Corey Crawford not worried about his ‘weak’ glove side against Bruins shooters

CHICAGO – Patrick Sharp of the Chicago Blackhawks figured the Boston Bruins had found a way to exploit goalie Corey Crawford, so why not try it himself in practice.

“He stopped me, glove side,” said Sharp on Friday. “Hopefully he has it all figured out.”

Crawford’s glove was the new celebrity of the Stanley Cup Final after Game 4, for all the wrong reasons. The Boston Bruins scored to Crawford’s glove side five times, some of the shots flat-out beating him without a screen or a deflection.

Even in victory – the Blackhawks outlasted the Bruins with a 6-5 overtime win, to even the series – it was Crawford’s “weak” glove side that sparked conversation, like Keith Jones’ dissection of it on NBC:

The performance has led to some speculation, none of it based on the reality of Crawford’s overall performance in this postseason, that backup Ray Emery could get a look if the glove continues to fail him.

So does Crawford feel there’s a hole in his game?

“Last series they were talking about my blocker,” said Crawford. “Both sides are bad, I guess.”

Crawford said the last thing he should do is start worrying about where the Bruins are shooting.

“They’ve shot there a lot more than blocker side. I can’t start thinking about that. You get into trouble thinking they’re going to shoot glove,” he said.

Crawford admitted that getting over a performance like Game 4’s five-spot was easier in victory than it would be in defeat. But there was still tape to watch, work to be done and self-assessment that the goalie felt was necessary.

But adjustments? Again, Crawford said over-thinking is the death of good goaltending.

“Have a short memory. There were obviously some goals I wasn’t too happy with. I’m never happy with any goals, but a couple more than the others,” he said. “I don’t know if there’s an adjustment to make. Just go out there, read and react.”

His teammates don’t believe Crawford’s glove side is anything to worry about.

“I think he’s got a great glove. I think it might have been a coincidence they scored as many as they did glove side,” said Patrick Kane.

Said Sharp, “I’ve seen goals go in all different ways. I’ve seen him make saves in all different ways.”

Here’s Corey Crawford, talking all things goaltending for Game 5: