Crawford’s return spoiled by Coyotes
Vinnie Hinostroza scored twice against his former team, Antti Raantamade 33 saves and the Arizona Coyotes spoiled Corey Crawford’s season debut, beating the sloppy Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Thursday.
Clayton Keller finished with a goal and an assist as Arizona handed Chicago its first loss. The Coyotes entered the game with just four goals on the season.
The game was tied when Hinostroza got a pass from Oliver Ekman-Larsson and beat Crawford with a high wrist shot from the right circle 8:37 into the second period. It was Hinostroza’s first goal since Chicago traded the speedy forward to Arizona in July so it could shed Marian Hossa’s contract.
Crawford played his first game since Dec. 23, after missing most of last season because of a concussion. The two-time All-Star finished with 27 saves in a remarkably typical performance given his extended absence.
“I think I felt better in the second and third,” Crawford said. “They really didn’t get thatmany opportunities early. ... Wewere close all game.”
The crowd of 21,210 cheered loudly when the 33-year- old Crawford was introduced with the starting lineup. He helped Chicago win the Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2015, and the Blackhawks tumbled into last place in the Central Division while he was out last season.
“When you see your friend coming back (after) such a long time and playing well already even though I think he didn’t feel perfect, but I think he was doing a great job,” Raanta said of Crawford. “Just a matter of time when he gets the rhythm back.” AVALANCHE5, DEVILS3 » Gabriel Landeskog broke a tie with 3:22 left with his third goal of the game, helping Colorado handed New Jersey it first loss of the season. Mikko Rantanen scored on an empty-netter with 12 seconds left and added three assists, giving him an NHL-leading 11 this season. PENGUINS 3, MAPLE LEAFS 0» Matt Murray made 38 saves for his first shutout of the season, Evgeni Malkin had two goals and an assist and Pittsburgh snapped the Toronto’s winning streak at five games. Toronto’s Auston Matthews, the NHL in scoringwith 16 points on 10 goals and six assists, was looking to become the third player in NHL to start a season with eight consecutive multi-point games. TheMaple Leafs came in averaging an NHL-high 4.71 goals. LIGHTNING 3, RED WINGS 1 » Steven Stamkos scored his first goal of the season, and Tampa Bay kept Detroit winless. Detroit is 0- 5-2, its worst season- opening stretch since opening the 1985-86 season with eight losses and a tie. BLUE JACKETS 6, FLYERS 3 » CamAtkinson scored twice in the second period, and Sergei Bobrovsky had 32 saves in Columbus’ victory over Philadelphia. JETS 4, CANUCKS 1 » Patrik Laine and Bryan Little scored power-play goals, and Dustin Byfuglien had a goal and two assists to help Winnipeg beat Vancouver. EDMONTON 3, BOSTON 2, OT » Leon Draisiatl scored 37 second into overtime on a pass fromConnorMcDavid, giving Edmonton a homeopening win. ISLANDERS 7, KINGS 2 » Valtteri Filppula and Andrew Ladd had three-point games as New York made Jonathan Quick’s return to the L. A. net a tough one. The Kings played without Anze Kopitar, who sat out due to an illness.