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Oh my Darling: Blackhawks survive Hurricanes’ torrent of shots for win

Carolina Hurricanes v Chicago Blackhawks

CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 06: Jeff Skinner #53 of the Carolina Hurricanes moves to the puck next to Scott Darling #33 of the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on January 6, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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The Carolina Hurricanes are a team that’s likely jealous of the Chicago Blackhawks, even beyond the more obvious jewelry-related reasons.

You see, so far in 2016-17, the Blackhawks are the team that some would label as “finding ways to win” while the Hurricanes are quite the opposite. Some would chalk that up to veteran savvy vs. youngsters not being ready for primetime, but it also might come down to luck.

(PDO, the prime indicator of luck, ranked Chicago as the fifth-luckiest team in the NHL and Carolina as the team with the second-worst luck, and that was before Friday.)

If you’re interested in squabbling over bounces vs. “tests of will” and everything in between, the narratives persisted in the Blackhawks’ 2-1 win against the Hurricanes on Friday.

Some of the factors were predictable enough. Jonathan Toews scored and Artemi Panarin notched the eventual game-winner on the power play. That all follows the script nicely.

Still, Scott Darling was the true star of this one; he made 39 out of 40 saves as he stemmed the steady tide of Hurricanes shots. Cam Ward allowed two goals on a lighter night of 24 shots.

The chances were actually even more lopsided headed into the final frame. Over the first 40 minutes of action, Carolina generated a 31-16 shots on goal edge, yet only Victor Rask’s goal eluded Darling, and that came with five seconds remaining in the second period.

Neither team scored in the final frame, and so the Blackhawks beefed up their record to 25-12-5 while the Hurricanes fell to 17-15-7. Darling continues to quietly build a resume as one of the NHL’s best backups alongside the likes of Antti Raanta, while even with Ward being a bit more competent than usual, the Hurricanes still face nights where they must overcome their goalies.

Maybe that’s the message the Blackhawks really imparted to the young Hurricanes tonight: stop sleeping on goaltending.