By Anthony Pucik
On Saturday April 25, the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Nashville Predators 4-3 in Game 6 of their Western Conference Quarterfinal matchup in the Stanley Cup playoffs to win the series 4-2. Despite showing signs of dominance in the series, however, they do have a big question to answer before their next series: who is going to play in net?
Corey Crawford was the obvious choice at the start of the series because he was the starter all season long and his play got Chicago to where it was, but he was quickly pulled in Game 1 after giving up three goals on 12 shots in the first period. Enter Scott Darling, a rookie with 14 games of regular season experience, who managed to make the next 42 saves in the game, force overtime and take the first game of the series 4-3. The Hawks decided to go back to Crawford in Game 2, which ended in a 6-2 loss.
The Hawks went with Darling for Game 3, and it proved to be the right decision, as Darling stopped 35 of 37 shots in a 4-2 victory for Chicago. Game 4 was much of the same, with Darling saving 50 of the 52 shots he faced in a 3-2 double OT victory. The first hiccup Darling suffered was in Game 5, when he gave up four goals on 28 shots in a 5-2 loss that made the series 3-2 Blackhawks.
Darling was given the nod in Game 6 at home, but he gave up three goals on 12 shots in the first, much like Crawford did in Game 1, and was pulled before the first ended. Crawford came in and stopped the 13 shots he faced and the Blackhawks made another amazing comeback in a 4-3 victory that gave them the series win, 4-2.
While Darling carried much of the load in the series, it was Crawford who started and finished it. So the question remains: who do the Blackhawks start in the Western Conference Semifinals? Crawford has won a Stanley Cup for Chicago, proving that he knows what it takes to win, but, aside from his Game 6 performance, he was severely underwhelming in the postseason. Without Darling, there’s a good chance the Blackhawks might not be in the second round of the playoffs, but did his spectacular play finally run out?
These questions are very concerning if you are a Chicago fan. Two things are certain in the Stanley Cup playoffs: it’s important to be hot heading in and a goalie can make or break your chances of winning the Cup. Despite defeating the Predators with this glorified goalie controversy surrounding them, it would be in the best interest of Chicago to have a concrete starter in its next series.
If they want to go with Crawford, they should go with Crawford, and if they choose to go with Darling that’s okay, too, but they cannot continue to rotate goaltenders if they want to have any hope of winning the Cup this season.
