Season in Review: Goaltenders

This is the fourth installment in a four-part Season in Review series. Part One:
Canes Fall Short of Postseason
| Part Two:
Forwards
| Part Three:
Defensemen
| Part Four:
Goaltenders
The Carolina Hurricanes made strategic moves in the summer of 2017 to improve its goaltending. What played out on the ice unfortunately didn't live up to expectations.
Here is a breakdown of the two goaltenders who tended the nets for the Hurricanes this season.

Scott Darling
43 games played, 13-21-7 record, 3.18 goals-against average, .888 save percentageUnder contract through the 2021-22 season
"It was like Murphy's Law for me this year: anything that could go wrong went wrong. That was my season," Darling said in his end-of-season interview.
And, that was pretty much it.
Acquired by the Hurricanes and then signed to a multi-year extension in the summer, Darling was pegged as the team's next starting goaltender. Coming off a season in which he posted an 18-5-5 record, a 2.38 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage with Chicago, the thought was that Darling was ready to take the next step.
Things didn't go as planned. Darling finished with a 13-21-7 record, a 3.18 goals-against average and a .888 save percentage.

"I think I wanted to do so well being new here. It's kind of like quicksand: the harder you fight, the faster you sink," he said. "When it wasn't going well, I was overdoing it, trying too hard and not playing my game. It was a tough first half, but I think I had a better second half."
After playing in 24 of the Canes' first 33 games of the season, Darling played in 19 of the final 49.
"The coaches were great. They know I was doing what I could trying to stay positive and working as hard as I could," he said. "Through all of it, I stayed positive, maintained a good attitude in the room and worked hard. It's all going to turn around."

Darling said he plans on training in Raleigh with Hurricanes head strength and conditioning coach Bill Burniston over the summer.
"I want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to be 100 percent ready for next year," he said. "That's what I'm looking forward to. I'm planning on having a real big summer."
Anyone familiar with
Darling's story
knows how many speedbumps he's faced in his life - and how much stronger he is for having gone over them.
"I've faced plenty of adversity in my life. It's tough," he said. "I'm the first to admit that it didn't go my way. It's been a long year. The media, the fans, all that stuff. But that's life. I'm excited about the challenge."
Cam Ward
43 games played, 23-14-4 record, 2.73 goals-against average, .906 save percentageUnrestricted free agent
It's possible that Ward has played his last game in a Hurricanes sweater, and he's well aware of that.
"It crosses my mind. Against Tampa Bay, the last game, game 82, sure, it crossed my mind that this could be potentially be my last game as a Hurricane," he said. "I was nervous before playing that game, to be honest, just knowing that. I'm emotionally invested in this organization and have been for the last 13 years. I want to continue that, but there's a lot of uncertainty."
That uncertainty begins with the expiration of Ward's contract and his pending status as an unrestricted free agent.
"Everybody knows I love playing here. I take pride in being a Carolina Hurricane," he said. "I've certainly enjoyed my time here, and I'd like to keep that going."

For the first time since he was a rookie in the NHL, Ward entered the 2017-18 season as the Hurricanes' back-up goaltender. It was a role in which he supported and flourished in early.
"When I came into the year, it was clear my role changed. It was something I embraced and wanted to handle appropriately," he said. "I'm comfortable with where I am in my career that I could be a real solid No. 2. I feel like I did that job that was asked of me to do, and I'd like to have that opportunity to do it again."
When Darling's season began to slide, Ward was pressed into service more regularly. In the second half of December, beginning with his 300th career win (in Vegas on Dec. 12), Ward strung together six consecutive wins and posted a .935 save percentage in that stretch. The Canes' veteran netminder capped his season with 32 saves on 34 shots in the team's 3-2 overtime win against Tampa Bay on April 7.

Ward's future with the Hurricanes is unknown, but his career accomplishments with the organization are well-established. If 2017-18 was the end of the road for No. 30, it was a good ride, only cut short again by a missed trip to the postseason.
"I enjoyed coming to the rink every day. I still love the game. It wasn't a grind for me to come in and play with these guys. It's a great group of guys," he said. "I write 'Have Fun' on my stick, and I felt like I had fun. I broke a few sticks where I wrote 'Have Fun' - by accident - but that happens because I'm competitive. You want to be emotionally invested in winning and losing. We all know we've done way too much losing here. It's time to change that - it's over time to change that."