CALGARY, Alberta -- There have been a lot of positives for the Blackhawks during their five-game winning streak, but the play of goaltender Cristobal Huet has been the biggest one.
After a shaky start to the season, the veteran has been stellar and the Hawks have followed his lead. It was Huet's play early on in Calgary on Thursday night that settled the Hawks down in the first period before they found their groove and exploded for a 7-1 victory over the Flames.
"Cris made some big stops to get us going," defenseman Brian Campbell said. 'We were on our heels a little bit to start the game. He did a great job playing the puck for us, (allowing) us defensemen to get it out of our zone and up the ice."
Huet has allowed two goals or fewer in eight of his last 10 games and one goal or fewer in five of them. He is now 10-4-1 with a 2.17 goals-against average this season.
Coming up big during the first game of the six-game road trip is just what the Hawks needed as move on to Edmonton for their next game Saturday night.
"It was a good way to start it," Huet said of the trip. "It takes the pressure off. We have two points in the bank and can look forward to Edmonton."
Huet's play against the Flames drew nothing but praise from coach Joel Quenneville.
"He was great," Quenneville said. "He was very sharp ... from start to finish. He made several key saves, his rebound control was very sharp and he was sharp on top of the crease."
Huet can't start them all and with two back-to-back sets this trip, Quenneville said backup Antti Niemi will play during the trip.
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