Crawford again showing his worth to Chicago Blackhawks

Thank God for Corey Crawford.

That's pretty much how the Chicago Blackhawks felt after watching the veteran goaltender turn away 35 shots - some of which almost defied gravity to stay out of the net - in a 3-0 victory over Philadelphia on Wednesday.

"I always knew he was a good goalie," said veteran defenseman Cody Franson, playing in just his fourth game this season. "But until you actually play in front of him, you don't realize how good he is."

Hawks fans have been lucky enough to witness Crawford's brilliance through two - and almost three - impressive Stanley Cup runs.

Now in his eighth full season as a starter, Crawford not only shows no signs of slowing down, but he's actually improving with age.

"He's one of those guys that people don't necessarily talk about when they talk about (Carey) Price and (Jonathan) Quick," Franson said of the Canadiens' and Kings' goaltenders. "But I think he's up there with those guys. …

"He makes big saves at big times; he handles the puck as well as any of them. He's very sound positionally, and he's a great teammate. He's a character guy."

Crawford's numbers this season (.941 save percentage, 1.91 goals-against average) paint a rather gorgeous picture. But the Picasso isn't complete unless you've seen him in action.

As we know, not every save is created equal, and there were plenty of doozies Wednesday.

The most impressive came when Crawford somehow got his left leg in the way of a Valtteri Filppula wraparound attempt in the first period. The puck somersaulted over Crawford's body and landed in the crease. Fortunately for the Hawks, Franson was there instead of a Flyer, and he swept the puck out of harm's way.

These Grade-A chances, though, continue to happen far too often.

Why? Mostly it boils down to players losing track of their responsibilities or getting beat down ice.

In addition to Filppula's golden opportunity, the Flyers also enjoyed a 3-on-1 break when two Hawks were slow to react, a breakaway when Michal Kempny failed to keep up with his man, and a middle-of-the-zone shot when Nick Schmaltz didn't cover a late man entering the offensive zone.

And those were just the first-period meltdowns.

None of this was lost on coach Joel Quenneville afterward.

"We can still be better defending the rush," he said. "That was the area of concern. …

"I still think we can defend better, which can enhance our offense."

That certainly would be a nice change for Crawford. If almost any other goalie was in net Wednesday, the Hawks easily could have been trailing 2-0, 3-0 or 4-0 by the time Artem Anisimov snapped an 0-for-18 power-play drought midway through the second period to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

"He was good," said Flyers coach Dave Hakstol of Crawford. "There's nights where you have good opportunities and you're letting the goaltender see the puck and you make it an easy night. I didn't think that was the case tonight. …

"Third period, we had seven or eight really good scoring chances. We didn't have anything to show for it, and you've got to give him credit for that."