There was a time, earlier in the season, that the Chicago Blackhawks were known as a scoring team without any goaltending. Now, Chicago has earned two straight shutouts, one from Antti Niemi and one from Cristobal Huet.
Huet earned tonight's win over rival St. Louis, a team that the Hawks had not played yet this season. It was a physical contest and even Huet got in on the pushing and shoving late in the game. The fight out of Huet is something that Chicago fans thought they would never see, as he was known to be a soft goaltender that allowed some soft goals early in the season.
He has stepped up lately, and the goalies have actually helped carry the team to some victories. Chicago has given up the fewest goals of any team in the NHL, and by far, the fewest in the conference. The Hawks have allowed just 67 goals in 32 games, and Phoenix is second with 78 allowed.(New Jersey and Martin Brodeur have allowed just 69 to lead the East.)
Niemi is second in the NHL with 3 shutouts, despite only starting 7 games. Huet had his second shutout tonight. The Hawks are not scoring as many goals as people thought, but they are starting to get the offense going again recently.
Chicago has outscored their opponents 7-0 in the last two games. Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews make a very potent first line. The Hawks still have some work to do, with Nashville just two points behind in the division.
Yet Chicago has solved their goaltending issues. The goalies were a concern, and now they are the reason the team leads the division.
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