ST. LOUIS, Nov. 27 -- Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Jocelyn Thibault will be sidelined two to four weeks after suffering a broken left ring finger in Saturday night's game with the St. Louis Blues.
Thibault went down after trying unsuccessfully to glove Al MacInnis' slap shot from the right faceoff circle 3:49 into the first period.
MacInnis possesses one of the NHL's hardest slap shots and is a five- time winner of the hardest shot competition at the All-Star skills competition.
Thibault, 24, entered Saturday night's game with a 2-9-3 record, one shutout and a 3.19 goals-against average for the last-place Blackhawks. After signing a multi-year contract in the offseason, the former Montreal Canadien has split playing time with rookie Steve Passmore. Thibault was replaced by another rookie, Marc Lamothe.
A Montreal native, Thibault was acquired from the Canadiens in November 1998 with defensemen Brad Brown and Dave Manson for goalie Jeff Hackett and defensemen Eric Weinrich and Alain Nasreddine.
Thibault immediately took over as Chicago's No. 1 goalie and went 21- 26-5 last season with four shutouts and a 2.71 GAA. Before the trade, Thibault was splitting time with Jose Theodore in Montreal and was 3-4 with a 2.61 GAA.
