Blackhawks defensemen The Blackhawks returned to the United Center for Game 5, winning 3–1 in regulation providing the Blackhawks a 3–2 lead in the series. 1920–21 . The Fort Saskatchewan native could have a big series in his return to Alberta.Edmonton is playing in its own building after the NHL selected Rogers Place for one of its hubs for the league’s return from the pandemic. “The sooner we can integrate him into the group and get back to his normal routine that he would normally be under I think the better for everyone.”The 35-year-old Crawford had been playing well when the NHL was shut down because of the pandemic, recording a .930 save percentage in his last 17 games. You just try to deal with it.”Led by McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, a finalist for the NHL MVP award, the Oilers had the top power play in the league this season, converting 29.5% of their chances. The regular season was reduced from its usual 82 games to 48 due to a lockout. Record: 36-7-5 (77 points), Finished 1st in NHL Central Division (Schedule and Results) Coach: Joel Quenneville (36-7-5) Captain: Jonathan Toews Primary Arena: United Center 2012-13 Stanley Cup Champions. The Blackhawks did not make many (if any) changes to the organization during the off-season. We’ve had some scrimmages, players dress out of different dressing rooms around. The Blackhawks are carrying four goaltenders on their 31-man postseason roster, but Crawford is expected to start Game 1 against the Oilers.How he performs against McDavid and company with such a short preparation window remains to be seen.“There’s not much time, but I’ve never really been someone that skates a ton in the summer anyway,” Crawford said. This was the last time these two The Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference Finals, making their third appearance in five seasons, where they faced the fifth seed and defending Stanley Cup champion, the The Blackhawks eliminated the reigning Stanley Cup Champions in Game 5 in double-overtime. The win gave the Blackhawks their second Stanley Cup in four years, a first for any team since the salary cap era, and made them the first team since the 2008 Red Wings to clinch both the Presidents' Trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same year.

Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen are in the mix for the starting job for the Oilers, but both goalies could play in the postseason.Game 1 of the best-of-five series is Saturday in Edmonton.“There’s been a lot of lead-up going to this point. For all the offensive stars between the Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers, big megawatt scorers like Patrick Kane and Connor McDavid, it is the goaltending that bears watching heading into their qualifying series.Corey Crawford missed the start of training camp with the Blackhawks after he tested positive for COVID-19, leaving the veteran goaltender very little time to prepare for high-scoring Edmonton. We tried to prepare for that during training camp.

Corey Crawford missed the start of training camp with the Blackhawks after he tested positive for COVID-19, leaving the veteran goaltender very little time to prepare for the high-scoring Edmonton Oilers. Playoffs: Won Stanley Cup Final (4-2) versus Boston Bruins They also killed 84.4% of their opponents’ power-play opportunities, ranking second behind San Jose.Even with the gifted Kane on its top unit, Chicago had one of the worst power plays in the league at 15.2%. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade, File)FILE - In this Feb. 23, 2020, file photo, Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford blocks a shot from Dallas Stars defenseman Esa Lindell (23) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas.

He is 48-37 with a .919 save percentage and 2.28 goals-against average in 87 career playoff appearances. “But I feel like it takes a few practices just to get your legs under you. The Blackhawks rebounded in Game 4, winning 6–5 in overtime, equalizing the series. But its penalty killers finished in the top 10 at 82.1%.Jay Cohen can be reached at https://twitter.com/jcohenapMore AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsFILE - In this Feb. 23, 2020, file photo, Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford blocks a shot from Dallas Stars defenseman Esa Lindell (23) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas. “Won Stanley Cups, so it’ll be a good test for our group.”Crawford was in net when Chicago won the Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2015.