"Cristobal Huet is eager for a chance to redeem himself after his poor performance in his last outing that extended a rough start to his season.

But the veteran goaltender will have to wait a while as rookie Antti Niemi will be in goal Wednesday night when the Blackhawks face the Canucks at the United Center.

"I wish I could go back out there," Huet told the Tribune after Tuesday's practice. "(Niemi has) been playing well for us and he deserves a shot. I see it this way: As soon as I knew I wasn't playing it gave me a few more days to get ready."

Huet was shaky Saturday during the Hawks' 4-3 loss to the Stars, allowing an unobstructed shot from outside the right circle past him and later whiffing on a bouncing puck that had caromed off the boards after a dump-in.

"It's just important for me the next game to play my game and play with confidence, and don't worry about what happened in the past or what might happen," Huet said. "I'll have a few good practices and I look forward to getting back into the net.

"Confidence is key," added Huet, who stopped all of his teammates' shootout attempts except Patrick Sharp's during a practice drill Tuesday. "I work hard to get my game ready and then confidence kicks in. I can see that already in practice."

Huet is 2-2-1 with a 3.25 goals-against average and .844 save percentage. Meanwhile, Niemi is 3-0-0 with a 1.73 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.

"(Niemi) earned the opportunity," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "He has played well. At one point in the year the competition from behind was something we were looking for. You get stretches when you're playing well and you earn the chance to play."

Quenneville, who said last week Huet was "the man" when it comes to starting in goal, reiterated Huet is still the No. 1 netminder.

"Nothing has changed in that regard," Quenneville said. "It's just an opportunity for Antti to get the net. He deserved it and we'll see how he goes. As a goalie you always want to play and you want the net. Right now (Niemi) deserves it for (Wednesday's) game."

Does Huet still consider himself the No. 1 goalie?"