Coach Joel Quenneville is sticking with Cristobal Huet in goal for the Blackhawks.
The veteran will make his fourth consecutive start Friday night when the Hawks host the Coyotes at the United Center. Antti Niemi, who had been scheduled to start Wednesday night's game against the Blues but didn't play because of an illness, missed Thursday's practice at the United Center.
Quenneville said Niemi "is doing much better. He should be ready to back up (Huet)."
The Hawks are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games with Huet just 2-3-0 in his last five starts. He has lost two in a row, including a 3-2 decision to the Blues and a 4-2 loss in Carolina on Saturday night.
"We're not blaming the goaltending at all," Quenneville said of the recent struggles. "We know the importance of it and we know it's a key position for us and we're going to rely on it as we go along here. The last two games, nullifying one of those goals would have led to wins in both of them."
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Kirk, the Hawks only got 3 high picks and one of them turned out to be the mediocre Cam Barker after the Hawks slipped out of the Ovechkin/Malkin slots. Most of the team is comprised of lower picks, trade additions or free agents.
And while I'm not a fan of Huet's whatsoever, I don't know what else Talon was supposed to do. Khabibulin had been mediocre as a Hawks prior to last season, was 37 years old, and in the last year of his contract. Not everyone can get lucky like Phoenix and pick up a Bryzgalov who suddenly blossoms at 27.
Ahem...cough cough...ahem....
I am old enough to know that Phuet CANNOT bring a cup to chicago, you could bring in OV and they still wouldnt not win the tight games and playoff tough games...not with old reject Phooey Poohy.
This is another example of talons boo boos....cry babies will say..."but, talon got this team together....' Big deal...when your last place for a decade you get all the high picks!!! Just listen to scouting reports and anyone would know to draft what hawks drafted.
Poohy cant stop a beachball when time is tight and games are tough....thats why Phuet needs a backup to do his work for him....Phuet poohy...shining example of a useless second rate goalie who depends on his team to score a bunch of goals and when they cant the proof is plain to see...hawks will NEVER WINN WITH PHUET.
That Old enough for ya?
Ahem...cough cough....
I am old enough to remember all the years that we have lost, after a "valiant effort". And I have played hockey, lived hockey, and I watch hockey every nite, and I see that hawks have a good team...not great cause we won nothing with these guys yet; but withjout a goalie, we will not win. And Phuet is NOT the goalie to bring a cup anywhere. If he was worth the cash, Montreal would have paid it. If he was worth the cash, Washinton would have paid it. He is an ok goalie, goes down early, lets in the odd softy and because we have the offense, he can escape for awhile...but...in the finals or conference finals, softies dont win, bad goals break teams hearts.
This is NOT the man to bring the cup here, he isnt!! If he was, Niemmi would rarely get a start! You dont see Jersey let their backup play every third game...Brodeur is a REAL goalie thats why, a champion.
Huet is not my 'buddy', Huet is not even a good goalie, he could win in the AHL probably, with some good goal scorers to pad for him.
Folks, in the playoffs,....one goal and big goal games are the norm, OT wins and losses make champs....and Huet can only win the games where hawks dominate all over the ice...but playoff hockey is not like that! Its not shinny hockey and end to end rushes...its damn well down and dirty all you got for one goal, and if your goalie lets in ONE bad one it takes the guts out of your team....
BOWMAN...GET A GOALIE OR WASTE YOUR SHOT!....
The cap will take away your shot in coming years anyway, this is your shot man....wake up and get a GOALIE.
One last thing, Huet Left Washington, they did not want to get rid of him did they?? He took the Money the Hawks threw at him. Can`t blame a guy for that.
Washington wanted to keep him but could not come up with the $$$ the Hawks did.
Oh and Kirk, I Believe Huet got traded from Montreal because he was already making close to 3 million a Year (good asmount back then) and he was coming up for a Big payday. His numbers with The Canadiens were very good if i remember right.
I also believe at the time Price was there with Huet and not getting paid nearly as much and would not get paid BIG for awhile. I could be wrong but i think i am pretty close. I would check but i gotta run.
Wow Kirk, sorry but how old are you? it`s Ok to not like Huet and as a matter of fact the tribune poll the other day said something like 50% of people liked him and 50% did not like him. It`s fine to not like him but next time, maybe bring some conversation huh?
Huet IS NOT the goalie...and I wish hsi pals would stop posting pro Huet BS.
Montreal got rin of him, Washtington with the most explosive goalscorer in the world...they even got rid of him or didnt see him as worthy.
So we get to watch the hawks FALL in the finals (maybe that far0 and realize then and too damn late...SHOULDA GOTTA GOALIE....WAHHHH....
WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR BOY, THEN NEIMMIE WILL BE GOOD ENOUGH TO PROVIDE YET ANOTHER FALL.
Hawksd have done well, but depending on leaky goaltending is why we have so few cups. You go out and you get the best goalie available and you win.
The Murray Bannerman syndrome ... where you have a great team, but get let down after fighting off powerplays and working hard for two periods...suddenly your goalie lets in a soft lousy goal. Bannerman syndrome...thats what hawks got in huet and niemi too.
Sad sack goaltending, and yes, we who see through Pooey huey, we have right to comment too. And we ought to comment, before march 3rd there is still hope.
NUCKS SCORE...AND HUET LOOKS BAD AGAION....PENS SCORE...AND HUET LOST THAT ONE...CAPS SCORE...AND HUEY WAS DOWN TO EARLY.... too bad...and the forwards and D played sooo well...but hey...next year is our rallying cry!!!
Four intelligent posts in a row. Opinions with stats and ideas. This is what it should be about. Get ready however. The boneheads will be back.
what has been concerning me lately is the turnovers. I don't know if it's because they are so confident (understandably) in their scoring abilities that teams are able to anticipate the Hawk aggressiveness and lay in wait for an intercept, but I don't know too many goalies who can repeatedly stop the quality shots coming from turnovers on the Hawks'end. I find myself saying 'get the puck outta there!' too often lately. not a huge concern yet but just something that has been a recent problem. go hawks!
Huet is normally good until he allows a soft goal, and then the flood gates open and he allows a few more in the process. He is also not very good protecting large leads - witness the Wild game a few weeks ago! I think he loses his concentration somewhere along the way.
Will be very difficult to win the Cup with Huet in goal, in my opinion.
Huet's save percentage is tied for 32nd-34th in the league.
His save percentage since January started is a pathetic .873%. If that continues, they'll have no choice but to give Niemi a shot to be the #1.
Absolutely on target Chico17. Huet is no where near as bad as most of these posts make him out to be. Once the Hawks chose him instead of Khabibulin last summer, nothing the guy does is good enough. Bitch, bitch, bitch.
Huet bagged a big contract because, one, he earned it and two, because, at the time, NO ONE wanted to play in Chicago. If he was overpaid it was the price to get the new regime rolling. Same with Campbell.
The Hawks are now a model franchise, yet Scotty Bowman, Stan Bowman and John McDonough are ripped in the same way. SCOTTY BOWMAN, the best hockey mind of the last 40 years, is a fool????
Respect our damn team guys. I have complete faith the Hawks are on the right track and will make the best possible decisions in order to bring us a CUP.
This SoxSuck guy is a perfect example of a hockey deficient poster. Read it with some real thought. The conclusion is pretty obvious.
HL: fair enough in your commentary. Khabby is gone for the season with serious back surgery to begin with. He was not going to be the answer. I agree with you about the money that was given to Huet. What I am talking about is stupid commentary. Example: Last night's game. You sound like an intelligent observer. I have a question for you. How can anyone blame a goaltender for the deflection and a redirect? You know the answer. So the dummies blame him for the loss when there was a turnover that led to the 3rd goal. All I am saying is NO MATTER what he does, if the team loses AND wins many times, the figure skater sissy crowd blames him. When a player makes a mistake, intelligent hockey people point it out. When a player does well, that is pointed out also. My premise is not whether Huet is the answer or not to a Stanley Cup. It is simply that too many dummies clog up serious hockey talk with absolutely no knowledge because they don't have a clue about hockey nor have they ever played. I seriously respect your thought process and really mean that. If all posters were thinking the game like you and some others on these blogs, it would be nice. Instead we get boneheads who are hockey deficient, that's all.
C'mon SoxSuck! You've only been a Hawks fan for a year and a half. Be a little patient. The rest of us have
Huet is a freaking joke! Has anyone seen some of the cheap goals he gives up? Every night!!! Get Niemi in there! Sick or not, Niemi is much more talented than ChristiBUM Huet! I cant stand to watch that piece of crap in goal anymore!
Chico, if the Hawks management is so smart, why didn't this Huet play more than Khabibulin last year? Why wasn't he your playoff goalie? The answer is, they overestimated him when they signed him to a big deal. They speculated, and they guessed wrong, and because they gambled so heavily, they're stuck with the guy. It happens in all sports. But to continue to rely on the guy when you've got the rest of the team hitting on all cylinders, is foolish.
The Cubs were smart; they took the hit and dumped Bradley. Unfortunately, at this stage of the season, it's too late to get a solid replacement unless you trade away talent, so they blew their chance. Had they taken the hit, and resigned Khabibulin, this team would be the odds-on favorite to win the Cup. Instead, they'll lose in the 2nd round; goaltending was a big part of both series wins last year against the Flames and Canucks - maybe they should have paid more attention to what won them those games.
(I do think management is overall pretty good, but keeping Huet is gonna cost them an honest shot at the championship this year - isn't that the ultimate goal?)
Soxfun... on how many other NHL teams would Huet be a starter? 4? 5? He's that low down on the totem pole, so it's no wonder fans don't have faith in him anymore.
Huet will be the downfall of this team in the long run. Find some great goal tending and this team can complete for the Cup. As it stands now, this team is still a pretender.
Blackhawk management knows a hell of a lot more than the armchair coaches on Tribune hockey blogs. They are lifetime hockey people and have forgotten more hockey than some of the more ignorant posters who appear daily or occasionally. I am daily amazed at SOME of the obvious ignorance of the game of hockey that appears. Anyone can claim any ficticious background in a sport that they want in cyberspace. Blogging in Boston, Minnesota and Canada show hockey knowledge from fans. Chicago is notorious for having fans who never have even put on a pair of hockey skates let alone ever played the game. The truth is, amateur players and coaches in Chicago have no time to comment because they are busy being involved in the game. Some of the commentary is absolutely humorous in all aspects of the game, especially goaltending. To honestly think anyone on here has more insight to the game than lifetime involvement from management is a joke. Count me as a lifetime amateur who knows nothing compared to them.
Good. Just the way it should be. Huet is a starter.