It’s saves like this one that have put the Chicago Blackhawks at ease, despite losing their No. 1 goaltender.
Watch as blue-chip backup Antti Raanta sprawls to the ice and extends his right leg to make a sick pad save on Nashville Predators forward Taylor Beck, who is left all alone in front of the crease:
Though Raanta and the ‘Hawks would lose 3-2 Thursday night in a battle of the last two teams yet to drop a game in regulation, the 25-year-old Finn has instilled confidence in his teammates.
When Corey Crawford left the lineup early this week, Raanta promptly stepped in to record a 32-save, 4-0 shutout of the Flyers on Tuesday. And last season, his rookie campaign, he posted a 13-5-4 record.
“Obviously, you feel it a little bit in the dressing room and on the ice when… the No. 1 goalie’s missing,” Marian Hossa told the Chicago Sun-Times Thursday. “But in our dressing room, that’s not the worry. Antti was great and we don’t have to worry about that.”
Crawford has yet to skate since suffering an upper-body ailment, but coach Joel Quenneville believes his absence will be short-term.
That said, Raanta is scheduled to get his third consecutive start Saturday as the Blackhawks zip to St. Louis to face a bitter rival in the Blues.
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