As the first quarter of the season was ending, Corey Crawford was putting up another fantastic season. With a .927 save percentage during 20 games, Crawford was posting the best numbers of his career and was a major reason why the Blackhawks were one of the top teams in the league.
However, disaster soon struck as right before a Dec. 3 game in Philadelphia the team announced Crawford had acute appendicitis. Needing an emergency appendectomy, Crawford would be forced to sit on the sidelines for the next two-to-three weeks. But without their star goaltender in net, who would take care of the Blackhawks goaltending?