Sprained knee sidelines Khabibulin

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A season full of twists and turns looked to be finally turning in favor of veteran Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin.

It started last week when he snapped a personal 10-game losing streak with a victory in Calgary. He followed that with a good effort in a disputed shootout loss in Vancouver and continued with a rock-solid performance in Wednesday's 7-2 win at Columbus.

In five of his last six games he allowed 2 or fewer goals; he was getting hot right when the Hawks needed it most. Then came a twist of fate ... make that a twist of a knee, and suddenly the Hawks find themselves without the services of Khabibulin, who's out with a sprained knee.

Whether he'll be out two days or two weeks is still to be determined, but after Thursday's win coach Denis Savard sounded optimistic.

"He's feeling better today and there's a chance he'll practice Saturday," Savard said. "It's not as bad as we thought it might be. He said to me, 'It's not bad.' We're going to be careful, though."

In his place, the Hawks called up Corey Crawford, who appeared in 44 games at Rockford, compiling a 24-13-5 record with 2 shutouts, a goals-against average of 2.72, and a .911 save percentage.

For the short term, though, Patrick Lalime figures to see more action in Khabibulin's stead.

"I'm looking forward to it, though I'm not sure exactly what's happening here," Lalime said. "If we keep playing like we have and I do my job, things should be fine."

Fourth is the new first: They may be known as the scrappers, the hustlers and the hitters, but over the last six games the Hawks' fourth line of Martin Lapointe, Adam Burish and Craig Adams have added another title -- the starters.

The trio has been on the ice for the opening face-off, something Hawks coach Denis Savard views as a no-brainer.

"They're a bunch of leaders," Savard said. "I believe in them and they deserve to be out there. They've really done a great job."

Skille competition: Lost in the Hawks' goalie shuffle Thursday was the news that rookie forward Jack Skille was sent down to Rockford. The Hawks' first-round pick in the 2005 draft, had been a healthy scratch of late.

In 16 games with the Hawks he had 3 goals and 5 points.