Crawford, Blackhawks tame Wild in Game 3 shutout victory
The Chicago Blackhawks skated into the State of Hockey and left the Minnesota Wild in a state of disarray following Tuesday's 1-0 victory in Game 3 of their second-round series.
The win leaves the Wild on the brink of elimination, while the Blackhawks are now within one win of a third-straight Western Conference finals appearance.
Patrick Kane supplied the offense while Corey Crawford made 30 saves to earn his fourth career playoff shutout.
Here's what you need to know about Game 3's action:
Star Performer: Benched earlier in the postseason in favor of Scott Darling, Crawford - who was subject to the home crowd chanting his name all night long - rose to the occasion, reclaiming his spot as Chicago's sweetheart.
Crawford made 30 saves for the third straight game against the Wild, raising his series save percentage to .957 and leaving no doubt that he is the Blackhawks' number one goalie moving forward.
Turning Point: Minnesota outshot Chicago by a margin of 10-to-4 in the third period, and came within inches of notching the game-tying goal.
Until Crawford's blocker got in the way, that is.
(Courtesy: NHL.com)
Attack thwarted, victory preserved.
Top Highlight: The game's lone goal was scored by Kane, and proved more than worthy of being tagged as the highlight of the night.
The goal was Kane's sixth, putting him one behind playoff-leader Tyler Johnson.
Goalie Comparison: Devan Dubnyk did everything he could to help his team attempt to climb back into the series, but the lone goal allowed was enough to come out on the losing end.
Crawford, meanwhile, was perfect on the night and earned his first shutout of this year's playoffs.
| GOALIE | SHOTS | SAVES | GA | Sv% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corey Crawford | 30 | 30 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Devan Dubnyk | 22 | 21 | 1 | .955 |
Stat of the Night: Despite the hiccup in the first round, Crawford brings a Stanley Cup and a Western Conference finals appearance to the table, and is slowly building a very solid postseason resume.
Corey Crawford becomes the first goaltender in #Blackhawks history to record a shutout in 3 straight postseasons.
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) May 6, 2015
Series at a Glance:
Game 1: Blackhawks 4, Wild 3
Game 2: Blackhawks 4, Wild 1
Game 3: Blackhawks 1, Wild 0
Game 4: Thursday May 7, 9:30 pm ET
Game 5*: Saturday May 9 (TBD)
Game 6*: Monday May 11 (TBD)
Game 7*: Wednesday May 13 (TBD)
*if necessary