The Chicago Blackhawks equaled their franchise record with an eighth straight win in the NHL on Friday, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 5-1. Patrick Sharp scored his team-leading 19th goal of the season for Chicago, which also won eight straight in 1971 and 1981. The winning run has moved the Blackhawks within five points of defending champion Detroit in the Central Division while the Flyers missed a chance to move equal top of the Atlantic Division. In front of a franchise regular-season record crowd of 22,712, the Blackhawks took a 2-0 lead in the first three minutes. After outshooting Philadelphia 14-1 in the second period, Chicago broke the game open early in the third with three goals in the first six minutes. Predators 3, Red Wings 2: In Nashville, Tennessee, defenseman Kevin Klein scored a power-play goal, and Vern Fiddler added a goal late in the second period as Nashville edged Detroit. Defenseman Greg Zanon also scored, Martin Erat had two assists, and Dan Ellis stopped 38 shots for the Predators. Capitals 3, Sabres 2: In Washington, Alex Ovechkin, Viktor Kozlov and Boyd Gordon scored goals as Washington pipped Buffalo. Jose Theodore made 22 saves for the Capitals, who improved to an Eastern Conference-best 14-1-1 at home. Penguins 1, Devils 0: In Newark, New Jersey, Marc-Andre Fleury made 37 saves for Pittsburgh's first shutout of the season, downing New Jersey. Ruslan Fedotenko scored the sole goal in the second period. Fleury had his 12th career shutout. In other games it was: Oilers 3, Canucks 2; Coyotes 2, Kings 1; Hurricanes 5, Thrashers 4; Lightning 4, Panthers 3, SO; Islanders 4, Maple Leafs 1.
