Has Ray Emery Earned The Right To Start For The Blackhawks?
The Chicago Blackhawks lost yet again on Friday night, this one coming in the form of a 3-1 loss to the Calgary Flames, which sent them on an 0-2-1 start to this nine-game road trip.
With the Western Canada portion of the trip behind them, the Hawks have a few days to take a breather, before they next hit the ice on Tuesday against the Colorado Avalanche, in Denver.
But given the results of the last few games, which have resulted in five consecutive losses, who will we see between the pipes against the Avalanche? It could very well be, and should be, Ray Emery.
Emery was in net against the Flames on Friday, and though he took the loss, he looked plenty better than anything we’ve seen from Corey Crawford of late, save the Vancouver game from earlier this week.
Razor stopped 29 of 32 shots, though that doesn’t tell the whole story. Emery made some huge stops throughout, including the 10 minutes that the team was shorthanded.
Really, if you take that Edmonton drubbing from earlier this season out of the equation, Emery has performed well in almost every single start he’s seen this season. Yes, he’s given up five goals on two different occasions, but the Hawks still had a chance to win both.
Crawford has been extremely shaky for most of the year. After a splendid rookie campaign, Crawford has endured quite the sophomore slump. His saver percentage has floated around .900 for most of the year, and he has yet to actually steal a game in the way that we became accustomed to last season.
Neither goaltender has a shutout this season, nor has the defense been anything worth a damn for a good chunk of the year. But that argument can only go so far. And Emery gives this team the best chance to win at the present time.
However, it remains to be seen if Emery would be able to hold up for a potential deep playoff run. We know that Crawford could take the physical toll, but given his lack of consistency, he’d be a total wild card heading into the postseason.
Nonetheless, Ray Emery has proven that he’s worthy of a crack at the starting job. He’s a competitor and has performed consistently for most of the year, even if it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to, at the very least, to see him getting more looks for this next stretch of games for the Blackhawks.
Leave a Rant
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
Rant Picks
FEATURED PARTNERS
- 18 People Who Will Never Get Out Of The Friend Zone
- The Best Of Jesus Christ (Official)
- 10 Incredible Pictures Of The Navy Jet That Crashed Into A Virginia Beach Apartment
- NBA Star Carlos Boozer-- I Traded Sand for a $1.8 Million Palace
- Tim Tebow Delivering Easter Sermon
- Warren Sapp -- I'm Still a Champion ... Even Without My Rings
- Katrina Bowden Is a Hot Cheerleader for FHM’s ‘Cheerleader Issue’ and Your Weekend Links
- Doutzen Kroes Wishes Everyone a Very Sexy Easter
- The 2012 Masters Drinking Game