Crawford holds down fort as Hawks get win

This is the kind of start the Blackhawks had in mind.

Led by Corey Crawford's 31 saves, the Hawks made it a sweep of their two-game road trip Thursday with a 3-1 win over the Avalanche at the Pepsi Center.

The Hawks improved to 4-1-1 — while Crawford is 3-1-1 in his 5 starts.

Patrick Sharp's goal with 13:40 to play snapped a 1-1 tie, while Marian Hossa added a goal short-handed with 1:10 left.

Hossa scored into an empty net after Colorado pulled goalie Semyon Varlamov for a 6-on-4 power play with Brent Seabrook serving a late tripping penalty.

The goaltending was great on both sides, with Varlamov making 3 sensational saves on Seabrook, Michael Frolik and Marcus Kruger on shots that seemed certain to be goals.

The Hawks led 1-0 after the first period despite getting outshot 13-6.

Crawford was the story until Jonathan Toews put the Hawks ahead with his third goal of the season.

“We weathered the storm with him holding the fort early in the game when we were sloppy,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “He was strong all game long.”

Toews roofed a backhander over Varlamov at 16:02 on a feed from behind the net by Daniel Carcillo, whose strong shift leaked over into the Toews' line coming onto the ice.

Crawford was big again in the second period as the Avs took over the momentum early.

But Crawford had no chance on Ryan O'Byrne's tying goal at 15:17 — a Matt Duchene shot that was deflected twice, the second time off the body of O'Byrne in front.

The Hawks did have a great chance to go back ahead late in the second period, but Varlamov stopped a pinching Seabrook alone in front off a feed from Toews behind the net.

Sharp's go-ahead goal in the third period came after defenseman Duncan Keith broke up a 3-on-2 at the Hawks' blue line. It was a 2-goal night for the line of Toews, Sharp and Andrew Brunette.

“That whole line, it was nice to see them get some production and something to show for it,” Quenneville said.

Keith played his second huge game in a row and was plus-5 with 3 assists on the two-game trip that included Tuesday's win in Arizona.

“It's a combination of things,” Keith said of his own play. “The team is playing great and Crawford is playing great. I'm starting to feel a lot more comfortable with Leds (partner Nick Leddy).”

The Hawks killed both power plays by Colorado, which came into the game ranked first in the NHL thanks to 7 goals in its last 12 opportunities.

The Hawks have killed 16 of their last 17 minor penalties.

The Hawks took a penalty for having too many men on the ice just 2:07 into the game but killed it with Crawford standing tall.