Hawks keep it going - #8!!!!

The Blackhawks had a record regular-season home crowd of 22,712 giving them full support Friday in their last home game of 2008.

It also didn't hurt that the Philadelphia Flyers, a hot team before the NHL's Christmas break, had travel difficulties. Their players arrived at O'Hare and their team bus and equipment at Midway, so the Flyers didn't get in a morning skate.

All that worked in the Hawks' favor, as they opened a two-goal lead 2:35 into the first period before adding three goals in the first 5:07 of the third en route to a 5-1 rout.

The victory was the Hawks' eighth in a row, tying the franchise record set in 1971 and matched in 1981. They can set a new mark with a road victory Sunday against the Minnesota Wild.

The result also snapped the Hawks' six-game losing streak against the Flyers that dated to Nov. 6, 2001. They had been 1-12 in the last 13 games between the teams until their victory Friday.

''A big win for us,'' said forward Patrick Sharp, who scored the Hawks' second goal against his old team. ''I don't think I've got to prove anything to that team. I'm just happy to be part of the Hawks, and now we're looking forward to playing at Minnesota.''

The Hawks, who won their fifth game in a row at the United Center before their 16th consecutive sellout crowd, came out firing on all cylinders against the Flyers, who entered the game 8-1-2 in December. The Hawks' 38-18 advantage in shots on goal told the tale.

''Our crowds have been awesome the whole year,'' said forward Andrew Ladd, who opened the scoring. ''We just feed off their energy.''

A shot by Martin Havlat smacked the pads of Flyers goalie Martin Biron, and Ladd was left with an open net on the rebound 1:13 into the game. That was the first of Havlat's two assists, as he and linemates Ladd and Dave Bolland (goal, assist) combined for five points.

''Everything went right,'' Havlat said. ''We're just trying to get win by win. This is a great feeling.''

Shortly after Ladd scored, Patrick Kane intercepted the puck along the left boards and passed to Sharp in the slot to make it 2-0 at 2:35. The lead was cut in half when Mike Richards scored for the Flyers a little more than five minutes later.

While the Hawks dominated play, they didn't put the game away until their three-goal burst at the start of the third. Brian Campbell scored from the top of the right circle 39 seconds into the period and Kris Versteeg from a difficult angle to the left of the net at 4:07. Both of those goals came when the Hawks had a two-man advantage. Bolland then closed the scoring while falling down, making it 5-1 at 5:07.

Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin had a quiet night in winning his fifth consecutive start against the Flyers, with the others coming when he was with other teams. He's 11-0-4 in his last 15 decisions.

''One of our better games of the year in all aspects,'' coach Joel Quenneville said. ''We did a good job of getting the lead, then playing with it. Everybody's game complemented our team game.''

BY LEN ZIEHM lziehm@suntimes.com