Toews, Blackhawks get past Canucks 4-2

Corey Crawford is never going to doubt Jonathan Toews.

Nor will Joel Quenneville. Nor will any Chicago Blackhawks player. Nor will most fans.

But when a player like Toews - the face of the franchise … heck, one of the faces of the entire NHL - is carrying a $10.5 million cap hit and he's stuck on 7 goals after 48 games, you better believe doubts creep into his head.

"It's easy to start second-guessing everything when you're not scoring," Toews said after the Blackhawks beat Vancouver 4-2 on the United Center, thanks in large part to his 4-point performance.

The Hawks built a 2-0 lead on goals by Richard Panik and Patrick Kane, and looked to be coasting to victory, but Vancouver struck twice in 46 seconds to tie the game at 2-2 with 14:11 remaining.

With the clock ticking toward triple zeros and overtime looking inevitable, Panik zinged a shot that missed its mark but somehow bounced perfectly off the end boards and right to Toews, who was streaking in down the left side.

Load … fire … goal.

Bedlam - with just 1:18 left on the clock.

Fifty-four seconds later, Toews fed Marian Hossa for an empty-netter and the Hawks (30-14-5) walked out with their third straight victory.

"He had a great night," Quenneville said of Toews. "Had the finish, had the production, (the) puck was going forward. He does a lot of things right even when he's not productive on the scoresheet."

Corey Crawford made 25 saves, including one on a Daniel Sedin breakaway and 3 more from close range with Vancouver on two separate power plays in the second period. Crawford is 18-10-3 on the season, and he became the fourth goalie in Hawks history to reach 200 wins, joining Ed Belfour, Tony Esposito and Glenn Hall.

"It's pretty special," Crawford said of the milestone. "To be able to play for a great team like Chicago, we get treated so well here. Great fans. Our building's always full. The city's amazing. It's been great playing here."

Six Hawks have more goals than Toews, including guys like Panik (11) and Ryan Hartman (10). One of the things he's most unhappy with is an inability to play like he wants to every single night. Even against the Canucks, Toews wasn't thrilled with his overall game.

"I don't even feel like I played that great, and then you're on the ice for a handful of goals," Toews said. "That just gives you a good feeling, and it's easy to come to the rink and build off that. There's no doubt when they're not going in, it's a little bit tougher and it's a bit of a mental battle."

Toews is still on pace for just 15 goals, but a night like Sunday may be just what the doctor ordered.

"We all know the level he can get to," Crawford said. "He's maybe not been at that level so far, but we never doubt him in this room. He's one of our best players. He can turn it on, and tonight was great for him."

And - perhaps - great for the Hawks going forward.