Hawks still have questions
By ROSS JACOBSON – rjacobson@nwherald.com
CHICAGO – The Blackhawks’ 4-3 win against Edmonton on Wednesday was a little less dramatic than the Hawks’ previous two home victories, but it didn’t resolve the team’s still shaky goaltending situation.
Hawks rookie netminder Antti Niemi turned in a solid, yet unspectacular effort, allowing three goals on 19 shots to get the victory in his first home start of the season.
The Hawks took it to the Oilers from the outset, outshooting Edmonton 16-6 in the first period, and taking a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
The start was a welcome change from the 5-0 deficit the Hawks fell into Monday night against Calgary.
“We addressed our start a little bit tonight,” said left wing Patrick Sharp, who recorded a goal and an assist. “We certainly didn’t want to get off to a bad one like we did last game.”
After scoring 14 goals in their past three games, all four lines seemed to gain more confidence and familiarity. The Hawks put 38 shots on goal against their former teammate, Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, a testament to their new philosophy of consistently putting the puck on net and trying to keep possession.
“The lines change a lot, but over the last two games they’ve stayed the same and it makes it easier to kind of read off players and know where that puck’s going,” Sharp said. “It doesn’t always have to be a quality shot but it’s gonna cause chaos in front.”
In front of the Hawks’ 55th consecutive sellout crowd at the United Center, Niemi was shaky early, allowing a goal on the first shot he saw.
But the first-year goaltender settled down and came up with a couple of crucial saves in the third period, including a crucial stretch where the Hawks were shorthanded for almost four consecutive minutes.
“I thought [Niemi] was fine,” head coach Joel Quenneville said. “He made key saves and took away the high quality chances around the net and made some saves in tight.”
The Hawks seemed to put the game away after defenseman Cam Barker scored on a slap shot from the blue line with 2:52 left in the third period to make it 4-2. But Edmonton took advantage of a late power play and scored after a scrum in front of the net with less than a minute left. The Hawks made one last defensive stand to finish off their homestand undefeated.
Quenneville said that Huet most likely would start today’s game in Nashville, but questions remain as to whether Huet is No. 1 on the depth chart.
“I’m very happy to at least be here,” said Niemi, who was battling to win the backup job in training camp. “And getting a couple of wins is a really big deal for me, too.”
