Blackhawks activate Khabibulin

The Blackhawks have activated goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin from injured reserve and have reassigned goaltender Antti Niemi to the American Hockey League's Rockford IceHogs.

Khabibulin, who has notched 4 wins in his last five appearances, leads the Blackhawks with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage while accruing a 17-5-5 mark in 29 games. The 36-year-old netminder last appeared on Feb. 11, when he notched 36 saves on 37 shots in Chicago's 3-1 win at the Atlanta Thrashers. He has held opponents to two or fewer goals in 18 of his 29 appearances this season.

The Sverdlovsk, Russia native is 3 victories shy of recording the 10th 20-win season of his career and has registered 291 wins (291-264-58) in 665 career regular-season contests over the course of his 13-year NHL tenure.

Niemi made his NHL debut in three appearances with the Blackhawks since being recalled from the IceHogs on Feb. 12, posting a 1-1-1 mark with a 3.40 goals-against average and a .846 save percentage. The 25-year-old goalie recorded his first NHL win in his first NHL start on March 1, accruing 22 saves on 24 shots in Chicago's 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. The Vantaa, Finland, native leads Rockford with a 2.41 goals-against average and two shutouts, and has notched a 13-12-3 record with a .911 save percentage in 30 AHL games during his North American professional debut.