One of the things I've always enjoyed about hockey is that it's not as homogenized as the NFL, MLB or that other league with the tall guys slam dunking all the time.

There is a whole list of NHL commentators who are honest to a fault, sometimes even to their detriment.  This season, Jeremy Roenick is the new guy and already he is establishing himself as someone capable of making accurate assessments.

It's nice to see that JR isn't wasting any time, asking out loud if the Blackhawks goaltending is strong enough to compete for a cup.  While this edition of the Hawks is loaded with some solid defensemen and some all world forwards, their goalie tandem of Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi is less than inspirational.  Huet is streaky at best, sometimes good, other times like Tuesday night in Ottawa, not.  He is for the non-hockey fan the NHL equivalent of good Rex/bad Rex.  Niemi on the other hand is a rookie who has looked spectacular at times, but one wonders if he could sustain that over a prolonged period.

In the playoffs, goalies matter.  The games are tighter, the scoring is down and there can be long periods of overtime.  In the quest for Lord Stanley's Cup, there is always a seminal moment where a goalie has to step up and carry his team. 

In the case of Huet, the jury is pretty much convinced that he's a great backup.  As far as Niemi is concerned, the jury is still deliberating.

If Hawks coach Joel Quenneville really wants to know, then he needs to play Niemi for several games and see where it leads him.   If Niemi isn't capable of getting it done over long stretches, then GM Stan Bowman needs to get on the horn and find a goalie who can do the job.  Several should be available at the trading deadline at the price of paying off a contract.

It's time the Hawks found out if Niemi is the guy or not.  Because April and May is just too late.