Darling's play means Hawks have tough decision to make

Two of the most pleasant surprises coming out of training camp and the preseason for the Blackhawks were the play of defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk and goalie Scott Darling.

While van Riemsdyk stuck with the big club, Darling began his season at Rockford.

But courtesy of a Corey Crawford injury, combined with a couple of losses by Antti Raanta and a couple of stellar performances by Darling, well, suddenly the Hawks' backup goalie job seems completely up for grabs.

“I don't know if it's a controversy,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “I would say it's an opportunity right now internally where the situation has played out the way it has.”

With Crawford apparently just about ready to return, Quenneville opted to bring all three goalies on the Hawks' two-game road swing to Canada.

But with Quenneville deeming it “doubtful” that the Hawks would carry three goalies on the roster, the battle between Raanta and Darling looks like it's officially on, with the loser most likely headed down to Rockford.

And while trying to decipher Q's clues is a perilous task, it appears Raanta might be the odd-man out — something the Finn doesn't even want to ponder.

“I just try to do my thing and we'll see how far that goes,” Raanta said when asked about the possibility of heading to Rockford. “You have to keep on working hard and try to battle every day like it's your last day.”