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  Friday, Nov. 3 7:30pm ET
Thibault makes 30 saves for 'Hawks
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

DETROIT (AP) -- Bringing new players into a new system has not been easy so far for the Chicago Blackhawks. Everything finally came together against the Detroit Red Wings.

Steve Sullivan scored twice and Tony Amonte had a goal and an assist in a decisive three-goal second period as the Blackhawks beat the Red Wings 6-1 Friday night.

Chris Osgood
Wings goalie Chris Osgood was pulled midway through the second period after allowing four goals.

"I think the biggest thing we get from this game is it gives us confidence we're doing something right," first-year coach Alpo Suhonen said after the Blackhawks won for just the fourth time in 13 games.

"It was a total team effort," said Chicago goalie Jocelyn Thibault, who had a 6-0 lead before Doug Brown scored the lone Detroit goal with only 35 seconds remaining. "When we came in, we knew everybody had to play their best game to win in Detroit."

Jean-Yves Leroux added a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, who also had goals by Alexei Zhamnov and Valeri Zelepukin.

"I guess this is the first time we played all the key areas good," Suhonen said.

The Blackhawks, beaten 4-0 by the Red Wings at home last month, outshot Detroit 36-31. Chicago scored four times against goalie Chris Osgood, who lost 6-2 in his last start Tuesday at Washington.

"It's disappointing to have two efforts like that in three games," Detroit forward Brendan Shanahan said. "We know Chicago, regardless of the standings, they always come in here and play well. We had our chances, then they'd come down and score -- whether it was a breakdown, bad communication or a bad bounce."

Osgood's vulnerability to long shots was evident twice when the Blackhawks broke the game open with three goals in a 4:02 span for a 4-0 second-period lead.

Zhamnov skated in with a pass from Amonte and fired a shot from the top of the left circle that found the net at 5:05. Amonte was just a stride or two inside the Detroit line when his slap shot beat Osgood at 8:12.

Just 55 seconds later, Sullivan and Michael Nylander were 2-on-1 against Larry Murphy in front of the net when Sullivan slipped the puck past a fallen Osgood, who left after giving up four goals on 26 shots.

Manny Legace, who earned the shutout against the Blackhawks on Oct. 12, finished and made eight saves. He allowed short-handed goals to Zelepukin and Sullivan on the same Detroit power play late in the third.

Leroux scored the only goal of the first period when Jamie Allison's shot bounded to him left of the net and he flipped a shot in at 8:21.

Leroux skated regularly for the first time on a line with Amonte and Zhamnov.

"He was very good, especially in the first period," Suhonen said. "We've been playing a lot of players in that position. He took the chance and used it."

Game notes
The Blackhawks are 2-0-1 when leading after the first period. Chicago has been outscored 16-6 in the opening period of its 13 games. ... Detroit defenseman Chris Chelios played his first home game (third overall) since having arthroscopic knee surgery Oct. 20. ... The Blackhawks are 3-3-0-1 on the road but only 1-5-0-0 at home. Their next three games are at home before a seven-game road trip. ... The Red Wings have not been shut out at home since a 3-0 loss to Tom Barrasso and Pittsburgh on April 11, 1999.
 


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NHL Scoreboard

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RECAPS
Buffalo 5
Montreal 4

Chicago 6
Detroit 1

Tampa Bay 4
NY Islanders 3

Colorado 5
Carolina 3

Edmonton 3
Minnesota 0

Dallas 2
Phoenix 2

Pittsburgh 4
Vancouver 2

AUDIO/VIDEO
video
 Tony Amonte fires the shot past Chris Osgood.
avi: 615 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 Some fancy moves by Michael Nylander and Steve Sullivan lead to Chicago's fourth goal of the game.
avi: 1560 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1