Huet Blanks the Preds, Hawks Win 2-0
This is the Cristobal Huet that fans had been hoping they would see. Huet had a spectacular night against the Predators. He had 27 saves and didn’t let one single puck go in the back of his net. Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd both had goals in the 2nd period.
It was a nice thing to see Huet play so well, but Huet always has good days. They just seem to be spread out. Huet’s problem is his lack of consistency. This game will sure make Huet look good, but it won’t completely destroy the criticism that he gets for under-performing. He still has a job to do, and that is to prove to the fans he can live up to the high expectations they have of him this year.
The Hawks played without their captain Jonathan Toews and top defender Brent Seabrook, which makes this victory evermore sweeter. This proves to me the Hawks can find ways to win without their top players. The Hawks, over the past two years, have been a very good offensive team, and while they will always have a person with the most points, they do a very good job with getting other players to contribute. The fact every player can contribute offensively is the main reason why a lot of people see them winning the Stanley Cup this year.
The win let the Hawks keep their 3rd place in the Western Conference. It’s still early, but there is already a tight race in the Western Conference. While I do expect the conference to thin out during the course of the season, it’s essential that the Hawks keep a good winning pace because you don’t want to fall to much behind. A lot of teams are off to a hot start, and it’s really nice to see the Hawks with that group.
The Hawks will play the Minnesota Wild this Monday at 7:00pm cst. Former Hawk Martin Havlat, is expected to play. Havlat netted 3 goals in just 2 games against the Hawks in the pre-season so it will be interesting seeing what goes down Monday night at the United Center.
Keep in touch with Midwest Sports Fans as I will be writing more stuff about the Blackhawks all season long.
Tags: Chicago Blackhawks, Cristobal Huet, Nashville Predators, NHL, Shut-out
