Patrick Kane (88) celebrates with Jonathan Toews as Ryan Miller looks ahead early in game three (NHL.com)
The Chicago Blackhawks got a goal from their captain Jonathan Toews, just 4:10 into the game, then withstood another late Blues rally as Corey Crawford shutout the Blues in a 2-0 final on Monday night at United Center in Chicago. The Blues lead the series 2-1. Game four is Wednesday night.
Toews beat Miller on a simple wrist shot as he gained the zone and slipped it between Miller’s legs for the early 1-0 Chicago advantage. It was a shot that Miller wanted back, a relatively easy save, that Miller said took a weird hop along the ice. Chicago mounted just a couple of more scoring opportunities, but Miller came up big keeping the score the same throughout the game.
The Blues controlled the neutral zone and kept pressure on Hawks goalie Corey Crawford most of the night with 34 shots on goal, but after letting leads slip away in the first two games in St. Louis, the Hawks held up under the Blues pressure on their home ice. Brandon Saad added an empty net goal in the closing seconds.
The Blues power play went 0 for 3 and is just 1 for 14 in the series. Miller stopped four power play attempts for Chicago including a 5 on 3 for over a minute.
“When you’re knocking off just a team in the League, it’s a different animal,” coach Ken Hitchcock said. “When you’re knocking off the defending champion, they’re not a defending champion because they have skill. It’s because they’ve got resolve. You’re trying to beat the resolve. You’re not trying to beat their skill. Everybody’s got skill. And it is one helluva of a challenge.”