Crawford, Blackhawks top Knights to extend season

[August 17, 2020]  Corey Crawford made 48 saves and the Chicago Blackhawks avoided elimination with a 3-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series on Sunday in Edmonton.

Drake Caggiula, Matthew Highmore and Alex DeBrincat scored for Chicago, which trails 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Shea Theodore scored and Robin Lehner made 22 saves for top-seeded Vegas.

The Blackhawks took their first lead of the series on Caggiula's goal at 4:08 of the first period.

After the Blackhawks dumped the puck into the Vegas zone, Chicago defenseman Olli Maatta reached it first. He made a quick no-look backhand pass from behind the goal line to Caggiula, who was alone in front of the net for the one-timer.

Chicago made it 2-0 at 13:40 of the first when Highmore brought the puck just below the goal line and then banked a shot off Lehner's mask and into the net. It appeared Lehner tried to use his mask to deflect the puck wide of the near post.

With an assist on Highmore's goal, Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith passed Bobby Hull for sole possession of fifth place in franchise history for playoff assists (68).

Vegas came back 18 seconds after Highmore's goal and cut the deficit to 2-1 on Theodore's slap shot from the point.

Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford (50) makes a save against Vegas Golden Knights right wing Ryan Reaves (75) during the first period in game four of the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Crawford made a save and Vegas forward Ryan Reaves retrieved the puck near the goal line. He banked a pass back to defenseman Alec Martinez, who sent the puck over to Theodore for the one-timer.

DeBrincat scored into an empty net with 11 seconds left to make it 3-1.

Crawford made 16 saves in the second period to help maintain the one-goal lead and 11 more in the third before DeBrincat's goal.

Crawford came in with a 13-5 record when facing elimination in the Stanley Cup playoffs, with a .918 save percentage and 2.39 goals-against average.

--Field Level Media

[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.