With Corey Crawford out, trio of Hogs goalies battle for shot at historic NHL restart
CHICAGO — With Corey Crawford deemed “unfit to participate” during the first week of the Chicago Blackhawks’ return to work, three goalies who suited up for the Rockford IceHogs last season all have a shot at getting some playing time very soon.
With the NHL preparing to launch an unprecedented return to action on Aug. 1 — starting with 16 teams in a best-of-five play-in round — the Hawks returned to practice this week for the NHL’s Phase 3 of on-ice activities. They will take on Edmonton in two weeks in the qualifying round.
For an inside video peek at the Hawks third day of practice this week, check out the video here:
The NHL called off its season because of the coronavirus pandemic on March 12. Most of the Hawks returned this week, except for No. 1 goaltender Corey Crawford. The NHL is not requiring teams to divulge the extent of any players injuries or illnesses, so all that has been disclosed is that he is “unfit.”
The three Hogs’ goalies who got the call to work out with the Hawks as they prepare for the qualifying round and the playoffs — Collin Delia, Kevin Lankinen and Matt Tomkins — have been thrust into the spotlight.
Malcolm Subban easily has the most NHL experience of the group, with a 30-23-7 record with a 2.97 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage over three NHL seasons. But he has been in net for only 1 minute, 10 seconds since arriving in Chicago in a trade in early March.
So for the first week of this shortened camp, Hawks head coach Jeremy Colliton and his staff have been looking at all the goalies who have suited up. And they talk as if the job could go to Subban, Delia or Lankinen if Crawford doesn’t make it back in time — or at all.
“It’s an opportunity, for now, for those other guys to compete,” said Colliton, who was the Hogs head coach for over a year before being promoted to the Hawks early in the 2018 season. “We’ll probably rotate those three guys — Subban, Delia and Lankinen — to rotate them through the first group.
“The competition between them is going to be very interesting to watch.“
Crawford, 35, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Hawks, was 16-20-3 with a .917 save percentage. He split time with Robin Lehner, but after Lehner was traded Feb. 24, it was all Crawford in the final eight games before the season was halted. He was 5-3 with a 2.65 GAA and .921 save percentage.
But now he’s missing again, and there’s no telling how long he’ll be gone.
Subban and Delia skated with the first team on the first day, and then again on Friday. Lankinen has gotten some work with plenty of the starters as well.
“We’re looking at the guys who are here and ready to play, and when Corey’s in that group, then we can talk about Corey,” Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said as camp opened. “We have four goaltenders here, and the goal is to be prepared when the time is right.”
Delia, Rockford’s two-time Man of the Year and its No. 1 goalie for much of the past three seasons, started a bit slowly this season and wound up splitting time with Lankinen. Delia was 16-13-1 this season with a 2.66 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage, while Lankinen was 8-10-2 with a 3.03 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.
But they’ve all looked pretty good in the first week of this postseason camp.
“Obviously none of us are too sure of what’s going to happen,” Subban said. “So it’s just about getting to know each other a bit, and pushing each other.”
As this sprint of a camp comes to a close, the Hawks will have to trim their 35-man roster down to 31 as they leave for Edmonton at the end of next week. They will battle the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues in their lone exhibition game on July 29.
“We don’t have much time,” Colliton added. “We have to make use of every day we have.”
Jay Taft:@jtaft@rrstar.com; @JayTaft
