Corey Crawford, Blackhawks defeat Kings

CHICAGO -- Corey Crawford places team success above individual honors, but the Chicago Blackhawks goalie still savors the occasional shutout.
Crawford got the chance to do that again at United Center on Sunday, when he made 32 saves in a 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings for his first shutout of the season and 20th of his career.
"It's nice," Crawford said. "Every once in a while … mix [a shutout] in."

Crawford had eight saves in the first period, 11 in the second and 13 in the third against the Kings (4-5-0), who were shut out in a 1-0 loss at the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
"That was our best game defensively," Crawford said. "All our [defensemen] played great tonight. We're moving the puck well and we're on the same page in our [own] zone. That was a great game by them."
Jonathan Toews scored his first goal of the season and had an assist, center Artem Anisimov extended his career-high point streak to seven games with a goal and Marian Hossa had a goal and assist for the Blackhawks (5-3-1).
Peter Budaj made 26 saves in his sixth straight start for Los Angeles, which is without injured goalies Jonathan Quick and Jeff Zatkoff.

Toews gave Chicago a 1-0 lead at 6:54 of the first period on the first of four power plays for the Blackhawks in the period.
It was the only goal Budaj allowed in the first. He made 10 saves to keep the score 1-0 through the first period.
"We were sluggish in the first period and I think we knew they would come out the way they did," said Kings coach Darryl Sutter, who remained stuck on 599 career NHL coaching wins. "I think their top two lines in the first period really controlled the pace of play. We got out of the first period thankful it was only 1-0."
Anisimov made it 2-0 at 13:30 of the second. He scored off a feed from Hossa, who later made it 3-0 by scoring into an empty net with 1:10 left to cap a late power play.
The Blackhawks went 2-for-7 with the man-advantage and killed both Los Angeles power plays for their first perfect penalty-killing effort of the season.

Goal of the game

Toews broke the ice for himself, after eight games without a goal, and the Blackhawks to make it 1-0 in the first period. Standing above the right faceoff circle, he allowed forward Richard Panik to cross Budaj's line of sight before scoring with a wrist shot over the catching glove. "It feels great," Toews said. "I still feel like I'm around the net. I just need a few bounces and finally got one tonight."

Save of the game

Budaj prevented Chicago from scoring on a power play late in the first, which would've put Chicago ahead 2-0. Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook sent a slap shot through traffic with 2:46 left in the period and the puck nearly trickled into the net. Budaj fell on it and then cleared it.

#

Unsung moment of the game

Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith came up with several big defensive plays with his stick. One them ended a rush by Kings forward Jordan Nolan with 5:07 left in the second period. Nolan carried the puck into the offensive zone, but Keith cut him off and swiped the puck of his stick.

Highlight of the game

Anisimov extended his career-high point streak with his goal in the second. The play started with a drop pass from Artemi Panarin to Hossa, who carried the puck to the net and sent a pass to Anisimov for a goal that gave Chicago a 2-0 lead. "As soon as we play a little give-and-go with [Panarin], I saw there was one guy between us," Hossa said. "I saw Anisimov. I just tried to hold it and make a good play to him through the back end."

They said it

"I didn't know the camera was on us. The kids made a pretty funny moment." -- Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa on his daughter grabbing his nose during a pregame ceremony to commemorate his 500th NHL goal
"Injuries are part of sports, so if we're going to use that as an excuse, there's no sense of playing … especially not the type of hockey we play." -- Kings center Anze Kopitar

Need to know

The Kings played without defenseman Brayden McNabb, who sustained an upper-body injury on Saturday. McNabb wore a sling on his right arm. Defenseman Matt Greene entered the lineup to replace McNabb. … Blackhawks rookie defenseman Gustav Forsling missed his second game because of an upper-body injury.

What's next

Kings: Home against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET; PRIME, FS-W,
NHL.TV
)
Blackhawks: Home against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET; SNF, CSN-CH,
NHL.TV
)