Kane ices win for Huet

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Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson (left) celebrates with teammate Patrick Kane after Kane's unassisted goal in the third period gave the Hawks a 3-1 win against the Minnesota Wild on Monday at the United Center. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) (Charles Rex Arbogast (STF))

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CHICAGO – Goaltender problem? The Blackhawks? What goaltender problem?

OK, maybe it’s a tad early to call him Mr. Zero just yet, but Cristobal Huet did turn in his second consecutive solid performance in a 3-1 victory against the Minnesota Wild on Monday night at the United Center.

Huet extended his scoreless streak to 113 minutes, two seconds before the Wild struck for a power-play goal early in the third period.

“We lost two in a row, so to come back and win the next two here was very important for us in the standings,” Huet said. “The [Western Conference] is very tight.”

The turnaround might have been crucial for Huet and his fragile confidence. He had allowed at least three goals in five of his six previous starts.

“He looked very sharp,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “He anticipated well and was at the top of the crease and challenged well. He had a good response the last two games, and the defense had a strong game in front of him, as well.”

Then again, it wasn’t exactly the 1983-84 Edmonton Oilers that Huet shut down this time. The Wild, winless in seven road games this season, would like to play a more up-tempo style under coach Todd Richards, who replaced Jacques Lemaire last summer, but they lack the speed and talent to pull it off at present. They entered the game with 22 goals, the fifth-lowest total in the league.

Nonetheless, the Wild had a wide edge in puck possession in the first 10 minutes of the game, but Huet put up a stone wall in front of them. His best work came in the first minute, when ex-Hawk Martin Havlat blew in from the right side for his only shot of the game.

Otherwise, Havlat had a quiet night in his first game against the Hawks since his departure as a free agent last summer. He was on the ice for both equal-strength goals against his team.

“It was a little different at the beginning, but once it went on, it was the same game as every night,” said Havlat, who received mostly cheers from the sellout crowd in the pregame introductions. “We had some chances at the beginning but didn’t score. They played well. They played a great game.”

Forwards Dave Bolland and Troy Brouwer staked the Hawks to a 2-0 lead in the first period. The Wild didn’t pose a threat until forward Andrew Brunette scored from close range early in the third period.

Less than four minutes later, forward Patrick Kane restored the two-goal advantage on a highlight-reel play.

Kane stripped Wild forward Eric Belanger of the puck in the right corner, skated around the net, whirled and fired a wicked wrister past stunned Wild goalie Nicklas Backstrom.

“I was sort of waiting for a pass, but I knew it wasn’t coming,” Bolland kidded before he turned serious. “It was a pretty sick shot from what I saw.”

Kane credited assistant coach John Torchetti for an assist on the “shoot and pray” move.

“It’s a play that I’ve worked on with John since I came here,” Kane said. “It has got to be a perfect shot. It’s lucky, too. You kind of shoot and pray that it goes in the net.”

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