It's not a given that Cristobal Huet will be in goal for the Blackhawks tonight in what could be their final game of the season, but it certainly appeared that way when Nikolai Khabibulin didn't take the ice for practice Tuesday at the United Center.
Coach Joel Quenneville said Khabibulin, nursing an apparent groin injury that has sidelined him since the third period of Game 3 of the Western Conference finals against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, would make the Tuesday afternoon flight to Detroit and wouldn't rule him out of playing tonight.
''We'll have a better assessment after the morning skate [today],'' Quenneville said.
Huet, though, has prepared himself to play again with the Hawks down 3-1 and facing elimination in the best-of-seven series.
''It'll be a fight for our lives,'' Huet said. ''We want to play better, myself first, and put in the best effort we can. Going in there down 3-1 is a big challenge, but we're taking it one game at a time and we're confident we can win. That'll be our mind-set. We'll have to play 60 or more minutes to decide the future. We don't want to look beyond that.''
Huet got into his first game of this postseason after Khabibulin came up with what the club has described as simply a lower-body injury in Game 3. The Hawks rallied to win that game in overtime, but Huet wasn't as successful Sunday, when the Wings battered the Hawks 6-1.
''There were a lot of things I'd certainly like to improve on and get my game back,'' Huet said. ''There's no room for error [tonight].''
Before Friday, Huet hadn't played since April 11, when he was in goal for a 4-2 victory over the Wings in Detroit in the next-to-last regular-season game. The Hawks' drubbing Sunday was by no means all Huet's fault. His teammates committed 16 penalties in front of him.
''It'd be tough on anybody to start a game after being off a month, but it'd be especially tough for a goaltender,'' defenseman Brian Campbell said.
''I thought Huet played just fine,'' winger Kris Versteeg said. ''He's an incredible goaltender. That's why he's been a starter in this league for so long. Maybe there was a bit of timing [problems] in the last game, but he looked just fine.''
Huet's playoff credentials don't compare to those of Khabibulin, who won a Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Before joining the Hawks, Huet reached the postseason with the Montreal Canadiens in 2006 (losing a first-round series in six games) and the Washington Capitals last season (losing a first-round series in seven games). His career goals-against average in the playoffs is 2.79.
In his first playoff start for the Hawks, Huet trailed 4-1 before Quenneville yanked him to give Corey Crawford some playoff experience in the second period. Huet returned in the third period as Quenneville -- aware of the possibility that Khabibulin might remain out -- wanted to get him more game action.
''Goaltenders get a lot of scrutiny and attention,'' Quenneville said. ''They've got to go forward and look to the next opportunity. That's how to approach it. [Huet] won a big game [in Detroit] at the end of the regular season. I expect, if he plays, he'll be just fine.''
Winger Martin Havlat also stayed off the ice Tuesday. He made a surprise return to the lineup after being knocked unconscious in Game 3 on Friday but took another blow Sunday and couldn't finish the game.
Quenneville also considers Havlat day-to-day and will make a decision on his availability after the morning skate. If he can't go, Colin Fraser will be in the lineup.
Coach Joel Quenneville said Khabibulin, nursing an apparent groin injury that has sidelined him since the third period of Game 3 of the Western Conference finals against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, would make the Tuesday afternoon flight to Detroit and wouldn't rule him out of playing tonight.
''We'll have a better assessment after the morning skate [today],'' Quenneville said.
Huet, though, has prepared himself to play again with the Hawks down 3-1 and facing elimination in the best-of-seven series.
''It'll be a fight for our lives,'' Huet said. ''We want to play better, myself first, and put in the best effort we can. Going in there down 3-1 is a big challenge, but we're taking it one game at a time and we're confident we can win. That'll be our mind-set. We'll have to play 60 or more minutes to decide the future. We don't want to look beyond that.''
Huet got into his first game of this postseason after Khabibulin came up with what the club has described as simply a lower-body injury in Game 3. The Hawks rallied to win that game in overtime, but Huet wasn't as successful Sunday, when the Wings battered the Hawks 6-1.
''There were a lot of things I'd certainly like to improve on and get my game back,'' Huet said. ''There's no room for error [tonight].''
Before Friday, Huet hadn't played since April 11, when he was in goal for a 4-2 victory over the Wings in Detroit in the next-to-last regular-season game. The Hawks' drubbing Sunday was by no means all Huet's fault. His teammates committed 16 penalties in front of him.
''It'd be tough on anybody to start a game after being off a month, but it'd be especially tough for a goaltender,'' defenseman Brian Campbell said.
''I thought Huet played just fine,'' winger Kris Versteeg said. ''He's an incredible goaltender. That's why he's been a starter in this league for so long. Maybe there was a bit of timing [problems] in the last game, but he looked just fine.''
Huet's playoff credentials don't compare to those of Khabibulin, who won a Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Before joining the Hawks, Huet reached the postseason with the Montreal Canadiens in 2006 (losing a first-round series in six games) and the Washington Capitals last season (losing a first-round series in seven games). His career goals-against average in the playoffs is 2.79.
In his first playoff start for the Hawks, Huet trailed 4-1 before Quenneville yanked him to give Corey Crawford some playoff experience in the second period. Huet returned in the third period as Quenneville -- aware of the possibility that Khabibulin might remain out -- wanted to get him more game action.
''Goaltenders get a lot of scrutiny and attention,'' Quenneville said. ''They've got to go forward and look to the next opportunity. That's how to approach it. [Huet] won a big game [in Detroit] at the end of the regular season. I expect, if he plays, he'll be just fine.''
Winger Martin Havlat also stayed off the ice Tuesday. He made a surprise return to the lineup after being knocked unconscious in Game 3 on Friday but took another blow Sunday and couldn't finish the game.
Quenneville also considers Havlat day-to-day and will make a decision on his availability after the morning skate. If he can't go, Colin Fraser will be in the lineup.
