Huet sharp, but Hawks flat in 2-0 loss to Predators

A funny thing happened to Blackhawks goalie Cristobal Huet Thursday night.

Huet played probably his best game of the season but came away with nothing to show for it as the Hawks accomplished zip offensively in a 2-0 loss to the Nashville Predators at the Sommet Center.

Other than Patrick Kane, who was the best non-goalie on the ice, it was night where the Hawk forwards did little to help Huet.

Kane was on his game, but he had nobody going with him. The Hawks had just 22 shots on goal and let Predators goalie Pekka Rinne see most of them.

Kris Versteeg had the Hawks' best chance short-handed in the first period, but even his attempt on a partial breakaway wasn't what it could have been when Versteeg got in too deep on Rinne.

"He's a big goalie and if he sees the puck he's going to make the save," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We were talking about it and stressing that going into the third period, that we needed more bodies, more traffic and more pucks at the net. We were a little better, but he played well."

Huet played just as well as Rinne, if not better.

Huet had no chance on the only goal he allowed on a Nashville power play at 14:53 of the second period with Hawks defenseman Cam Barker in the penalty box for cross-checking.

Joel Ward got the goal when he fought through a Duncan Keith check in front to re-direct Francis Bouillon's pass by Huet.

The Predators got an empty-net goal from Jerred Smithson with four seconds to play.

Nashville's Patric Hornqvist got a penalty for goaltender interference with 1:47 to play in the third period and Quenneville pulled Huet, giving the Hawks a 6-on-4. The Hawks buzzed the Predators' zone but never got that great scoring chance they needed.

The Hawks finished 0-for-5 on the power play and continue to struggle with the man advantage. They are 0-for-16 in the last four games.

"The difference was we didn't cash in on our power play tonight," Quenneville said.

"Our power play came through. The penalty killing was good and we got good goaltending," Predators coach Barry Trotz said.

Huet made 26 saves and was the only reason the game was as close as it was at the end.

"I thought Huey kept us in the game and gave us a chance," Quenneville said. "When the game's nothing-nothing, scoring first was a big advantage and a big edge."

Quenneville was considering starting Huet again tonight against Montreal at the United Center but didn't make it official.

Brent Seabrook returned to the Hawks' defense after missing two games with a mild concussion.

<p class="factboxheadblack">Tim Sassone's game tracker</p> <p class="News">Predators 2, Blackhawks 0</p> <p class="News"><b>Three stars:</b> 1. Pekka Rinne, Predators: Made 22 saves and was good, but not great in goal.</p> <p class="News">2. Cristobal Huet: Third strong start in a row in goal, and this might have been better than the 2 wins.</p> <p class="News">3. Patrick Kane, Hawks: Too bad none of his teammates at forward were as good as him.</p> <p class="News"><b>Key stat:</b> The Hawks were 0-for-5 on the power play and looked out of sorts on all of them. They are 1-for-16 in the last four games.</p> <p class="News"><b>Not much there:</b> Their 2 goals gave the Predators just 7 in five home games.</p> <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=332727">Hawks' Bolland getting there after a slow start<span class="date"> [10/29/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>