SHARP, CROW RARING TO GO
Both players show they’re ready for regular season to begin
On the surface, there wasn’t a lot to take from the Blackhawks’ 1- 0 win Saturday in the preseason finale.
The Bruins had a team full of second- stringers looking to make an impression before the regular season. The Hawks, meanwhile, dressed a lineup that could start the opener Thursday against Pittsburgh and looked ready to be done with the exhibition schedule.
“We had one of those games that kind of looked like ‘ OK, we want the regular season to start,’ ” coach Joel Quenneville said.
But that doesn’t mean the night was completely devoid of purpose.
For one, Quenneville was effusive ( again) in his praise of Alex DeBrincat. The 19- year- old looked like he belonged on a line with Artem Anisimov and Ryan Hartman. And if the lower- body injuries to Jonathan Toews and Connor Murphy are inconsequential, the scares the Hawks got from seeing them exit will be nothing but forgotten footnotes.
And two players showed they’re ready for the season to begin: Corey Crawford and Patrick Sharp.
Crawford ended the preseason on a high note, turning away all 38 shots he faced. He made 16 saves during the second period, and was the only reason the Hawks stayed in the game against a Boston team without Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and other key players.
“He was quick, rebound control was in place. Handled the puck. Moved well,” Quenneville said. “It was a positive exit today.”
With a new blue line, the Hawks will rely on Crawford to help them get through a tricky October schedule that opens against Pittsburgh, Columbus, Toronto, Montreal, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis and Edmonton.
On Saturday, he certainly looked capable of that, albeit against a depleted Bruins team.
“I felt pretty good, but there are still some things I need to adjust, to change a little bit,” Crawford said.
“It was big for us because it would have been 4, 5- 0 or maybe even a worse score early,” Sharp said. “Weren’t moving as a unit I think the way we could have, but we’ve seen Crow do that time and time again and he’s going to be a big part of our team this year. Good start for him.”
For Sharp, his adjustment in his second go- round with the Hawks continued. He played with Patrick Kane and Nick Schmaltz, but the blue line showed it still needs time to mesh.
“It wasn’t our best game. We had a couple chances off the rush but didn’t really sustain any offensive zone time like they’re used to doing,” Sharp said. “We have to find a way to be much better through this week and going into the season, if we’re going to be a line.”
Whether or not Sharp plays with Kane and Schmaltz, he still knows how to score from the left circle. He showed that on Saturday, taking a cross- ice pass from Kane and beating Anton Khudobin for a powerplay goal that looked very familiar to anybody who’s watched the Hawks.
“Personally, I thought I felt good all training camp and wasn’t my best tonight but it was nice to contribute on the power play,” Sharp said. “Hopefully there’s much better on Thursday.”