Blackhawk Ruminations: Is Cristobal Huet’s Wednesday Start a #1 Audition?

Jim Neveau, PIB Co-conspirator

Early on Wednesday in a not-so-surprising announcement, the Blackhawks announced that Cristobal Huet would be their starting goaltender against the Edmonton Oilers. With Antti Niemi getting yanked on Tuesday night against the Islanders, Huet had to have assumed that he would get his first starting nod since a 2-1 shootout loss to the Phoenix Coyotes on February 5th.

The real question, of course, is whether Huet is merely getting a start because of the back-to-back, or is he auditioning to get his number one job back from Niemi?

Looking at this season’s performances against the Oilers, the argument could be made that it’s simply Joel Quenneville playing the percentages. After Niemi started the first game against Edmonton (Huet had been pulled in the famous Calgary game the game before), Huet has started the last two, giving up four goals and winning both contests on hostile ice.

Cristobal Huet

The other argument for it being simply a standard coaching decision is the back-to-back nature of the games. Long Island isn’t exactly close to Chicago, and Quenneville probably decided that he was going to give Huet the second start of the back-to-back because of the travel element.

Finally, there is the idea that Joel wanted Huet to shake off the rust from having not started a game in a month. His slow glove hand and slowed reaction times in the second period of the Islanders game yesterday give credence to the idea of getting him some much-needed playing time.

On the other hand, Niemi’s performance since being given the keys full-time hasn’t exactly been stellar. Yes, the Blackhawks won the first three games of the Niemi era, but considering that he has now given up 14 goals in his last three and a third games, he hasn’t exactly been lighting up the crease.

Also, Quenneville may have re-evaluated the decision to strip the number one job from Huet because of the performances Huet had before he was demoted. While he did give up three goals on only 19 shots to the Blues on February 3rd, the defense in that game was particularly atrocious, and leaving a goaltender out to dry isn’t exactly the most effective way to win a hockey game.

Also, in the game against Phoenix, Huet did stop 21 of 22 shots in a defensive struggle, and the only shot he missed was a shot that changed directions very close to the net, leaving Huet no time to react.

Huet and Niemi: The Twin Combatants (Pam Rodriguez/PIB)

Whether or not Huet is auditioning for his starter’s job back, there is one thing that is for certain: if he can’t beat Edmonton, then he probably wouldn’t be able to beat anyone.

An Idea Inspired By A Movie (No, Seriously)

Judging by Antti Niemi’s performance in shoot-outs this season, he is clearly the right guy to have between the pipes when the game goes down to a skills competition.

This fact, however, shouldn’t stop the Blackhawks from taking an idea from the “classic” hockey movie “D2: The Mighty Ducks”. When the game goes to a shoot-out, coach Gordon Bombay (played by Sheen off-spring Emilio Estevez) stays with his goaltender Goldberg until the very last shooter, Gunner Stahl. Due to his penchant for going glove-side on his shots, he goes with his back-up goaltender Julie to face him down.

Long story short, Julie gloves Stahl’s shot, and the rest is history.

The point of this story is this: why can’t Joel Quenneville start Cristobal Huet, and if the game goes to a shoot-out, switch keepers and put Antti Niemi in?

Sure, you can say that there is the “cold goaltender” aspect to it, but wouldn’t this be a really cool idea? Sure, you could lose the extra standings point, but when you have as big of a division lead as the Blackhawks do, it wouldn’t kill the coaching staff to think outside the box occasionally.

Finally, a Shout-Out

Paint it Blackhawks wants to thank WCWP, a radio station out of Long Island University that had our very own Jim Neveau on its airwaves last night to preview the Blackhawks/Islanders tilt. Thanks for the fun time guys, and good luck in your future endeavors!

Tags: antti niemi, Chicago Blackhawks, Cristobal Huet, Edmonton Oilers, Joel Quenneville, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes