For most of their Game 3 battle, Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford was strong against the Phoenix Coyotes. But at 13:15 of overtime, he let a Mikkel Boedker shot somehow sneak through his pads on a tough angle to hand the Coyotes a 3-2 win and a 2-1 series lead:
Any chance Patrick Kane, while standing in front of Crawford, mumbled "smooth move, Leighton …"?
The catalyst for this goal were hallmarks of Dave Tippett's Coyotes: Great defensive presence in their own zone and strong forechecking down in the opposing zone.
With Patrick Kane cutting to the slot, Rusty Klesla stick-checked the puck free sending Taylor Pyatt down the ice in a 1-on-2. He chipped the puck in and then raced Nicklas Hjalmarsson to the corner. Hjalmarsson poked the puck along … right to Boedker, who somehow put the puck in for his first career goal in the third overtime game of the series.
So it's 2-1 series lead for the Coyotes … but how will the dynamic of the series change after the Raffi Torres hit that sent Marian Hossa to the hospital?