May 6, 2015: The Shutout

It’s beautiful when it happens.  In the playoffs, it’s huge.  The Blackhawks beat the Wild 1-0 last night in Minnesota to take a strangle hold on the series going up three games to none.

Crawford was magnificent.  He’s done this before.  Last night, he was an absolute brick wall.  There are going to be games like this when we’ll be counting on him to carry us, and last night he did.  He made 30 saves some of them 10 bellers.  (I never heard that term to describe a great save until Foley mentioned it on one of the broadcasts earlier this year; then Coach Q said the same thing in his press conference.  I like it.)  He was the Crawford that he’s been most of this year.

Crawford gets a lot of crap.  I think the biggest reason is because of those soft goals he allows.  Well, he’s not the only goalie who lets a few of those slip by.  Now I’m not saying he shouldn’t have been benched against Nashville…  The team needed a swift kick… sooner than later… and that sent the message.  It not only helped the Hawks get more focused, but it helped Crawford get that much better.  It’s about the urgency that they should be playing with.  If the Hawks play with urgency, they are going to be a tough out.

Just like when Crawford was giving up a lot of goals, he wasn’t the only one to blame, the same goes for this shutout.  This was one of the better defensive performances by the Hawks.  The Wild did get some quality chances, but not as many as we’ve previously seen in these playoffs.  The Shutout is truly a team effort.  The Hawks defense stood tall in front of Crow last night with a ton of blocked shots.  This is what’s going to be needed to win.  There will be more games like this.  The Hawks know how to win games like this too.
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Of course, the shutout is awesome, but you need a goal too… at least one.  That’s exactly what they got.  Speaking of soft goals, Dubnyk let Kane go five hole on him with a clear view of the shot.  So much for Dubnyk the “hot goalie” carrying this team…  It was Patrick Kane though… and he’s just not some regular guy.  He’s owned Dubnyk in this series, scoring on him every which way.  He was calling for that puck, and he got it, and he knew what to do with it.  That was the only goal the Hawks needed, although if necessary I’m sure they could have put another one or two in.

But that wasn’t required last night… It wasn’t that type of game.  It was a circle the wagons game on defense and in net.  These games may be more boring for those looking for a lot of goals, but it’s these wins, the tough wins, the 1-0, 2-1 variety, that are the ones you need, especially in the playoffs… especially as the playoffs go on.  The Hawks are familiar with winning all kinds of ways.

And at the end of the day, that’s what it will take.  Win any way you can, but most importantly, just win.  We now have 7 in the bank… almost halfway there.  Almost back to the point where we blew it last year.  Because of that, I think this Hawks team is that much better.  Because of that, I think the Hawks are that much more focused.  Because of that, this Hawks team will be tough to beat.  Go Hawks!