Nashville Predators created first round problem in Scott Darling

As Scott Darling makes save after save in Round 1 of the playoffs for the Chicago Blackhawks, the Nashville Predators must feel horrified.

Darling, the Blackhawks backup who has won both games for Chicago in its first series against Nashville, was essentially created by the Predators.

Last season, Darling, 26, sort of entered the Predators organization on an American Hockey League contract, first with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones, and then with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals – both affiliates of the Predators.

While he wasn’t brought into Nashville with the Predators, he worked with then-Nashville goaltending coach Mitch Korn and Admirals netminder coach Ben Vanderklok. Korn is now with the Washington Capitals, and Vanderklok has the pleasure of watching his former pupil essentially destroy his current organization. OK, it’s not that extreme. But think of Darling as Skynet, and the Predators as the humans to some degree.

Who will win out in this hockey version of “The Terminator” played over seven games? Game 4 is Tuesday night with Chicago up 2-1. In  128 playoff minutes, Darling has a 0.94 goals against average and .975 save percentage

“I mean, clearly we’re rooting for Nashville. That’s who employs us and that’s our team,” Admirals coach Dean Evason said. “Having said that, we’re happy for the success of Scott Darling.”

When Darling came to Cincinnati/Milwaukee last season, he was a journeyman with his own baggage. At 6-foot-6, He had the size and athletic ability, but needed to be refined. So Korn and Vanderklok tried to limit his activity in and around the goalmouth, which led to a 2.00 goals against average and .933 save percentage in 26 games for Milwaukee.

“You see it now, how calm he is in the net but how explosive he is. He’s obviously very strong, but he’s not all over the place,” Evason said. “He’s in control and calm and it has allowed him to play very well.

Strangely it was an injury to Pekka Rinne – the goaltender Darling has faced this series that led to his ability to step into the American Hockey League level and show his progress.

Rinne suffered a hip infection last season in October, which knocked him out for most of the year. As other goaltender got shuffled around the organization, Darling eventually got nudged from the Cyclones to the Admirals.

If he didn’t make it to Milwaukee, would he be in position to potentially stop the Predators from advancing in the playoffs?

“It was the whole trickle down thing,” Evason said. “When Pekka got hurt, and then he came up, got into a game and obviously played very well for us down the stretch and allowed us to have success last year.”

During the summer, Darling signed a contract with Chicago. Nashville didn’t need him with goaltenders Magnus Hellberg and Marek Mazanec in their system. Their NHL netminders were set with Rinne as the No. 1 and Carter Hutton as the backup. The Blackhawks then identified Darling as an asset and brought him in, mostly as the team’s No. 3 on its depth chart.

But Darling jumped No. 2 Antti Raanta, became the team’s backup, and finished the year with a 1.94 goals against average and .936 save percentage in 14 games. On top of that he may beat his former team in the playoffs. This isn’t really a revenge situation … but it feels so weird and unlucky for Nashville.

There was no bitter divorce between the two, and relations between Darling and the Predators organization are quite amicable.

“Obviously I root for Nashville since I have a contract with them. But at the same time, you always want your buddy to play well,” Hellberg said. “It might be weird for Nashville. It might be weird for Darling because he was part of the organization and now he is trying to make Nashville lose in order to go further in the playoffs."

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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