The Chicago Blackhawks are seemingly getting slammed with injuries this week, and another high-profile player has fallen victim to the injury bug.
That player is goaltender Scott Darling, who sustained an upper-body injury during the team’s morning skate on Friday. After the skate was over, the Blackhawks recalled goaltender Jeff Glass from Rockford, but it appears that the move won’t just be for one or two games.
According to head coach Joel Quenneville, Darling will likely miss around three weeks with the injury. After Saturday’s game in Nashville, the Blackhawks will play 17 games in a 31-day span, and that means that Darling’s injury could not have come at a worse time.
In 26 games this season, Darling has a 16-5-2 record for the Blackhawks, posting a 2.13 goals against average, and he has a pair of shutouts to his credit this season.
Corey Crawford ended up starting Friday’s game for the Blackhawks, and Quenneville plans to use him again on Saturday in Nashville. Crawford, who recently missed a pair of games due to an illness, has a 25-13-3 record and a 2.54 goals against average in 41 games this season.
While the Blackhawks’ schedule is condensed over the final month of the season, there is some good news for the team despite Darling’s absence.
Of their final 17 games after Saturday, only four of them come as part of back-to-back sets, meaning that Crawford will likely get all of the starts with Darling on the shelf.
