"There's no need for any goaltender controversy on these red-hot Blackhawks, not after Cristobal Huet's play in a 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.

It may have lacked the dramatics of the last three games at the United Center, but the Hawks were delighted to go home with their fourth straight win -- which left them at 5-1-1 for their best start since 1971-72, when they opened 7-1.

''There wasn't much to do,'' Huet said. ''The team played very well, a very complete game.''

Huet made a big save in the first minute on Nashville's Jason Arnott, then faced only 12 more shots the rest of the way. The only goal he allowed was a bit of a fluke, the puck going in off the skate of Hawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson.

It was a big change from Huet's last start, when he allowed three goals on five shots before getting yanked less than eight minutes in.

''The most important thing was ... the win,'' Huet said. ''I try not to be too high or too down. But after a bad game, you want to get the job done.''

''It was important for us to give him a better effort than we did in his last game,'' defenseman Brian Campbell said. ''We owed him that much, and he made some big stops that kept us going.''

Before the game coach Joel Quenneville defended Huet, reiterating that ''he's our No. 1 guy, and this is an opportunity for him to play and be comfortable in net.''"