HAWKS COME UP SHORT
Khabibulin, defense shaky in opener

By: Gary Zahara

Not a good welcome back. After a year and some change off the ice, the Chicago Blackhawks got a rude reception from the Anaheim Mighty Ducks family duo, Rob and Scott Niedermayer.

The Niedermayers wasted little time sharing their family recipe for success with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Playing together in the NHL for the first time, Scott and Rob Niedermayer each scored for the Mighty Ducks en route to a 5-3 triumph against the Hawks in the season opener for both teams. Veteran defenseman Scott Niedermayer spent the first 13 years of his NHL career with New Jersey before signing a four-year, $27 million contract with Anaheim this offseason to reunite with his younger brother Rob.

"It's going to be a great experience just going through a full season of travel and competing together. We're going to help this team be as good as it can be. Doing it together is what makes it special," Scott said.

The duo quickly made its presence felt for the Mighty Ducks, who were able to give Randy Carlyle a victory in his first game as coach. With Anaheim clinging to a 3-2 lead midway through the contest, Scott
Niedermayer, 32, gathered a loose puck in front of the net and slid it under the pads of Nikolai Khabibulin, who was making his much-anticipated debut for the Blackhawks.

Rene Borque scored on a rebound goal with 3:56 left in the period to draw Chicago back within one, but Rob Niedermayer answered with a shorthanded tally 100 seconds into the third to restore the two-goal lead.

"You never want to give up one shorthanded goal let alone two. It wasn't by design though," head coach Trent Yawney said.

Rob Niedermayer, 30, trailed Andy McDonald's breakaway and pounced on the rebound, flipping the puck over Khabibulin to complete the scoring.

"Our game plan was to get a lot of traffic in front of (Khabibulin) and not pass up any shots," Rob said.

Joffrey Lupul added a pair of goals for Anaheim, which also received a score from Teemu Selanne, who starred with the Mighty Ducks from 1995-2000 before returning this summer.

While Anaheim received an impressive debut from Niedermayer and a solid return from Selanne, Chicago had to be disappointed with the play of Khabibulin. The Russian netminder was one of the heroes of Tampa Bay's championship run in 2003-04, but did not get off to a good start in the "Windy City," stopping only 19 of 24 shots and allowing several soft
goals.

"I really wanted to do well, but I felt a little weird because it was in the back of my mind the whole night. I have to play better obviously. We scored three goals, most nights we should win the game," Khabibulin said.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere was much better for the Mighty Ducks, knocking away 36 of 39 shots, including all nine in the final period.

An electric crowd of 16,353 welcomed the storied franchise with a thunderous anthem ovation, but went home unhappy.

"The crowd brought back some old memories of ChicagoStadium with the noise. I know they were disappointed. But I think their were some positives in terms of the future on how this team will play," said Yawney.