"That's the one real positive, with [Crawford], how well he played," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "I thought he was in control, he handled the puck around the net well, his movement was excellent, he anticipated well, he was on top of his crease and stopped some real dangerous looks. He kept us in the game. Unfortunately we didn't take advantage."
While Crawford missed the final 47 games of last season and the first five of this season, he didn't look rusty. He faced 12 shots in the first period and allowed one goal, when Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse scored off a 2-on-1 with Clayton Keller to give the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 11:43. As Crawford left the ice for the first intermission, the Blackhawks greeted him with fist bumps.
Crawford made his biggest save with the Blackhawks trailing 2-1 at 4:02 of the third period, stopping Michael Grabner on a breakaway. But following a turnover by Blackhawks forward Chris Kunitz, Keller scored on a wrist shot to make it 3-1 at 14:22.
"I felt better in the second and third," Crawford said. "It was a tough, tough break at the end. Still felt I should have stopped that [Keller] one. I mean, we were right there, we were creating a lot, and I (have to) try to come up with that one. Just (have to) forget about it and worry about the next game."
Crawford will start at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, WGN, NHL.TV) in the first of back-to-back games. The Blackhawks host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.
"It's almost to be expected," center Jonathan Toews said. "He comes in, he's so confident and relaxed and he just goes out there and plays hockey. He's looking like himself and I think that's a great sign. I wasn't sure when that was going to happen, so it's great that it's happening early in this season. It's fun to see him play well and just get back out there, regardless of the result tonight."
