The Lemont, Ill., product took a long road to his hometown team. He was selected by the then-Phoenix Coyotes in the sixth round (No. 153) in the 2007 NHL Draft. Darling won 27 games for Indiana of the United States Hockey League in the 2007-08 season before playing two seasons at the University of Maine.

On Oct. 26, 2014, Darling made history in two ways: He became the first Blackhawks goaltender to win his NHL debut at the United Center when he beat the Ottawa Senators 2-1, and became the first former Southern Professional Hockey League player to play in the NHL.

On Oct. 26, 2014, Darling made history in two ways: He became the first Blackhawks goaltender to win his NHL debut at the United Center when he beat the Ottawa Senators 2-1, and became the first former Southern Professional Hockey League player to play in the NHL.

The Lemont, Ill., product took a long road to his hometown team. He was selected by the then-Phoenix Coyotes in the sixth round (No. 153) in the 2007 NHL Draft. Darling won 27 games for Indiana of the United States Hockey League in the 2007-08 season before playing two seasons at the University of Maine.

Darling began his pro career with Louisiana of the Southern Professional Hockey League in 2010-11, then had stints in the East Coast Hockey League, Central Hockey League and SPHL in 2011-12. He made his American Hockey League debut Nov. 14, 2012, with Hamilton.

Darling spent the majority of the 2012-13 season with Wheeling of the ECHL and split 2013-14 between Milwaukee of the AHL (where he was second in the league with six shutouts in 26 games) and Cincinnati of the ECHL. On July 1, 2014, Darling signed as a free agent with the Blackhawks.

He earned his first NHL shutout with 25 saves on March 18, 2015 against the New York Rangers. Darling set an NHL postseason record for the longest scoreless relief outing with 42 saves in 67:44 on April 15, 2015, against the Nashville Predators. He went 3-1 in five Stanley Cup Final games as Chicago won the championship.

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