Trying to Bounce Back
Quebec, Canada – It’s been almost two weeks since Cristobal Huet made a start in net for the Chicago Blackhawks. His next is expected to come against the team with which he enjoyed the most success of his career.
Huet will try to help the Blackhawks bounce back from a frustrating loss Tuesday night when he returns to Montreal to face the Canadiens for the first time since they traded him last season.
Oddsmakers from Online Sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.COM have made the Montreal –120 money line favorites for Tuesday’s game against the Chicago. Current NHL Public Betting Information shows that 76% of more than 252 bets for this game have been placed on the Montreal -120.
After winning 37 games in his previous two seasons with Montreal, Huet was 21-12-6 with a 2.55 goals-against average when the Canadiens traded him to Washington on Feb. 26, 2008, in order to give then-prized rookie Carey Price more playing time.
Huet went 11-2-0 with a 1.63 GAA and won three playoff games for the Capitals, but signed a four-year deal with Chicago in July. He is 19-14-4 with a 2.50 GAA this season, but hasn’t started since making 24 saves in a 4-3 overtime loss at Columbus on March 18.
After Nikolai Khabibulin started Chicago’s last five games, including a 4-0 home loss to Vancouver on Sunday, coach Joel Quenneville will go with Huet to help the Blackhawks (40-23-11) avoid a season-high fifth straight road loss.
With home-ice advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs on the line, the Blackhawks and Canucks are tied for the coveted fourth spot. Chicago has a game in hand on Vancouver.
"We’ve got eight games and everyone is more important than the next," Quenneville told the Blackhawks’ official Web site. "Everything gets compounded. It’s a fun time of the year."
This is the only meeting between the Original Six clubs this season. Montreal won 4-3 in overtime at home over the Blackhawks on Jan. 8, 2008 in the teams’ most recent meeting. The Canadiens have won six of the last eight in the series and three in a row at home.
Montreal (38-27-10) lost 4-3 in a shootout to visiting Buffalo on Saturday. The Canadiens, 2-0-1 since losing five in a row (0-3-2), own the eighth and final playoff spot in the East with eight games remaining.
Alex Kovalev had two goals, Chris Higgins one and Alex Tanguay added two assists Saturday for the Canadiens, who are 2-1-1 on a five-game homestand before playing four of their final six on the road.
Price made 34 saves for Montreal, which overcame a two-goal deficit by scoring three straight in the second period.
"I don’t think we responded badly, but I don’t think we made the plays to alleviate that pressure,” said Higgins, who has three points in his last four contests.
Kovalev has five goals in his last three games, while Tanguay looks to extend his point streak to six games. Tanguay has three goals and seven assists during that span and 10 with 21 assists in 27 career games against Chicago.
Price, who has never faced the Blackhawks, is 22-14-9 with a 2.81 GAA this season.
The Canadiens hope to have forward Andrei Kostitsyn back after he missed the last two games with the flu. Kostitsyn has a team-leading 23 goals – three shy of his career high.
Shut out for just the fifth time, Chicago had its three-game winning streak snapped Sunday. Martin Havlat had his point streak stopped at five games.
Havlat has five goals with five assists in his last six contests overall and six with nine assists in 20 career games against Montreal.
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Posted: 3/31/09 1:32AM ET
