Shootouts Starting to Go Blackhawks' Way
By Adam Hoge -
After a 4-3 shootout loss to Phoenix Feb. 12, head coach Joel Quenneville made a point of adding shootout drills in practice.
A little over two weeks later, the Blackhawks turned the tables on the Coyotes with a 4-3 shootout win at the United Center Sunday night.
"It's been good the last couple of games. You go back before that and it's ordinary," Quenneville said after the win. "But I think (Jonathan Toews) is as good as there is in the game and it's a great way to begin and (Corey Crawford) holds his own in net there. He's got back-to-back shutouts in the shootout and that's tough to do and its the reason why we came up with two wins."
The Blackhawks have won their last two shootout decisions using Toews as the first shooter and Crawford in net. Sunday, Toews was the only player to score in the shootout on either team as Crawford shutdown the Coyotes.
"He's giving us a chance that's for sure," Toews said about his goaltender. "The last couple times we've only had to score one or two goals."
Crawford said he didn't feel great moving laterally during Sunday's game and that may have played a part in giving up three goals in regulation, but he said he's starting to feel much better in shootouts.
"The more shootouts I see, the better I feel and after losing to these guys last time in a shootout, it was a little payback," Crawford said.
Obviously Quenneville's added shootout work in practice is paying off for the Blackhawks who are now on a four game win streak heading into a game at Minnesota Monday night. And with every point from here on out carrying so much weight, the shootout victories are making a huge difference.
"Every point is so meaningful," Quenneville said. "You're watching other games and you value the points in your own games. We got to take care of our business, but we've started something positive here and we want to make sure we try to sustain it and continue on."
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