Corey Crawford feels like he needs to redeem himself after his rough 2011-12 campaign. Crawford had a 2.72 GAA and .903 save percentage in 57 games last season. Spent the lockout working on his game in Montreal. "I've heen waiting and waiting and waiting and finally it's here so I'm getting excited and ready to go," Crawford said.

Corey Crawford doesn't feel any extra pressure going into the shortened season. "Pressure? You're talking about that already," Crawford said. "No, man, this is fun. This is fun what we do. I'm excited. We've got a great team, so I'm looking forward to what's coming up." Unless the Blackhawks get another goaltender, Crawford will get another shot at leading the Blackhawks. He shouldn't be regarded as a safe bet to bounce back after his horrendous sophomore season and it wouldn't be shocking if Ray Emery ends up stealing the starting job.

Corey Crawford has been practicing with his teammates and players who live in the Chicago area. Crawford returned to Chicago last week after spending the off-season in his hometown of Montreal. He did not have a good season in 2011-12 as he slumped despite a 30-17-7 record as he has a 2.72 GAA and a .907 save percentage. "I feel good right now," Crawford said. "There are always those small adjustments to games. It really depends on how quick you can adjust to how fast the games are. I played in a couple of charity games in Montreal. It's not the same as a regular NHL game but the speed was there." Look for the netminder to return to his form of 2010-11 in which he was 33-18-6 with a 2.30 GAA and a.917 save percentage.

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville thinks Corey Crawford might have just been a victim of the dreaded sophomore slump. "I'm very comfortable and confident with Corey," Quenneville said. "If you look back at the history of goaltenders, there's maybe a little bit of . a bounce factor in that second year. A number of top goalies have had that type of career path. We're expecting Corey to bounce back and recapture that consistency in his game and be a top goalie." Crawford had a 2.72 GAA and .903 save percentage in 57 games in 2011-12. Of course, it's worth noting that not everyone that suffers a sophomore slump bounces back in their third season or at all. Crawford - and the Chicago Blackhawks' goaltending in general - should be regarded as big gambles going into the 2012-13 campaign.

One of the questions the Blackhawks have to answer this offseason is whether Corey Crawford truly is the No. 1 guy between the pipes. In all, the netminder had a disappointing season, before turning it on in March and April and then struggling again in the postseason. He finished with a 2.72 goals-against average and .903 save percentage in the regular season - and a 2.58 GAA/.893SV% in the playoffs. "You never want to finish a year with a loss; you want to go out with a win," Crawford said. "I thought we had a strong enough team to do that. You look at that game tonight. We definitely could have won that one. It just didn't go our way." Crawford still has two more seasons left on his contract.

Corey Crawford kicked aside only 18 shots, but that was enough as the Chicago Blackhawks edged the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday night with a 2-1 overtime win. Crawford hasn't been all that good this postseason - before this game, he had a 2.64 goals-against average and .900 save percentage - but he did what was asked of him in this tilt. He wasn't worked too hard, as the Hawks played like a team with its playoff lives on the line. Game 6 in Chicago will take place Monday.

Corey Crawford will play between the pipes in Game 5 on Saturday. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville declined to name his starter on Friday, which opened the door to speculation about a possible goaltender switch. Chicago is on the brink of elimination and Crawford has left something to be desired. He has a 2.64 GAA and .900 save percentage in four playoff starts. Still, backup goaltender Ray Emery was inconsistent at best this season, so it's not too surprising that they decided to stick with Crawford.

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville isn't ready to name his starter for Game 5 on Saturday. Quenneville usually reveals who will start a day in advance, but with his team on the brink of elimination, he appears to be weighing his options. "We're talking about that," Quenneville said. "We'll talk about our scenario. I don't foresee making any announcements." Crawford has a 2.64 GAA and .900 save percentage in four playoff starts.

Corey Crawford allowed three goals as the Chicago Blackhawks dropped Game 4 to the Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 in overtime Thursday night. The netminder has given up three goals in every game this series, but this was easily his worst performance as he only made 16 saves, giving up the three goals on nine shots between the third and overtime periods. The Hawks have a tough road ahead, now down 3-1 in the first-round series.

Corey Crawford might lose some sleep after allowing a pretty soft goal in overtime, allowing the Phoenix Coyotes to take a 3-2 OT win and 2-1 series lead. Crawford acquitted himself quite nicely in Game 3, but many will look down on his performance in large part because of a regrettable goal scored by Mikkel Boedker. He still stands as a solid buy-low candidate if the Blackhawks can scrape together a first round series win.