With a couple of soft goals allowed in overtime, the Blackhawks seemingly have a goalie conundrum on their hands ... again.

DETROIT -- The Blackhawks have said they have liked Ray Emery all season. On Saturday, they showed it.

The Hawks signed Emery to a one-year extension worth a reported $1.15 million. Emery initially signed a one-year, $600,000 deal with the Hawks before this season after being invited to training camp on a tryout offer.

Ray Emery has been nominated for the Bill Masterton Trophy -- which honors perseverance and dedication -- before.

It was just last season that he was recognized by the Anaheim chapter of Professional Hockey Writers Association for overcoming hip surgery to help lead the Ducks to the postseason.

The 29-year-old goalie has nominated by the Chicago chapter for that and going through his first tryout in years to make the Hawks and eventually playing an important and unexpected role in their success this season.

DALLAS -- The Blackhawks' plan was to have Corey Crawford, who was coming off a strong performance against the St. Louis Blues, start against the Stars in Dallas on Friday.

But if Ray Emery was still sick, who would back him up?

NEW YORK -- The Blackhawks were down at one end of the rink Wednesday at Chelsea Piers in New York, running drills in close on Ray Emery and badgering him with shots.

At the other end, Corey Crawford worked alone with goalie coach Stephane Waite.

Coach Joel Quenneville will stick with Ray Emery in goal for Sunday's game against the San Jose Sharks at the United Center.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Defenseman Duncan Keith will miss his second consecutive game with a hand injury against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday. The hope is that he can play against the rival Vancouver Canucks at the United Center on Sunday.

By Ben Meyer-Abbott bmeyer-abbott@suntimes.com
Twitter: @BMACST

Blackhawks backup goalie Ray Emery will get the start Thursday night at the United Center against the Winnipeg Jets.

Veteran goalie Ray Emery has won the Blackhawks' backup job behind Corey Crawford. The Hawks signed Emery to a one-year deal worth a reported $600,000, while assigning rookie Alexander Salak to the Rockford IceHogs.

With the competition for the backup goalie spot nearing an end, rookie Alexander Salak said he's happy with how he's performed this preseason, which is good because it looks like he's only going to be facing teammates for the time being.