Hawks finally finish long stretch tonight

Who would have imagined this?

The Blackhawks arrive at the 12th and final stop in the stretch of 12 of 14 on the road coming out of the all-star break tonight in Nashville looking for their ninth victory.

The Hawks still are a solid 8 points into fourth place in the Western Conference, which is 3 better than they were when this grueling road stretch began.

"We wanted to accomplish some things in February and separate ourselves from the other teams," goalie Cristobal Huet said. "We have one more game on the road and then we can refocus and get ready for some games at home."

The Hawks still would rather be in the United Center than anywhere else, even though Sunday's 2-1 loss to Minnesota made them 1-3-1 in their last five games at home. Starting Friday when Sidney Crosby and the Penguins come to town, the Hawks will play 14 of 18 on home ice.

"We've got to take advantage of that stretch, too," Patrick Kane said. "This month we knew we could be out of a playoff spot or have a worse seed if we dropped off."

There are certain teams the Hawks have had trouble with this season, and Nashville is one of them. So is the Minnesota team they just played. The Hawks lost three of the four games to the Wild and have dropped two of three to the Predators, one defeat coming in a shootout.

The Hawks have had problems against the grittier teams, St. Louis included, and are 4-5-5 in Central Division games.

"I just think some teams play tighter than other teams, and you have to find a way when you're in those type of games you have to be willing to do whatever it takes to come up with a victory," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We've had some trouble in the real tight games, the low-scoring affairs, and I think as a team that's one area we can improve upon."

The Hawks have scored only 6 goals in the three games with the Predators, who check as well as any team in the NHL.

"It's much like when we play against St. Louis, very tight, low-scoring and a lot of checking," Quenneville said. "Trying to get scoring opportunities is the challenge. We've got to get our power play to be productive. I think when we've played these teams we haven't got that spark off a timely goal or a power-play goal."

Quennevile said he gave strong consideration to starting rookie Antti Niemi in goal tonight in Nashville but will go with Huet for the seventh straight game.

Huet on Monday was named the NHL's third star of last week for going 3-1 and stopping 103 of 109 shots.

"I think right now Huet's done a nice job," Quenneville said. "Goaltending all year, it's been one of our strengths. The consistency has been real good for our hockey club, and we feed off that."

Huet probably deserved a better fate against the Wild, the Hawks still contending that the goal by Dan Fritsche in the second period to make it 1-1 was deflected in with a high stick.

"The referee talked to me and said he wasn't sure it was a goal," Huet said Monday. "He asked me if I thought it was a high stick. I think it was a high stick."

Blackhawks vs. Nashville Predators at Sommet Center, 7 p.m.

TV: Comcast SportsNet

Radio: WGN 720-AM

At a glance: The Predators are the lowest scoring team in the NHL with just 142 goals in 60 games, yet they remain close to a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Center Radek Bonk is questionable with a wrist injury. Nashville leads the season series 2-1, holding the Hawks to just 6 goals.

Next: Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center, 7:30 p.m. Friday

- Tim Sassone