Blackhawks' Crawford makes spectacular saves in loss

Corey Crawford can really get into an opponent's head.

Just ask the Tampa Bay Lightning, who failed to solve the Blackhawks' netminder in the Stanley Cup Final last June.

Chance after chance, breakaway after breakaway was turned aside and the Blackhawks eventually won the series in six games.

Well, Crawford certainly deflated the Blues in similar fashion Sunday night at the United Center with his 33-save effort. Particularly frustrating for St. Louis were the 5 saves Crawford made in a 24-second span during the second period.

"He put on a clinic there," said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville after his team fell 3-2. "That was fun for the crowd, for everybody."

Well, everybody except the guys shooting the pucks or the Blues players and coaches watching nearby.

Crawford's first highlight-reel save came when he flat-out robbed Jori Lehtera on a one-timer. Crawford read the play, ranged to his left and stuck his glove hand out just in time to snare Lehtera's missile.

Twelve seconds later, Lehtera was at it again, but got stuffed from eight feet out, and again from 16 feet away. The puck then squirted to 40-goal scorer Vladimir Tarasenko, who wheeled to his right and threw back-to-back 15-footers at Crawford.

Denied. And denied again.

"Those saves had a big impact on our emotional level. I thought we were discouraged after that and Chicago had momentum swung their way," said Blues coach Ken Hitchcock. "We were discouraged, a little bit down on the bench because of it. …

"We thought we had it in the net three times. We had a great view from the bench."

Challenge flag?

Joel Quenneville almost didn't get the referees' attention quickly enough to challenge Vladimir Tarasenko's third-period goal in Game 2 that gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead.

The bench was screaming. Quenneville was screaming. And the referee was just a second away from dropping the puck at center ice.

So how about giving the coaches a flag, much like the NFL does, that can be thrown on the ice at the last second?

"I'm sure that's been discussed," Quenneville said. "I'm not sure exactly to what extent. But it's not a bad suggestion."

Would he like to throw a flag?

Said Quenneville: "Whatever I can. I was almost ready to jump on the ice."

Slap shots:

Jonathan Toews (8-for-13) and Andrew Shaw (2-for-2) went a combined 10-for-15 in the faceoff circle in the first period. Four of their teammates combined to go 0-for-12. Artem Anisimov was 0-for-5 and Teuvo Teravainen was 0-for-4. Anisimov finished 5-for-15; Teravainen 3-for-10. Toews went 22-for-36. … The Blackhawks outshot St. Louis 24-13 in the second period. … The Blues were credited with 40 hits, while the Blackhawks had 36. … Andrew Ladd took a game-high 8 shots on goal. … Andrew Desjardins was a healthy scratch for the first time since the 26th game of the regular season.

He said it:

"This feels very much emotionally like a (Stanley Cup) Final. And it's the first round. But it feels very much like a Final. Both teams are just laying it all out there."

- Blues coach Ken Hitchcock