Quenneville Names Khabibulin His Starter

On Friday night at the United Center the Blackhawks weren't able to put an end to their losing streak or their defensive woes as they fell to the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in a shootout.  Hawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin didn't have the best night in his third game back from a lower body injury that cost him 14 games, giving up four goals on 31 shots, but that didn't stop him from getting a promotion.

After juggling his two expensive goaltenders all season, coach Joel Quenneville has decided that Khabibulin is going to get the lion's share of playing time for the rest of the season while Cristobal Huet will be relegated to backup status.

"We want to get him playing some games here and give him the net for a while to get on a roll," Quenneville said. "Before he was hurt it looked like he was going to get the ball and go. He has positioned himself to get this opportunity, and we're going to rely on him.

"Goaltending all year long has been one of our strengths.  When we were winning, it was a big factor. With Khabby playing here a little bit coming off the injury, we expect him to get better and better and comfortable in net."

Whether or not giving Khabibulin the number one job for the rest of the year will help the Hawks defense get some consistency back and help start putting wins on the board again, we can't be sure, but Quenneville has to do something.  When the playoffs come around the Blackhawks can't afford the luxury of switching their goaltenders on a nightly basis.  They have to find one guy and stick with him.

Hopefully Khabibulin is that guy.  He's done it before in Tampa Bay where he won a Stanley Cup with the Lightning, and maybe he can do it again here in Chicago. 

Along with writing for NBCCHICAGO.com, Tom Fornelli can also be found contributing at FanHouse, SPORTSbyBROOKS, and his own Chicago sports blog Foul Balls.