One of the most endearing things about Corey Crawford, something that has made him one of the city’s most popular athletes over the last decade, is that he says what he thinks.
He doesn’t guard his words. He doesn’t sugarcoat. So while his Blackhawks teammates tried to stay on the bright side Monday after delaying elimination from the playoff race for another day despite losing to the Jets in overtime, Crow let it fly with no filter.
“It’s been a long time since I faced that, where you’re playing without a reason,” he said of the inevitable. “I don’t know. We’ll see. It’s still fun to play the game. We’re pretty lucky to have the building full. We could be in Florida or something with 7,000 fans in the crowd.
“So we’re pretty lucky to be here and still have a full building to come see us play hockey. At least we have them to play for, to try and put on some kind of show and play hard for the people that come out and pay to come see us play.”
That’s likely to be all that’s left other than personal pride when the Hawks hit the ice for a home game against the Blues on Wednesday. They would be knocked out of the playoff race if the Avalanche pick up at least one point in their game against the Oilers late Tuesday.
It’s a harsh ending for the Hawks after they were on course for a playoff spot in late February. They overcame a 9-18-5 start to rise to eighth in the Western Conference, but have gone 8-7-3 since then and fallen behind the Avalanche, Coyotes and Wild.
“We’ve let a lot of points go,” Crawford said.
Very little of that is his fault. He’s a big reason they stayed afloat as long as they did, and his resurgence after missing more than two months with a concussion — coming off a 2017-18 season also derailed by a concussion — earned him a nomination for the Masterton Trophy for perseverance from the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Crawford rode out some tough games at the beginning of his latest comeback, then played like an All-Star. In his last 12 games, he had a .931 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average.
Two weeks ago, he held the Canucks and Flyers to two goals in regulation and lost both games. With the playoff race on the line last week, he held the Coyotes to one goal in a loss and gave up two in regulation against the Kings before losing in overtime. He deserved better.
The advanced statistics on how Crawford has played during this stretch are equally impressive. He is third in the NHL with a .894 save percentage on high-danger shots in five-on-five situations and in goals saved above average at 6.97, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“It’s tough to go through what he’s been through the last couple years,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “You can’t help but wonder what your future is when you don’t know and it doesn’t seem like you’re getting better and it takes a long time.
“Happy for him to not only get healthy and back playing, but playing as well as he has. He’s been so good for us here.”
Colliton owes Crawford a break once the Hawks are eliminated, so there’s a good chance Cam Ward will get one or two starts in the final three games.
There was a point when Crawford’s contract at $6 million per year was thought of by some as a hindrance to the Hawks, but there’s optimism after how he’s played since returning.
The team is fortunate to have him signed for next season with Ward likely moving on, perhaps to retirement, and rookie Collin Delia still an unknown. If he stays healthy, Crawford is a good bet for next season — and possibly beyond.
