“I just decided to go in there and grab his head,” said Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford, by way of explanation for the time in Game 2 when he went in there and grabbed Los Angeles Kings winger Kyle Clifford’s head.
During a scrum midway through the third period, Clifford had grabbed Chicago captain Jonathan Toews and given him a couple shots. Like a loyal pro-wrestling tag-team partner with a short fuse, Crawford jumped to the aid of his captain and employed a headlock.
“The guy grabbed him, got a couple free shots. I figured it was enough,” said Crawford during the postgame press conference.
Crawford was yanked away from Clifford by linesman Steve Barton but went unpenalized on the play. (Toews was dealt an extra minor on the play, putting the Kings on the power play.)
“Things happen. Spontaneous combustion,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “Sometimes you can’t forecast or predict that stuff.”
Toews didn’t predict it.
“I wasn’t expecting that. It should be the other way around, but it’s playoff time and he’s showing his true colours that he’s going to step in and help a teammate out no matter what,” Toews said of Crawford. “It’s a pretty cool thing to see your goaltender get in like that.”
After the manoeuvre, which all but lulled Clifford to sleep, the Madhouse crowd began chanting, “Corey! Corey! Corey!”
“It’s pretty cool. We’ve had great fans for a while, ” said Crawford, who gathered yet another win Sunday. “It’s obviously nice when they’re chanting and not booing you.”