Chicago Blackhawks goalie Glass still in the spotlight
Normally after the Blackhawks return from a long road trip, a throng of media members encircles Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toewsv or Duncan Keith.
That was still the case before the Hawks lost 5-4 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, but the man of the hour still remains Jeff Glass.
The 32-year-old rookie goaltender stood in front of plenty of cameras and microphones before making his fourth straight start - this one coming in front of 21,000 screaming Hawks fans at the United Center.
"You always dream about these things," said Glass, who ended up making 38 saves. "I always thought I'd be here (in the NHL). It's going to be special tonight. I'm really excited about it."
Glass admitted there would be some butterflies, "but they'll be the good ones."
With Corey Crawford still on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, coach Joel Quenneville turned to Glass after Anton Forsberg allowed 5 goals in a 5-2 loss at Vancouver on Dec. 28.
Glass made 42 saves in Edmonton in his NHL debut, stopped 35 shots in an overtime loss to Calgary and made 23 saves in a 5-2 win over the Rangers on Wednesday.
He was solid again Friday, but the Hawks just gave Vegas far too good looks and it cost them.
"He's playing great (and) doing everything we could ask of him," said Jonathan Toews. "Obviously we want to be better in front of him. … We've got to do a better job of helping out, clearing pucks, letting him see pucks; but also not giving (up) the grade-A chances that he's having to stop for us."
Glass has faced an average of 38 shots per game in his four starts.
Is Glass the new backup?
Corey Crawford is still out indefinitely, but when he returns, could Jeff Glass be the backup goalie instead of Anton Forsberg?
Coach Joel Quenneville wouldn't give any guidance on that front, simply saying: "Right now - in the position we're in - we have to win the next game and that's how we look at the goaltending situation."
Glass is 2-1-1 with a .908 save percentage, while Forsberg was 1-5-3 with a .902 save percentage.
In order for Glass to back up Crawford, though, Forsberg would need to be placed on waivers.
Slap shots:
Coach Joel Quenneville said Artem Anisimov (upper body) remains day-to-day. … Of the players in the league without a goal, Duncan Keith has taken the most shots with 96. … When Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury lost in St. Louis on Thursday, it marked his first regulation setback since Oct. 13. He is 8-2-1 overall. … Richard Panik recorded his first point since Game 23 when he assisted on Patrick Sharp's second-period goal that cut Vegas' lead to 3-2.