Goaltending Depth Has Chicago Blackhawks in a Postion to Succeed

Goaltending depth has not always been an advantage that the Chicago Blackhawks could claim. It's become one as the 2014-15 season heads into the second month of the season.

Corey Crawford is a strong No. 1 goaltender, and that's not going to change any time soon. He led the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup in 2013 and overtime of the seventh game of the Western Conference Final last year.

Crawford has not played since Oct. 18 as a result of an upper-body injury.

Backup Antti Raanta and Rockford (AHL) call-up Scott Darling have played the ensuing five games, and while the Blackhawks lost three of them, the goaltending has been strong.

Raanta proved to be a fine No. 2 goaltender last year after he was called up from Rockford, and Darling has had two excellent efforts. He registered a 2-1 victory over Ottawa in his first start at the United Center and was in net during the Blackhawks' 1-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks Tuesday night.

Darling was locked in a goaltending duel with the Ducks' John Gibson and neither man blinked until the latter half of the third period, when Chicago's Brent Seabrook lost the puck at the blue line on a power play and Anaheim's Devante Smith-Pelly took off and beat Darling with a backhand move to score the game's only goal.

In addition to Crawford, Raanta and Darling, veteran Michael Leighton is playing goal for Rockford and could provide competent goaltending if general manager Stan Bowman and head coach Joel Quenneville find the team in a more complicated goaltending situation.

Leighton has played 105 regular-season NHL games in his career and has a 2.97 goals-against average to go with an .897 save percentage.

Crawford has practiced with the team and is clearly recovering from his injury. Once he is fully healthy—meaning he plays a couple of games without any ill effects—Quenneville will have to decide whether Raanta remains as the No. 2 goalie or that job shifts to Darling.

Bill Boyce/Associated Press

While it's not a controversial decision in Quenneville's mind because both goaltenders have been playing well, it will have an impact on the team going forward.

Quenneville, Bowman and the Blackhawks' coaching staff will have to sit down and discuss which goaltender will best serve the Blackhawks' needs.

“It’s something we’ll talk about," Quenneville told ESPNChicago.com reporter Scott Powers. "I think it’s a good discussion, a lot of positives either way. Probably a lot of variables that will be weighed in on the decision, so we’ll see.”

Raanta earned the No. 2 job in training camp with a strong showing, and he is 1-2-0 after his first three starts with a 2.03 GAA and .933 save percentage.

Darling is 1-1-0 with a 1.03 GAA and .966 save percentage.

Raanta is quick and active at 6'0" and 187 pounds, while Darling is a bigger man at 6'5" and 200 pounds. Since Crawford is also a bigger goalie—6'2" and 208 pounds—it's logical to conclude that Quenneville likes a goaltender with the type of frame that can take away more of the net from an oncoming shooter.

Quenneville was quite complimentary toward Darling and would not throw around positive statements if he was not seriously considering keeping the 25-year-old with the Blackhawks.

“I’ve been very happy with him,” Quenneville told Powers. “He hasn’t done anything wrong anytime he’s been in the net. It’s been a real positive story for us, very good start for him.” 

Raanta understands that there are no guarantees he will remain in Chicago. He earned accolades with his 13-5-4 record, 2.71 GAA and .897 save percentage last season, but there is certainly room for improvement.

Quenneville is correct in that it's a good situation to have. A year ago, the Blackhawks broke camp with Crawford and Nikolai Khabibulin as the team's goaltenders, and that situation quickly proved to be problematic when Khabibulin got off to a poor start and then was injured shortly thereafter.

That's when Raanta came into the picture and did a fine job when he got the chance.

While he did enough to earn a pat on the back and an "'attaboy," it certainly wasn't enough to give him the No. 2 job on a permanent basis.

Once the decision is made on which backup netminder to keep, the Blackhawks should have peace of mind about their goaltending situation.