Quenneville paid to make the tough decisions
Our Game 3 Q&A with Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray:
Q: You said it was definitely the right call to go back to Corey Crawford in net for Game 2. What are your thoughts now as the Hawks call on Scott Darling for Game 3?
A: After the first game there was no doubt that the right thing to do was to go back with Corey Crawford. After his struggles in Game 2, you have to re-assess the situation and maybe it's an opportunity for him to get a couple days of practice, work on some video with (goaltending coach) Jimmy Waite. It might be the best thing.
This isn't just Joel Quenneville making the decision. ... Scott Darling certainly played well enough in in relief and he deserves an opportunity. And the opportunity arose because of the performance of Corey Crawford in Game 2. As Quenneville said, it doesn't mean that Crawford isn't going to get back in the net. It's going to be a long series and it's going to be a long playoff run, I hope, and you're going to need everybody.
Q: How difficult do you think this has been on Quenneville and his staff? They've never experienced anything like this before.
A: Well, this isn't something obviously that they envisioned going into the series. That being said, as a coaching staff, as a head coach, you deal with what cards are in front of you and you make adjustments as necessary. If the players aren't playing well up front, you have options in your lineup. And Corey Crawford is no different. ...
It's not a decision that Joel Quenneville wants to make at this time. No coach wants to have his No. 1 guy as the backup goaltender. But given the circumstances of the first two games, the option was there for Joel Quenneville and you make the decision. That's why you get paid as the head coach to make those calls.
Q: Can you speak a little bit about how far Scott Darling has come?
A: It's a great story. And obviously the story gets better because he's a local product. For him to go through the struggles that he did - and he has to take responsibility for the issues that he had prior to where he is right now - and that's the one thing he did. He took full responsibility for where his life was (with alcohol problems), where it was heading and what he needed to do to change it around. I think that speaks volumes about the character of Scott Darling and why he is where he is. It was a life-altering decision that he had to make: Where am I going, what do I want to do and if I'm going to do it, I better do it full throttle.
"He's taken the most of every opportunity since he's changed things around and run with it."
Q: What does the Shea Weber injury that will keep him out of at least Games 3 and 4 mean to Nashville?
A: It's a huge, huge loss for the Nashville Predators. Anybody who says it's not is lying to themselves and fooling themselves.
That being said, you move on. ... You're going to expect a lot of opportunities being given to a lot of younger players, like Roman Josi (24 years old), like Seth Jones (20) and Cody Franson (27). You're going to test your mental toughness inside the locker room. But they've really built a nice culture there. The loss of one player can't be that significant for them to say, 'OK, we're done and we're finished.'
• Murray is in his 15th year as a member of the Blackhawks broadcast team and his eighth as the color analyst for the team's radio broadcasts. The Selke Award winner was a five-time 20-goal scorer who played 15 years in the NHL. Follow him on Twitter@muzz19.