Chicago Blackhawks: Corey Crawford played well in win

The Chicago Blackhawks got a preseason win at home against the Detroit Red Wings, and their star goalie looked healthy and confident in his debut.

The Chicago Blackhawks got their first preseason victory of the season last night against the Detroit Red Wings at the United Center. It was the preseason debut for a bunch of notable Blackhawks like Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook, and Corey Crawford. It was good to see everybody back, especially Crawford, who played really well in his first game back.

The 34-year-old netminder made 23 saves on 24 shots. He played the entire game and that isn’t normal necessarily for the preseason, but it was good to see Crawford get his reps in and play well. The only goal he gave up was a power-play goal, as he made 21 saves on 21 shots at even strength shots. He made two saves on the power play on three shots to surrender the one Detroit goal.

Crawford has dealt with some injury issues over the last few seasons so they made added a bit of insurance over the summer. They signed Robin Lehner to a one year deal, in the same summer that he was a Vezina Trophy finalist which goes to the league’s top goalie. Lehner played in the best defensive system in the NHL with the New York Islanders last year, so some wonder if that is what cause his numbers to be so good. The fact of the matter is that Crawford is still the team’s number one goalie until further notice, and he showed why in this game.

Duncan Keith and Brandon Hagel scored the two goals for Chicago in this game. Kane looked like he was in midseason form when he was dangling through the neutral zone for an offensive zone entry and got the puck to Keith who blasted it home. He showed once again that he is poised for a strong season and should be right in line for another 100 points or so. Alexander Nylander also looked good for a second straight game, as he got the puck to Kane in the neutral zone in a nifty play that led to the Blackhawks taking the lead for good.

If Crawford and company can continue the level of play they showed in this game, and continue to build with these new young players like Nylander, they should be able to have a bounceback year in 2019-20. The Blackhawks are back in action with another home ice preseason game against the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.