BLACKHAWKS
Record on trip: 5-3 Miles covered: 7,800
At start of trip: Tied for 1st in Western Conference, 32-11-4, 68 points
At end of trip: Second in Western Conference, 3 points back, 37-14-4, 78 points
Troy Brouwer. He led the Blackhawks with five goals. The winger scored twice in the biggest victory of the swing when the Hawks defeated the Sharks 4-3 on Thursday night.
None, although at least one of their six Olympians got a pretty good preview of the nightlife in Vancouver.
Only four.
Joel Quenneville stuck with Cristobal Huet as the starting goaltender for the last three games of the trip.
At the start of the trip, Quenneville set the goal at double-digit points, and the Hawks pulled that off with five wins (10 points).
Take advantage of four of the next six games at home before the Olympic break and take back the top spot in the conference to secure home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
BULLS
Record on trip: 5-2Miles covered: 4,553
At start of trip: 18-20, 8th in Eastern Conference, 11 games back
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At end of trip: 23-22, 7th in Eastern Conference, 12.5 games back
Derrick Rose. Beyond the 23.6 points and 5.4 assists the second-year guard averaged, he consistently displayed his newfound comfort level in taking over games.
Rose.
None, although monitor Joakim Noah over the All-Star break.
Brad Miller woke up on this trip, and Vinny Del Negro expertly juggled him and Noah, who is battling plantar fasciitis.
Merely NBA history. No team had defeated five straight teams with winning records on the same trip since the league began.
This season is about 2010-11 as much as 2009-10. It’s likely the Bulls will make a core-altering trade to assure maximum salary-cap space this summer between now and the Feb. 18 deadline.