after allowing a goal off his own turnover.Raanta has been steady in what opponents have actually gotten past him, though. Hes allowed two goals in each of his five games. He has stopped 119-of-129 shots for a .922 save percentage. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was optimistic after the game Sunday that Crawfords injury wasnt serious but said he couldnt be positive until Monday.Quenneville also expressed his confidence in Raanta if he was needed to step into Crawford place. The Blackhawks next game is against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.Hes done a real good job, Quenneville said. Hes played some games now. We got to see him a little bit more. Hes doing what we want him to do.Raanta was asked Sunday to get on the ice midway through the first period after Crawford suffered what the team described as a lower-body injury. Raanta came through again.He stopped 29-of-31 shots. And his play elevated after the Panthers cut the Blackhawks' lead to 3-2 at 9:37 of the second period. From there, the Panthers didn't score again and the Blackhawks went on to a 6-2 victory.He keeps himself ready and focused, Quenneville said. Hes a battler. He made some saves tonight with that same type of approach where hes never out of the play, and hes a fighter.
The Chicago Blackhawks reassigned forward Joakim Nordstrom to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL on Saturday.Nordstrom was recalled from the IceHogs on Wednesday because of an injury to Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw. Nordstrom had one assist and a plus-1 rating in two games this week. He has one goal and one assist in 10 games with the Blackhawks this season.Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said Friday that he expected Shaw to return to the lineup against the Florida Panthers on Sunday,Dave Bolland Red Jersey.
Getty ImagesPatrick Kane has been consistently good this season, while Corey Crawford has had some ups and downs.RISING1. Power play, special teams: What a difference a year has made for the power play. The Blackhawks were constantly searching for answers on the power play a season ago, and now theyre producing nearly every game. They rank fourth in the league with a 23.1 power-play percentage. They have scored a power-play goal in their last five games and scored a season-high three power-play goals on Sunday. With the penalty killing struggling this season, the power play has been vital to the Blackhawks success.2. Patrick Sharp, forward: If Canada is looking for a pure shooter who can score and create rebounds for its Olympic team, Sharp is the solution. Hes fired away at every angle this season,Patrick Sharp Jersey, which is leading to production for himself and his teammates. Three of his shots led to goals on Sunday. He scored once and Marian Hossa and Andrew Shaw benefitted with goals off Sharps shots. Sharp is averaging five shots on goal in December and 3.8 shots on goal for the season. Hes also tied for second on the team with 27 points. He has 12 goals and 15 assists.3. Patrick Kane, forward: Kane just continues to pile up points. He added three more on Sunday and now has 37 points in 32 games. Hes tied for second in the league for points with Evgeni Malkin and just trails Sidney Crosby's 42 points. Kane has recorded a point in 17 of his last 18 games. FALLING1. Penalty kill, special teams: The Blackhawks may have had one of their best penalty-killing games from a percentage standpoint against the Florida Panthers on Sunday, but their shorthanded problem hasnt exactly been fixed. For one, the Panthers are among the leagues worst power-play teams. Aside from that, the Blackhawks had allowed at least one power-play goal in their previous four games. The Blackhawks anticipated some ups and downs on their PK this season,Andrew Ladd Jersey, but its been far more down than up so far. Despite killing off five penalties on Sunday, the Blackhawks still dropped 1.4 percentage points from the previous week and fell to 29th in the league again with a 73.3 penalty-killing percentage. 2. Corey Crawford, goaltender: Crawfords consistency was remarkable last season. He kept the Blackhawks in nearly every game and limited his awful starts. He hasnt