Corey Crawford came up big for the Blackhawks at United Center, making 25 saves for his NHL-leading seventh shutout in the Blackhawks' 2-0 win against the St. Louis Blues. Crawford made 12 saves in the first period to keep the Blackhawks in a game the Blues controlled early. Chicago took a 1-0 lead when rookie left wing Artemi Panarin scored at 15:26 of the second. Andrew Shaw scored the second goal on a power play at 4:56 of the third.
After being outshot 12-6 in the first period, the Blackhawks turned things around in the second, outshooting the Blues 11-6 and opening the scoring on Panarin's goal. Chicago is 30-4-2 when scoring the first goal. Patrick Kane assisted on Panarin's goal for his League-leading 73rd point.
Goalie Brian Elliott made 23 saves in his eighth straight start for the Blues, who go into the All-Star break with two straight losses. The Blues and Blackhawks each have played 52 games, the most in the NHL. Chicago won't begin its All-Star break until after a game at the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
The Blackhawks' main concern Sunday was getting back on track after back-to-back losses. Instead, the Blues had the better start; they controlled the puck for most of the first period and forced Crawford to be sharp to keep the game scoreless.
Crawford twice denied Scottie Upshall on quality scoring chances, stopped a stuff attempt at the right post by Vladimir Tarasenko, and made saves on three long shots through traffic by Joel Edmundson, Colton Parayko and Carl Gunnarsson in the first. Chicago put more pressure on Elliott in the second and got the goal from Panarin late in the period. Kane carried the puck up the right wing and sent a backhand feed through the slot to the left faceoff circle. Panarin didn't get all of it on his one-timer, but it still eluded Elliott to increase his leads among NHL rookies in goals (17) and points (46).
The score remained 1-0 until Shaw scored his power-play goal early in the third. Playing with 18 stitches in his lower lip and two repaired teeth, the result of a puck to the mouth at the Florida Panthers on Friday, Shaw tipped a one-timer by right wing Marian Hossa into the upper right corner of the net. After the game, Shaw sent a proverbial tip of the cap to Crawford, who is 28-11-2 and has won six straight starts at United Center.
Blues Quotes
Ken Hitchcock: "I thought their team looked tired in the first period, and we didn't take advantage of it. And then I thought we looked tired in the second and third. I thought both teams had their moments. Good first period for us, but I thought after that, we didn't create any scoring chances at all. We didn't have any offensive energy."David Backes: "I think we carried the play. [We] hit a crossbar, hit a mask and had a few other good chances. Things happen like that. The second period, we've got to follow it up with the same sort of intensity and effort. [The] law of averages will work [itself] out, but we take a step back, they take a step forward and they get a goal on a pretty nifty 3-on-2."
Hawks Quotes
Trevor Van Riemsdyk: "Corey bailed us out a couple times in that first period, and we didn't want to have to do that all game long. You kind of want to turn the tide there [in the second]. It's just little things, and everyone knows that, and we just tried to focus on that a little more in the second and third."Corey Crawford: "[The Blues] almost try to play the same way as us. It's tough to try and control the puck the whole game against a team like that. It's going to be a hard-fought game. They had momentum at the start. We started making plays and started getting control of the puck, and I thought we did well throughout the rest of the game."
Andrew Shaw: "He's been our best player for the past few months. It's unbelievable how great he's playing, stopping pucks he can't see and standing on his head day in and day out."
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