Blackhawks top Sens 2-1 behind rookie G Darling

CHICAGO (AP) —Scott Darling didn't have to go far from home to fulfill his NHL dream.

Darling made 32 saves in his NHL debut, Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook scored, and the Chicago Blackhawks snapped a two-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday night.

Darling, a 25-year-old native of the Chicago suburb of Lemont, Illinois, was steady as he faced a handful of tough chances early. He was rock solid in the third when he stopped 16 shots to protect a one-goal lead.

"I was excited and terrified," Darling said. "It's 20 years of work coming to this one game. I've been a Blackhawks fan since I knew what hockey was."

The 6-foot-6 Darling was called up from Rockford of the AHL last Tuesday after Blackhawks No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford sustained an upper-body injury.

Seasoned backup Antti Raanta started the first three games after Crawford went down, but Darling found out he would get the start on Sunday after Chicago lost 3-2 at St. Louis on Saturday night.

After turning aside a few early chances, Darling seemed in charge.

"I try to give off that illusion," he said. "I was pretty nervous to start with, but once you get a few pucks, it's just another hockey game. The guys played really great after that."

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville agreed about his team's effort and was impressed by Darling, who signed with Chicago as a free agent on July 1 after bouncing around the minors with nine teams in four leagues.

"I thought it was our best four-line rotation of the year," Quenneville said. "We needed (Darling) early in the game, and he was settled down, patient. He controlled his rebounds, handled the puck well."

Patrick Kane assisted on Toews' goal for his 500th NHL point.

Milan Michalek scored a short-handed goal for the Senators, who have lost two straight.

The game featured a matchup of goalies from the Chicago area.