Corey Crawford to start Game 2 for Blackhawks
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford, who was pulled in Game 1 after allowing three goals on 12 shots, was "an easy decision" to get the start in Game 2 against the Predators, coach Joel Quenneville said Thursday.
Crawford was pulled after the first period and replaced by Scott Darling, who stopped all 42 shots he faced as the Blackhawks fought back for a 4-3 double-overtime road win in Game 1 on Wednesday.
"It was probably a tougher decision to pull him out last night knowing that he's going right back in," Quenneville said Thursday. "He's our starting goalie, our strength all year long. It was one period. Collectively as a team -- goaltending all the way out to the forwards -- our first period was ordinary at best. And we look forward to him getting back in the net [Friday.]"
Darling set a Stanley Cup playoffs record for the most time without a goal in a relief appearance. He played 67:44 without giving up a goal Wednesday. The previous record was by Curtis Joseph, who didn't allow a goal in 56:00 for the St. Louis Blues against the San Jose Sharks on April 13, 2008.
Quenneville said Darling's performance Wednesday didn't give him any pause about Game 2.
"What a tremendous job ... doing everything he could to get us the win," Quenneville said of Darling. "And, hey, it's a great situation knowing you got a goaltender like that ready to help and play. Who knows the decisions down the road? But this one was relatively easy. I think it says a little bit about both guys.
"We got a lot of trust in them both ways, but Corey is going."
Crawford has started the Blackhawks' last 56 playoff games dating to 2011. He is 32-23 with a 2.25 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in 57 career playoff games. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2013 and lost in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals last season.
Crawford said he was frustrated to leave Game 1 -- the first time he had been pulled in a playoff game -- but he placed the blame on himself.
"When you get pulled in a situation like that, I was pretty frustrated," Crawford said. "I was trying to figure out what I did wrong, some of the decisions I made. But then, you have to sit outside, encourage the other guys. Really, I had confidence in our guys to come back. I always do.
"It was a tough period. Those things happen. I kind of got a free pass off of this. You know the guys played well after, and we got a big win. [Darling] was awesome. It was nice to get a win after leaving a game like that."
Crawford was confident he would be able to turn the page and forget about Game 1.
"You have to have a short memory as a goalie," Crawford said. "There's a lot of crazy things that happen whether there be anything, bad goals or a string or whatever. It's all part of the game. Really you have to always be thinking about the next shot and not let whatever happened bother what's going to happen next. I've learned a lot through my career. I've had a lot of stuff happen before. Things like this happen once in a while. You just got to keep battling and keep working hard."
Crawford was among the first to congratulate Darling after Game 1. Crawford said they have created a friendship off the ice and motivate each other on it.
"We just kind of jell together," Crawford said. "We kind of push each other to be at our best. I wasn't really surprised the way he played last night. It was great to see him do that. I was happy for him."
Crawford was the Blackhawks' No. 1 goaltender throughout the regular season. He went 32-20-5 with a 2.27 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in 57 regular-season games.
Darling, a rookie, was 9-4-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in 14 regular-season games.
