Crawford stays hot, Blackhawks beat Wild 3-1
Corey Crawford has put some remarkable stretches together during his eight-plus years as the Blackhawks' starting goaltender.
But what he's done over the last three games - turning away 98 out of 100 shots and allowing the offensively-challenged Hawks to earn 5 out of 6 points - might top them all.
"He's been everything I expected," said coach Jeremy Colliton after Crawford made 39 saves in the Hawks' 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild at the United Center on Sunday.
Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad staked the Hawks to a 2-0 lead with first-period goals.
Zach Parise made it 2-1 on a power-play goal at 7:56 of the second period, and although Minnesota had some decent looks after that, Crawford stood tall and posted his fifth victory of the season.
"We're feeding off each other, communicating out there," Crawford said. "Especially our 'D' zone guys know what's going on and it shows."
Dominik Kahun scored the Hawks' other goal into an empty net with 58.5 seconds remaining.
Minnesota has lost two straight and fell to 12-7-2.
It was just more than a week ago that the Hawks (8-8-5) trudged out of Carolina with their eighth consecutive defeat after blowing a 2-0 lead. They were 6-8-4 at that point - 0-2-1 under Colliton - and seemed destined to unceremoniously fall into the Central Division's basement.
But they've stuck with it, believed in what Colliton has been preaching and have managed to right the ship. Of course, it helps when you get three incredible performances by your goaltender.
"It's no secret that he's great," Colliton said. "He makes those saves that can keep you in a game. If things are going against you, he just holds the fort. We got some old guys, but we got some young guys too, and they need that.
"They need that security blanket."
They especially needed it when Wild coach Bruce Boudreau pulled his goalie late in the game. In the span of just 27 seconds, Crawford stopped a pair of Jared Spurgeon shots and two more from Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu.
In some ways, this felt like a must-win for the Hawks. After all, it came over a second-place divisional opponent and kicked off a brutal part of the schedule that continues with a three-game trip to Washington, Tampa Bay and Florida.
"The schedule is not as much an issue as far as how we're playing," Colliton said. "And, OK, we're playing better. It's nice to see us get rewarded with some points. That just helps us keep momentum going (and) keep the belief going that, hey, we're on the right track.
"The coaching staff's job will be harder to keep these guys in the right frame of mind if the points weren't coming. I would still say to them, 'Hey, progress is there. We're getting better.'
"But it's easier to make that case when points come with it."