Huet gets fourth shutout in Hawks' 3-0 win over Blue Jackets

The Blackhawks remembered to pack the most important thing for their eight-game, 15-day road trip that begins on Saturday.

That would be a victory in their final appearance at home before heading out on the longest trip of the season that coach Joel Quenneville thinks could determine the course for the rest of the year.

Looking refreshed and playing with renewed energy after three days off, the Hawks' 3-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at the United Center put to rest any concerns from last weekend's back-to-back losses to Minnesota and Anaheim.

"Now it's gut-check time," said Hawks winger Kris Versteeg. "We have to get on the road and do our thing and come back with a good record."

Cristobal Huet made 24 saves to earn his fourth shutout and the Hawks' eighth as a team.

Huet put behind a so-so performance in Saturday's 6-5 loss at Minnesota.

"It was nice to bounce back from two losses and myself personally from a bad game or average game," Huet said. "I thought we played well in the first period and that was a key. We did a great job controlling the puck."

Huet made several key stops, the biggest coming against Kristian Huselius on a rebound during a Columbus power play at 14:38 of the second period with the Hawks clinging to a 1-0 lead.

The save got even bigger when Dustin Byfuglien scored two minutes later.

"I thought maybe Huey had to make too many big saves at certain times for my liking, but he made the saves so it's not as big a deal," center John Madden said. "We tightened up a little bit more and all the lines played well and the defense played well."

No line played better than Madden, Versteeg and Byfuglien, combining for a goal and 3 assists. The trio seemed to have the puck all night and late in the third period spent a full two minutes in the Columbus zone with defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.

"That's the way our whole team likes to play," said Versteeg, whose 2 assists extended his points streak to nine games. "I think every line can do it. We just protect pucks and play our game and do our thing. That's why we're successful."

The Hawks (32-11-4) played with the lead all night after Brian Campbell opened the scoring 61 seconds into the game.

"It was a great start across the board," Quenneville said. "I thought the crowd was into it right from the outset, and I thought our team was well-prepared as far as enthusiasm and how we had to play.

"I thought it was a great response to a couple of games that we didn't get results, but I thought it was a very business-like approach right from the outset."

Duncan Keith's 10th goal of the season came at 6:32 of the third period.

"I thought mentally we were great tonight," Campbell said. "It shows the focus of this hockey club."

Tim Sassone's game tracker Blackhawks 3, Blue Jackets 0 Three stars1. Cristobal Huet, Hawks: Needed to make only 24 saves for his fourth shutout, but more than a few of them were big ones when it was only 1-0.2. Kris Versteeg, Hawks: Two assists, extending his points scoring streak to nine games.3. John Madden, Hawks: His line, with Versteeg and Dustin Byfuglien, combined for a goal and 3 assists and had the puck seemingly all night.Key statHow's this for consistency? The Hawks had 12 shots on goal in each period.Home sweet homeWho would have thought the Hawks would reach this eight-game road trip with a home record of 21-5-1?False329512Blackhawks' Brian Campbell celebrates after scoring a goal during the first period.Associated PressFalse