Calgary, AB (Sports Network) - Andrew Ladd registered a goal and two assists to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 5-2 win and a season sweep over the Calgary Flames at Saddledome.
Dave Bolland, Colin Fraser and Adam Burish also scored for the Blackhawks, who have won three straight and improved to 4-1-0 on their season-long eight-game road trip that will continue on Saturday in Vancouver. Nikolai Khabibulin made 29 saves and Matt Walker added three assists in the win.
Dion Phaneuf and Todd Bertuzzi scored for the Flames, who have dropped three straight on the heels of a three-game win streak. Miikka Kiprusoff allowed four goals on 32 shots in the loss.
Less than a minute after the opening faceoff, the Blackhawks grabbed a 1-0 lead on a goal that was reviewed. Martin Havlat, from the right side, sent the puck toward the net and it caromed off the skate of Bolland and into the back of the cage. After a review, it was determined that Bolland did not use an intentionally kicking motion and he was credited with his 11th goal at the 42- second mark.
The Flames knotted the contest at the 6:28 mark of the first on a breakaway goal by Bertuzzi, who had exited the penalty box just 12 seconds before he lit the lamp. Jarome Iginla sent a perfect lead pass that found Bertuzzi's stick at the blue line and he broke in alone before his deke move beat Khabibulin.
However, the visitors responded only 17 seconds later. The puck was loose behind the Calgary net and Bolland fed a backhand pass from along the rear boards into the low slot for Ladd, whose snap shot one-timer from below the left circle found the back of the net for a 2-1 Chicago edge.
Phaneuf's turnaround wrister from inside the right circle with 5:55 to go before the first intermission tied it up.
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Kiprusoff made a pad save on a breakaway attempt by Ladd with 13 minutes remaining in the second, but he was not able to stop a deflected wrister soon after when Chicago took a 3-2 lead. Walker released a wrist shot from the right half-wall that Burish deflected home from in front at the 11:28 mark of the middle stanza.
Fraser's fourth goal of the season -- made possible by a great defensive breakout pass by Walker -- 3:18 into the final frame gave the visitors a two- goal edge before Troy Brouwer's short-handed empty-net goal late in regulation capped the scoring.
