Niemi unable to seal the deal

Two hours before the puck dropped Friday night, low-key Antti Niemi loosened up for his NHL postseason debut by joining four teammates for some soccer-come-Hacky Sack in a small space underneath the United Center stands.

When the slow-moving ball came his way, Niemi had no problems raising his right leg to deflect it properly to a buddy.

His sure reflexes carried through the first two periods of the Hawks' playoff opener with Nashville.

Though the 26-year-old Hawks rookie didn't need to produce any startling saves, he repelled 13 shots in the first 40 minutes without coming close to cracking.

In short, Niemi made the Blackhawks brain trust's decision not to acquire a veteran goaltender at the trade deadline look like the most commonsensical choice in the world.

Then came the period that mattered most.

One minute into the final period, former Hawk Steve Sullivan broke free and fired a shot that zinged off the crossbar.

Just 30 seconds later, ex-Hawk J.P. Aumont backhanded a non-threatening one-hopper from along the boards that somehow leaped over Niemi's extended right leg into the corner of the net.

That pulled Nashville into a 1-1 knot with 18:29 left in regulation despite its lack of good scoring chances.

"It gave us some belief," said Nashville coach Barry Trotz. "It energizes you. That got us rolling and gave us a little confidence."

Soon thereafter, good scoring chances started to come for the visitors as well.

After an extended stretch in the Hawks' end, Troy Brouwer seemed on his way to carrying the puck to safety.

He lost it off his stick just before crossing the blue line to give the Predators' David Legwand an open run to the net.

Niemi blocked Legwand's close-range shot nicely, but fell on his bottom while the rebound sat unclaimed.

Once again, a delicate Dumont shot sneaked over Niemi's extended right pad to push the Predators to a 2-1 lead with 9:23 to play.

"Just a couple lucky plays," said Hawks winger Patrick Kane. "But both goals probably could have been prevented by previous shifts."

So much for Niemi's smooth initiation into playoff waters.

He didn't face an honest chance until almost 12 minutes into the night, when he rejected a Legwand slap shot.

The next serious threat didn't come until 1:18 remained in the second period when Jason Arnott had a step on the defense. Niemi came out nicely to cut down the angle and swallowed Arnott's shot.

As the teams headed to their locker rooms for the final intermission, Niemi appeared as advertised.

"We had the start," said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville. "We had the lead. We had what we were looking for after 40 (minutes)."