CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 17: The puck slips past Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks for a third period score for the St. Louis Blues in Game Three of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the United Center on April 5, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blues defeated the Blackhawks 3-2. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Corey Crawford on Blues: “They’re not the same team”

The St. Louis Blues had a pretty impressive road win in Game 3 against the Chicago Blackhawks. The stars appeared to be aligned against the Blues following the controversial calls in Game 2, but the club managed to find a win despite plenty of adversity in Game 3.

The first period saw the Blues take several early penalties and allow an early goal. They bounced back, but allowed another early goal in the second period. Again, they bounced back and then took the lead in the third period.

Luck played a factor too, as seen in this shot by Chicago which rang both posts:

https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/721803338413686784

As well as Patrik Berglund’s goal which took a crazy bounce:

https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/721813122793783296

Trailing heading into the third against Chicago is basically a guaranteed loss. That’s not an exaggeration.

Need proof?

That’s an insane statistic and it illustrates just how effective the Blackhawks are at closing out games. It also shows that these Blues may not be the Blues of old.

Corey Crawford agrees:

Crawford is correct as there’s no question the Blues of old would have imploded in the first period. The demons from Game 2 would have lingered and the Blues would have crumbled under the early penalties. The Blues of old probably would have tried to settle things physically as opposed to on the scoreboard, but that surprisingly didn’t happen.

There’s a lot of series left, but the Blues are looking like a different team – one that can beat the best of the best. At the same time, the Blackhawks are looking like a different team – one that looks vulnerable.

About David Rogers

Editor for The Comeback and Contributing Editor for Awful Announcing. Lover of hockey, soccer and all things pop culture.

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