CHICAGO _ Because Corey Crawford has been so good for so long, nearly a decade has passed since there has been a question about whom the Blackhawks' starting goalie should be.
Even when backup Ray Emery went 17-1 during the 2013 season and finished ahead of Crawford in Vezina Trophy voting, Crawford was in net for all 23 postseason games and brilliantly led the Hawks to the Stanley Cup.
Now that Crawford is out indefinitely with another concussion, each game brings forth the question: Who will be in goal for the Hawks?
On one hand is Cam Ward, a Cup-winning veteran signed as a free agent last summer to take the net in case Crawford went down with an injury.
On the other is Collin Delia, a rookie with three NHL starts on his resume entering Thursday's game against the Wild but who is the top goalie prospect in the Hawks' system.
Ward gave up six goals in his previous start, and Delia stopped 35 of 36 shots in his only start of the season, giving coach Jeremy Colliton an easy decision for Thursday night.
"(Delia) played really well the last time he was in and we want to have competition," Colliton said. "So he deserves the chance to play again."
A confident and poised Delia took advantage of that chance, stopping 46 shots in lifting the Hawks to a 5-2 victory at the United Center. Patrick Kane had a hat trick _ the last one on an empty net _ and Brandon Saad had a pair of goals for the Hawks, who improved to 5-2-1 in their last eight games.
The Hawks aren't facing a goaltender controversy as much as what their philosophy should be at the moment: Are they playing for this season or the future?
Ward started three of the first four games after Crawford's injury and played exceptionally well in two. The poor start _ a 6-3 loss to the Panthers in the final game before the holiday break _ led to Delia getting the nod Thursday.
Ward is on a one-year deal and is unlikely to be back next season. Even if Delia has a few clunkers, it's hard to argue that the Hawks, who have a long way to go to climb back into the playoff race, aren't better off by giving Delia the majority of the starts while Crawford is out.
Colliton has coached Delia since he arrived in Rockford last season and easily can see where the rookie has improved over the last year.
"He's under control," Colliton said. "Tremendous lateral movement, but his game is so much more under control now. He's solid. He's compact. He'd always make the saves that he maybe shouldn't make, but now he makes the ones he should consistently."
The Wild had the first five shots on goal, but the Hawks took a 1-0 lead on Kane's 18th of the season. Delia stopped the first 13 shots he faced before finally allowing Zach Parise's 16th of the season with five minutes left in the first period.
Saad's 10th goal put the Hawks back up 23 seconds into the second period. Kane scored his second of the game at the 16:07 mark on a power play that led Wild coach Bruce Boudreau to pull goalie Devan Dubnyk in favor of Alex Stalock.
Saad's second of the game in the third period also came on the power play, the first game this season in which the Hawks scored twice with a man advantage.
