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Darling stands tall for Hawks in 1-0 OT loss

Moments after Nick Holden scored 55 seconds into overtime to give the Rangers a 1-0 overtime victory over the Blackhawks, two old friends met at center ice, congratulating each other on jobs well done.

Hawks goalie Scott Darling and Rangers counterpart Antti Raanta were the stars of the show - two netminders who combined to make 62 saves - and it was a fitting end to a spectacular defensive display by both squads.

"I'm happy for him; he's having a great year with New York," said Darling, who made his fourth straight start with Corey Crawford recovering after having an appendectomy.

New York won 55 seconds into overtime when Nick Holden wristed a shot over Darling's right shoulder.

The Hawks appeared to take a 1-0 lead with 14 minutes left in the game when Marian Hossa beat Raanta, but the Rangers challenged Hossa was offside, and they won it.

"That's a tough one," said Hossa, whose back skate was off the ice as Ryan Hartman carried the puck over the blue line. "With this new (replay) rule, it's slowing the game down and you're getting confused what exactly the (refs) are looking for.

"They created this new rule and we just have to deal with it. But sometimes it's just more frustrating because the league wants to increase the scoring, but more goals are disallowed."

Brent Seabrook missed the game with an upper-body injury and is questionable for Sunday's game vs. Dallas.

The Hawks are now 17-8-4 and 11-2-3 at home.

Raanta, who made 26 saves, is now 15-0-3 at the United Center. It was the first time he played at the UC as an opposing goalie.

"You always want to play good and maybe pinch them a little bit," Raanta said. "I wasn't thinking that it's going to be 1-0 for us. It's just when you come to the game and you get that first save, then the feeling's coming back like you know how to play in this building.

"I've been playing here so many times, so it was just an awesome feeling to just come here and … get the win."

It was Feb. 22, 2015 when Darling supplanted Raanta as the Hawks' backup to Crawford, with Raanta being sent to Rockford. It was a situation that could have caused a rift between the two, but that didn't happen.

"It's not like we hated each other," Darling said. "It was the organization. It's not like we're making the decision. There's really no reason to be bitter with the other goalie."

Darling made 36 saves, with two in the second period that should be played on highlight shows for at least a week. The first came a the 15:15 mark when Derek Stepan had the puck on his stick with a wide-open net just 10 feet away.

No problem. Darling slid his right leg over and the puck bounced off his pad thanks to Stepan's inability to lift the shot.

Just 25 seconds later, Darling somehow, someway denied an absolute bullet from Jesper Fast on what looked to be an easy one-timer from the right slot.

"At the last second he (Marek Hrivik) showed pass and I just tried to get whatever I could across," Darling said. "I think I just got it with my pad."

At the end of the day, the Hawks were happy to get a point, but also a bit disappointed they couldn't get Darling the W.

"Scotty deserved a shutout," Hossa said. "It's tough to lose overtime 1-0 because he had such a good game."

New York Rangers defenseman Nick Holden (22) reacts after he scored a goal against Chicago Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling (33) as Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) looks on in overtime of an NHL hockey game on Friday Dec. 9, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
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