel celebrated by putting the Chicago Blackhawks on the board early, at the 3:49 mark of the first period. That would be about it for the upswing for the sold-out crowd at United Center as the Blackhawks lost once again, this time 5-2 to the Minnesota WIld, bringing their win-less streak to eight games.

If the Blackhawks had a positive, it would be the number of shots they were able to pepper Minnesota Wild backup goaltender Josh Harding who stopped an impressive 41 shots. At one point, following the second period, the Blackhawks outshot the Minnesota Wild 23 shots to 10 while trailing at that point 4-1. Martin Havlat scored the second goal for the Blackhawks, 1:11 into the third period, his sixth goal of the season to cap the scoring for the Blackhawks.

Matt Foy, Marian Gaborik, and Pierre-Marc Bouchard all lit the lamp for the visiting Minnesota Wild in the winning effort. Gaborik added his second goal of the game as he found the empty net with 1:35 remaining in the game.

Veteran goalie Nikolai Khabibulin stopped only 11 shots in the loss.

With the loss, the Blackhawks' record falls to 19-21-4 while the Minnesota Wild improve to 25-17-2.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280111004

- Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008: Blackhawks News Update

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith was selected to be the lone Blackhawks player to represent the Western Conference in the upcoming NHL All Star Game at Philips Arena in Atlanta, his first NHL All-Star selection.

- Game Day: Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008: Dallas Stars at Chicago Blackhawks

Robert Lang started the scoring early for the Chicago Blackhawks, but the visisting Dallas Stars were too much for the host Blackhawks at United Center as the Blackhawks suffered their seventh straight loss 3-1.

Stu Barnes knocked in what would be the game winning goal, a short-handed effort at the 13:56 mark of the third period. Brenden Morrow knocked in his sixteenth goal of the season for the Stars, an empty net variety, with just seconds left.

Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco stopped 17 shots for the win while Nikolai Khabibulin, back in net after a one-game rest, suffered the loss with 27 saves.

The slide continues as the Blackhawks' record falls to 19-20-4 while the Dallas Stars improve to 25-16-4 on the season.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280109004

- Game Day: Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008: Chicago Blackhawks at Montreal Canadiens

In a night where former Chicago Blackhawks legends such as Tony Esposito, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, and other legendary Montreal Canadiens players were honored with a pre-game Original Six presentation, the Chicago Blackhawks fought hard at Montreal's Bell Centre, but came up short 4-3 in overtime.

The loss is the Blackhawks' sixth straight.

With just 1:42 remaining in the overtime period, Guillaume Latendresse knocked in the winning goal past Blackhawks backup goaltender Patrick Lalime who started in place of veteran netminder Nikolai Khabibulin.

Jack Skille knocked in his first career goal for the Blackhawks to tie the game 1-1 in the first period. Robert Lang tied the game at 2 goals apiece with a power play goal at the 2:27 mark of the third period and Kris Versteeg's second goal of the season gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead for nearly six minutes until a power play goal Montreal Canadiens All-Star defenseman Andrei Markov tied it up.

Cristobal Huet stopped 25 shots to earn the win and has now faced every current NHL team in his career.

The loss drops the Blackhawks' record to 19-19-4 while the Montreal Canadiens improve to 21-13-8.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280108010

- Game Day: Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008: Detroit Red Wings at Chicago Blackhawks (on local TV)

The Chicago Blackhawks recently have set a pattern of falling behind early in games, often within the first minute of play, and the 3-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings at the United Center was no different.

Henrik Zetterberg knocked home his 26th goal of the season 50 seconds into the first period quickly putting the Blackhawks behind 1-0. Daniel Cleary lit the lamp about four minutes later and Mikael Samuelsson scored with just 9 second remaining in the first period.

That would cap the scoring for the Red Wings for the rest of the game, as the lone Chicago Blackhawks tally came off the stick of Renee Bourque with just 9 seconds remaining in the second period.

The lone good news for the Chicago Blackhawks on the night was the return of scoring threat Martin Havlat who missed the previous six games with a groin injury. The team still has seven regulars missing due to various injuries.

For the Red Wings, Chris Osgood stopped 19 shots while Blackhawks goaltender stopped 25.

The loss for the Blackhawks, which is the team's fifth consecutive, drops their record to 19-19-3 while the Detroit Red Wings improve upon their steller record 32-8-3.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280106004

- Game Day: Friday, Jan. 4, 2008: Chicago Blackhawks at Anaheim Ducks

Although Chicago Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 30 shots by the Anaheim Ducks, the Ducks' two tallies in the first period were enough for the Ducks to win at Honda Center.

Chris Kunitz netted his 13th goal of the season for the Anaheim Ducks while Corey Perry found the net for the 21st time this season.

Patrick Sharp scored the lone goal for the Chicago Blackhawks, his 21st, in the second period.

Back-up goalie Jonas Hiller stopped 20 of 21 shots to earn his third victory of the season for the Ducks.

The loss lowers the Blackhawks' season record to 19-18-3, while the Anaheim Ducks improve to 21-17-5.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280104025

- Game Day: Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008: Chicago Blackhawks at Phoenix Coyotes

Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Mikael Tellqvist stopped 25 shots as the Coyotes defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 at Jobing.com Arena.

Goals by Martin Hanzal and Craig Weller gave the Coyotes a 2-0 lead in the first period. Former Blackhawks player Radim Vrbata scored his 18th goal of the season at the 7:45 mark of the third period to put the Coyotes up 3-0. Fredrik Sjostrom sealed the deal with an empty net goal with 59 seconds remaining.

Cam Barker and Kris Versteeg scored the lone tallies for the Chicago Blackhawks, both in the third period. The goal by Versteeg was his career first.

The loss lowers the Blackhawks' season record to 19-17-2, while the Phoenix Coyotes improve to 20-18-1.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280103024

- Jan. 3 Johnathan Toews Injury Update:

According to team officials, Toews injury will not receive surgery as originally feared. Officials are calling his injury a right knee sprain and predicted him to miss 2-4 weeks of playing time.

- Game Day: Monday, Jan. 1, 2008: Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings

The goaltending of veteran Nikolai Khabibulin and the power play killing unit looked sluggish as the Los Angeles Kings pounded the Chicago Blackhawks at Staples Center 9-2. Khabibulin was pulled after four goals and a 4-2 defecit as Patrick Lalime took over allowing five goals.

For the Los Angeles Kings, Ladislav Nagy celebrated a hat trick while Alexander Flolov joined the scoring flurry with two goals and three assists. Dustin Brown, Patrick O'Sullivan, Tom Preissing, and Lubomir Visnovsky also scored in the game.

Martin Lapoint and Patrick Sharp scored the lone goals for the Chicago Blackhawks. In the second period, Johnathan Toews left the ice with what appeared to be a leg injury. He did not return to the game. With already a slew of injured players including star Martin Havlat, the loss of Toews for an extended time would be tough.

The loss lowers the Blackhawks' season record to 19-16-2, while the Los Angeles Kings raise to 15-24-2.

For a full box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=280101008

- Game Day: Dec. 30, 2007: Los Angeles Kings at Chicago Blackhawks

Despite saving 33 shots goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and the Chicago Blackhawks lost 3-2 in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings 3-2. Los Angeles Kings right winger Dustin Brown knocked in the winning goal 3:31 into overtime, his second goal of the game. Kyle Calder, formerly of the Chicago Blackhawks, knocked in the other goal for the visiting Los Angeles Kings.

Jacob Dowell knocked in his second goal of the season while Johnathan Towes lit the lamp for the fifteeth time this season for the Blackhawks in the losing effort.

The loss lowers the Blackhawks' season record to 19-15-2.

For a box score of this game: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=271230004

The Chicago Blackhawks have disappointed local hockey fans in recent years, with many of the fans holding a grudge against management decisions including the release of popular Chicago Blackhawks players like Eddie Belfour, Chris Chelios, and Jeremy Roenick, among others.

Fans also did not enjoy only having the opportunity to view away games with only select national home games making TV waves.

With deminished play and lack of exposure on television, the intereste in the Chicago Blackhawks waned in the city of Chicago and on a national level.

But, prior to the 2007-08 season, the Chicago Blackhawks used the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft to select Patrick Kane. Partnered with fellow youngster Jonathan Towes, the Chicago Blackhawks have made a splash and may make their first NHL Playoff appearance in years.

Following the death of Bill Wirtz, Rocky Wirtz took control of most of the decision making for the Chicago Blackhawks and the team worked out a deal to get 11 of the scheduled 41 home games locally televised on Comcast SportsNet in HD format.

The increase in exposure and the team's exciting play has built a buzz within the city and the Blackhawks have seen several crowds eclipse 20,000, far ahead of United Center crowds in previous seasons.

While the Blackhawks are stacked with talented youngsters that also includes Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp, and others, the team is also stocked with a full complement of seasoned veterans such as Martin Havlat, Nikolai Khabibulin, Robert Lang, and Martin Lapointe.

Head coach Denis Savard, a former Chicago Blackhawks star, looks to lead the Chicago Blackhawks into a berth in the NHL Playoffs.