Blackhawks Set Franchise Record With 12th Straight Victory

The Chicago Blackhawks set a new record on Tuesday night following their 4-1 road victory over the Nashville Predators: they secured their 12th straight victory, their highest-winning streak in franchise history. They even surpassed the 11-game-winning mark they set in the final 11 games of their record 21-0-3 start to the lockout-shortened 2013 season.

During the game, Chicago right winger Patrick Kane tied his career-high with his 30th goal this season (a record he previously reached in the 2009-2010 season), and goalie Corey Crawford also set a personal record by securing his ninth consecutive victory, with 38 total saves (16 of which came in the third period alone).

“Ninety years,” Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville said. “We’re happy it took this long to get 12 in a row and proud of it. It’s a great achievement.”

This was also the Hawks’ sixth straight road win. The first period proved rather lackluster, until the final minute, when Kane, Artemi Panarin, and Artem Anisimov made a great play. Panarin took a pass from Kane and moved toward the net, while Anisimov slick back behind the crowd of Predators and took a slick pass from Panarin to beat Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne for a 1-0 lead with just 22 seconds left in the first period.

Then, three goals were scored in the second period in an 85-second span. First, Richard Panik scored at 2:43 in the second after ripping a shot from the right circle past Rinne. Nashville’s Ryan Ellis then beat Crawford 25 seconds later on a shot from just inside the blue line. One minute after that, Panaris hit Kane for a breakaway, and Kane scored to put the Hawks up 3-1.

Finally, Andrew Desjardins scored an empty-net goal with 37 seconds left to close out Chicago’s victory 4-1.

Kane currently leads the NHL in goals, assists, and points (71 points through 49 games). He also beat Pit Martin for seventh on the all-time franchise scoring list with 628 points in 625 games.

“Getting the franchise record for wins in a row is pretty special, and something we can all be proud about,” Kane said. “It’s fun to win 12 in a row.”