DENVER, Colorado: The Chicago Blackhawks’ record point streak to start the National Hockey League season ended after 24 games as they suffered a 6-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche yesterday.
Colorado’s Matt Duchene scored one goal and set up three others to spark the Avalanche, who scored four unanswered goals on only nine shots in the second period to break a 1-1 deadlock and seize command.
The Blackhawks, who saw their club-record win streak snapped at 11 games, began the season with an overall mark of 21 wins and three over-time losses, each worth a single point, during the unprecedented streak.
That amounted to a half-season with only three points less than the maximum possible in this year’s campaign, which was trimmed to 48 games per club due to a lockout by club owners in a money dispute with players.
“Everyone knows you can’t win them all,” Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said.
Fans in the sellout crowd at the Denver arena began chanting, “End of streak” as the closing minutes ticked off the clock.
Dating to last season, the Blackhawks had not been beaten in regulation time over 30 games, going 24-0-6 in a 347-day span, until being crushed by the Avalanche.
“We were fortunate to play well enough to make it this far. It’s something we can be proud of,” Toews said. “We’ll take the confidence we gained from all that and keep going forward.”
Chicago fell five games shy of matching the overall NHL record point streak established by the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers, back in the day when games deadlocked after regulation time where drawn and not played to conclusion by over-time and a shootout as they are now.
Toews opened the scoring only 5:44 into the game but Colorado equalised on a power-play goal by Paul Stastny with 3:24 remaining in the first period.
Duchene put Colorado ahead to stay 4:16 into the second period and John Mitchell followed 33 seconds later to boost the Avalanche lead.
Ryan O’Reilly added a power-play goal 10:47 into the period and Jamie McGinn made it 5-1 just 3:10 later.
Chicago’s Bryan Bickell found the net 8:53 into the third period but PA Parenteau answered for Colorado with 4:14 remaining.
Meanwhile, the Anaheim Ducks and captain Ryan Getzlaf agreed to an eight-year contract extension, taking the bruising forward off the market ahead of next month’s trade deadline.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by the Ducks but local media reports said it was worth $66m. Getzlaf, who leads Anaheim this season with 27 points, was set to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, sparking speculation that the Ducks might try to move the two-time All-Star before the April 3 trade deadline.
“We are very happy to have Ryan committed to this franchise long-term,” Ducks General Manager Bob Murray said on the team’s website. “He has often expressed his interest to stay in Anaheim for his entire career, a goal we share.”
Selected 19th overall in the 2003 NHL Draft by the Ducks, Getzlaf has spent his entire career in Anaheim, leading the franchise to its first and only Stanley Cup in 2007 when he set a team post-season scoring record with 17 points.
Over eight NHL seasons and 534 career games, Getzlaf ranks third on Anaheim’s all-time scoring list with 146 goals and 499 points.
He was also a member of Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.AGENCIES
