Crawford saves another one for Chicago Blackhawks
It wasn't quite Victor Hedman slamming into Ben Bishop in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, but Blackhawks fans had to temporarily lose their minds when Vinnie Hinostroza sent Corey Crawford flopping to the ice in the third period of the Hawks' 2-1 shootout victory over Florida on Tuesday.
The crazy mix-up nearly resulted in a Panthers goal with 13:45 remaining, but Crawford - who was slow to get up after Hinostroza clipped him from behind - miraculously got his glove on a Derek MacKenzie shot that proceeded to dribble off the left post.
Crawford covered the puck, the United Center fans let out a huge sigh of relief, and the Hawks managed to claim their 15th victory.
"I was pretty mad there," said Crawford, who was able to laugh it off in the postgame locker room. "He said he didn't see me."
Crawford finished with 38 saves, and the Hawks held off a Florida team playing its first game with Tom Rowe as interim head coach after the organization fired Gerard Gallant on Sunday.
Richard Panik scored 17:50 into the first period for the Hawks for his first goal since the sixth game of the season, and he also converted with Artemi Panarin in the shootout.
Jaromir Jagr scored Florida's only goal 35 seconds into the third period.
The Hawks nearly lost in overtime, but Crawford managed to deflect an Aaron Ekblad backhander as the clock hit zeros. Crawford also made huge first-period saves on an Aleksander Barkov one-timer and a Keith Yandle slap shot from the point.
"Very grateful that Corey is behind us," Panarin said. "If it wasn't for him, the last couple of games would have turned out differently, that's for sure. We're lucky to have him."
Jonathan Toews missed a third straight game with an upper-body injury, and Artem Anisimov left in the third period after a shot hit him in the ankle. Coach Joel Quenneville said the training staff looked at Anisimov and he believes the center will be OK.
The Hawks (15-6-3) are 9-1-2 at home after their first game at the United Center since returning from a seven-game road trip.
"That was a long trip there, and we were excited to come back home," Crawford said. "They came out pretty strong, but we played pretty solid and smart. We created a lot, where I think (Roberto Luongo) made a bunch of saves. We just found a way to win in this one."
Marcus Kruger and Dennis Rasmussen assisted on Panik's goal, with Rasmussen flipping the puck down ice and getting a nice break when it eluded Jakub Kindl and found its way to a streaking Panik.
Panik executed a perfect forehand-backhand move on Luongo and slid the puck into the net for his seventh goal of the season. Panik filled up the scoresheet with 5 shots on goal, 4 hits and 2 blocked shots.
"Obviously the goal helps you build up your confidence, so I feel better after that," he said.
The Hawks are back in action Thursday when they host New Jersey, then they will be at Philadelphia for a noon start Saturday.