Blackhawks' Crawford riding hot streak
Quietly, Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford has put together quite a stretch recently.
Courtesy of 3 straight victories, including his 10th career shutout Wednesday against St. Louis - Crawford is seventh in the league with a 2.21 goals-against average and seventh in wins with 28 despite missing a stretch of 10 straight games with an injury.
"This is definitely his best stretch all year," coach Joel Quenneville said of Crawford, who has won four of his last five starts. "He started out OK, but now, game in and game out, Corey is getting the job done for us.
"We like that stability and predictably that we're getting from our goaltending."
Walking the line:
Before Friday's victory over Carolina, Andrew Shaw found himself getting a little too familiar with the penalty box.
"I think I had four straight games (picking up a penalty), so I kind of have to step back and focus on staying on the right side of that line," said Shaw, who successfully navigated away from the box Friday.
As long as the method Shaw employs to rectify the situation doesn't take away his aggressiveness, that's just fine with coach Joel Quenneville.
"I think there's a fine line that you've always got to march … I think you've got to be aware of the way the game's being called," Quenneville said. "But I don't want to take that away from him because he is a different player, and that energy that he brings is healthy for our team."
Derby or bust?
Joel Quenneville will be going for a twofer Sunday night.
In addition to trying pick up a win in the Hawks' rematch with Nashville, Quenneville is hoping his star 2-year-old thoroughbred, Midnight Hawk, will punch a ticket to the Kentucky Derby with a win in the $800,000 Sunland Derby in New Mexico.
Though Midnight Hawk already has enough points to qualify for the Derby, Quenneville hinted that it probably would take a win at Sunland to guarantee a trip to Louisville. Post time for the Sunland Derby is 6:40 p.m. Chicago time.