Can you say NINE!!!!!!

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- No team in the Blackhawks' 82-year history could do what this young bunch did Sunday, not even the franchise's three Stanley Cup winners or the Bobby Hull-Stan Mikita-Tony Esposito powerhouse that piled up 107 points in 1971-72.

The Hawks won their ninth straight game, dominating the Minnesota Wild 4-1 in a victory that couldn't have come at a better time. Coming up next are two meetings with the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings: Tuesday at Joe Louis Arena and Thursday in the much-anticipated Winter Classic at Wrigley Field.

The Hawks (20-6-7) pulled four points behind the Wings in the Central Division and kept their hopes alive for more historical achievements. Their previous best winning streaks were eight games in 1971 and 1981, while the NHL record is 17 straight by the 1993 Pittsburgh Penguins.

''It's nice to be part of history,'' said Dustin Byfuglien, Sunday's hero with four points, ''but we're not done yet. We're going to keep this going as long as we can.''

Byfuglien scored the first two goals by outbattling everyone in his way in front of the net and assisted on the last two. His big game couldn't have come in a better place. Though Byfuglien grew up in Roseau, Minn., a small town six hours from St. Paul and 10 miles from the Canadian border, the Twin Cities hockey crowd considers him one of its own. He got more cheers than the Wild, which was booed by its home fans after each period.

''My old man lives here, and I went home [Saturday] night and had a Christmas dinner with his family,'' Byfuglien said. ''It's always nice to come to your hometown. You get a little more adrenaline going. Our team was getting pucks to the net, I was around the net and the puck found a way in.''

Getting the win wasn't quite that simple. It also required another solid defensive effort led by goaltender Cristobal Huet, who faced only 19 shots but was at his best when he had to be after Cal Clutterbuck's goal early in the third period pulled the Wild to 3-1.

As was the case in a 5-1 romp over Philadelphia on Friday, the Hawks got off to a quick start. They were up 2-0 after just 9:38 on Byfuglien's two goals.

His battling in front of the net paid off on the first one. Linemates Jonathan Toews and Kris Versteeg took shots at goalie Niklas Backstrom before Byfuglien put it in.

The Hawks went on the power play 53 seconds later, and Byfuglien rang a shot off the crossbar before he and Versteeg were in another scrum in front of the net after Duncan Keith's blast from five yards inside the blue line. Versteeg couldn't get it past Backstrom, but Byfuglien did.

Byfuglien also had the secondary assist on the lone goal of the second period -- by Martin Havlat six seconds after a Hawks power play had ended -- and he assisted when Versteeg hit an empty net with four seconds left in the third.

''A big win,'' Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. ''It was a special achievement for the whole group. They should be proud. [Winning nine in a row] is a hard thing to do, and we've had a lot of road games in some tough buildings.

''That's what makes it rewarding right now, knowing where we are in the standings -- and we're looking to get better.''

BY LEN ZIEHM lziehm@suntimes.com