Corey Crawford, Richard Panik lead Hawks to shootout win

Corey Crawford was flat on his back and without his stick in a tie game in the third period Tuesday night, accidentally tripped by teammate Vinnie Hinostroza in a moment of confusion. Crawford, either in disbelief or in pain, was slow to get up, but quickly realized the puck was still in play, and that Derek MacKenzie was winding up to shoot.

Crawford lunged to his right and somehow swatted the puck with his hand, banking it off the post and back into his glove.

“I was pretty mad,” Crawford said.

He was grinning when he said that. Winning helps.

Crawford was spectacular yet again for the Blackhawks in Tuesday night’s 2-1 shootout victory over the Florida Panthers. Richard Panik had the lone goal in regulation and the shootout winner, but this win was all Crawford — as so many of the Hawks’ wins this season have been.

“If it weren’t for him, the last couple games would turn out differently, that’s for sure,” said Artemi Panarin, who had the other shootout goal, through an interpreter. “We’re lucky to have him.”

However, already down their top center, Jonathan Toews, the Hawks now have to be concerned about their No. 2 pivot. Artem Anisimov took a Duncan Keith shot off the inside of his ankle in the third period and limped off to the dressing room in obvious pain. Joel Quenneville said he’d know more on Wednesday, but that “he seemed to be OK.”

Panarin called it a “sleepy game,” and it looked exactly like a team coming off a draining 13-night road trip and a team that just lost a popular coach it didn’t really want to lose. It was a disjointed sloppy affair, with Crawford (38 saves) and Roberto Luongo (32 saves doing the heavy lifting).

Beyond the Crawford heroics, the Hawks followed their usual script in the first period, getting badly outshot yet still coming out with a lead. Despite mustering just two shots in a nearly 15-minute span, the Hawks emerged with a 1-0 edge when Richard Panik, sprung by Dennis Rasmussen, beat Roberto Luongo with a nifty move on a breakaway. It was the first goal since Oct. 22 for Panik, who led the league in goals after six games, and his first point in 13 games. Panik raised both arms in the air and screamed his relief after the tally.

“It feels good,” Panik said “It feels even better when we win.”

After a sluggish second period for both sides — each team had a power play during which the best chance came from the shorthanded team — the Panthers pounced on a Niklas Hjalmarsson hooking penalty with a power-play goal early in the third. With Brent Seabrook down after blocking a Jonathan Marchessault shot, Jaromir Jagr found a bouncing puck on the doorstep and beat Crawford to make it 1-1 35 seconds into the third, setting the stage for a humdrum overtime and the eventual shootout winners by Panarin and Panik.

“I thought our team was ordinary across the board,” Quenneville said. “One of those games you find a way to keep yourself in it.”

Having Crawford in goal certainly helps.

Email: mlazerus@suntimes.com

Twitter: @marklazerus