Quick Hits from Blackhawks-Islanders: Corey Crawford shines in win

The injury and illness bug has hit the Blackhawks in a big way, as they missed four guys in Friday’s game against the New York Islanders.

Sure, the effects of that were evident, as will be discussed below. But with good goaltending keeping the Blackhawks within striking distance, the finally did strike late. Another victory, and the Blackhawks could get two players (Artem Anisimov and Nick Schmaltz) back on Saturday. We’ll see for sure when we get to Nashville.

Now, onto the notables.

What Worked: The third-period pressure. The Blackhawks had just 13 shots through the first two periods on Friday. Credit a good deal of that to the Islanders bottling things up inside, but the Blackhawks had to push harder to create traffic, chances inside. In the third period they did, and Artemi Panarin’s shot, with traffic in front, got through to tie the game and force overtime.

What Didn’t Work: The Blackhawks’ line chemistry. It’s not a complete surprise, given the changes the Blackhawks had to make in the wake of illness (Schmaltz) and injury (Anisimov). The rhythm the Blackhawks had gotten into the past several weeks just wasn’t the same. Neither was the timing. The lines weren’t bad but the unavoidable changes definitely had their effect.

Star of the game: Corey Crawford. The Blackhawks’ No. 1 goaltender hadn’t started since Feb. 23. Coach Joel Quenneville had Scott Darling start on Wednesday to give Crawford, who had been ill, another day or two to rest and recuperate. It worked, as Crawford stopped 31 of 32 shots in regulation and in overtime to keep the Blackhawks in this one. Crawford said he felt better as the game progressed. Now with Darling out for three weeks, the Blackhawks will need Crawford at his best.

He Said It: “It’s always good for him to get back on the scoresheet. When pucks are going in for him, it’s the same for everybody, it lifts your confidence. That was a big goal for us and a timely goal for him. We’re sure we’ll see him feed off that and hopefully more come down the road.” — Jonathan Toews on Panarin, who scored for the first time since Feb. 10.