Crawford hopes to build off ‘rock solid' performance

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Corey Crawfords stay at his locker wasnt an extended one last night.The Chicago Blackhawks goaltender had sat in his stall for a while after his teammates had gone in their previous two games. He was thinking about the two goals hed given up, the two goals that had been game-winners for the Phoenix Coyotes.But on Saturday night, all he was thinking about was taking his Game 5 performance and repeating it for Game 6.Crawford rebounded from two tough endings to allow just one shot in Game 5 on Saturday, as the Blackhawks beat the Coyotes 2-1 in overtime and staved off elimination in the Western Conference quarterfinals. It wasnt about stopping a lot of shots for Crawfordhe faced just 19 on the night. It was about stopping the very stoppable shots, and Crawford did that.I felt good, Crawford said. I was just trying to carry over the feelings of the last couple of games, the things I did right. Our guys played a really solid game, I didnt have to do too much; just a couple key saves here or there.But in Game 5 the only shot that stopped him was a Gilbert Brule effort, created on a 3-on-1 Phoenix breakaway. Everything else was his.Crawford came under fire after Games 3 and 4, as he allowed soft goals in both Coyotes victories. Coach Joel Quenneville said he and his staff would talk about which goaltender would start Game 5or at least he gave the impression hey may have been weighing his options there. He stuck with Crawford, and it paid off.Rock solid, Quenneville said. He was good, very good.And Crawford is going to have to be very good again on Monday night. And, the Blackhawks hope, Wednesday night.The Blackhawks, and Crawford, have reached the point where theres no margin for error. Crawford has had his up-and-down moments during the regular- and postseason; another down one in this series and the Blackhawks will be dealing with first-round elimination again.Crawford needs to play like he did in Games 1, 2 and 5. He said hes taken the good things hes done this postseason and focused on those. That needs to be his mantra again on Monday.

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