BOSTON — The Blackhawks escaped TD Garden and returned home for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals Saturday night, two wins from a championship and two losses from crushing disappointment.
Despite surrendering three separate leads in Game 4, the Blackhawks won a wild 6-5 overtime thriller on Wednesday night in Boston to tie the series, 2-2.
The Blackhawks revived their offense after scoring one goal combined in Games 2 and 3, opening Game 4 with purpose and energy, desire and desperation. They attacked the net, scored five goals with Zdeno Chara on the ice and no longer made the Bruins defense look as feared as the 1985 Bears. Even Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane returned to relevance, scoring their first goals of the series.
“We feel we’re in a good position,” Kane said. “It’s a best-of-three series, two of them in our building.”
But all is not well. The Bruins have found a gaping, glaring hole in its opponent — and it’s located in Corey Crawford’s glove.
The Blackhawks goalie was a Conn Smythe contender after allowing no more than one goal in eight of the first 13 games of the playoffs, but the 28-year-old has allowed at least two goals in every game since, and was routinely exploited in Game 4, as all five goals came on his glove side. Of the 12 goals he has allowed in the Finals, 10 have been shot to his glove.
Crawford isn’t clueless. He knows what is happening. But he’s also not going to overreact to it.
“Well, 99 percent of their shots are going glove side,” Crawford said after stopping 28 shots in Game 4. “It’s pretty obvious, but I can’t start thinking about it. That’s when you get in trouble when you start thinking everything is going to go glove. If they end up switching it, then I’m in trouble.”
Yesterday, back in Chicago, coach Joel Quenneville quickly dismissed the notion of benching Crawford for backup Ray Emery.
“No, not at all, no, we’re very comfortable with Corey,” said Quenneville. “Corey has been rock solid all year for us, and when he’s got the ball, he’s been outstanding. He’s the biggest reason why we’re here today.”
Crawford seemed unconcerned with his performance after the game, reiterating multiple times that the win was all that mattered. His teammates saw it no differently.
“I don’t think we’re worried about Crow at all,” Kane said. “[I] just talked to him afterward and he seemed to be in a good state. He just seemed to be happy we won the game, so I don’t worry about his confidence at all.”
At yesterday’s practice in Boston, the Bruins wouldn’t reveal how much emphasis has been put on attacking Crawford’s glove, but center Tyler Seguin validated the goalie’s reservations in assuming that’s where the pucks will be headed on Saturday.
“I think we’re trying to put pucks on net, and that’s where they were going in,” Seguin said. “Maybe the wise thing to do next game is go blocker.”