Loss Of Poise Hurts Blackhawks

from Steve Rosenbloom of Rosen Blog, The Blackhawks lost their captain and then lost their poise. The Hawks then lost the lead, lost one of their top two defensemen, and finally lost the game on a stupid play in the defensive zone by two of their best offensive players. Man, the Hawks will go to any length to take your mind off the goaltending mess, eh? Thing is, goaltending wasn’t the problem against Vancouver Wednesday night. In fact, Antti Niemi, the backup who starts because big-money starter Cristobal Huet is bad, was the answer most of the night for the confused, abused and diffused Hawks. He made enough point-blank saves that if alleged No. 1 Cristobal Huet was in there, his goal-against average might’ve hit double-figures. And besides, it wasn’t Niemi’s fault the Hawks choked another 5-on-3 advantage that could’ve turned a one-goal lead into a three-goal win. continued