Hawks need a victory, and they get a big one

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Blackhawks Nation can breathe a little easier.

Not that the Hawks have everything straightened out, but Wednesday night's impressive 4-0 win over the Wild at Xcel Energy Center was as important a victory as any of those they've collected this season.

With goalie Antti Niemi coming up huge during a Minnesota 5-on-3 power play in the second period and the fourth line contributing 3 goals, 2 by Tomas Kopecky, the Hawks snapped their three-game losing streak while taking a critical step toward winning the Central Division.

With 101 points, the Hawks are 4 points away from clinching their first division title in 17 years.

"We played good all over," Kopecky said. "This was a really important win because we needed it so bad."

It was a dominating performance from the Hawks, who outshot Minnesota 35-21. For Niemi, the shutout was his seventh of the season.

"I thought across the board everybody contributed," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We had the four line rolling and Antti made some key saves on that 5-on-3 when we had some great chances to extend our lead in that second and didn't. That was a turning point in the game for us.

"I liked the energy we had. Our puck possession game was better than we've seen in awhile. We didn't give up many chances until later in the game."

Kopecky scored late in the first period and Ben Eager midway through the second to make it 2-0, but the key point in the game occurred late in the second when Niemi stoned the Wild during a 5-on-3 power play that lasted 91 seconds.

Niemi had faced only 1 shot through the first 16 minutes of the second period, but with the Wild enjoying a two-man advantage he made point-blank saves against Mikko Koivu (twice) and Antti Miettinen.

"That (pad) save on Koivu was unbelievable, coming across there," Quenneville said. "To come out of that, we know what happened here last time - that was a crucial kill."

The Wild called a timeout before the 5-on-3 that allowed Niemi to focus after all the inactivity.

"It's always tough when you don't get too many shots," Niemi said. "You're not cold, but you haven't seen many shots. We just played a more consistent game in our defensive zone."

With Quenneville coming back with Niemi on the second night of back-to-back games, it left no doubt that the first-year goalie is the No. 1 guy going forth into the playoffs.

Quenneville has said after Tuesday's loss at St. Louis that he wasn't sure if he would start Niemi against the Wild.

"He's playing well and it's nice to show him some confidence as well," Quenneville said. "He responded with the game we were looking for."

The fourth line of Kopecky, Eager and Colin Fraser accounted for 3 goals and 3 assists.

"It was a special night for them," Quenneville said.

Kopecky scored 2 goals in a game for the third time this season and second time in two weeks. He also scored twice March 18 in a 3-0 win at Los Angeles.

<p class="factboxheadblack">Tim Sassone's game tracker</p>

<p class="News">Blackhawks 4, Wild 0</p>

<p class="News"><b>Three stars</b></p>

<p class="News">1. Tomas Kopecky, Hawks: Two goals to earn the wrestling title belt from his teammates.</p>

<p class="News">2. Antti Niemi, Hawks: Seventh shutout and came up huge on a Minnesota 5-on-3 power play in the second period.</p>

<p class="News">3. Ben Eager, Hawks: A big night for the fourth liner with a goal and 2 assists.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Hammer time</b></p>

<p class="News">Niklas Hjalmarsson was the Hawks' best defenseman with 2 assists and 2 blocked shots in 22 minutes.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Change it up</b></p>

<p class="News">Hawks coach Joel Quenneville tweaked his lines again and may have found a good combination in Dave Bolland, Patrick Kane and Troy Brouwer. Kane didn't score but had all kinds of jump.</p>

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