Troy Brouwer puts a wicked hit on Karlis Skrastins, but the Stars got the last laugh.

Does Dallas have Cristobal Huet’s number?

Coach Joel Quenneville pulled Huet less than two minutes into the second period after he had allowed four goals on Dallas’ first 10 shots. Oddly enough, the last time the Blackhawks played Dallas on Oct. 17 was when the bandwagon to bench Huet reached it’s hottest. In that game, Huet allowed four ugly goals, including one that hit off a loose section of glass in the corner and bounced into the net past a seemingly uninterested Huet.

After a breakout week in which he posted consecutive shutouts, Huet hasn’t look much like a star. Since shutting out Detroit on Dec. 20, Huet has allowed eight goals in 50 shots, with Tuesday night’s early exit being the latest troubling outing from the Hawks’ goaltender.

Antti Niemi relieved Huet and performed admirably, though he took the loss. He allowed just one goal on 14 shots, but it was the game winning goal to Steve Ott on an early third period power play that ended up being the difference. The goal was Ott’s second of the game, and seventh of the season, as the Stars improved to 2-0-0 against the first place Blackhawks.

Patrick Kane led an offensive attack that did all it could to buoy the struggling goaltender. Kane scored two more goals, giving him seven in his last five games and extending his total to a team-leading 17. Duncan Keith, Brian Campbell and Jonathan Toews all continued their strong play as Keith and Campbell were credited with one assist and Toews two in the loss. Dustin Byfuglien had two assists in the game, nearly doubling his season total from three to five.

The Blackhawks had plenty of opportunities, and took advantage many times. A struggling power play unit had two goals in four attempts in Dallas, as Troy Brouwer opened the scoring with the advantage and Kane scored his first of the game on the power play later in the first. But the Hawks’ normally-excellent power play killing defense wasn’t as good on Tuesday, allowing two goals in five opportunities for the Stars. Ott’s game winner was with the advantage, a Cam Barker penalty for high sticking. Coming into the game, the Hawks had killed their opponents’ last 25 power plays.

Quenneville didn’t have much to be concerned about with his offense after the game, as they converted four of 37 shots and skated well on the power play. Colin Fraser finally scored his first goal of the season as the offense was bouncing early, but his goaltending was certainly an issue, and could continue to be moving forward. After the game, Quenneville said about the change in net, ”I had to do something. They were going in too easy. It was an easy call.”

If you wanted a worst-case scenario to magnify the issues in net for Huet, it comes in the form of Martin Brodeur and the Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey Devils at the United Center on New Year’s Eve.

The first of Kris Versteeg's two toe-drags on his gorgeous short-handed goal Tuesday.

How many firsts were there on Tuesday night?

Tuesday was December 1st. The Blackhawks played at home for the first time in two weeks. It was the first game between the Blackhawks and division rival, and second place, Columbus. Marian Hossa was playing in his first home game as a member of the Hawks. It was the first time the Hawks wore their new third jerseys. And it was the first time a Blackhawks’ team had a shootout reach double-digit shots.

All of that to get Coach Joel Quenneville his 500th career win as an NHL coach.

Welcome home indeed!

The Blackhawks admittedly didn’t have their legs in the first period as they were outshot by the Blue Jackets 10-5, but held the advantage on the scoreboard after an incredible short handed goal from Kris Versteeg. Versteeg got the puck on a break up the right side, used a ridiculous toe-drag to beat an initial defender, then used another sick toe-drag to elude a second defender before depositing the puck over Steve Mason’s shoulder to give the Hawks the 1-0 lead.

Despite the score, the Hawks didn’t have much momentum heading to the first break. On the radio broadcast, Patrick Kane told the Chicago broadcast team that the Hawks were struggling to get the flow of their offense down after being gone for two weeks on the West Coast. The Blackhawks made a number of mistakes, including two questionable penalties and numerous turnovers in the Hawks’ zone that their stellar defense effectively mitigated.

The second period started with more back and forth action, and just over eight minutes in the Jackets tied the game with Antoine Vermette putting back a sloppy rebound off Cristobal Huet. Then, six minutes later, former-Blackhawks center Sami Pahlsson got another puck past Huet to give Columbus the lead. The Hawks were still searching for their groove.

But the second penalty of the period on Anton Stralman opened the door for the Hawks to put together an offensive rush, and they capitalized. With a lot of traffic in front of the net, Kane threw the puck to Hossa in front of the net. Hossa nicely tipped Kane’s pass through the traffic to a wide-open Patrick Sharp on the backside of the play and he tied the game again.

Once Sharp tied the game, the Hawks became noticeably more physical. Dustin Byfuglien, Troy Brouwer and Niklas Hjalmarsson worked the corners hard and, more times than not, left their opponent without the puck and off their feet. The Hawks controlled the final three minutes of the second period, and the game headed to the third period even in almost every way; not only was the score tied, but the Hawks had taken just one shot more than the Jackets and the two teams were nearly even in every other statistical category.

Columbus came out strong in the third, and took the lead only 40 seconds into the period on a long shot from Kris Russell.

However, the Hawks continued to press the offensive zone and drew more penalties. Only 17 seconds after Fedor Tyutin was called for high sticking, Jonathan Toews tied the game at three. The Blackhawks power play offense, which had been a concern for much of October, has continued to improve since Toews’ return.

The other side of the special teams, the penalty kill, also continues to be exceptional for Chicago. The Hawks entered Tuesday with the second-ranked PK unit in the NHL, but were facing the top converting power play in the NHL in Columbus. Through three periods and overtime, the Hawks defense was again superior as they killed all three penalties the Jackets drew.

Why, after being gone for two weeks, would the Hawks cheat their fans by playing only 60 minutes of hockey? Let’s play five extra minutes.

Neither team was able to score in the overtime session, though, so the Blackhawks treated their great fans to a shootout.

In the second round of the shootout, Hossa put the puck into the net to start the dance for the Hawks. But Jakub Voracek answered to start the third round, and when Kane couldn’t end it, the game continued for extra shots.

Sharp, Versteeg, Andrew Ladd, Brouwer, Tomas Kopecky, Byfuglien and John Madden all tried their best but couldn’t beat Mason, who had struggled in shootouts before Tuesday. It wasn’t until the 11th round, when Quenneville finally called on a defenseman that the game ended. Brent Seabrook, who already has two overtime game winners this year, got the puck past Mason to end the longest shootout in franchise history.

Huet stopped 20 of 23 shots, but made great saves on the best moves from Columbus. On more than one occasion, Rick Nash made stunning moves in traffic and got the puck to Huet, but the Hawks’ goaltender was up to the task every time. He was also stellar in the shootout, in which he was aggressive playing the puck and made saves in nearly every direction.

Hossa had two assists in his first game in Chicago, giving him four points in four games with the Hawks. Duncan Keith had his 14th assist on the season on a shot that has, for now, been credited as a goal to Toews. Whether or not Toews made contact with the puck could be reviewed.

And so, after a night filled with firsts, Quenneville finally reached his 500th career win in his third try.

"The Monster" comes to Chicago on Friday night.

On paper, there’s very little reason to think the Blackhawks will lose on Friday night when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Hawks are playing well, have a powerful offense, and their defense has been outstanding. Toronto, meanwhile, has been outscored by more than one goal per game so far, doesn’t play much defense, and has trouble scoring.

Friday night should be a layup for the Hawks… which is why it’s a dangerous trap game that could cost the Hawks points if they take Toronto for granted.

Sunday night, which is also Jeremy Roenick Heritage Night at the United Center, the Hawks host the top team in the Western Conference, the San Jose Sharks. That game will serve as a good benchmark to close the first quarter of the season, letting the Hawks know how they stack up against the leaders in the conference.

Toronto comes to Chicago playing as well as they have all year, having won two of their last three. Granted, one was at a Carolina team that might be one of the worst teams in recent memory, but beating the Detroit Red Wings is nothing to be ashamed of.

Allowing five goals to Minnesota on Tuesday is worthy of shame, but beating the Red Wings 5-1 last Saturday is a good effort for a last place team.

Jonas Gustavsson certainly deserves better than the 3-3-3 record he’s posted this season. His .912 save percentage is good enough to win more than three games, while his 2.77 goals against average is as much an indication of the poor defense in front of him as it isa reflection of his goaltending.

The irony in Toronto is that their best player is Tomas Kaberle, a defenseman. But he’s more in the mold of Brian Campbell than Brent Seabrook, which is why Toronto has struggled at the blue line this year. Mike Komisarek was placed on the IR on Thursday with a quad injury, and is expected to miss a number of weeks.

Kaberle has been a machine for Toronto, though. He already has 11 power play assists this year among his 20 points through just 16 games. His names has floated through a handful of trade rumors already this year because of his production (and $4 million cap number). In fact, he’s been mentioned in rumors involving the Blackhawks.

But even with a good Kaberle and a solid Gustavsson, the Blackhawks should smoke the Leafs on Friday night.

The issue the Hawks, like any young team, has is overlooking an inferior opponent when they have a strong test just 48 hours later. Toronto might not be a very good hockey team, but they’re still professionals. If the Hawks take them for granted, like they did with Vancouver in October, they could lose the game and players to injury.

October’s in the books, and now November begins with even more questions than answers in the NHL’s Western Conference. So many injuries have hit the rosters that it’s beginning to raise concerns that some teams, like Vancouver, might not be able to withstand the losses of players and games early in the year.

Other teams, like Colorado and Los Angeles, have jumped out of the gates with a stronger showing than expected. Anze Kopitar leads the league in scoring, and Craig Anderson in Denver has been phenomenal (former Hawks prospect, too).

So let’s put it on paper. How do the teams in the West stack up after one month of the season, and how do they project moving forward.

15. Minnesota (5-9-0  10 pts)

The Wild thought adding injury plagued players like Martin Havlat would help them compete for a playoff spot this year, but the chance they took with those checkered pasts has come to haunt them. They’ve been outscored 42-31 through 14 games. Injuries and sloppy play have left Minnesota the lowest scoring team in the league.

14. Anaheim (4-6-2  10 pts)

The Ducks aren’t so mighty right now, and have fallen well behind the Kings in their annual competition to be southern California’s best insignificant team. Ryan Getzlaf has only scored one goal in 12 games, and the team’s third leading scorer is James Wisniewski. If not for Corey Perry and Getzlaf, the team’s 34-42 point differential would look a lot worse.

13. St. Louis (5-6-1  11 pts)

They definitely have the Blues in St. Louis right now, as they’ve only been able to muster a 2-5-0 record at home so far. Their offense has disappeared, climaxing with consecutive shutouts to end the month of October. Not a single Blues player has reached double digits in points yet, and Chris Mason is allowing 2.74 goals per game.

12. Nashville (6-6-1  13 points)

Until their last three games, the Predators weren’t living up to their name. They’ve been outscored 38-28, the worst differential in the Western Conference, and have had issues settling on a goalie. Their last three games, though, have been exceptional and they may have not only found a goalie, but their offense has come alive. Pekka Rinne appears to have established himself as the top goalie, benefiting from a 10-5 scoring differential in those three games (including a shutout of the Blackhawks).

11. Detroit Red Wings (5-4-3  13 pts)

They’ve struggled to stay healthy so far this year, already missing key components from last year’s conference championship team from free agency. With two of their top three centers out for between eight weeks and four months, the Wings are desperately seeking defense. They’ve come out of the gate averaging 3.50 goals per game, but are allowing nearly four. If there’s anything to the rumors that Detroit’s going to make a strong play to add Peter Forsberg, they could be a dangerous team.

10. Edmonton (7-7-1  15 pts)

The Oilers paid a lot of money for the 2008-09 Nikolai Khabibulin, but have seen the goalie that was regularly booed in Chicago the two previous seasons. The Bulin Wall has allowed 3.12 goals per game so far, and the offense has skated hard to keep pace. They’re very much an average team that will struggle to break into the top eight spots this spring for the playoffs without a trade.

9. Vancouver (8-7-0  16 pts)

What happens when you take Daniel Sedin, Sami Salo, Pavol Demitra and Roberto Luongo out of multiple games? That’s just to mention a few of the Canucks’ injury concerns to start this season, and they’re understandably struggling to stay above .500 through a tough early schedule. Sedin and Salo are both expected to miss most of November, so the ice will stay thin for the Canucks.

8. Dallas (6-3-5  17 pts)

If only they faced Cristobal Huet every night! Their inability to get it done in regulation has killed a team trying to get much-needed early wins without Mike Modano. They’re only converting 17.7 percent of their power play opportunities, perhaps the biggest impact of Modano’s absence. If they can get healthy and play defense (3.25 goals against per game), they could be a playoff team.

7. Columbus (7-5-1  15 pts)

The Jackets are in second place in the Central behind a strong start from Rick Nash, but are being outscored after a month of action (42-46). They’re going to need to step up their defense to allow their strong offense to shine. Obviously, getting Jan Hejda back off injured reserve should improve their defense, and that could happen as soon as Wednesday. They just lost Andrew Murray for four weeks, though. Like many teams, health is an ongoing issue.

6. Calgary (7-4-1  15 pts)

The Flames have the best converting power play in the conference (27.8 percent), but they’re allowing 3.5 goals per game. They’re an older, veteran squad that hasn’t received what they had hoped for from Mikka Kiprusoff in goal, but have been pleasantly surprised by former Blackhawks wing Rene Borque, who leads Calgary in scoring to date.

5. Phoenix (9-5-0  18 pts)

The Coyotes, unlike Edmonton, haven’t missed Wayne Gretzky for one second and have admirably played through their off-ice distractions to have a solid start. They’re third in the Pacific Division, and have held opponents to just over two goals per game. The NHL might have bought the best goalie in hockey in bankruptcy court, too, in Ilya Bryzgalov; he’s allowing only 1.78 goals per night and has sprinted out to an 8-3-0 record.

4. Los Angeles (9-4-2  20 pts)

Their offense, led by Kopitar, is as good as it gets in the league (51 goals through 15 games), but they’re not doing a lot of the little things right to jump into the top spot in the Pacific. The Kings are only killing 74.1 percent of power plays, and are only 5-3-2 in their last ten games. They’ll need to allow fewer than their current three goals per game to win their division, much less the conference.

3. Chicago (8-4-1  17 pts)

The Blackhawks are certainly talented enough to end the regular season in the top spot in the West, but haven’t jumped to that spot yet. Missing Jonathan Toews for two weeks hasn’t help a strikingly unproductive power play (17.3 percent), but their defense has been good around Cristobal Huet’s roller coaster season. Once they get Toews, Eager and Hossa back, watch out.

2. Colorado (10-3-2  22 pts)

The Avalanche have followed Anderson’s lead between the pipes and sprinted to an early lead in the Northwest, and could expand their six-point lead on a banged up Vancouver team. The perfect storm might have landed in Denver to begin this season, as the Avalanche are playing well while the rest of their division gets hurt and plays poorly. They could run away with their division before the Olympics.

1. San Jose (10-4-1  21 pts)

They took the huge gamble this summer in adding Dany Heatley to their roster, and it’s payed off on paper so far. They’ve scored almost a full goal per game more than their opponents, have the second ranked power play in the conference (25 percent) and third-best power play killing unit in the conference (85 percent). Chemistry will be a theme to watch as this season progresses, though… Heatley has never been known for making friends.

Cristobal Huet played exceptionally well in goal but took the loss on Thursday night.

I guess if you play the same team three times in 15 days, they have a pretty good chance to figure out an effective game plan.

The Blackhawks and Predators faced off in Nashville in their third game against one another already this season, and Nashville was finally able to put together a winning formula. In fact, the Predators thoroughly dominated the Blackhawks in every part of the game.

On what appeared to be mediocre ice in Music City, the Hawks never got their act together and they squandered a fantastic effort from Cristobal Huet. Bouncing pucks, sloppy skating and bad penalties plagued the Hawks, who weren’t able to take advantage of the few opportunities they were afforded by the Preds.

Pekka Rinne was marvelous, earning a well-deserved shut out against a team that had scored three goals against him on October 15. The Blackhawks only put 22 shots on net, well below their season average, and did not display the shoot-and-follow offense that has been so effective for them to start the year. Rinne didn’t allow many rebounds, and when there were loose pucks the Hawks didn’t capitalize.

Nashville topped the Blackhawks in every statistical category except two: faceoff wins and penalty minutes. They out shot the Hawks 28-22, out hit the Hawks 21-15, and had 11 takeaways to the Blackhawks’ 6 on the night.

The Hawks’ 24 penalty minutes did include a 10-minute misconduct penalty on Dustin Byfuglien with just four seconds left, taken after it appeared a Predator interfered with Patrick Kane’s stick as he attempted a one-timer in front of the net. The Hawks on the ice collectively lost their composure and argued with officials as Jerred Smithson took the puck the other direction for a short-handed empty net goal.

Apparently Byfuglien’s language was a bit more colorful than the other Hawks on the ice, as he earned both the 10-minutes misconduct and a four-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

The effort from Huet was consistent with his last three outings, though. He made big saves in tough situations from every angle and looked every bit the $5 million goalie the Hawks hoped they had signed last summer. Over his last three games, Huet has allowed two goals on 75 shots.

The Hawks have had small breakdowns in each of the last three games on the ice between players that aren’t used to playing with each other. The offense was noticeably off it’s game on Thursday, playing without captain Jonathan Toews for a third consecutive game.

As coach Joel Quenneville tries to put the pieces together in Toews’ absence, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Toews means more than his five points indicates on paper to this team. The Hawks’ power play, which was the best road power play in the league coming in (5-13) has struggled to find continuity, and the rotation of available centers has barely broken even in faceoffs.

Toews has been among the best centers in the league in the faceoff circle this year, and is among the best two-way centers in hockey. His value to the team runs deeper than his offensive game, and his absence was painfully obvious on Thursday.

Because of games on back-to-back nights, and the return of Brent Seabrook from a concussion, Quenneville decided to skate Jordan Hendry at forward rather than recall Jake Dowell again from Rockford. The fourth line of Tomas Kopecky, Colin Fraser and Hendry was pretty bad on Thursday, and Hendry only skated a little over five minutes.

Nashville has now won three of their last four, with the one loss being in Chicago last week. Rinne has been in goal for all three of the wins, with Dan Ellis taking the loss in Chicago.

Friday night, the Hawks welcome Montreal to the United Center with red-hot goaltender Jaroslav Halak  . The Canadiens had won four in a row before losing 6-1 in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, and Halak has been in goal for each of their last five contests. The Canadiens (6-6-0) comes in allowing the same goals per game as Nashville (3.18), but are scoring more than half a goal per game (2.50-1.91) more than the Predators.

The Hawks will have their work cut out for them as they try to end a solid first month of the season on a high note at home.

According to the Blackhawks web site, coach Joel Quenneville will start the game against the Nashville Predators on Thursday with his lines arranged this way:

Dustin Byfuglien - John Madden – Patrick Kane

Andrew Ladd – Dave Bolland – Kris Versteeg

Patrick Sharp – Andrew Ebbett – Troy Brouwer

Tomas Kopecky - Colin Fraser – Jordan Hendry

Because of the return of Brent Seabrook from injury, the defensive lines will be more traditional. Jonathan Toews is still out with a concussion, so please note that Hendry will play forward this evening. The defensive pairings will be:

Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook

Brian Campbell – Niklas Hjalmarsson

Brent Sopel – Cam Barker

Goal: Cristobal Huet

Jordan Hendry will play forward in Nashville Thursday night.

After Thursday morning’s skate, coach Joel Quenneville made a couple announcements regarding the lineup for the Hawks game in Nashville.

Captain Jonathan Toews did not travel with the team, and is doubtful for tomorrow night’s game against the Canadiens at the United Center. Brent Seabrook will play, though.

To accomodate Seabrook becoming active, the Hawks will not recall Jake Dowell from Rockford. Instead, Jordan Hendry will stay active and play forward; the Hawks will dress seven defensivemen for this evening’s game. There has been no comment from the Hawks regarding the rumors of a trade involving Cristobal Huet, and all indications are that he will start in net tonight.

Are the Blackhawks interested in Montreal goalie Carey Price? Doubtful

A radio station in Montreal radio station alleged on Thursday morning that the Canadiens had traded 22-year old goalie Carey Price to the Blackhawks for Cristobal Huet. Price, , Montreal’s top draft pick a couple years ago, has lost the starting job in Montreal to Jaroslav Halak, and is reportedly on the trading block.

The rumor, however, is false.

Other reports have killed the idea, largely because Huet has had two good games in a row and is slated to start in net for the Hawks in Nashville Thursday night. Bob Gainey, the GM in Montreal , has not publicly commented on the situation, either.

Check back for updates if any come, but the Canadiens wouldn’t figure to want Huet’s contract and the Hawks don’t appear to be in the mindset that they need to make a move with their goalies.

Antti Niemi will start Wednesday, and may be on the verge of becoming the Hawks No. One goalie

After practice on Tuesday, coach Joel Quenneville announced that Antti Niemi will start in goal for the Blackhawks Wednesday against Vancouver at the United Center.

Quenneville has been clear in his public statements that he is going to use a two-goalie rotation this season because of the tight schedule. The Olympics has put NHL teams in tough situations throughout the 2009 portion of the calendar with back-to-back games, and the Hawks planned on utilizing both Niemi and projected number one Cristobal Huet early.

But the selection of Niemi for Wednesday is telling.

The Hawks last played on Saturday night, giving the team plenty of time off between games. They also don’t have another game this week until Saturday, giving the team their lightest week of October. This would be the time, against a conference opponent, for Quenneville to give his true “number one” goalie  consistent time between the pipes.

In light of Huet’s miserable performance against Dallas on Saturday, this decision might signal a change in the heirarchy with the Blackhawks’ goaltenders.

And it should.

Huet has been one of the biggest question marks in the entire NHL so far this year, and his disappointing play has cost the Blackhawks a golden opportunity to jump all over a division that has injuries and issues across the board. Indeed, if not for Niemi, the Hawks could be a middle-of-the-road team despite their great offense.

In his time with the media after Saturday night’s loss, Huet noticeably lacked the confidence that a $5 million goalie should have. If his confidence is down, it mirrors the sentiments of the fans at the United Center. Huet has been the object of the fans’ ire since Opening Night, and his performances on the ice have not won any favor back from those committed to the Indian.

Vancouver comes to Chicago banged up, missing Daniel Sedin and Sami Salo, and with a vulnerable Roberto Luongo. The Blackhawks need to win this game against a potential playoff opponent, and Quenneville’s decision to start Niemi is not only the right choice, but perhaps a sign of things to come in Chicago.

Antti Niemi, and not Cristobal Huet, will be in goal against Edmonton on Wednesday.

Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville told the media Wednesday that Antti Niemi will start in goal against Edmonton. The news isn’t a total surprise, but does come with some questions and consequences.

Cristobal Huet has struggled to begin the season, making Niemi the newest popular-for-little-reason athlete in Chicago. This title has historically been reserved for the backup quarterback on the Bears, but it appears Niemi has now become the winner of “the unknown is better than what we’re watching” contest.

It doesn’t help Huet’s cause when Niemi’s first start of the season was a 4-0 shut out of the Florida Panthers in Helsinki, and he was solid protecting the nylon for the final 45 minutes of Monday’s now-legendary comeback win against Calgary.

Fans have quickly forgotten how easily the Flames scored two goals against Niemi to extend their lead to five on Monday night. The boo birds reserved their vocal chords’ strength for Huet.

The biggest potential consequence from Niemi starting on Wednesday is that Huet has an allegedly fragile psyche. There were whispers last year that his confidence was shallow because he didn’t keep the number one goalie job away from Nikolai Khabibulin, and now he’s again struggling to keep the role of top goalie for the Hawks.

The next question is regarding the confidence of the players and coaches in the locker room. While Huet certainly didn’t face many shots before he had allowed three goals on Monday, he’s stopping only 83 percent of the shots he’s faced so far.

Having attended the game on Monday personally, I can attest to the difference in defensive intensity shown by the Blackhawks in front of the goalie from Huet’s time to Niemi’s. The Flames only got 10 shots on goal between the second and third periods combined, and not many of those were quality looks.

I’m certainly not calling into question the effort from the players surrounding the goalie. But reality is that the defense was more physical and gave up fewer opportunities while Niemi was in goal. Was the change in goal the wake-up call the team needed?

Finally, which of these items played a role in Quenneville’s decision to play Niemi on Wednesday? He mentioned in his remarks to the media that, because of the schedule and Niemi’s performance against Florida, he was going to start one of the games this week no matter what happened on Saturday or Monday.

But this is the game on the calendar that must have been circled for Huet to prove himself as the viable replacement for Khabibulin; the Bulin Wall will be watching from the other side of the ice. Head to head is the perfect opportunity for Huet to quiet his critics, but Quenneville isn’t going to give him the chance.

It will be Niemi in goal tonight. We’ll see how this plays out moving forward on Madison Street.