Corey Crawford Is Singlehandedly Keeping the Blackhawks Afloat

Think of the Blackhawks as a ship and the NHL is the ocean. This ship is rickety, old and worn out. It has surely seen better days. There are still some parts that function and provide value, but this ship needs major remodeling and repairs as soon as possible. There are tons of holes forming and water is rushing in on all sides. When Coach Q walked the plank, it seemed like the end was near. That was until Corey Crawford returned to his usual elite form and saved the day. He patched the Blackhawks' ship enough to prevent it from sinking into the abyss -- for now.

Corey Crawford has been nearly unstoppable, helping the #Blackhawks turn things around after an eight-game losing streak.

He was rewarded by being named the @NHL's second ⭐️ of the week. Catch the whole story here: https://t.co/ksmRxVUXFI pic.twitter.com/x7vZp2SASz — Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) November 20, 2018

Corey Crawford Has Gone From Scapegoat to Savior

In a recent article, I touched on the idea that whether or not the Blackhawks sink or swim this season depends on Corey Crawford. With a new head coach, a shoddy defense, and a lot of inexperience on the roster, Crawford has stepped up in a big way and embraced a messiah role. He has been performing like a Vezina Trophy candidate lately and won some weekly awards from the NHL this season.

#NHL Three Stars of the Week: ⭐ Cam Atkinson (CBJ) : 5-3—8 in 3 GP ⭐⭐ Corey Crawford (CHI): 2-0-1 record with a 0.65 GAA, .980 Sv% and 1 shutout ⭐⭐⭐ Joe Pavelski (SJS): 5-1—6 in 3 GP#Blackhawks⁠ pic.twitter.com/PKMKJjySds

— ✶ ✶Tony Gianares✶ ✶ (@Certified_TonyG) November 19, 2018

When you look at last season, you can clearly see just how valuable Corey Crawford is to the Chicago Blackhawks. This season is no different. The rest of the league and the fans are beginning to acknowledge it. I haven't been seeing as much Crawford hate lately, so I think everyone is finally putting some RESPECK on his name.

Corey Crawford Is Putting the Team On His Back

There have been games where the Blackhawks had no business being in them, and Crawford ends up stealing a win. More often than not, he has to play like a man possessed because he is constantly being exposed by terrible defensive play. This is an extremely tall order, even for a player of Corey Crawford's caliber. Keep in mind that he also didn't step foot on the ice for about 10 months leading up to this season. You would never know by looking at his body of work during the 2018-19 season. Let's take a look at his career numbers and this season's numbers as well.

                     Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal  Goal  Goal Goal Goal Goal  Goal Goal  Goal Goal Goal                                Goal
Season        Tm  Lg   GP   GS    W    L  T/O   GA    SA    SV  SV%  GAA   SO   MIN   QS   QS%  RBS GA%-   GSAA  GPS                  Awards
2005-06      CHI NHL         2    0    0    1    5    41    36 .878 3.47    0                                86                          0.1
2007-08      CHI NHL    5    3    1    2    0    8   112   104 .929 2.14    1   224    2  .667                0                          0.9
2009-10      CHI NHL    1    1    0    1    0    3    35    32 .914 3.04    0    59    1 1.000                0                          0.2
2010-11      CHI NHL   57   55   33   18    6  128  1545  1417 .917 2.30    4  3337   34  .618    6   95   6.59 10.0                Calder-4
2011-12      CHI NHL   57   55   30   17    7  146  1507  1361 .903 2.72    0  3218   27  .491   13  112 -15.70                          7.3
2012-13      CHI NHL   30   28   19    5    5   57   769   712 .926 1.94    3  1761   19  .679    1   84  10.73  6.0  AS-6Jennings-1Vezina-8
2013-14      CHI NHL   59   56   32   16   10  128  1533  1405 .917 2.26    2  3395   31  .554    6   97   4.09                          9.8
2014-15      CHI NHL   57   57   32   20    5  126  1661  1535 .924 2.27    2  3333   38  .667    4   89  15.77 11.9 AS-10Jennings-1Vezina-6
2015-16      CHI NHL   58   58   35   18    5  131  1718  1587 .924 2.37    7  3323   40  .690    9   90  15.27 12.0            AS-4Vezina-5
2016-17      CHI NHL   55   55   32   18    4  138  1691  1553 .918 2.55    2  3247   29  .527    7   94   8.34                         11.0
2017-18      CHI NHL   28   27   16    9    2   60   842   782 .929 2.27    2  1584   17  .630    3   81  13.90                          6.2
2018-19      CHI NHL   12   12    5    6    1   29   374   345 .922 2.44    1   712    6  .500    1   86   4.77                          2.6
Career    12 yrs NHL  421  407  235  130   46  959 11828 10869 .919 2.37   24 24279  244  .600   50          92                         78.0

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table As long as there are holes on the roster, defense especially, Corey Crawford will continue to be tested night in and night out. What does Crawford have to say about this?

Challenge accepted. - Corey Crawford, probably

He has gone on an absolute tear over the past 10 days and is a big reason why the Blackhawks were able to snap their 8-game losing streak.

In the last 10 days, Corey Crawford has been elite. 2-1 record with 1 shutout while only giving up 5 goals, and posting a .960 Sv% and 1.23 GAA. Crawford was also the 3rd Star in the #NHL on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/qOSNhdYpEI

— ✶ ✶Tony Gianares✶ ✶ (@Certified_TonyG) November 19, 2018

Playoffs?

Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves now. In a small sample size, the Blackhawks have seemingly started to turn things around under new head coach, Jeremy Colliton.

#Blackhawks will be 2-2-2 under Jeremy Colliton. They've allowed just 4 regulation goals in the last 4 games, and 2 of those came on the power play.

— John Dietz (@johndietzdh) November 19, 2018

The Blackhawks are currently sitting in 6th place in the Central division. They really cannot afford to leave any points out there right now. The recent shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Friday really hurt in regards to the standings. I will always take one point though, but two would have been ideal there given the current situation. [caption id="attachment_115995" align="aligncenter" width="770"] Provided by NHL.com[/caption] If the Blackhawks are really going to make any kind of a playoff push, it has to start now and it has to go through Corey Crawford. The defense has shown signs of improvement lately, but I still do not trust them fully yet. I will be 100% honest with you right now. With the current holes on the roster and the lack of depth, I believe that this team will be a fringe playoff team and ultimately make it as a Wild Card team. Here, you can see that despite the recent 8-game skid, the Blackhawks are not out of the playoff picture. [caption id="attachment_115996" align="aligncenter" width="770"] Provided by NHL.com[/caption] With a few wins, the boys can find themselves right back in the thick of things. Before the 2018-19 season started, I originally pegged this Blackhawks team as a fringe playoff/wild card team at best, and it looks like that prediction will be fairly accurate. It sure as hell won't be easy, but I think the Blackhawks will continue to rally around Jeremy Colliton and Corey Crawford will carry them as far as he can. For more Blackhawks news and updates, follow the author @Certified_TonyG on Twitter.