Niemi's shutout special

A couple of days after agonizing over allowing a borderline soft goal which kick-started a Nashville rally, Hawks goalie Antti Niemi was an unstoppable force.

The rookie goalie made 23 saves for the first postseason shutout of his career to help lead the Hawks to a 2-0 win and tie the series at 1-1. It is the first shutout by a Blackhawks goalie in the Stanley Cup playoffs since Ed Belfour did it on April 19, 1996 against Calgary.

Niemi also becomes the first rookie goalie franchise history to record a shutout in the postseason.

"Antti came up with some critical saves to preserve the win," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

"We didn't have as many opportunities and Niemi saw most of the pucks we shot at him," Predators coach Barry Trotz said. "You have to give (the Blackhawks) credit, they played a very solid game, and Tuesday's game is going to be very critical."

Home ice disadvantage? With no team winning its first two playoff games at home, the hot question of late has been: is there really such a thing as home-ice advantage anymore?

"It's tough to say," Hawks coach Joel Quennevile said. "Everybody's lost a home game thus far."

That includes the Hawks, who despite a 4-1 loss in the series opener against Nashville, have been a handful at the Madhouse on Madison over the past few years.

"We've been pretty successful as we've gone along here. There are a lot of things in you favor, but you have to take advantage," Quenneville said.

The Hawks did on Sunday with a 2-0 win to even the series at 1-1.

Kris Versteeg joked that if it's possible, the UC crowds might be too good.

"They're so revved up, it might get both teams going because it's such an exciting place to play," Versteeg said.

Oh Hendry: You're not going to get soft-spoken defenseman Jordan Hendry to do too much bragging about his play this season, so here's Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville's take: "We've liked his progress all year long, He's kept himself ready to go and has helped us out."

Hendry made his regular-season debut Oct. 21 against Vancouver after sitting out eight straight games, finished it with a career-high in points (8) and a +5 plus/minus rating in 43 games.

"I'm playing solid," said Hendry, who made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut Friday. "I'm not really a flashy player."

I just try to be solid in the defensive zone and try to make a good first pass and contribute offensively when (the situation) allows me to."

Curses: Much to the consternation of some Blackhawks fans, Cubs players were in attendance at Friday's opening game of the series, leading to speculation that the Hawks were cursed and thus their 4-1 loss to Nashville.

On Sunday, it was White Sox players - including Paul Konerko and Gordon Beckham - who were on hand ... and the Hawks won.

Coincidence?

Sign of the time: The Hawks signed right wing Ben Smith to a two-year contract beginning in the 2010-11 season. Smith, 21, helped Boston College capture the NCAA championship this season with 16 goals and 37 points in 42 games.