Chicago Blackhawks Visit Edmonton, Throw Beat Down

Two surprises from Tuesday night's game between the visiting Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers: red-hot goalie Nikolai Khabibulin gave up two goals, and Dustin Byfuglien found a way to end the game -1.

Other than those two relative negatives, a Hawks fan couldn't complain much about the outcome.

When the zambonies came out to clean the ice after the game, the scoreboard told the story. The Chicago Blackhawks had beaten the Oilers 9-2.

Mathieu Garon, Edmonton's goalie, took the loss after surrendering five goals. That's a rought night for any goaltender.

Garon only played 32 minutes and change.

The Oilers turned to 39-year old backup Duane Roloson for the final 27 and a half minutes to clean up the mess.

Roloson allowed four more goals.

In all, the Blackhawks stuffed their stat box like Santa stuffs stockings (NOTE: please, nobody tell Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews that there is no Santa Clause. It might mess with their current streak).

Kane, Troy Brouwer, and James Wisniewski all had three points in the game. This was especially significant for Wisniewski, who has been recovering from a knee injury. His solid play on the blue line adds depth to an already excellent group of defenders for the young Hawks.

In total, 15 Hawks scored at least one point on Tuesday night in what can be best described as a team effort. When the Oilers scored their first goal to draw within 3-1 a little over five minutes into the second period, the Hawks responded with four goals in six minutes to blow the game open.

Khabibulin stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced in another strong outing. What was once described as a dangerous situation in net has become a luxury on Madison Street, as both Cristobal Huet and Khabibulin have played exceedingly well recently.

The Blackhawks have now won five games in a row and take their streak to Calgary to face the first place Flames on Friday night. In the only previous meeting between the two teams, the Hawks doused the Flames 6-1 at the United Center.