Off to a sizzling start

The Blackhawks got their six-game road trip off to a rousing start Thursday, crushing the Calgary Flames 7-1 in a game that was all but decided after the second period. The Hawks snapped a 1-1 tie with five unanswered goals in the second in romping to their sixth straight win over Calgary. Kris Versteeg, who sat out the previous game with an upper body injury, scored twice for the Hawks in the second period barrage with Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd and Patrick Kane also scoring. Ben Eager's goal midway through the third made it the Hawks' biggest offensive display of the season. This game was completely different than the teams' Oct. 12 meeting at the United Center, when the Flames jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first 12 minutes and then were blitzed in a stirring Hawks' comeback. The Hawks got that one 6-5 on Brent Seabrook's goal in overtime. ''We wanted a good start against them, and it was fun seeing the guys get on the board like that,'' said goaltender Cristobal Huet, who won his fifth straight start. ''You never know when you'll have a game like that. They took some penalties, and we took advantage of it. It was good to see our confidence get higher on the power play.'' The Hawks, 20th in the NHL in power-play percentage, scored four times with the man advantage to assure their fifth straight win and even their road record at 3-3-1. ''I wouldn't say that was uncharacteristic of our power play,'' forward Patrick Sharp said, ''but not many people would expect us to score as many as we did. Anytime you do that you'll come out on top.'' Troy Brouwer's power-play goal made it 1-0, and Calgary's Olli Jokinen tied it on a power play 14 seconds into the second. Then a sequence of events led to the Hawks' explosion. Hawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson flattened Flames forward Rene Bourque, a former Hawk, along the boards. Bourque didn't return to the game and teammate Nigel Dawes went after Hjalmarsson in retaliation. Hjalmarsson's hit was a clean one, however, and Dawes wound up in the penalty box for roughing. Versteeg scored on the ensuring power play. Then Colin Fraser was sent off for seven minutes after initiating a scrap with Eric Nystrom. After the Hawks killed a penalty, Byfuglien scored on a rocket from the right circle, Ladd tallied on a breakaway and Kane and Versteeg scored on power plays 36 seconds apart. ''It was nice to see the power play break out,'' Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. ''We were due to have a night like that.' The Hawks defeated the Flames for the sixth straight time at the Pengrowth Saddledome. Kane called this season's first meeting with the Flames at the United Center ''great for us, one of the funnest games I've ever played in'' but Thursday's had to rival that one with all the scoring. Quenneville called the visit to Calgary ''the toughest challenge we've had all year'' following Thursday's morning skate. The six-game trip continues in Edmonton, Vancouver, San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles. ''To be above .500 on this trip would be an accomplishment,'' Quenneville said. THE RECAP Blackhawks 1 5 1 -- 7 Flames 0 1 0 -- 1 First Period--1, HAWKS, Brouwer 6 (Keith, Campbell), 9:15 (pp). Penalties--B.Seabrook, HAWKS (interference), 4:33; Pardy, Cal (elbowing), 8:43; Keith, HAWKS (holding), 14:42; Bourque, Cal (holding), 16:25; Sopel, HAWKS (roughing), 19:38. Second Period--2, Calgary, Jokinen 3 (Iginla, Bouwmeester), :14 (pp). 3, HAWKS, Versteeg 5 (B.Seabrook, Barker), 2:01 (pp). 4, HAWKS, Byfuglien 7 (Sharp), 8:01. 5, HAWKS, Ladd 4 (Keith, Campbell), 12:51. 6, HAWKS, Kane 8 (Sharp, Barker), 18:46 (pp). 7, HAWKS, Versteeg 6 (Kane, Keith), 19:22 (pp). Penalties--Dawes, Cal (roughing), :52; Fraser, HAWKS, served by Ladd, minor-major (elbowing, fighting), 4:35; Nystrom, Cal, major (fighting), 4:35; Calgary bench, served by Dawes (too many men), 17:02; B.Seabrook, HAWKS, major (fighting), 18:25; Phaneuf, Cal, served by Sjostrom, minor-major (roughing, fighting), 18:25. Third Period--8, HAWKS, Eager 1 (Kopecky, Hjalmarsson), 15:26. Penalties--Eager, HAWKS (hooking), 9:00. Shots on Goal--HAWKS 10-14-2--26. Calgary 10-9-9--28. Power-play opportunities--HAWKS 4 of 5; Calgary 1 of 5. Goalies--HAWKS, Huet 10-4-1 (28 shots-27 saves). Calgary, Kiprusoff 11-5-2 (24-18), McElhinney (0:00 third, 2-1). Referees--Paul Devorski, Brad Meier. Linesmen--Brad Lazarowich, Mark Wheler. A--19,289 (19,289). T--2:20 HAWKS NOTES The Blackhawks' youngest player turned 21 on Thursday. Patrick Kane celebrated quietly. ''I was expecting little pranks, but it's been pretty low-key,'' Kane said. ''For your 21st birthday, you usually do it up pretty good. Everyone says that once you turn 21 you don't want to get any older. It's a good feeling. You get a little bit of freedom, but it comes with responsibility. You've got to be smart with what you're doing.'' Kane had a goal and an assist through two periods Thursday to extend his goal-scoring streak to four games and his point streak to eight. ... The lucrative contract extensions reportedly coming soon to Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith may have to wait. ''Just speculation and rumors,'' Kane said of the league-wide reports that surfaced earlier this week. ''My agent [Pat Brisson], [Hawks general manager Stan Bowman] and the Blackhawks organization are negotiating, but nothing's done yet.'' ... The Hawks entered their 20th game with a 12-5-2 record. Last season they were 10-4-6 after 20. ... This six-game ''circus trip'' will be tough. Five of the opponents are over .500 and four made the playoffs last season. Game 2 of the trip is Saturday at Edmonton. Last season the Hawks were 3-2-1 when the circus took over the United Center, but they won just six of 35 games during the same part of the schedule from 2001 to 2008. ... Brent Sutter, in his first year coaching the Flames, played the last seven seasons of his 18-year NHL career with the Hawks before retiring in 1998. His brothers Darryl and Brian are former Hawks head coaches. ... Rene Bourque, Calgary's leading scorer with 21 points heading into Thursday game, played for the Hawks from 2005 to 2008. Aaron Johnson was with the Hawks last season and started this season on the roster before being claimed on waivers by the Flames. Johnson has played in just two games for Calgary. ... When John Madden went 9-for-9 on faceoffs against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday, it was the first time a Hawk had done that well since Yanic Perreault was 12-for-12 against Colorado on Oct. 19, 2007. ... The six road games the Hawks had played before Thursday were the fewest in the NHL. ... The Hawks are leading the NHL in penalty killing again. They had an 86.8 kill percentage before facing the Flames. The Hawks' shot differential (plus-10.1) was also the league's best. Len Ziehm