CHICAGO -- Corey Crawford started every single playoff game when the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last year. Detroit had Jimmy Howard in goal, Jonathan Quick was in net for Los Angeles, Boston had Tuukka Rask, and Crawford beat each one of them. Chicagos unassuming goaltender still had his doubters when this season began. Not so much right now. Crawford is among the NHLs playoff leaders with a .931 save percentage and 1.97 goals-against average, leading the Blackhawks to the Western Conference finals for the fourth time in six seasons. The breakout post-season comes after he set career highs for games and starts while going 32-16-10 during the regular season. "Its another step closer to our ultimate goal and were pretty excited about that right now," Crawford said moments after he helped finish off Minnesota in the second round. "Resilient bunch and we never give up or get down, never get too high. That was a pretty good finish for this one." With Chicago locked in a tight series with the improving Wild, Crawford stepped up at a pivotal moment for the Blackhawks title defence. He had 27 saves in Game 5, helping the Blackhawks rally for a 2-1 win and a 3-2 series lead. Then he made 34 more stops in a 2-1 win at Minnesota on Tuesday night, keeping his team in the game until Patrick Kane got free for the series-clinching goal in overtime. "He was big," Kane said. "Seems to be a trend in this building, kind of in the second period, that they outplay us. Im sure he wasnt happiest with us with how we were playing in front of him. But he did what he does. Hes a great goaltender, and we feel hes the best in the league for that reason." It was Minnesotas first home loss of the post-season, but Crawford didnt sound all that impressed with his performance. "I rate it a as a win," he said. "Thats the only thing that counts." Crawford was just a spectator when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, beating Philadelphia in six games. He took over as Chicagos starting goaltender the following season and posted a career-high 33 wins. Crawford took his lumps when the Blackhawks lost in the first round of the NHL playoffs in 2011 and 2012. He put those years of difficult lessons to good use last summer, when he went 16-7 with a .932 save percentage and an NHL-best 1.84 GAA in Chicagos run to the title. Now hes back for more. Next up is a rematch with the Kings, who lost to the Blackhawks in the conference finals a year ago, or a showdown with the Anaheim Ducks, the Wests top seed. Anaheim held a 3-2 series lead going into Wednesday nights game at Los Angeles. "Every round gets harder," said the 29-year-old Crawford, who received a $36 million, six-year contract extension after last years title. "Two really strong teams that are playing right now, were going to have to face one of them. Have to get some rest and prepare to work harder for our opportunities." Andrew Bogut Jersey .com) - Jimmie Johnson won Sundays AAA Texas 500 while championship contenders Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski as well as their teams were involved in a post-race fight on pit road after the two clashed in the closing laps at Texas Motor Speedway. Bob Lanier Jersey . The Earthquakes (6-9-7) were coming off a 5-0 loss at home last Saturday to FC Dallas. Even with the draw, the Sounders (13-7-3) climbed back into a tie for both the Western Conference and overall top spot in MLS. Seattle, West co-leader Real Salt Lake and East leader Sporting Kansas City all have 42 points. https://www.cheapbucksonline.com/966t-pa...rsey-bucks.html. In the other Group A game, the Czech Republic stunned Canada, 5-4 in a shootout. Dominik Simon scored the deciding goal in the tiebreaker. The United States scored its first three goals on power plays. "Overall, I love to see the power-play goals we were able to get tonight," said U. Thanasis Antetokounmpo Jersey . The English Football Association had charged the German right back with violent conduct after retrospectively reviewing video evidence of an incident that was missed by match officials at Craven Cottage on Saturday. Nikola Mirotic Jersey . - Connor Brown and Dane Fox both scored in regulation and in the shootout, as the Erie Otters extended their win streak to 10 games by defeating the London Knights 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action.The Vancouver Canucks aim to stay perfect on their current homestand and extend their longest winning streak of the season on Friday night as they play host to the Edmonton Oilers. The Canucks have taken the first three contests of their five-game residency that wraps on Saturday versus Boston. That success at home has pushed Vancouvers overall winning streak to five in a row, the longest for the club since it took six straight from March 19-28 of last season. The Canucks got solid goaltending in winning games on back-to-back nights earlier this week. Roberto Luongo posted 28 saves in Sundays 3-1 victory over Colorado and backup Eddie Lack followed up with a 31-save shutout the following night to best Carolina 2-0. Lack, a 25-year-old rookie, was making his first career start at home and improved to 4-2-0 with a 2.08 goals against average in eight games (6 starts) following his first NHL shutout. "I was real excited going into tonights game, playing my first home game and everything. Just tried to do whatever I could to make the team come out with a W here," said Lack. "The guys did an unbelievable job." Christopher Tanev scored 3:35 into the game, but the Canucks didnt find the back of the net again until Jannik Hansens empty-net tally with 1:14 to play. The tight score, though, didnt get to Lack and left coach John Tortorella praising his composure. "The thing I like most about Eddie is just his presence. I think he settles the team down," Tortorella said. "Theres not a lot of extra movement in his game. He moves the puck really well. ... He doesnt get rattled." Despite the shutout, Tortorella is expected to go back to Luongo tonight. Vancouvers No. 1 netminder is 24-11-3 with a tie, three shutouts and a 2.37 GAA in 40 career meetings with the Oilers, all but one of those starts. Luongo made 21 saves in a 6-2 home victory over Edmonton on Oct. 5 in the first off five meetings this season between the Pacific Division residents.dddddddddddd The victory was the Canucks eighth in the past 12 meetings overall and 10th in the last 12 encounters in Vancouver. The Oilers kick off a four-game road trip tonight after falling 4-2 to the Boston Bruins on Thursday. The defeat gave Edmonton a 2-2-1 mark on a five- game homestand. It was a rough night for Devan Dubnyk, who gave up the first of three first- period goals to the Bruins on a long shot from the blue line. Dubnyk stopped 15 shots in the frame, but was replaced by Jason LaBarera to start the second and he halted all 12 shots faced in relief. "I dont know if we won a battle in the first period," Oilers coach Dallas Eakins said. "I dont know if we were, Jeez, the Bruins are in town. Theyre one of the top teams in the League. We need to play cautious. You cant play cautious against anybody. Youll get killed if you give them too much time and space. "But even though we werent winning the battles, I didnt think the first period was as bad as the shot clock showed or the score was. I still felt we had a chance if we could get a goal." David Perron got the Oilers back into the game with two goals in the second period, but Edmontons offense was silenced from there and Boston iced the game with an empty-net tally. Perron now has 14 goals and 27 points on the season, getting six goals and nine points in his past seven games. It is unknown if Eakins will go back to Dubnyk tonight or give LaBarbera his first start since Oct. 26. Dubnyk is 5-5-3 with a 2.48 GAA and two shutouts in 14 games (12 starts) versus Vancouver, but was lifted early in the loss on Oct. 5 after allowing five goals on 31 shots faced in just under 34 minutes of work. Like he did last night, LaBarbera stopped all 12 shots faced in relief and is 4-2-1 with a 2.14 GAA in nine games against Vancouver with six starts. ' ' '