Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks are closing in on the Olympic break with their goaltending dilemma still very much in evidence.

Antti Niemi performed well in his second chance at getting back-to-back starts and could play three in a row when the Hawks face the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday in their last home game before the break.

They conclude their pre-Olympics play on Sunday at Columbus, so Cristobal Huet, the top netminder most of the season, will get action in at least one of the weekend games.

After the break the Hawks have 21 games to conclude the regular season. The should have their goaltending in place for the postseason by then, and a trade for a veteran like Tim Thomas of Boston or Marty Turco of Dallas might shore up the netminding for the playoff run.

Before then, though, the Hawks just want to build some momentum. They are 2-2 since their season-long eight-game road trip.

BLACKHAWKS 4, STARS 3 (SO): Kris Versteeg converted on the fifth round of a shootout to give the Hawks their second consecutive victory.

*FRANKBULLIT*Center John Madden suffered a lower leg injury and coach Joel Quenneville called him doubtful for the two weekend games.

*FRANKBULLIT*Jordan Hendry and Ben Eager were the Hawks' scratches. Hendry is healthy, while Eager has a lower body injury.

*FRANKBULLIT*Attendance was 21,446 despite a day-long snowfall and a forecast of more throughout the evening. It was the Hawks' 80th consecutive sellout.

*FRANKBULLIT*The Hawks had lost their previous two meetings with the Stars, 4-3 at the United Center on Oct. 1 and 5-4 at Dallas on Dec. 29. They meet for the final time in the regular season on April 6 in Dallas. The Hawks went into the Dallas game with a 5-6-2 record against Pacific Division teams.

*FRANKBULLIT*QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's hard to say (why Finland has produced so many NHL goaltenders). It starts with good coaching with young kids. Maybe we were given a chance to play when we were young. I pretty much always had a goalie coach at each and every practice, whatever team I played for."

Goaltenders:

Antti Niemi, Cristobal Huet.

Defensemen:

Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Brian Campbell, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Cam Barker, Brent Sopel.

First Line:

Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane.

Second Line:

Andrew Ladd, Dave Bolland, Marian Hossa.

Third Line:

Troy Brouwer, Kris Versteeg, Dustin Byfuglien.

Fourth Line:

Tomas Kopecky, John Madden, Colin Fraser.

Player Notes:

• RW Patrick Kane scored two goals, giving him 24 for the season.

• G Antti Niemi, still a rookie backup, improved his record to 15-4-1 after shutting down every Dallas shooter in the five-round shootout.

• C Dave Bolland earned an assist on Kane's second goal. It was Bolland's first point since he returned from a nearly three-month layoff while he was recovering from back surgery.

• LW Patrick Sharp assisted twice was a plus-2 and got off four shots.

Medical Watch:

• RW Adam Burish suffered a right knee injury in a preseason game at Minnesota on Sept. 20. He has returned to practice but isn't expected to join the lineup until early March.

• LW Ben Eager suffered a lower body injury prior to Saturday's game in St. Louis. While the injury is considered short-term Eager has sat out the last two games.

• C John Madden suffered a lower leg injury Tuesday against Dallas and is doubtful for the weekend games Saturday vs. Atlanta and Sunday at Columbus.