March 19--NEW YORK -- Scott Darling got the call in goal for the Chicago Blackhawks when they faced off against the Rangers on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
"Our month here has been kind of quiet and it's going to pick up some steam," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said of the decision to play the backup over starter Corey Crawford. "The back-to-backs are something that we looked at (when) we could get Darling into a couple of games here as we go down toward the end. (Crawford) was probably a little busier the last 40 minutes (Tuesday night) than the first part of the game. That was part of it as well."
Darling was opposed by Cam Talbot for the Rangers.
The Hawks were in search of their fourth consecutive victory while were looking for their sixth win in a row.
First period update
After 20 minutes of play, the game was scoreless. The Rangers held an 8-7 shot advantage.
Roster report
Veteran forward Kris Versteeg was a healthy scratch for the first time this season for the Hawks. Joakim Nordstrom drew back into the lineup after serving a two-game suspension. Other scratches for the Hawks included winger Daniel Carcillo and defenseman Michal Rozsival. Sitting for the Rangers were Kevin Klein and Martin St. Louis.
Up next
At Stars, 7 p.m. Saturday.
