Corey Crawford made 40 saves plus two in the shootout to help the Blackhawks defeat the Coyotes 3-2 on Saturday at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Patrick Kane assisted on Brandon Saad’s two goals to extend his point streak to 12 games, and scored in the shootout for the Blackhawks (25-21-6), who are 6-0-1 in their past seven games.
Antti Raanta made 42 saves, and Brad Richardson and Conor Garland each scored for Arizona (26-21-7), which is 0-3-2 in its past five games. The Coyotes hold a three-point lead over the Blackhawks for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Saad used a screen by Kirby Dach to send a wrist shot from the left face-off circle past Raanta’s right shoulder to give Chicago a 1-0 lead at 12:08.
Crawford made 12 saves in the first period, including one against Garland on a breakaway.
Corey Crawford’s first-period highlight reel. #Blackhawks #Yotes pic.twitter.com/eVV7rAvB0z
— Brandon Cain (@brandonmcain) February 2, 2020
Saad made it 2-0 at 4:36 of the second with his second of the game when he ripped a quick shot from the slot off an assist from Kane below the goal line. Saad has four goals in as many games since returning from a right ankle injury. Kane has 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) during his point streak, which is the longest active one in the NHL.
Brandon Saad scores his second goal of the game off a Patrick Kane feed to give the #Blackhawks a 2-0 lead in the second period.
Saad has four goals in as many games since his return from a right ankle injury. pic.twitter.com/0l3NQfs9cX
— Brandon Cain (@brandonmcain) February 2, 2020
Richardson, who missed four games with an upper-body injury, pounced on a rebound off a shot from Carl Soderberg and smacked the puck into the net at 8:58.
Garland tied it 2-2 at 18:20 when he charged past Slater Koekkoek and fired the puck to the top-right corner to beat Crawford. Koekkoek, who was in better position against Garland, decided to switch with Olli Maatta but Maatta was unable to close the gap quickly.
Crawford made a cross-crease save to deny Taylor Hall at 4:46 of the third.
Corey Crawford: Awww Hall naw#Blackhawks #Yotes pic.twitter.com/8wLFoXvWu8
— Brandon Cain (@brandonmcain) February 2, 2020
Saad then nearly completed his third career hat trick with a backhand shot in the slot, but Raanta kicked the left leg into the air to make a scorpion save at 14:29.
Antti Raanta robs Brandon Saad of a hat trick. Wow. #Yotes #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/s6iaoBHZ6K
— Brandon Cain (@brandonmcain) February 2, 2020
Jonathan Toews stopped in the slot then deked his way toward the net before lifting a shot past Raanta’s right leg in the shootout. Crawford made a save on Nick Schmaltz then Kane dragged the puck to his backhand and slipped a shot between Raanta’s left skate and glove. Crawford sealed the win with a save against Garland.
And here’s Jonathan Toews’ shootout goal. pic.twitter.com/NmYnB7E42f
— Brandon Cain (@brandonmcain) February 2, 2020
#Blackhawks Patrick Kane’s shootout goal against the #Yotes. pic.twitter.com/onMD26TZlN
— Brandon Cain (@brandonmcain) February 2, 2020
Chicago’s Dylan Strome had two shots on goal and blocked two shots in 14:03 of ice time in his first game back from missing seven games with a right ankle injury.
Game Charts
Three Stars
- Crawford (CHI) — 40 saves
- Raanta (ARI) — 42 saves
- Saad (CHI) — 2 goals
What’s next
Chicago visits the Wild at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Saint Paul, Minnesota.