Hawks seeking to enter playoffs on a high note

The Blackhawks have a couple things they would like to accomplish this weekend when they close the regular season with two games against Detroit.

Coming out of weekend healthy for the start of the playoffs is one of them.

The other would be to keep the momentum going, even if these games don't have much meaning.

"We want to go into the playoffs on a high note," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "So the upcoming two games against Detroit are very important to us."

The Hawks had a four-game winning streak snapped in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to Columbus in a shootout. They didn't take care of the puck as well and the Blue Jackets made them pay.

"We just need to regroup and come back with more intensity," defenseman Brent Seabrook said. "We just have to handle the puck better."

Quenneville has been mostly pleased of late with how the Hawks have tuned up for the playoffs by paying attention to detail, particularly defensively.

The Hawks had allowed only 4 goals during their four-game winning streak.

"In important games with a lot of meaning for both teams, I've liked how we've played," Quenneville said. "We've played maybe a tighter checking game."

Injured winger Patrick Sharp likely won't play this weekend as he recovers slowly from a laceration above his knee suffered when he collided with Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne last week.

The Hawks maintain Sharp will be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs, although that might be wishful thinking.

Defenseman Brent Sopel still hasn't taken part in a full-contact practice in his recovery from elbow surgery.

It's most likely Quenneville will give goalies Nikolai Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet one more regular season start each this weekend. Khabibulin has started five games in a row and 10 of the last 11.

Interestingly, for the season the goalie starts are identical. Khabibulin has started 39 games and Huet 39 games. Antti Niemi started the other two.

Clinching fourth place in the Western Conference and home ice in the first round is something the Hawks could accomplish before they even play on Saturday. Vancouver needed to get 2 points against Los Angeles late Thursday night to prevent the Hawks from clinching fourth.

The Hawks would love to have home ice in the first round against either Vancouver or Calgary, especially considering the travel that could be involved in the best-of-seven series.

The Hawks are 23-9-8 at the United Center.

"It's a fun place to play," Quenneville said. "The support has been great and it's helped us play well at home. We want to sustain home ice advantage right into the playoffs."