Corey Crawford stepped into the breach when the Blackhawks needed him to become the team's No. 1 goalie in 2010-11.
He led the Blackhawks to one of the best regular seasons in NHL history last year. He played every game for them in their Stanley Cup championship playoff run. He gave up five goals in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, a game in which his weakness on shots to his glove-hand side was exposed.
It was a weakness that would have ruined most goalies. Crawford should have been a nervous wreck for Games 5 and 6. Instead, he limited the Boston Bruins to three goals in two games, and the Blackhawks ended up skating around TD Garden with the Stanley Cup.
Could any other goalie have done that? He was exposed on the game's biggest stage—no offense intended, Olympians—and it bothered him not one iota. He simply responded the next two games when the money was on the table.
"Looking back, I think it was kind of amazing how much pressure was put on him from the outside, whether he felt the pressure or not," Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith told NHL.com. "There was obviously lots of talk and a lo ...
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Article written by Steve Silverman
Does Corey Crawford Get the Respect He Deserves?
February 18th, 2014 by Steve Silverman Leave a reply »
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