Hawks needing more of same

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Blackhawks coach Denis Savard is changing his mind a lot these days.

First, he said there was no way Jonathan Toews would play Sunday. Then, the next day, he admitted there was a chance the rookie center could return from his sprained left knee against the Canucks.

Savard also planned to start Patrick Lalime in goal Sunday, but after Nikolai Khabibulin's amazing performance in Thursday's 3-1 win at Calgary, how could Savard not come back with his No. 1 guy?

Khabibulin's third period might have been the best he has played since singing that fat four-year, $27 million contract as a free agent.

Khabibulin stoned Daymond Langkow twice and Kristian Huselius, Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla all from point-blank range in the final 13 minutes with the Hawks clinging to a 2-1 lead. Another time, Khabibulin reached back to grab a puck heading into the net off a skate.

"Habby was the main reason we won, especially in the last four minutes," teammate Martin Havlat said. "He was always in the right spot."

Patrick Kane could only shake his head after watching Khabibulin's performance.

"Oh, man, he was unbelievable," Kane said. "Hats off to him. He deserved it. He's been struggling a bit lately, and we haven't been giving him much help. He gave us the help and stood in there for us."

The win for Khabibulin snapped a personal 10-game losing streak and came in a building, the Pengrowth Saddledome, where he loves to play. Khabibulin was the difference in the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals when Tampa Bay beat Calgary in seven games.

"It's a fun building to play in," Khabibulin said. "The atmosphere is so great. They had some good chances, but everybody battled hard."

The Hawks still are a long way from getting back in the playoff race in the Western Conference, but more games like Thursday's from Khabibulin would help close the gap.

With Toews expected to play Sunday, and the return of Jason Williams and Dave Bolland not far behind, the Hawks would like to think they have an opportunity to put a little run together.

"Hopefully we can roll with it here," Kane said. "I know we've been streaky this year, but this would be a good time to get streaky with wins.

"Obviously, when you're losing, everybody gets frustrated, but this might get the kinks out of us now. Maybe we can get rolling here, get a couple guys back in the lineup, and you never know what can happen."

Savard refuses to believe the Hawks are out of the playoff picture, even if the odds are against them.

"There's still a lot of hockey, and you never know what can happen," Savard said. "It's a tough road to get there now, the fact we're below .500. I'm not going to say we can't make it. I think it's a cop out for us. I want us to still have the expectation to be a playoff team.

"If we don't make it, at least we're going to be playing games that in our mind mean something, and I still think they do because there's lots of games left."