Huet sees some ice time, but expect Niemi in Game 2

Trailing the Canucks 5-0 going to the third period Saturday and with Antti Niemi having a tough night in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville decided to let backup goalie Cristobal Huet play the rest of the way.

It was Huet's first appearance in five weeks, since March 25 at Columbus when he allowed 7 goals on 27 shots in an 8-3 loss to the Blue Jackets.

"We're down 5-0 and it gave Huey a chance to play," Quenneville said. "I could have pulled (Niemi) after one of the other goals, but I wanted to get him to the end of the period."

Huet saw only 3 shots in the third period of the Hawks' 5-1 loss.

Quenneville said following the rout that he expected Niemi to bounce back in Game 2 on Monday night.

"He's fine," Quenneville said. "We anticipate him moving forward and getting ready for the next game."

Niemi, who allowed 5 goals on 25 shots and struggled with rebounds, couldn't match what Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo did at the other end.

Luongo stopped 36 of 37 Hawks shots.

"Roberto has been winning games throughout his career," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said.

No hard feelings: Hawks captain Jonathan Toews takes no pleasure in knowing Canucks defenseman Willie Mitchell will miss the series with a concussion.

It was Mitchell who gave Toews a concussion Oct. 21 with a blindside hit at the United Center.

"There's definitely no hard feelings," Toews said. "I got a call from Willie Mitchell (after the hit), and he explained that he's had some trouble with concussions. I definitely appreciate when a player does something like that and shows the respect he has. He was just playing his game."

Mitchell hasn't played since Jan. 16, when he had his head rammed into the glass by Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin.

Hendry gets call: With Dustin Byfuglien moving back to forward, Jordan Hendry was in the Game 1 lineup on defense for the Hawks.

Adam Burish was a healthy scratch for the fourth time in seven playoff games.

Check, please: As expected, the Canucks used center Ryan Kesler's line against Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

Kane probably knows Kesler better than anyone on the Hawks after being teammates and linemates for the U.S. during the Olympics.

"He's a great player and great two-way center," Kane said. "As a winger what I remember about him was he was real easy to play with. He got me the puck pretty much as much as I wanted it. We had some good chemistry, but playing against him you want to keep the puck away from him as much as possible and move the puck around al lot."