Chicago Blackhawks Tickets

Nikolai Khabibulin is getting better with each game now that he's been designated as the Blackhawks' No. 1 goaltender.

Coach Joel Quenneville used a rotation system between Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet most of the season but wanted to designate a main man for the playoffs. Khabibulin, in the last year of a four-year, $27 million contract, was better than Huet over the course of the season, but both were generally effective.

Khabibulin has backstopped the Hawks' last six wins and earned his second shutout in the last one, a 1-0 overtime victory Sunday at Columbus. Huet, though, figures to see more action before the regular season is over because the Hawks have two sets of back-to-back games remaining.

Alex Kovalev and Carey Price have stepped up to bolster the Montreal Canadiens' playoff hopes. Kovalev scored for a fourth straight game 25 seconds in and Price made 28 saves to lead Montreal to a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night. Facing former goaltending partner Cristobal Huet, Price came within 7:42 of recording his first shutout in over four months but allowed Patrick...