Blackhawks End NHL’s Best Start at 24 Games, Lose to Avalanche

The Chicago Blackhawks ended the best start in a National Hockey League season at 24 games when they fell 6-2 to the Colorado Avalanche.

The Blackhawks recorded at least one point in each of their first 24 games this season. They surpassed the previous record of 16 games held by the Anaheim Ducks, who started 12-0-4 in the 2006-07 season when they won the Stanley Cup.

“We were fortunate to play well enough to make it this far and it’s something we can be proud of,” captain Jonathan Toews told reporters. “We’ll take the confidence we gained from all that and keep going forward. Everyone knows you can’t win them all.”

The Blackhawks, who had their franchise-record 11-game winning streak broken, are 21-1-3 to lead the league with 45 points. Colorado improved to 9-10-4 for 22 points.

Toews gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead five minutes, 44 seconds into the first period with Paul Stastny scoring on a power play to tie the game with 3 ½ minutes left in the period last night at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Colorado monopolized the second period with goals by Matt Duchene, John Mitchell, Ryan O’Reilly and Jamie McGinn for a 5-1 advantage.

Bryan Bickell gave the Blackhawks their second goal midway through the fourth period and P.A. Parenteau added the Avalanche’s sixth with just over four minutes left in the game.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nancy Kercheval in Washington at nkercheval@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net