A whole lot rests on one name: Huet
He's perceived as the Blackhawks' high-wire act.
His name is Cristobal Huet. His occupation is goaltender. His mission this season is to provide more thrills than chills.
There were plenty of both Saturday night in the Hawks' first United Center appearance of the season.
Huet yielded 3 goals on 13 shots during the first two periods. Then he shut out Colorado over the third period and overtime.
What followed won the game for the Hawks and Huet some points with the crowd: Six stops in a club-record nine rounds of a shootout.
Andrew Ladd scored the Hawks' winner and then said of his goalie, "Basically, that's what it comes down to in a shootout. He played great tonight. We have all the confidence in the world in him."
Hawks' fans still are trying to develop similar faith in Huet. Every time the Avalanche put a shot on goal the crowd of 20,655 held its collective breath.
Then it gasped in either relief at a Huet save or exasperation at a Colorado goal.
Tony Esposito, the Hawks' former goalie and current Hall of Famer, was among the club's retired legends introduced before the game. He came out in full netminder armor, from jersey to stick to mask.
This wasn't exactly good for Huet. He doesn't need the town reminded of the Hawks' tradition of exceptional goalies like Esposito and Glenn Hall.
All Huet has to do now in his first season as the Hawks' No. 1 goalie is live up to the standard those guys set. Hawks fans are anxious, rather than eager, to see whether he can.
Apprehension is understandable. Huet is the biggest uncertainty entering the new season on a team otherwise full of certainty. Listen to a game at home and not even Hawks broadcasters sound sure of what they have in Huet.
This is a team built to win a Stanley Cup sooner than later. Having doubts in the net doesn't inspire confidence.
The best thing fans, teammates and coaches can do is support Huet because he might not be everybody's first choice, but right now he is the best choice. Actually he's the only choice unless the Hawks want to entrust their championship hopes to rookie backup Antti Niemi.
Some goalies are as emotionally fragile as some quarterbacks are. A team has to name one No. 1 anyway and then treat him like he's, well, a Tony Esposito.
Heck, maybe he can be fooled into thinking - and consequently playing - like he is.
Unless Huet, or any goalie for that matter, doesn't work hard enough or is a jerk in the dressing room, he might as well receive fandom's benefit of the doubt.
Of course, Huet must meet everybody halfway. He doesn't have to stand on his head, but he does have to stand his frozen ground well enough to be at least serviceable.
After each Colorado goal a murmur circulated through the United Center. Boos for Huet were minimal but sort of waiting to explode.
On this night, though, in the end the explosion came in the form of cheers rather than jeers.
More of both can be expected before the Hawks know precisely what they have in goal during this high-wire act of a season.
mimrem@dailyherald.com