NHL scores 2017: Corey Crawford stole the show, and a win, for the Blackhawks

By all rights, the Minnesota Wild should have been dog tired coming into Wednesday’s game. The Wild had just completed a four-game Canadian road trip that lasted nine days and ended with a hard-fought 4-2 win in Winnipeg.

Instead, the well-rested Chicago Blackhawks got quite the fight after their three-day break, clawing their way to a 4-3 overtime victory. The Wild outplayed and outshot the Blackhawks to extra time, but Corey Crawford was the real hero of the evening.

Crawford saved 35 of 38 shots through 63 minutes of game time, including a fair number of odd-man breaks and breakaways. Overtime in particular was the Crawford show, as the 32-year-old goaltender flashed the pads on multiple occasions to keep the Blackhawks alive.

The game was a return to form for Crawford, who was averaging a .895 save percentage since the start of 2017 in 12 games played.

Even better for the Blackhawks? The victory snapped an eight-game winless streak against the Wild in the regular season that dated back to Jan. 2015. It also brought them within five points of the Wild at the top of the Central, though with two more games played.

The Wild will have a chance for redemption at the end of the month, but one has to look to this game to see what a potential playoff series between these two Central Division rivals would be like.

Blackhawks 4, Wild 3 (OT)

1. Jonathan Toews deserves credit for more than just the game-winner

The Blackhawks’ captain gave Chicago the win in overtime thanks to this five-hole goal on the power play.

However, Toews was a factor for the Blackhawks all evening, as he nabbed a pair of assists to go along with his game-winner for a three-point evening. The first assist in particular is a beauty that Nick Schmaltz buried to put the Blackhawks up 2-0 in the early stages of the second period.

Oh, and he also nearly scored on this attempt. Safe to say your captain is still OK, Chicago.

2. The Wild weren’t without controversy, despite their strong showing

Minnesota was unable to get past Crawford when it was needed the most, but the Wild were given an assist by the officials on this Zach Parise goal that tied the game 2-2 in the second period.

The Blackhawks challenged for offside on the goal, and by one clear review, Chicago seemed to have a strong case for the goal to be overturned. Instead, the offside was deemed “inconclusive” by the officials and the goal stood. The call could have been a game-changer, but Chicago was able to grab the lead again before heading into the third period.

3. Charlie Coyle is the Wild’s new Iron Man at the age of 24

You normally think of Iron Men to be old, grizzly veterans that have seen more than a fair number of years at the NHL level. The Wild, for all of their veteran players, now have a young face as their newest consecutive games leader in 24-year-old Charlie Coyle.

On Wednesday, Coyle played in his 284th consecutive game, a streak he started way back in November of 2013.

What a streak, especially at such a young age.