ST. LOUIS — For two minutes and 33 seconds, a lifetime for a hockey shift, Artemi Panarin darted around the offensive zone looking for an insurance goal against the St. Louis Blues. After Scottie Upshall hit him from behind on his best chance — a chip that banged off the crossbar — Panarin retaliated, smearing Upshall face-first into the glass. A shove or two later, and Panarin had dropped the gloves, throwing vicious haymakers with Upshall, and not looking in the least bit fatigued.
“I’ve seen his Instagram; he was boxing quite a bit this summer,” Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook said. “He can chuck ’em. He’s a feisty guy. … We were out there for two minutes. I’m surprised he had enough energy to drop his gloves. But it was good to see.”
Panarin spent the last six minutes of the third period in the penalty box. And 25 seconds into overtime, he capitalized on that rest, scoring the overtime winner in the Hawks’ 2-1 victory over the Blues and completing the famous Gordie Howe hat trick — a goal, an assist, and a fight. The Hawks have won seven straight, and are 8-0-1 in their last nine.
The last thing a coach usually wants to see his star players risking injury in a fight. But Joel Quenneville couldn’t complain about this one.
“You’ve got to love the way he competes,” Quenneville said. “Give him credit — got the Gordie Howe tonight.”
Panarin was the hero Wednesday night, but once again, Corey Crawford was the star, making 27 saves in a riveting goaltending duel with the Blues’ Jake Allen. Crawford has allowed just four goals in his last five starts, the Blues unable to solve him until 2:11 left in the game, when Alex Pietrangelo’s shot squirted through a screened Crawford’s legs.
Blues coach Ken Hitchcock doesn’t like talking about goalies, and breaking them down and dissecting where they’re vulnerable. He wants his shooters acting on instinct, not on a scouting report. But Crawford doesn’t make it easy.
“He’s one of about six goalies in the league who get you talking about them,” Hitchcock said. “That’s the worst thing you can do, is have to start talking about where you need to place the puck to beat the goalie and all that stuff, because the game’s so quick, you can’t think like that. You just shoot. And he’s one of those guys … he’s in that group where, quite frankly, you start talking about those guys. And then when you start talking about them, you start freezing. So we’re not talking about him.”
Maybe Hitchcock should have talked more about him.
“He’s been phenomenal,” Seabrook said. “For our group here, he’s definitely the backbone, and he’s getting the job done.”
It was a defensive struggle for the first two periods — the Hawks squandered a 96-second 5-on-3 in the first period, and Marian Hossa’s goal early in the second was the lone tally for the nearly 58 minutes — but things picked up considerably in the third, as Crawford and Allen matched each other save for save. Crawford’s best stop came on a power play midway through the third, when he came across the net and got his skate on a shot by Vladimir Tarasenko, who had a wide-open net in front of him but hesitated just long enough for Crawford. Allen, meanwhile, made a nifty poke-check to stop a Patrick Kane breakaway.
“I feel good,” Crawford said. “Reading plays is good right now. Patient when I have to be. Getting out and being aggressive. It’s a good spot right now, but there’s always room for improvement.”
The win did come at a cost, as Artem Anisimov — the Hawks’ leading scorer with eight goals and nine assists — left the game with 5:29 left in the second period and didn’t return. Quenneville deemed it an upper-body injury, but demurred when asked if the league’s new concussion spotters forced Anisimov’s removal from the game.
“We don’t like talking about injuries,” Quenneville said. “I’m not going to say what it was but I don’t think that was part of it.”
Anisimov is day-to-day, and his status for Friday’s game against Washington is uncertain. His point streak game to an end at 11 games.
Email: mlazerus@suntimes.com
Twitter: @marklazerus
