GM confident Hawks can win Cup with Huet and Niemi in net
CALGARY, Alberta - Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman disagrees with those doubting the ability of goalies Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi to win a Stanley Cup.
"I'm not worried about the goaltending," Bowman said Thursday, adding he "absolutely" believes the Hawks could win a championship with their goalies.
"It's been our strength really all year," Bowman said. "If you look, we're the best goals-against in the league (so) it's hard to make an argument that your goaltending is bad. I know we play a good team defense as well, but at the same time without solid goaltending we wouldn't be where we're at so that's not a concern."
Jeremy Roenick, now with NBC-TV, on Wednesday said he didn't believe Huet or Niemi could get the Hawks 16 wins in the playoffs.
"I guess there's always something guys want to question, which is understandable, but internally we're comfortable," Bowman said.
Niemi started Thursday against the Flames and could be in line to get even more playing time.
"He's played really well, but they've both played really well," said Bowman, not wanting to speculate on what the goalie situation could look like approaching the postseason.
"It's one of those things, from my perspective, I don't worry about that now," Bowman said. "We're sitting here in January and there's a lot going to happen between now and April. We'll see what happens, but they've both played well."
Coach Joel Quenneville reiterated again Thursday that Huet remains his No. 1 goalie despite the veteran's recent struggles and Niemi's more consistent play.
"I think we're comfortable with him, yeah, in that area," Quenneville said of Huet. "But Antti gets a chance to play here a little bit in a row.
"He's playing well. He's been solid in the net and has earned the opportunity to get longer looks or more opportunity here. He's earned it based on his performance and let's give him a chance."
Huet has allowed 15 goals in three of his last for starts and wasn't very good in Tuesday's 4-1 loss at Ottawa.
"His last game was OK, and what OK means is we're probably looking for more," Quenneville said.