Hawks' Depth Will be Tested

The Chicago Blackhawks have been a deep team all season, and that depth will be needed the rest of the series against Detroit, or at least Game 4. There is a good chance winger Martin Havlat will not play for Chicago tomorrow afternoon. Also, goalie Nikolai Khabibulin will likely be out with an injury of his own.

You figure Havlat would not play after taking a harsh check along the boards from Niklas Kronwall in Game 3. Now, the Hawks number-one goalie has had an injury develop this past week. He missed practice between Games 2 and 3, and then he sat out the 3rd period and OT in the Hawks' victory on Friday.

Bring in Cristobal Huet. He was brought to Chicago in the offseason, and it looked like he was going to be the starting goalie for most of the season. The Blackhawks released Khabibulin, but seeing that no team wanted to pick him up, the Hawks decided to just stick with their guy. This turned gold for Chicago as Khabi played his heart out this season. His veteran leadership helped carry the Hawks through the year, and while he split time with Huet during the year, it was clear that Khabi was the top goalie for Coach Quenneville.

This means nothing now, as Huet will be needed in Game 4. The Hawks are down 2-1 in the series. They have another "must-win" game on Sunday. The goaltender is always a big focus in the postseason, and after not playing in the postseason until the thitd period yesterday, Huet will need to step up in a big way.

As for the loss of Havlat, well, this is tough as well. Yet, the Hawks have plenty of talent surrounding the veteran. Detroit lost scoring leader Pavel Datsyuk, and they still scored three goals in Game 3. You lose the leadership, but these young Hawks around Havlat have grown up in a heartbeat.

Injuries are a part of every sport. The other players just need to lace up the skates, and do their job. There will certainly be a big target on Mr. Huet.