Thibault earns fourth shutout of season

CHICAGO (AP) -- Jocelyn Thibault made his fourth shutout of the season look easy.


Thibault stopped 28 shots, and Eric Daze scored as the Chicago Blackhawks stopped the Ottawa Senators' 10-game unbeaten streak with a 1-0 victory Wednesday night.

"I don't think he really had to make a difficult save,'' Chicago coach Brian Sutter said. "That's a compliment to him. He really played his position well and made himself look big.''

The win was only the second for Chicago in its last eight games (2-6-0), and it wasn't easy. The Blackhawks and Thibault had to kill a major penalty to Ryan VandenBussche late in the third period to earn the victory in their first home game following a 1-6 road trip.

The shutout was Thibault's 31st of his career, and the first against the Senators this season.

"Tonight was really a big game for us and we wanted to make a statement,'' Thibault said. "I just wanted to have a strong game. I'm not that big a guy, but when I play big, I have success. I'm just trying to play hard and put myself in the right position.''

Patrick Lalime faced 18 shots, and Marian Hossa saw his 13-game point scoring streak end for the Senators, who were 8-0-2 in their unbeaten streak.

"I think when we did have some chances, Thibault was good,'' Senators coach Jacques Martin said. "He played with a lot of confidence. He was able to see shots and we didn't have as good of execution.''

After a scoreless first period, Daze opened the scoring at 7:20 of the second.

Ottawa defenseman Chris Phillips stick-checked the puck away from Chicago's Steve Sullivan, who was rushing into the Senators zone. Phillips, however, couldn't control the loose puck. Daze, following though on the rush, fired it past Lalime from the right circle for what turned out to be the game's only goal.

"It was a broken play,'' Lalime said. "(Daze's) got a good shot.''

Game notes
Chicago D Boris Mironov, who has asked to be traded, didn't play Wednesday night. Mironov skipped practice Tuesday and didn't participate in Wednesday's game-day skate. Blackhawks GM Mike Smith said Mironov will not be paid during his absence and that the team will try to make a deal to move the defenseman. Mironov, 30, has a one-year, $3.3 million contract and will become an unrestricted free agent when the agreement expires. ... The Blackhawks played their first home game since Nov. 17. ... The Senators were trying to match their team record for an unbeaten streak, which is 11. They went 9-0-2 during a stretch in 2001.