Ray Emery has played 14 games for the Chicago Blackhawks this season. His record? 13-1-0. His save percentage? 0.923. His goals-against-average? 1.95.
His position on the Blackhawks? Backup goaltender.
For the last few weeks, Emery mostly watched the Blackhawks—more like Corey Crawford—struggle. Crawford's save percentage drastically fell—lower than his backup's. The Hawks were 3-3-1 in their last seven games before Saturday’s game against the Nashville Predators.
I’m not saying that all of these losses were due to Crawford’s play. In fact, Emery earned one of those losses when the Hawks fell to Anaheim 2-1. But it’s hard to deny that Crawford’s goaltending, once the backbone of the Blackhawks, now looks flat.
Corey Crawford lacks the puck control he possessed at the beginning of the season. He is more hesitant to leave his net, and the confidence he exuded earlier in the year is missing.
Games where the Hawks dominate the majority of the play are now closer than they should be when Crawford is in net.
Just look at the Nashville Predators game ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Nicole Blum
Chicago Blackhawks: Why Ray Emery Deserves to Be the Starting Goaltender
April 6th, 2013 by Nicole Blum Leave a reply »
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