The Blackhawks have had more than their share of injuries so far this season. Marian Hossa, Brian Campbell, Dave Bolland, Fernando Pisani, Patrick Sharp and now Patrick Kane have all missed games, and with Kane and Hossa both out now for indefinite periods, other players have to pick it up.
19-year-old Jeremy Morin, who has ridden the Rockford to Chicago shuttle so often this year he probably knows every leaf on I-90 between the two cities, scored his first NHL goal in the 5-3 win over the Dallas Stars. You could see in the youthful grin on Morin’s face, how happy he was to get that first one in and not have to wonder when it was coming. Expect Morin to get more ice time and maybe, just maybe, not see Rockford again.
Corey Crawford made 28 saves and won his seventh straight start. In pregame interviews Marty Turco said all the right things about going with Crawford because he’s playing well, but you could tell Turco’s not happy with the current situation — he didn’t uproot his family from Dallas to sit on the bench, and he didn’t even get to play against his former team.
Nevertheless, coach Joel Quenneville has to go with the guy who can win games for him. Right now, that’s Crawford.