Written by Chris Hine at Chicago Tribune.com
Amid the furor of players packing and equipment managers loading bags for the flight home in the Blackhawks’ dressing room, winger Artemi Panarin stopped at Corey Crawford’s locker stall.
The two gave each other a fist bump. It was hard to tell what was said, or if they even could understand each other, given that Panarin speaks little English. But their wide smiles conveyed the sense of relief and elation after a 2-1 overtime victory over the Blues gave the Hawks their seventh consecutive triumph.
It was hard-fought, especially for Panarin, who used both of his fists moments earlier in an unusual fight with Scottie Upshall in the third period.
“I’ve seen his Instagram, he was boxing quite a bit this summer,” defenseman Brent Seabrook said of Panarin, who took up Thai boxing in the offseason. “He can chuck ’em. He’s a feisty guy.”
But after cooling off in the penalty box, Panarin provided the winning goal on a wrist shot 25 seconds into overtime for his sixth goal of the season.
The Hawks were only in the extra period thanks to another sterling effort from Crawford, who had 27 saves and had a shutout going until Alex Pietrangelo tied the game 1-1 at 17:40 of the third period.
“He has been the backbone,” Seabrook said.
Crawford’s night included a jaw-dropping skate save on Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko, a save reminiscent of one Scott Darling had against Patrick Eaves to preserve a Hawks’ victory over the Stars in overtime Sunday.
“I saw he was going on the backhand and he didn’t shoot right away,” Crawford said. “He kind of wound up with it. He just tried to force it in there and it gave me enough time to get over. … (I’m in) a good spot right now but there’s always room for improvement.”
But there isn’t much room, not with how Crawford has played lately. He has allowed just four goals in his last five games.
Before the game, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock was marveling at how the first-place Hawks have been able to get off to such a fast start even with several young players filling out the roster. His explanation was simple.
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