Khabibulin expected to make quick return

Nikolai Khabibulin isn't expected to be sidelined long after suffering what the Blackhawks called a "minor" lower body injury late in Wednesday's 3-1 win over Atlanta.

Rookie goalie Antti Niemi was recalled from Rockford on Thursday and will back up Cristobal Huet tonight in St. Louis as the Hawks close their eight-game road trip against the Blues at Scottrade Center.

"As far as Khabby goes, it's a short-term thing," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville told chicagoblackhawks.com on Thursday. "We expect him back quickly. I'm confident he'll be back on the ice in the next day or two."

This is Khabibulin's second lower-body problem of the season. He suffered what was believed to be a groin injury Nov. 26 at San Jose and missed the next six games.

Niemi was 13-12-2 at Rockford with a 2.47 goals-against average and .910 save percentage. It's his first recall since signing with the Hawks last summer as a free agent out of Finland.

"He's big and takes up a lot of the net," Quenneville said. "He moves well and he's quick."

Corey Crawford was recalled when Khabibulin was injured in November but never appeared in a game.

No easy task: Just because the Blues are last in the Western Conference doesn't mean the Hawks are in for an easy time tonight.

The Blues have played good hockey of late and have defeated the Hawks three times in four games this season.

"They're one of the hottest teams in the league the last three weeks, and we've had some trouble with them this year," Joel Quenneville said.

This ends what has been a very good road trip for the Hawks, who are 5-2 after the first seven stops.

"A lot of good things happened on this trip," Quenneville said. "We had some good challenges going into tough buildings and came up with some important wins.

"There's a lot of enthusiasm in our team, kind of like that stretch we had in December when things were going well. We've have more consistency in our lines with everyone contributing and that's why we've had success."

Breaking through: Now that Patrick Sharp has ended his goal drought, maybe Patrick Kane is next.

Sharp scored for just the second time in 11 games in the win at Atlanta on a power play, but Kane was blanked for the 18th time his last 19 games, although he continues to look more comfortable on his gimpy ankle.

Tip-ins: Joel Quenneville claimed Dustin Byfuglien and James Wisniewski were healthy scratches at Atlanta because he wanted to get Craig Adams and Aaron Johnson some playing time. ... Byfuglien hasn't scored a goal in his last 11 games, since Jan. 11 against Nashville. ... Blues center Andy McDonald will play his third game since returning from a broken leg.