It just wasn't Corey Crawford's night. He faced 10 shots and gave up three goals and that was enough for coach Joel Quenneville. Marty Turco replaced Crawford and made 15 saves, but by then it was too late. Dallas' Kari Lehtonen, Turco's replacement after he left the Stars to join the Blackhawks as a free agent, made 23 saves and shut out the Blackhawks 5-0.
Jamie Benn and Brenden Morrow both had a goal and an assist for the Stars. Steve Ott started the scoring on a breakaway, after the first period went scoreless until 2:23 remaining. The Stars scored twice more in the second period and finished the Hawks off with another pair in the third. The loss dropped the Blackhawks into a sixth-place tie with the Stars in the Western Conference standings, only two points ahead of the eighth-place Predators; the Ducks and Flames are lurking right behind at 81 points.
It's the fourth loss in the last five games for the Hawks, who after winning eight in a row, have now lost four of their last five, and they have a critical game at Phoenix on Sunday; the Coyotes are one point ahead of both the Blackhawks and Stars.
One thing that should help the Hawks on Sunday -- the presence of thousands of Chicago sports fans in the Phoenix area due to Cubs and White Sox spring training. The crowd should be filled with many red-clad Hawks fans. Let's hope it spurs them on to victory Sunday evening.