Corey Crawford heroically carries Blackhawks to Game 4 win, staving off elimination
Corey Crawford #CoreyCrawford
In every category other than goals, Game 4 of the Blackhawks-Golden Knights series on Sunday was one of the most lopsided games imaginable.
But Corey Crawford defended his net like his life depended on it, almost singlehandedly willing the Blackhawks to a 3-1 win that fended off elimination.
Crawford made an absurd 46 saves in the game, his most ever in a regulation playoff game, and figuratively stood on his head from the opening puck drop to the final horn.
The Knights out-attempted the Hawks 94-45, out-shot the Hawks 47-25 and out-chanced the Hawks 41-14 in the game — all numbers one would normally only see in a video game, and on beginner difficulty at that.
The Knights’ 34 shot attempts in the first period marked the most the Hawks have conceded since November 10, and the onslaught of attacks continued just as fervently over the latter two frames.
The Hawks, however, rode goals from two of their unlikely playoff stars to an early lead that Crawford, miraculously, helped them never relinquish.
Olli Maatta, who now sports six points in eight postseason games after tallying just 17 points in 65 regular season games, found Drake Caggiula with a no-look centering pass to open the scoring.
Matthew Highmore scored his third playoff goal, banking the puck from an impossible angle off Vegas goalie Robin Lehner’s head, to briefly double the lead.
Vegas’ Shea Theodore scored shortly after Highmore’s goal to dent Crawford for the only time all night. Alex DeBrincat added a late empty-netter for his first career playoff goal.
The Hawks will look to continue their improbable series comeback in Game 5 on Tuesday, with the time yet to be announced.
This story will be updated.