Corey Crawford’s heroics against Golden Knights delay inevitable

After Saturday’s taut 2-1 victory that gave the Knights a 3-0 edge in their first-round Western Conference quarterfinal series against Chicago, William Karlsson reminded one and all that another win was needed to bounce the long shot Blackhawks from the Edmonton, Alberta, bubble and “that it was going to be just as tough” in Sunday’s Game 4.

It came across as something you’d expect Karlsson to say, given the situation.

He of the flowing, golden locks was spot on.

But had you an obstructed view of the Rogers Place scoreboard, you would not have believed it.

Despite outshooting the Blackhawks 49-25 and rattling goalie Corey Crawford’s cage the way hammerheads do those underwater ones during “Shark Week,” the Knights failed to stick the harpoon in the overmatched Chicagoans and sweep them out of the bubble.

The final was 3-1, owing to an empty-net Blackhawks goal. But the difference was a shot taken from behind the goal line by Chicago’s Matthew Highmore during the first period that Knights goalie Robin Lehner casually and inexplicably headed into his own net.

Well, that was the difference on the scoreboard anyway.

Saving the day

The difference on the ice was Crawford, who imitated a Chinese acrobat with one spectacular stop after another before demurely crediting his defense during the postgame Zoom chat.

“I remember one chance they had from the inside and our guys were clearing rebounds,” said the possessor of two Stanley Cup rings as hockey writers and bloggers tried not to cough.

Crawford may remember one time when the guys in red sweaters cleared a rebound. The Knights recalled dozens when they didn’t, only to be denied by Chicago’s last line of defense.

Of the four games in the series, this was easily Vegas’ best. But that’s how it goes in hockey. Usually the best team wins. Sometimes you head one into your own net and the guy protecting the other one defends it like a Chinese acrobat.

“That’s the irony of playoff hockey, right?” VGK coach Pete DeBoer said. “You play your best game and you lose, and you win other games that you’re not playing at that level. That’s what playoffs are about.

“I liked a lot of our game tonight. We just want to replicate that on Tuesday. We knew this wasn’t going to be easy; there’s very few sweeps in this league. They’re a good team over there. So you’ve got to tip your hat to the goalie. He was their best player tonight, and we’ve got to find a way on Tuesday to get a few past him.”

Added Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt: “It’s a game you wanted, right? But the mood in the room right now is if we can continue to play like that in Game 5, we give ourselves a heck of a chance to win the game.”

Postponing the inevitable

The Knights were so dominant that after the second period they were outshooting Chicago 36-15. For perspective, after three periods of the “Miracle on Ice” game at Lake Placid, the Soviets put 39 shots on goal to Team USA’s 16. The best team didn’t win that game, either, but good luck finding somebody wearing an Uncle Sam top hat to agree.

The reason the Knights should close out this series sooner than later, other than the historical 97.9 odds in their favor, is their speed, size, strength, depth, goaltender rotation and unflappable coach who seems to always push the right buttons.

Sunday’s fluke loss was their first under the bubble. When they allowed the initial goal, it was the first time in 274 minutes — since they fell behind St. Louis in the round robin — that they trailed.

This team is like the surf at Waimea Bay. It comes at you in waves. All four forward lines can cause a riptide.

Every Knight with the exception of Max Pacioretty, the team’s leading scorer during the regular season who has played in only three of seven postseason games because of an unspecified ache or pain, has either scored a goal or assisted on one in Lord Stanley’s annual bacchanal.

Pacioretty got off five shots and had two close-in chances to dent Crawford’s net in the third period. So it would appear his game is coming around, too.

As play-by-play man Dave Goucher rhapsodized just before puck drop Sunday, the Knights’ depth is “either an embarrassment of riches or necessary to win the Cup.”

Either way, you’ve still got to like their chances.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.