Hawks' goalie situation 'a relatively open competition' originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
According to Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton, after an 0-3-0 start for the Hawks, the net is still up for grabs.
"We're going to use all three at some point here. It's going to be a relatively open competition," Colliton told Blackhawks media on Monday.
Malcolm Subban got the first start out of the three Hawks goalies for the season — and his first start with the Hawks — in Wednesday's 5-1 season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Delia was the first of the trio to get consecutive starts, taking the net Friday for a 5-2 loss in Tampa Bay and a 5-2 loss against the Florida Panthers.
It may be hard to get a sense of where the netminders are at giving the breakdowns and struggling team game we've seen in front of them.
For example, there were three goals Sunday night Delia had no chance at. One goal came off a deflection from a glove to a stick, another when 6'6 teammate Nikita Zadorov bumped him down and out of his crease, and a deflection of Blackhawks defenseman Calvin de Haan's stick got past Delia as well.
Colliton also said Kevin Lankinen will be making his first start as a member of the Hawks soon. It will be very interesting to see what Lankinen does with the opportunity as most of the focus has been on Subban and Delia since training camp.
Lankinen led Finland to a gold medal at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, registering a 7-1-0 record with a 1.50 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage at the tournament.
Last year, he went 8-10-2 and had a 3.03 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage with Chicago's American Hockey League affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, earning an AHL All-Star nomination for the first time in his career.
