Zidlicky, Backstrom lead Wild past Blackhawks

It was like old times Monday night at the United Center.

The Blackhawks played poorly for much of the night, and there were more boos directed at them than cheers from the crowd.

Yeah, those old times.

The Hawks broke the No. 1 rule when it comes to playing Minnesota - they let the Wild score first, and it was all uphill from there in a 4-1 loss.

"When we got behind 1-0 things changed rapidly," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "That's when they're at their best, when they've got the lead and they check well.

"Coming back from an early (deficit) like that when they're on the road, you're going to have a hard time getting quality opportunities. Getting back in the game was tough."

There was a feeling it would be a rough night for the Hawks when Mikko Koivu's long snap shot deflected off Brent Seabrook and past goalie Nikolai Khabibulin at 10:15 of the first period.

The Wild then got 2 power-play goals from Marek Zidlicky late in the first period and early in the second, both times with Aaron Johnson serving hooking penalties.

"It's hard to win a game when you fall behind by 3 goals," Khabibulin said. "It wasn't our best game. We've got to come out and start better."

The Hawks did have momentum in the second period and into the third, peppering Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom with 30 shots over the final 40 minutes. Martin Havlat's goal at the 10-minute mark of the second period made it 3-1 and not only gave the Hawks life but made a fan rich.

Because Havlat scored at exactly 10 minutes of the second period, the lucky fan who had his seat number pulled before the game won $1 million in the promotion sponsored by the Illinois State Lottery.

The Hawks refused to release the name of the winner.

That fan had better luck than Patrick Kane, who saw his goal drought stretch to 11 games.

Kane appeared to have ended the skid at 18:20 of the second period, but his shot from the left side was stopped by a lunging Backstrom. Kane even had his stick in the air thinking he had scored to make it 3-2.

"I got lucky that I was able to get my stick on it," Backstrom said.

Kane admitted the streak is getting to him.

"Definitely, you're thinking about it," Kane said. "It's hard not to think about it when it's been this long. You don't see the numbers change in the statistics area, so it's kind of tough.

"I just have to get back to that shooting mentality and one-timing pucks, taking chances with your shot. Maybe right now I'm looking for a better play."

The Hawks played for a third straight game without the injured Duncan Keith, whom they clearly miss.

"The guy plays 25 minutes a night and is one of the guys penalty-killing, 5-on-5 and power play," Khabibulin said. "It's hard when he's not there, but at the same time I don't want to make any excuses. We all have to chip in while he's not there."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=265681">Keith won't rush his return<span class="date">[1/19/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>