In a Blackhawks locker room filled with young, enthusiastic players who aren’t afraid to make a little noise, veteran goaltender Cristobal Huet goes about his business quietly.
It might have been a bit too quiet at the beginning of the season as Huet struggled out of the gate with a 2-2-1 record and 3.25 goalsagainst average. It was then that the veteran from St. Martin D’Heres, France, got a little feisty.
“Maybe playing with more grit and more passion is something I needed to do,” said Huet, who backstopped the Hawks to their sixth consecutive victory Saturday night, a 5-2 decision over the Oilers at Rexall Place.
“Teams are throwing bodies up there, and you don’t want to back down. You want to play big and be there where you need to be when the shot comes. I try to establish my position.”
Jonathan Toews had two goals and an assist, Patrick Kane added a goal and an assist and Huet put in another solid performance in the net as the Hawks improved to 14-5-2. They have won the first two games of their current six-game trip and are 4-3-1 away from home.
Huet has been in goal for the six straight triumphs and upped his record to 11-4-1.
Kane extended his goals streak to a career-high five games and his points streak to nine games (five goals, eight assists).
Also scoring for the Hawks were Kris Versteeg and John Madden, while Brian Campbell had two assists.
Sheldon Souray and Dustin Penner scored for Edmonton.
Huet now has allowed two or fewer goals in nine of his last 11 games — and won nine of them — and one goal or fewer in five of the games.
“I don’t question myself too much,” Huet, 34, said. “I just go out and play, try to compete, read the puck and try to play big. The team has been helping me a lot, and that’s obviously a big thing.”
His early struggles led to coach Joel Quenneville giving backup Antti Niemi a couple of starts as a goaltending controversy appeared to be brewing.
“I thought my game wasn’t that bad,” Huet said.
“It wasn’t as bad as people said, and it’s never as good as people say either. The line is in between. I felt I wasn’t far from my game, but the results weren’t there. I wasn’t making that one save a game, and I was hurting us a little bit.”
Huet has done little to hurt his team lately.
“He had a tough beginning for us,” Quenneville said. “He really handled the situation of getting the ball back. Huet is a quiet guy. He fought through a real challenging period there, but he’s one of those guys who quietly goes about his business, is a real good pro and wants to get better.”
Hawks rookie winger Bryan Bickell was injured in the first period after a collision with Penner at center ice in which Bickell’s head appeared to hit the ice. Bickell had to be helped to the dressing room and did not return.
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Big number: 1
Kris Versteeg was the only Blackhawk with a multi-goal game this season entering Saturday night’s game against the Oilers. He scored twice Thursday during a 7-1 victory over the Flames.
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ckuc@tribune.com
