Petr Mrazek earned himself a "Holy Jumpin" call from Blackhawks colorman Darren Pang on Sunday afternoon. The call came after the Hawks goaltender made a spectacular stick save during the third period. One that you will need to see to believe.
With the Blackhawks trailing the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 4-3 with roughly 10:30 remaining in the third, Mrazek came up huge, not once but twice. After handling a shot from the circle off his right pad, the rebound found its way back to the stick of a crashing Canucks forward. What looked like a puck heading into a wide-open net was not to be as Mrazek quickly reached back to his right with his stick just getting enough of the shot to deflect it away from the net.
Mrazek's valiant effort, and save of the year candidate kept the Blackhawks within one goal with over 10 minutes left to play. Unfortunately, despite the highlight reel save Chicago was unable to muster another tally in the remaining minutes and went on to fall to Vancouver by a final score of 4-3.
At this juncture, the veteran goaltender has solidified himself as the true number one in the Blackhawks goalie tandem. A rough start to the season for Arvid Soderblom, coupled with solid performances from a healthy Mrazek has largely contributed to this reality. Through 19 games this season Mrazek is 7-10 with a .907 save percentage with one shutout that came earlier this month.
More must-reads: