Blackhawks Claim 11th Straight, NHL News

Patrick Kane had a big grin on his face as he skated around the back of the net to congratulate Artemi Panarin on his nifty pass in the third period.

Lots of smiles for the Chicago Blackhawks these days. The Blackhawks matched a franchise record with their 11th straight victory, using two goals from Jonathan Toews to beat the slumping Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Sunday.

"Every night's a little bit different, but net-net I think we're playing responsible, playing the score, playing the time, and got some momentum," coach Joel Quenneville said.

Marian Hossa had an empty-net goal and two assists for Chicago, and Kane had a goal and an assist. Richard Panik scored his first goal of the season, and Corey Crawford, a Montreal native, made 27 saves while improving to 5-0-2 in seven career starts against his hometown team.

The Blackhawks (31-13-4) also won 11 straight from Feb. 15 to March 6, 2013, and then went on to the second of three Stanley Cup titles in the past six seasons. The defending NHL champions, who won 2-1 at Montreal on Thursday, go for 12 in a row at Nashville on Tuesday night.

Sunday, January 18 Scoreboard

Pittsburgh 5, Carolina 0

Vancouver 2, NY Islanders 1 (SO)

Tampa Bay 3, Florida 1

Washington 5, NY Rangers 2

Chicago 5, Montreal 2

Philadelphia 2, Detroit 1 (SO)

Los Angeles 3, Anaheim 2

Monday, January 18 Schedule (All Times Central)

Edmonton at Florida, 7:30 p.m.

Pittsburgh at St. Louis, 7 p.m.

Colorado at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.

Buffalo at Arizona, 8 p.m.

Ottawa at San Jose, 9:30 p.m.