Holy moly, Hawks really need a goalie
Crawford’s absence looms large as struggles in net plague team
NEW YORK — Every team has off nights. Every defenseman has lapses. Every forward gets caught cherry- picking.
But during the Blackhawks’ peak — from the lockout- shortened 2013 season through their 50- victory campaign last season — there was always someone in net who could bail them out.
Corey Crawford has been one of the NHL’s top goalies for years, and the Hawks were spoiled by brilliant backups — Ray Emery, Antti Raanta and Scott Darling — who put up even better numbers in smaller sample sizes. It was an embarrassment of riches.
Through those five seasons, the Hawks gave up the secondfewest goals per game in the league ( a stout and deep defense surely helped) and had a stellar .917 save percentage as a team.
This season, the Hawks are getting a sense of how the other half lives. And the numbers are brutal.
The Hawks have given up at least five goals in five consecutive games and 13 times in the 40 games since Crawford was hurt. Anton Forsberg, J- F Berube and Jeff Glass have combined to post a putrid .899 save percentage ( Crawford was at .929). Forsberg has been pulled six times in 28 starts. Berube has been pulled twice in 10 starts. In all, coach Joel Quenneville has had to yank his goalie in 10 of 75 games.
Never mind a No. 1 goalie, the Hawks don’t even have a No. 2 at this point. And the reality is they’ll need to consider using some of their considerable cap space this summer to sign a goalie, especially if they’re not 100 percent certain what Crawford’s long- term status is.
‘‘ We talk about what we give up, not being out there for either chances or goals against,’’ Quenneville said. ‘‘ You’ve all got to assume some responsibilities. You can’t point the fingers at just the goalies.’’
A porous defense and a host of young forwards certainly share some of the blame. But when it comes down to it, the Hawks simply aren’t getting NHL- caliber goaltending.
Forsberg is just as disappointed as everyone else. He came to the Hawks highly touted, an American Hockey League champion who was far more than just a throw- in in the Artemi Panarin-Brandon Saad trade last June. He started off fine but has struggled mightily since Crawford’s injury.
Forsberg came to the Hawks with a reputation as fundamentally sound but prone to confidence issues. This season hasn’t changed that.
‘‘ I feel like I’ve had good games and I’ve had bad games,’’ Forsberg said. ‘‘ I’ve been a little too inconsistent. It’s hard for the confidence when you can’t get on a streak. I feel like I’ve had one or two really good games and start building confidence, then a bad game shows up, and you’re back where you started.’’
The half- dozen early exits haven’t helped.
‘‘ Obviously, it’s nagging at me a little bit,’’ he said. ‘‘ But I try to put it behind me. And most of the times I’ve gotten pulled, I put up a pretty good performance the next game. I feel like I’ve moved on pretty good. But the bad part of my game this year is the bad games have been way too bad. I haven’t even given the team a chance to win.’’
No coach or player ever is going to throw his own goalie under the bus, so there’s been more talk lately about what the Hawks can do as a team to help out their goalies. Because while Forsberg and Berube have been giving up soft goals far too often, they also have been hung out to dry far too often.
‘‘ It’s something we’re working on,’’ center Nick Schmaltz said of the defensive breakdowns. ‘‘ Whether we’re not coming back hard enough or turning pucks over at the blue line, I think we can do a better of job of that.’’