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44 shots, 42 saves, a 4-2 road win.
Corey Crawford needed that. The Blackhawks needed that.
Crawford was outstanding, especially in the third period of the Hawks’ win over the Wild at Xcel Energy Center last night in St. Paul.
Crawford, like a few other past and present Blackhawks, is a polarizing figure in Hawk Nation. He has his loyalists and doubters and extremes of each. But while I have not been his biggest fan, I will submit that Crawford does have a very good habit of stepping it up when he has to—the mark of a really good NHL goalie.
As for the rest of the club—a very solid outing last night for Bryan Bickell who elevated his game to go with his promotion to the second line. 2 goals, one an empty netter, the other a dandy top shelf blast that showcased one of Bickell’s best assets: his shot.
Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists, pushing his point total to 45 at the halfway point of the season. Brad Richards had 3 assists. Niklas Hjalmarsson was +3 in nearly 25 minutes TOI.
It was a good win to get, especially with Crawford withstanding a blistering Wild attack for much of the night. And it sets the Hawks up pretty nicely for tonight’s game in Edmonton.
Good news for the Hawks: Edmonton, with a high of 9F today, will be warmer than Chicago.
Chicago Blackhawks at Edmonton Oilers 8:30 Central/7:30 Mountain CSN-Chicago, SportsNet West
LAST TEN GAMES:
Chicago 6-3-1 Edmonton 2-4-4
POWER PLAY:
Chicago, 15th, 19.0% Edmonton, 29th, 13.1%
PENALTY KILL:
Chicago, 1st, 89.7% Edmonton, 25th, 77.9%
No word on who’s in net tonight for Chicago, Crawford or Antti Raanta. It would seem to be a good spot for Crawford to rest, but sometimes, especially with Crawford it seems, head coach Joel Quenneville likes to have him keep working into form. Ben Scrivens is the likely starter for the Oil, but that’s unconfirmed at this time.
I’ll have a recap tomorrow,
JJ