I was hoping not to have to use the angry Khabibulin picture again this year, but it was too much to hope that the Blackhawks would sweep the Philadelphia Flyers. Once again, the game was decided by one goal, this time in an exciting overtime that ended with a Claude Giroux goal that slipped through goalie Antti Niemi. Niemi had a pretty solid night between the pipes, saving 28 of 32 attempts, but it wasn't enough to stop the home team. The Blackhawks got goals from defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Sopel before the first line finally broke through in the third period with a goal from Patrick Kane.

The Flyers' defense has done a terrific job of holding down the first line and are taking some good shots at Niemi. One gets the feeling that the Hawks have yet to play their best hockey, as they've looked a little lackluster at times. The power play has been especially bad, as the Hawks have yet to score with the advantage, whereas the Flyers have converted on several. The Blackhawks need to fix the power play issues, tighten up the defense, and eliminate some of the bad turnovers. Despite the loss, I'm still impressed with Antti Niemi. He gave up several juicy rebounds in Game 3, at least one of which led to a goal, but by the end of the game, he had begun to control the puck better, making adjustments on the fly. This kid is really damn good. He learns from his mistakes and adapts to each team he faces. He'll be a restricted free agent at the end of the season and first priority needs to be tendering him a new contract.

Game 4 is Friday night in Philly. Hopefully, the Hawks can play tough and steal a game on the road and come back to Chicago and win it.