Crawford to start game two vs Preds

NASHVILLE—The Blackhawks are going back to Corey Crawford.Coach Joel Quenneville announced on Thursday afternoon that he is going back to his starting goalie for Game 2 of their Western Conference playoff series against the Nashville Predators after pulling him 20 minutes into their Game 1 win.Crawford was benched on Wednesday night after giving up three goals, including one off of a bad turnover behind the net that resulted in an easy goal for Viktor Stalberg, only to watch as backup Scott Darling stopped all 42 shots he faced in more than 67 minutes of action in what Quenneville called one of the best relief performances he has ever seen from a goalie.While he was shutting down Nashville’s offense, the Blackhawks rallied from the three goal deficit, scoring four consecutive goals, to win in double overtime thanks to a Duncan Keith goal.Quenneville said on Thursday that the decision to go back to Crawford was an easy one because he has been the Blackhawks’ strength all season. And he’s not wrong. In 56 regular season appearances Crawford recorded a .924 save percentage, sixth best in the NHL, for a Blackhawks team that allowed the second fewest goals in the NHL even though they allowed the 22nd most shots per game (30.2).When asked about the decision to pull Crawford on Wednesday Quenneville said it was a combination of not liking the way his team was playing and not liking the goals against.In 57 career playoff appearances Crawford has a .919 save percentage was the Blackhawks’ starting goalie when they won the Stanley Cup during the 2012-13 season.