Cristobal Huet Solid in Net as Hawks Win, Preparing for Avalanche

Game Review

Despite being outshot 51-24 and outhustled throughout most of the contest with the Blue Jackets on Saturday, the Blackhawks managed a 4-3 shootout victory in Columbus, securing their first road and shootout win of the young season.

Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp, and Martin Havlat tallied goals for the Blackhawks, but the standout players of the game were certainly Cristobal Huet and Jonathan Toews.

Huet, after struggling in nearly every start this season, was magnificent in goal, stopping 48 shots and single—handedly giving the Hawks an opportunity to win the hockey game.

In the final two periods and in OT, the Hawks were outshot 37-14 by Columbus, but Huet only allowed two goals in the barrage. He stopped seven shots in the OT, while the Hawks managed only one against the Columbus netminder. With Huet's first good game under his belt, coach Joel Quenneville was understandably excited.

"This was definitely a goalie win tonight", he said. "I felt like he (Huet) was the story of the night".

After wrapping up their first road victory, the Hawks head back to Chicago to begin a five game homestand against Colorado on Monday night. These games are important, as they represent the final home games before the dreaded West Coast circus trip.

Game Preview: Colorado (5-6-0) vs. Chicago (5-3-3)

The Blackhawks will begin a five game homestand against the Avalanche Monday night at the UC. The game will start at 7:30pm CST and will air locally on Comcast SportsNet.

Coming off their first victory of the season, the Blackhawks will look to make hay on their home ice, where they are 4-0-2 this season. They face a Colorado squad who is 11th in the Western Conference and is 2-3-0 on the road this season.

The Avalanche are coming off a tough home loss to the Conference-leading San Jose Sharks on Sunday night.

Players to Watch:

Colorado Avalanche:

Paul Stastny #26 C

Stastny is having a decent start to the young season, scoring 3 goals and adding 9 assists. The key number for him thus far is the number of power play goals he has. All 3 of his goals have come with a man-advantage, and it matches the number of power play goals he had all of last season. Look for the Avs to capitalize on their 6th ranked power play offense if the Hawks continue to commit the massive amount of penalties they've racked up over their previous couple of games.

Chicago Blackhawks:

Jonathan Toews #19 C

Toews has struggled in the early going, failing to score a goal in the team's first 11 games. Over, he is 3 for 3 in shootouts this year, and has been the one bright spot in the team's fortunes in that department. He scored the only tally of the shootout Saturday against Columbus, and hopefully the momentum can carry over to this game. You will remember that Toews had a magical goal against the Avs last season, and maybe that magic will come back at the UC on Monday.

News and Notes:

 -Tickets went on sale to season ticket holders last week for the upcoming 2009 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. There are three prices: $75, $225, and $325. Remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public at a later date.

-For those of you interested in this sort of thing, the Blackhawks have practices that are open to the public at The Edge ice arena in Bensenville, IL. Their next three practices will be:

Friday, Nov. 7 - 10 am

Satuday, Nov. 8 - 11 am

Tuesday, Nov. 11 - 10 am

For more information, you can visit the city of Bensenville website.

-Monday night is Patrick Kane R.O.Y. Figurine night at the United Center. The first 10,000 fans will receive a limited edition Patrick Kane figurine, holding the Calder Trophy. Tickets are still available to the game and can be found on www.chicagoblackhawks.com. Also, there are a limited quantity of 2 for 1 tickets available in the 300 level.

-Joel Quenneville announced after practice on Sunday that Nikolai Khabibulin will start in goal Monday against Colorado.

The game will start at 7:30pm on CSN and WGN Radio.