Seabrook rebounds to stymie Ovechkin

Defenseman Brent Seabrook went from playing his worst game of the season to having perhaps his best in Wednesday's 5-0 win over Washington.

Seabrook was benched for the third period of Sunday's 4-2 loss to Calgary after two turnovers resulted in goals. But against the Capitals he worked with defense partner Duncan Keith to limit Alexander Ovechkin, the NHL's leading scorer, to just 2 shots on goal.

"I thought he was great," Blackhawks coach Denis Savard said. "He was really assertive. He talked about how he was going to have a good game, and he did. Part of it was the opponent. He knew he was going to play against Ovechkin, and when you play against great players you've got to make sure you're ready because you're not going to look good."

It wasn't easy for Seabrook to shake off the Calgary game, but the fact he did showed how he is emerging as a top-four defenseman now in his third year in the league.

"My first year, for sure, it would have affected me for a few games," Seabrook said Thursday. "But you've just got to forget about the bad ones. It bothered me, but everyone helped me and calmed me down."

This has easily been Seabrook's best season. He is plus-13 with 9 goals and 27 points and has taken his game up a notch since singing that three-year, $10.5 million contract extension.

Savard still sees the potential for Seabrook to be a top-end lockdown defenseman down the road.

"He will be, and I think he is now on a lot of nights," Savard said. "We just played probably one of the top players in the league and he shut him down along with Dunc. He has potential and he's been great in games. He's just going to get stronger too and better."

Hawks fined: If it seemed as if Wednesday's ceremony for Tony Esposito was shorter than the one for Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, it's because it was on orders from the NHL.

The Hawks were fined $10,000 by the league for going three minutes long with the March 7 ceremony for Hull and Mikita.

Apparently the Capitals complained to the NHL about having to start late Wednesday, so the league warned the Hawks to keep the Esposito ceremony as brief as possible.

Nik of time: The Hawks' best chance to at least get closer to a playoff spot the last eight games may be to ride goalie Nikolai Khabibulin.

Khabibulin's shutout against the Capitals Wednesday, which was his first start since Feb. 20 because of back spasms, was his second shutout in a row. It extended his streak of scoreless periods to seven.

"When he's really confident and really on, he's tough to beat," said Denis Savard, who wasn't surprised that Khabibulin showed little rust in beating the Capitals.

"To me, he looked very sharp," Savard said. "But he's a fit guy. He's one of those goaltenders that takes care of himself. His work ethic is great and his work habits are unbelievable. I know he missed a while, but the fact he takes care of himself makes a big difference."

Dinged up: Defenseman Cam Barker might miss Saturday's game at Nashville after taking a hard hit against Washington that sent him to the dressing room.

"He's just woozy," Denis Savard said Thursday. "I'm not sure if he's going to play (Saturday), but he'll be OK. It's nothing major."