Crawford back on top of his game
Every goaltender in the NHL is going suffer through a rough patch or two during the regular season.
The key - obviously - is not to have them happen during the Stanley Cup playoffs, which are just two weeks away. Hawks fans who may have been fretting over Corey Crawford allowing a combined 10 goals to Vancouver, Dallas and Florida last week can apparently breathe a big sigh of relief as the Hawks' netminder appears to be back in the groove.
"I feel pretty good. I'm battling out there," said Crawford, who made a combined 63 saves in back-to-back victories over Pittsburgh and Columbus. "I think, too, it's just a team effort. In the playoffs you have to have everyone playing hard, everyone playing together knowing what the other guys are doing.
"The last two games (have) been exactly that."
Allowing just 1 goal to both the Penguins and Blue Jackets is quite a feat considering both teams have over 100 points and are playing in the NHL's toughest division. Crawford was certainly helped by better overall team play, but he also looked sharp and held some of the top goal-scorers in the league in check.
Crawford has reached 30 victories in all six of his seasons as a starter (taking out the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign), and with 32 this season, he may approach his career best mark of 35.
Crawford said it's important for him to feel confident about his play heading into the postseason.
"Yeah, I have to be sharp and be able to follow the play, get to the play early and be aggressive when I can be," he said. "It's always good to get out there and take space away. Right now I feel good. Team is looking well and we just have to keep pushing.
Conference clinched:
Minnesota's loss to Nashville on Saturday allowed the Blackhawks to clinch the Central Division and the top seed in the Western Conference for the Stanley Cup playoffs. It is the Hawks' first division title since 2012-13.
Joel Quenneville on Friday pointed to victories over Minnesota on Feb. 8 and 21 as the catalyst to the team's late-season surge.
"(We) could have distanced ourselves the other way where we would have been fighting a different fight," Quenneville said after the Hawks' 3-1 win over Columbus. "Certainly liked the response we've had in those big games and (with) those big tests. ...
"Now, the last three games we liked the way we've played, which is most important right now where we're at."
Bonus watch:
Just like last season, the Artemi Panarin Bonus Watch will go down to the wire. Panarin, who will earn an extra $1.725 million if he finishes in the top 10 in goals, assists or points among forwards, was 10th in points (71) before Saturday's action. He is only 1 point out of eighth place, but Dallas' Tyler Seguin (70), Winnipeg's Blake Wheeler (69) and St. Louis' Vladimir Tarasenko (69) are all right on his tail.
Panarin scored 2 goals against Columbus on Friday, the second coming into an empty net after a feed from Patrick Kane.
"Just trying to make the right plays out there," Kane said. "I'm not even sure where he stands. I'm sure it will be a topic of conversation coming down here the last couple games."
Panarin cashed in on the bonus last season thanks to a 13-point finish in the last five games.
Slap shots:
Patrick Kane was named the NHL's third star for the month of March on Saturday. He had 10 goals and 12 assists in 16 games. Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov (12G, 10A in 14 games) was the No. 1 star, while Columbus' Sergei Bobrovsky (9-1-1, 1.09 GAA, .967 save percentage) was the No. 2 star. … With 3 assists Friday, Kane now has 750 points in his career. … The Hawks reached 50 wins for the second time in franchise history. They won 52 games in 2009-10.