Crawford, Darling Get Serious Love in Goaltender Rankings

The Chicago Blackhawks have been dealing with all sorts of roster turnover this offseason, but their goaltending tandem has remained the same and is getting some high praise.

That tandem, comprised of starting goaltender Corey Crawford and back-up Scott Darling, was ranked as the best goaltending duo in the NHL by ESPN’s Ben Arledge. Using a variety of data to compile a team’s estimated save percentage based on performance in previous seasons, Arledge concluded that Crawford and Darling are at the top of the heap.

Here is part of what Ben had to say about Crawford and Darling:

“While I am not a particular fan of Crawford, he is without a doubt underrated among NHL goalies. His 0.924 save percentage was sixth in the league last season, and his postseason play (not counting those opening few games that found him on the bench) helped bring Chicago its third Cup in six years.

“Chicago is one of the few teams that has a locked-in No. 1 goaltender but does not take a hit by starting the locked-in No. 2 guy.”

The Blackhawks’ duo didn’t win by much, beating out Ottawa’s Craig Anderson (also a former Blackhawk) and Andrew Hammond by 0.3 percent.

Contact Us