The book is out on Corey Crawford, and it reads more like a novella. Or a haiku. Or a two-syllable grunt.
High glove.
That’s it.
In their 6-5 overtime loss in Game 4, the Boston Bruins gave Crawford five on the left-hand side, one for every digit the Montreal native couldn’t close around the puck during Wednesday night’s 11-goal barnburner.
Can you ever recall a Stanley Cup final game-winning goaltender getting so thoroughly roasted as Crawford was during Game 4?
Consider that Crawford is having the best season of his life. All the guy has done is backstop his team to a Presidents’ Trophy and within two Ws of a Cup parade. He went 19-5-5 in the regular season, with three shutouts, and brought his GAA (1.94) under two for the first time since joining the big leagues.
Under the increased pressure inherent in the postseason, Crawford has been even better. Despite Wednesday’s shelling — Crawford’s worst outing since a March 25 loss to the L.A. Kings — his postseason 1.86 GAA is second only to Tuukka Rask’s 1.83. Everyone is ready to offer up their first born to Rask. But Crawford? Nah, he can’t be trusted.
One shaky outing has given many viewers reason to discount Crawford as a candidate for Team Canada’s crease in Sochi. The best measure of the guy’s lack of respect? Chicago backup Ray Emery received more Vezina votes (one) than Crawford (zero) this year.
All eyes will be on the upper-left corner of the Blackhawks’ net in Game 5. Was this an off-night for Crawford’s reflexes, or did the whole world just become aware that Superman can’t compete with kryptonite?
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was asked specifically about Crawford’s weak glove hand after the game, but stood by his netminder.
“Corey has been great for us all year, all playoffs. He just moves forward,” Quenneville said. “Commend him. We got the win.”
That’s what matters, but that’s not what the hockey world is talking about:
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