Darling stands tall in his return
Almost completely lost in the wake of the news that Patrick Kane may miss significant time with a shoulder injury was the fact that Scott Darling played another solid game in net for the Blackhawks on Tuesday night at the United Center.
The 6-foot-6 goalie, who just signed a two-year extension Sunday, stopped 34 shots and 2 more in the shootout as the Hawks ended their eight-game homestand with a 3-2 victory over Florida.
Darling had a shutout going until Jussi Jokinen scored 12:23 into the third period to trim the Hawks' lead to 2-1.
"I thought he played really well," said Patrick Sharp. "You don't want to lose the shutout and have to go to overtime. He looks big in there - makes the saves he's supposed to, makes the saves he's not supposed to. He's fitting really well in the locker room."
Despite allowing the tying goal four minutes after Jokinen's goal, Darling was impressive all night. He first made a pair of saves on Jonathan Huberdeau about five minutes into the game. Then, Darling stood strong when Derek MacKenzie was awarded a penalty shot at 7:10 of the second period. And finally, midway through the second period, Darling dove headfirst to thwart a charging Shawn Thornton.
"It's been an unbelievable few days," Darling said. "It couldn't have gone any better."
"I thought he was good," said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville. "Big, strong, consistent. Big in the shootout. He made some big stops."
Big milestone:
Patrick Sharp registered his 500th point as a Blackhawk when he assisted on Kris Versteeg's second-period goal that gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead. The crowd gave him a nice ovation when the milestone was announced.
"I guess it means quite a bit to me," Sharp said. "I've been here a long time. I'm really proud to look back on my career as a Blackhawk - hopefully there's a lot more hockey to be played. I know it's not the biggest number, but it feels good to be part of the organization and contribute."
Not worried:
Coach Joel Quenneville, who just a week ago was praising Corey Crawford after back-to-back standout performances, said Tuesday he wasn't worried about his goalie's recent rough stretch in which he allowed 8 goals in about 5½ periods.
"He'll be fine," Quenneville said. "(The goalies) want the net right away and they want a chance to go out there and do their thing. The goaltenders are all competitive in their own right and they all want to play."
Slapshots:
Former Blackhawk Dave Bolland sat out Tuesday with an upper body injury. The Panthers' center was greeted in the bowels of the United Center before the game by Duncan Keith, Kris Versteeg, Corey Crawford and Patrick Kane, among others. ... Brad Richards needs just 1 point for 900 in his career. ... In losses to Colorado and Boston, the Hawks killed off just 3 of 7 power plays, but they did kill off all 3 of Florida's on Tuesday. Carolina (88.0 percent) leaped past the Hawks (86.2) and has taken over as the top penalty-kill team in the league.