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CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks backup goaltender Henrik Karlsson will prepare Friday as if he’s going to play in Game 2 of the first-round series against the Minnesota Wild.

Karlsson’s mentality isn’t a reaction to witnessing Minnesota Wild backup goaltender Josh Harding be called upon to replace Niklas Backstrom as the team’s starter less than 30 minutes prior to Tuesday’s game because of an injury. Karlsson always prepares physically and mentally to enter any game in which he’s the backup.

“Just train good and prepare and rest like you’re supposed to play and try to be focused,” said Karlsson after Thursday’s practice. “I just try to be ready. I’ve been a backup for a couple years, so I’ve been thrown in there in games. I think I have a lot of experience about that. Hopefully, nothing happens. But if something happens, I’ll be ready to step in and I’ll feel good.”

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CHICAGO -- When Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom left the ice with an injury before the game started, Chicago Blackhawks fans probably expected an easy win over backup goalie Josh Harding.

Maybe the Blackhawks did, too.

The last time the Hawks faced Harding on Jan. 30, he was pulled from the game after two goals in the first seven minutes. Harding, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the fall, hasn't started a game since then, and played only twice.

But this is the playoffs, after all, and in the NHL it's often hard to tell the seeds apart, let alone the dominant goaltenders (read: Corey Crawford) from the benchwarmers.

That's why everyone loves the Stanley Cup playoffs. The game begins with a goalie change and ends with Bryan Bickell celebrating an overtime goal.

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CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford couldn’t have begun the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs any worse.

The first shot the Minnesota Wild took on Crawford in Game 1 of their first-round series bypassed him and found the inside of the net on Tuesday. Crawford saw the play unfold and was in position to stop the puck, but somewhere between the Wild’s Cal Clutterbuck shooting it and the lamp being lit, Crawford lost sight of the puck.

Crawford’s focus was undoubtedly shaken.

“It was definitely a battle,” Crawford said. “It’s not the way you want to start a game. I can’t remember what time it was on the clock when I got that shot. I wasn’t getting any work. I just tried to get myself in the game after that. … I saw the release. I just kind of lost the puck halfway. Whatever, it’s over. It happened. I just tried to regroup as quick as possible.”

A season ago, the early goal might have foreshadowed a long, difficult game for Crawford. But this season, he learned to keep his focus and not let any one goal affect him. It stuck to that blueprint again on Tuesday.

Crawford bounced back after Clutterbuck’s goal and didn’t allow the Wild to beat him again over the game’s final 70-plus minutes. He stopped the Wild’s next 26 shots and helped the Blackhawks to a 2-1 overtime win in Game 1.

“I was able to regroup pretty good,” Crawford said. “The guys were behind me, encouraging me.”

The Blackhawks’ confidence in Crawford and his own confidence in himself appeared to grow as the game progressed. The Wild didn’t have as many shot attempts as the Blackhawks did (37-27), but the Wild compiled a lot of quality ones, and Crawford was there to deny each one.

In overtime, Wild forward Zach Parise had one of the game’s best attempts, a wide-open look from the slot. Crawford knocked the shot away with his blocker, and the puck skipped just past the left of the net.

“He’s got a quick release,” Crawford said. “I just tried to read it as good as I could and just barely got enough of it.”

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was impressed by the save and how Crawford handled the early adversity, but it was nothing Quenneville wasn’t accustomed to seeing in the regular season.

“I thought he stayed with it,” Quenneville said. “He had a key save right before our score. He made a big save with a guy in the slot. He seemed big and he got comfortable. I liked the response. That’s kind of the way he played all year.”

CHICAGO -- Here’s a quick look at the Chicago Blackhawks' 2-1 overtime win over the Minnesota Wild at the United Center on Tuesday in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

How it happened: Blackhawks forward Bryan Bickell continued to be a playoff star as he scored the game-winner in overtime off a pass from Viktor Stalberg. It was Bickell’s fifth playoff goal in the past three seasons. The eighth-seeded Wild initially shocked the sold-out Blackhawks crowd by scoring on their first shot of the game. The Wild went ahead 1-0 when Cal Clutterbuck beat Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford from the left circle at 4:48 of the first period. Crawford bounced back from the early goal and stopped the Wild’s next 26 shots. The Blackhawks evened the game at 1-1 when Patrick Kane dished the puck off to Marian Hossa on the rush, and Hossa finished from the left circle at 2:06 of the second period. Wild goaltender Josh Harding replaced Niklas Backstrom as the team’s starter just before the game. Harding, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis earlier this year, played in five games during the regular season. He made 36 saves.

Player of the game: Harding stepped up in a difficult situation. He hadn’t started since Jan. 30 and found out just before Tuesday’s game he was going to have to replace Backstrom. In his last start, which also happened to be against the Blackhawks, he allowed two goals on four shots and was pulled from the game.

What it means: The Blackhawks and Wild played in some tight games during the regular season, and that carried over into their first game of the playoffs. Two of the teams’ three regular-season games were decided by one goal. Both were also two of the top teams in the league in one-goal games. The Blackhawks were 19-3-5 in one-goal games in the regular season, and the Wild were 13-5-3. The Wild proved they’re not going to allow the Blackhawks to roll through the first round. The Wild kept themselves in the game most of the night by getting in the way of the Blackhawks’ shots. The Wild blocked 21 shots. The Blackhawks played in five overtime games in the first round last season and two in the opening round in 2011. Eight of the Blackhawks’ last nine playoff games dating back to 2011 have gone to overtime.

What’s next: Game 2 of the series will be held in Chicago on Friday. The series will then move to Minnesota for the following two games.

CHICAGO -- The only time Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford allowed himself to speak about the future this year was just before the season.

Coming off a 2011-12 season in which he received a bulk of the blame for the Blackhawks’ first-round playoff exit to the Phoenix Coyotes, Crawford acknowledged he was out to prove something this season.

“I feel like I need to kind of redeem myself a little bit,” Crawford said during training camp. “I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting and finally it’s here, so I’m getting excited and ready to go.”

That was much pretty much the end of Crawford addressing his mission for the 2013 season. From the season opener against the Los Angeles Kings to the final regular-season home game on Friday, Crawford hasn’t turned his focus away from what’s just ahead of him.

And so far, Crawford’s season-long plan has worked to near perfection. With Friday’s 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames, Crawford improved to 19-5-5 on the season and lowered his goals-against average to 1.94 and save percentage to. 926. He’s tied for third in the league in goals-against average and ranks fifth in save percentage

“Just playing in the moment,” Crawford explained on Friday. “We haven’t gotten ahead of ourselves all year. Now’s not the time do that. We feel good right now. We’re just focused on what we have at the task at hand. We still have another game [Saturday.] We can’t start getting complacent or taking things lightly. We got to keep the same pace and carry into the playoffs.”

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CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland (lower-body injury) and goaltender Ray Emery (lower body) will miss Friday’s game against the Calgary Flames and are considered day to day, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

Quenneville also said neither would travel for Saturday’s game against the St. Louis Blues.

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EDMONTON -- A quick look at the Chicago Blackhawks’ 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place on Wednesday.

How it happened: Patrick Kane scored on a breakaway just more than eight minutes into the first period, which held up as the game winner in a relatively low-scoring affair between the two teams. Kane was sprung on a great pass by Michal Handzus and beat Oilers goaltender Devan Dubnyk, slipping the puck between his pads. Jonathan Toews opened the scoring just under four minutes into the contest, and Nail Yakupov responded for the Oilers less than a minute later. Johnny Oduya added a third, then Patrick Sharp scored an empty-netter. In their previous two encounters this season, the teams had combined for 16 goals. Corey Crawford earned the victory in goal for the Blackhawks after entering the game in relief of Ray Emery, who left at the 11:49 mark of the first period with an undisclosed lower-body injury.

Player of the game: Kane, scored the winner and added two assists. He was a threat for the Blackhawks all night.

What it means: With the win, the Blackhawks clinch the Presidents' Trophy with the top regular-season record in the league for the first time in 22 years and therefore claim home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. The victory snapped a two-game skid and gave them eight victories in their past 10 games.

What’s next: The Blackhawks host the Calgary Flames on Friday in their final home game of the regular season. They’ll close out the lockout-shortened schedule Saturday at the St. Louis Blues.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks' result -- a 3-2 shootout loss to the Phoenix Coyotes -- was ultimately irrelevant Saturday.

While the Blackhawks would love to win every game, there's no shame in losing in a shootout at this point of the season, especially considering where the Blackhawks have put themselves atop the Western Conference standings.

What really matters this time of the season is how the Blackhawks are playing overall. And in the eyes of captain Jonathan Toews, the team is playing just how it wants leading into the final four games of the season.

"We're playing against some teams who are hungry, that are working really hard to get points to earn a playoff spot," Toews said. "We're making it as hard as we can on those teams. We've shown we can keep rolling four lines. We can kill penalties. Right now, the power play is back on track the last couple games. I'd say we got a lot of confidence in all the areas of game. That's exactly what we want to get going these last few games or so."

The Blackhawks have to be especially giddy about what the power play has done the past two games. After going scoreless on the power play in nine consecutive games, the Blackhawks have scored four power-play goals in their past two games. Brent Seabrook, who was celebrating his 28th birthday, scored both power-play goals Saturday.

The power play had been the one major concern heading into the playoffs, and now it seems it could benefit the Blackhawks in a tight playoff affair.

"It was good," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said of the power play. "I like the power play. I thought we had good motion, good movement, good options, thinking shot. Seabs' one-timer, Seabs in the slot, couple nice feeds as well. Nice to see some finished product. I think that definitely was a sore point for a stretch of games, nice to have something positive come out of it on the power-play side."

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CHICAGO -- Here's a quick look at the Phoenix Coyotes' 3-2 shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on Saturday.

How it happened: The Coyotes outscored the Blackhawks 2-1 in the shootout to pull out the road win. Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith made 36 saves and stopped two shootout shots. Defenseman Brent Seabrook, who turned 28 on Saturday, scored both of the Blackhawks' goals, both of which came on the power play. The Blackhawks have scored four power-play goals in the last two games after not scoring one in their previous nine games. Rostislav Klesla and Radim Vrbata scored the Coyotes' two regulation goals. Klesla's goal came when he flung the puck from near center ice, and it bounced toward the net and past Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford. The Blackhawks killed all five of the Coyotes' power plays. The Blackhawks outshot the Coyotes 38-31. Crawford made 29 saves.

Player of the game: Smith kept the Coyotes in the game with a number of tremendous saves. He stopped 15 shots in the first period and finished with 36 saves in 38 shots.

What it means: The Blackhawks had their seven-game winning streak snapped, but extended their points streak to 11 games. They are now 34-5-5 with an NHL-best 73 points. The Blackhawks are 19-3-5 in one-goal games and 6-5 in shootouts this season. The Blackhawks had their largest crowd of the season with a paid attendance of 22,272.

What's next: The Blackhawks head to Canada for their next two games. They will play the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.

CHICAGO -- Count the Chicago Blackhawks among those who were moved watching the Boston Bruins and their fans pay tribute to the Boston Marathon victims before Wednesday's game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Following a video presentation of images from the day of the bombings, Rene Rancourt sang the national anthem on Wednesday, then lowered his microphone and allowed the fans to sing the rest of the way at the TD Garden in Boston on Wednesday.

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Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville's decision on a playoff goalie won't be an easy one with Corey Crawford and Ray Emery playing equally well.

They're both among the league leaders in goal-against average and save percentage, and the Blackhawks have won with both in the net.

But the bigger question may be whether it really matters which one Quenneville picks. While both goaltenders have been consistent, there's also the fact the Blackhawks defense just isn't allowing opponents many opportunities to score.

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ST. LOUIS – Corey Crawford, coming off his win Friday night against the Red Wings, will be back in net Sunday against the St. Louis Blues.

Crawford is 16-4-4 on the season with a .923 save percentage.

• The Blues will go with Brian Elliott in goal. Elliott has posted shutouts in his last three games and has not allowed a goal in more than 189 minutes.

• Patrick Sharp will not play for the Blackhawks. He is said to be suffering from an upper-body injury. Sharp missed over a month of action with an upper body injury before returning for the last two games. His status is day to day, and he might not play in Monday night's home game against Dallas.

• Center Dave Bolland is back in Chicago's lineup after missing the last four games with a lower-leg injury.

• The Blackhawks have won their last two road games by 1-0 scores.

• Coach Joel Quenneville said Hobey Baker award winner Dave LeBlanc “could” play with the team before the season ends.

• The Blackhawks, who clinched the Central Division title on Friday, come into today's game with a seven-point lead over second-place Anaheim in the Western Conference. The Ducks lost 2-1 to the Los Angeles Kings Saturday night and don't play again until Wednesday.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks are working rapidly down their list of season goals.

First came clinching a playoff berth. They did that on April 7.

Second was clinching the Central Division. They accomplished that Friday with a 3-2 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings at the United Center coupled with a St. Louis Blues' loss.

The Blackhawks appeared as if they were going to have to wait at least one more game to take the division crown. They trailed the Red Wings by a goal from late into the second period to the final minutes of the third period. But with 2:57 remaining in the third period, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews knocked in a loose puck in front of the net and gave his team life.

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CHICAGO -- Time is running out with nine regular-season games remaining, but Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is still patiently waiting for Corey Crawford or Ray Emery to emerge as his No. 1 playoff goalie.

So far this season, Crawford and Emery have been neck and neck for the top spot. Crawford is 15-4-4 with a 2.01 goals-against average and .922 save percentage. Emery is 15-1-0 with a 1.90 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.

Emery has started and won the last three games, and Crawford will start against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday.

"I think in the past a lot of times the decision is always made for you," Quenneville said after Thursday's practice at Johnny's IceHouse West. "It's clear who is going to be the guy. This year, I can honestly say, both guys definitely get strong consideration based on performance. I think we're a position where, well, let's see how it goes right now without showing our hand. If both guys continue doing what they're doing, we'll be in a real nice situation.

"We'll see how it all works out. We'll see how it all plays out."

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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Right now, the identity of the Blackhawks' No. 1 goaltender appears to be an open question. That wasn't the case a week ago, when both Ray Emery and coach Joel Quenneville suggested the job belonged to Corey Crawford.

But this is a whole new backdrop for a team that has dealt with its fair share of goaltending questions. Both Emery and Crawford are playing as well as they ever have in a Blackhawks uniform, and if they keep it up, the NHL's top team will be even more formidable when the playoffs begin at the end of the month.

Emery looked the part of Chicago's top goalie again on Tuesday night, stopping 20 shots in a 1-0 over win over the Minnesota Wild. It was his third shutout in five games, it dropped his goals-against average to 1.90 -- the sixth-best mark in the league -- and it made a compelling case he is every bit Crawford's equal right now.

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