Over the course of this season, the Blackhawks have made many goalie changes. It started off as Corey Crawford but then a few bad games came his way and so they switched to Ray Emery then back to Corey and so on and so forth. But now with the post-season around the corner, who is the guy that will take the job? It is assumed that Crawford will be that guy, however after everything he’s endured this year, is he a consistent enough player for the job especially in a one and done scenario?
Chicago’s game against New Jersey was one of those games that Corey needed in order to regain some confidence after being pulled from the net against Nashville at the United Center in a 6-1 loss. Granted Crow made some great saves against the Devils and it was up to his team to make sure that they could pull off the win but once the game became a shootout, it was up to him to win the game. Now it’s usually two losses in that analysts start to think about Emery because he has been far more consistent in his play-making abilities, unfortunately it doesn’t seem as if this time around it will be the same because if Corey is going to be the goalie in the post-season, he has to take the losses, shake them off and start fresh the next game. Yet, the question remains, can he do it?
Yes, when Corey is on he a fantastic goalie but when he doesn’t have his head in the game, it is difficult to watch and it is those games that worry the fans because it takes one bad game from our goaltender to punch our ticket home to watch the playoffs from our couches. The western conference is going to be a difficult group to beat with Detroit, Nashville, Vancouver and St. Louis all playing at the top of their game not to mention the possibility that Jonathan Toews could miss the post-season if he is not relieved of his concussion symptoms soon. Without our Captain, the Hawks have done a great job during the regular season but without his leadership in the playoffs, it could be a tough pill to swallow.
The game against New Jersey needed to be a confidence booster for Corey and since they lost, it wasn’t. You could see the emotion he had when he saved shots during the shootout but you could also see the disappointment when he let those two pucks in. Whether or not he will be able to shake it off will only be determined when they play St. Louis at the Madhouse tonight. The Blues do not give up many goals and will not ease up offensively adding a lot of pressure for Crawford to be perfect or dangerously close to it. Playing at the United Center is an adrenaline rush for the Hawks though. The amount of energy that the fans feed them is comparable to if not greater than any other elite team in the league right now and the team loves it. The Blackhawks and Corey Crawford especially will need all of the help they can get tonight because without Toews and Keith, two large pieces to the Blackhawks puzzle, they will be vulnerable to big hits and multiple shots on goal.
As hard as tonight’s game will be, I’m confident that we can beat St. Louis if we stay physical, keep the puck out of our zone and protect Corey. It will be up to Crawford to make some big saves tonight because of how hard it will be for his offense to score but that doesn’t mean that the pressure only lies on his shoulders. Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Andrew Shaw, all of Chicago’s top scorers have to play well and shoot the puck. Tonight is not a night for them to be fancy and show off the skills they have. Tonight is a night to ground and pound; the only way for the Hawks to score is for them to keep shooting the puck especially on second and third attempts. Everyone will need to bring their best game not just Corey Crawford but it will be his game that determines whether or not the Hawks come away with 2 points.
If Crawford doesn’t win tonight it will be his third straight loss and will definitely be cause for concern not just among the fans but the coaches as well. In the playoffs, Chicago can’t afford to lose three in a row, no team can however; in the playoffs there should only be one goalie. Joe Quenneville has made it a point to say that whatever goalie he had in net that night was his goalie “for now” but it can’t be like that in the post-season. IF he picks Crawford, it has to be Crawford the whole way but I can sense that even Quenneville is unsure about whether or not Crow has had a good enough season to take on the post-season challenge where the room for error is significantly smaller than in the regular season. Last year, Crawford was more consistent and earned his spot in the net during the playoffs but this year we saw a different side to number 50and a worrisome one at that. I don’t doubt that Crawford could be a successful goalie in this league but in order for him to be successful he needs to be more reliable as a player and more mentally durable.
Chicago’s game against New Jersey was one of those games that Corey needed in order to regain some confidence after being pulled from the net against Nashville at the United Center in a 6-1 loss. Granted Crow made some great saves against the Devils and it was up to his team to make sure that they could pull off the win but once the game became a shootout, it was up to him to win the game. Now it’s usually two losses in that analysts start to think about Emery because he has been far more consistent in his play-making abilities, unfortunately it doesn’t seem as if this time around it will be the same because if Corey is going to be the goalie in the post-season, he has to take the losses, shake them off and start fresh the next game. Yet, the question remains, can he do it?
Yes, when Corey is on he a fantastic goalie but when he doesn’t have his head in the game, it is difficult to watch and it is those games that worry the fans because it takes one bad game from our goaltender to punch our ticket home to watch the playoffs from our couches. The western conference is going to be a difficult group to beat with Detroit, Nashville, Vancouver and St. Louis all playing at the top of their game not to mention the possibility that Jonathan Toews could miss the post-season if he is not relieved of his concussion symptoms soon. Without our Captain, the Hawks have done a great job during the regular season but without his leadership in the playoffs, it could be a tough pill to swallow.
The game against New Jersey needed to be a confidence booster for Corey and since they lost, it wasn’t. You could see the emotion he had when he saved shots during the shootout but you could also see the disappointment when he let those two pucks in. Whether or not he will be able to shake it off will only be determined when they play St. Louis at the Madhouse tonight. The Blues do not give up many goals and will not ease up offensively adding a lot of pressure for Crawford to be perfect or dangerously close to it. Playing at the United Center is an adrenaline rush for the Hawks though. The amount of energy that the fans feed them is comparable to if not greater than any other elite team in the league right now and the team loves it. The Blackhawks and Corey Crawford especially will need all of the help they can get tonight because without Toews and Keith, two large pieces to the Blackhawks puzzle, they will be vulnerable to big hits and multiple shots on goal.
As hard as tonight’s game will be, I’m confident that we can beat St. Louis if we stay physical, keep the puck out of our zone and protect Corey. It will be up to Crawford to make some big saves tonight because of how hard it will be for his offense to score but that doesn’t mean that the pressure only lies on his shoulders. Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Andrew Shaw, all of Chicago’s top scorers have to play well and shoot the puck. Tonight is not a night for them to be fancy and show off the skills they have. Tonight is a night to ground and pound; the only way for the Hawks to score is for them to keep shooting the puck especially on second and third attempts. Everyone will need to bring their best game not just Corey Crawford but it will be his game that determines whether or not the Hawks come away with 2 points.
If Crawford doesn’t win tonight it will be his third straight loss and will definitely be cause for concern not just among the fans but the coaches as well. In the playoffs, Chicago can’t afford to lose three in a row, no team can however; in the playoffs there should only be one goalie. Joe Quenneville has made it a point to say that whatever goalie he had in net that night was his goalie “for now” but it can’t be like that in the post-season. IF he picks Crawford, it has to be Crawford the whole way but I can sense that even Quenneville is unsure about whether or not Crow has had a good enough season to take on the post-season challenge where the room for error is significantly smaller than in the regular season. Last year, Crawford was more consistent and earned his spot in the net during the playoffs but this year we saw a different side to number 50and a worrisome one at that. I don’t doubt that Crawford could be a successful goalie in this league but in order for him to be successful he needs to be more reliable as a player and more mentally durable.
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