2 wins from history

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - As well as the Blackhawks have played, the best might be yet to come.

The Hawks ran their winning streak to seven games Saturday night - the team's longest in 27 years - with a gritty 3-1 victory over the Canucks at GM Place.

"I still think we can improve on a lot of things," Duncan Keith said. "We're the youngest team in the league and we're nowhere near where we can be one day."

Hawks general manager Dale Tallon said after the win in Edmonton earlier in the week that it's a team that still doesn't know how good it can be.

"We have a lot of confidence right now," Keith said. "We're a bunch of young guys and we're not thinking a whole lot. We're just having fun playing the game, hanging out with each other and putting wins together."

The Hawks hadn't won seven in a row since the 1980-81 season. They now are within 1 win of the franchise record. Some would have considered it already a good trip with the wins over the Oilers and Flames in two tough buildings, but Saturday's win gave the Hawks a sweep of Western Canada.

"We're never satisfied," captain Jonathan Toews said. "There's always something we can do a little better."

The Hawks have hit the Christmas break as one of the best teams in the Western Conference, an entertaining, fast and high-scoring team that believes it can catch the Red Wings in the Central Division.

"They've got a lot of things to be excited about in Chicago," Flames captain Jarome Iginla said following Friday's loss to the Hawks.

Goaltending has been a huge part of the Hawks' success, and Saturday it was Cristobal Huet's turn to keep the ball rolling. Huet was terrific in winning his fourth straight with 30 saves.

"It was a great trip." Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "The goaltending tonight was spectacular. I think that was first and foremost the biggest reason we won."

The Hawks got second-period goals from Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp to erase a 1-0 deficit. Kane's 16th goal at 2:51 tied it, a wicked backhander from the low right circle, short side under the crossbar past goalie Curtis Sanford.

"Not too many people could put it there," Quenneville said.