Khabibulin has goal tendency to come up big

Don't tell me it has been a great year for the Blackhawks regardless of how they fare in the playoffs.

Call me greedy, but I need more than the inaugural fan convention, cute commercials, a memorable New Year's Day celebration in Wrigleyville and a franchise high-water mark for attendance to label this season a success.

I expect the Hawks to win. No mulligans given for young stars who are green around the gills when it comes to postseason experience.

There is one guy ''in the room'' -- if I can use hockey parlance -- whose experience and skill can guide the Hawks deep into the playoffs.

And he's the guy nobody wanted. Not here. Not anywhere.

Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin is the trump card. He's the most important Hawk of all, and he's on top of his game right now.

Thank Lord Stanley that general manager Dale Tallon couldn't find Khabby a new home after signing Cristobal Huet to a four-year, $22.5 million deal last summer. The Hawks would be sunk without Khabibulin, who turned away 83 of the 87 shots he faced in his previous four starts (all victories) before losing 4-3 in a shootout Wednesday against Columbus.

So what if the Hawks are 0-for-2009 on the power play. Flashy goals are for highlight shows. Hot goalies advance their teams to the next round.

PROVEN WINNER

Khabibulin has done that. The unflappable Russian went 16-7 with a 1.71 goals-against average when he led the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup in 2005. Five of those 16 wins were shutouts.

Yeah, I know how deep that hurts. Tampa Bay has won the Cup since the Hawks last broke a playoff sweat. So have the Carolina Hurricanes. And the Anaheim Ducks. Yikes.

All of those springs without playoff hockey in Chicago will be forgotten, however, if Khabibulin pushes the Hawks to greatness.

Nobody swings fortunes more than the goalie. There's no more important position than the one played by the guy who protects that little 4-foot-by-6-foot cage.

During the last five minutes, the goalie is the quarterback running the hurry-up offense with no timeouts.

He's the closer. The guy summoned to the mound to get the last three outs with the bases loaded.

Khabibulin thrives on that pressure. He rises when the stakes are higher.

He was the biggest factor in the Hawks' late-season success last year. They didn't qualify for the playoffs, but Khabibulin's clutch play made them a playoff-caliber squad in March.

At 36, he still moves post-to-post with the quickness of a youngster. He pops up from the prone position like a high-arcing Titleist when it meets the cart path. He has vision like, well, a Hawk.

SPECIAL CARE

If I'm Tallon or coach Joel Quenneville, I'd hire around-the-clock security for Khabby. Get him a driver so he can think peaceful thoughts on his way to and from the rink or the grocery store.

Get him a massage therapist who's on call. A nutritionist. A babysitter. Whatever it takes to get him as comfortable as he can be as the Hawks embark on their first playoff journey since 2002.

And enough with the talk about how satisfying the season has been. There will be no banners raised at the United Center for season tickets sold or dramatically increased television and radio ratings.

Not even Big Chief Blackhawk himself, John McDonough, the P.T. Barnum of his era, would schedule a ceremony if the Hawks get clipped in the first round.

''One Goal.''

Remember?

And the Hawks have a better shot at realizing that goal than most people think. It's because of Khabibulin.

The puck stops there.