THREE THINGS: Crow's Nest, Captain Clutch and Playoffs

The Blackhawks have done what many doubted they could do, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in a best-of-five Qualifying Round for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

With a 3-2 win on Friday evening, Chicago took a 3-1 series victory in four games, advancing past the potent Edmonton offense containing the league's two top-scoring players and the best power play the NHL has seen in over 40 years.

CHI 3, EDM 2

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**GAMECENTER**: Blackhawks vs. Oilers - Game 4

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**GALLERY**: Blackhawks vs. Oilers - Game 4

Brandon Saad and Matthew Highmore quickly answered in Game 4 after the Oilers scored in the opening minutes of the game for the third time in the series. Dominik Kubalik scored his third of the series in the third period and Corey Crawford stood on his head in the dying minutes to secure the 3-2 victory and the series win

"Great to end the series. A big challenge to face an excellent team with as good of players as you'll find in the league. Really proud of how we competed," head coach Jeremy Colliton said. "Right from the first game we showed we were ready and committed to doing the little things that give you a chance to win … We found a way to win. We got some big saves from 'Crow' to keep us in the lead and just proud of how hard we competed and excited to continue more."

"We knew what we wanted to do coming into the series," said captain Jonathan Toews. "Tonight I think was our first time where we had an actual answer to their power play, great goaltending, obviously. Overall, guys got better as the series went along … hopefully we keep getting better every game as we go."

CROW'S NEST

It's tough to imagine that Friday was just the 14th day in the last five months that Crawford had been on the ice, returning to the team on the last day before departing for Edmonton after a bout with COVID-19 held him out of training camp.

Watching Game 4, you'd think he was in midseason form, not, as he believes, a netminder with some work still to do. Crawford made 43 saves on the night, including 20 in the third period alone as the Oilers made a late push for the equalizer.

"He's a huge part of our team. I think he played really well today," Dominik Kubalik said. "We gave up too many penalties today, so really happy that he shut the door. I think he was our best player."

"Corey was great all series," Toews added. "To close out a series with the pressure and the offense they were creating late in that game, you need your goaltending to be huge."

Of course while his teammates were praising his play on the night, he was praising their efforts to help him out in a team effort.

"Our D men, our forwards, everyone was helping out in our zone," he said. "It seemed like there were a lot of pucks laying around in front of the net in the third period when they were pressing and our guys did a great job of getting sticks and letting me cover it or clearing it. It's a total team effort."

With every passing game, Crawford says he's feeling more and more comfortable out there, which will only continue to make Chicago a more dangerous team going forward.

"It wasn't the best scenario, would've like to had a few more weeks of practice and see more pucks coming into the series, but it is what it is," he said of his re-accclamation to the ice. "Just trying to work hard to be ready and I think obviously I felt way better playing each game and just seeing different scenarios and situations. Once you get more of that, the better you feel."

CAPTAIN CLUTCH

The captain continued to lead the way for Chicago on Friday night, perhaps no more apparent than on the game-winning goal. Toews single-handedly stripped the puck 1-on-1 with Ethan Bear in the corner, before spinning and finding the wheelhouse of Kubalik for the game-winning one-timer.

"Jonny's been around a long time and he's got a pretty immaculate track record in playoffs. To me, his biggest attribute that he has is his compete level," Colliton said. "He wins a 50-50 battle on the winning goal, just finds a way to come up with the puck and that's the winner. He came up big for us throughout the series in those types of situations. A great player."

The 32 year old led Chicago in the Qualifying Round with seven points (4G, 3A), including three multi-point games. A pair of assists on the same night he moved into sole possession of second place in franchise history for playoff games played are just the latest example of the three-time Cup winner's longevity and impact on a roster led by its leader.

"Just leading by example -- he says the right things, the experience he has, the respect he has in the room," Saad said. "I think the biggest thing though, you can talk the talk, but when you're going out there leading by example with his work ethic, everyone buys in. It starts from the top with him and then the team buys into that."

"I thought he was great," Crawford said. "Obviously was won of our best players, not just offensively, but he had a big block in the third there when they were pressuring. When a leader's doing that, I think it just follows throughout the lineup. He's won some Cups and knows how to play in these games."

PLAYOFFS?!

Although the playoff mentality and atmosphere have been alive in the Qualifying Round, the Blackhawks have now officially clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs -- one of 16 teams that will compete for the most difficult trophy in sports to win.

"They've changed the tournament and they're still going to award the Stanley Cup at the end," Colliton said of the mentality of his group coming in the underdog as the No. 12 seed. "It's all about what you do with it. Our group, right from the time we got to camp, they've been totally committed and the work ethic has been excellent and it's given us a chance to win."

The team that had fought their way back into playoff contention with a strong January and February performance was largely considered down and out following a dismal Western Canada just before the trade deadline. By the season's pause in mid-March, there was still hope within the team as they continued to collect points, but perhaps had too high of a mountain to climb to reach the postseason in the final few weeks. As it turned out, none of it mattered in the end.

With the expanded format, coming in as the final seed phased no one in the Blackhawks locker room. The were in the fight and looking to carry their late season momentum into the expanded dance.

"For us, it didn't really matter what seed we were," Toews said. "We knew what we were doing later in the season that helped us play great hockey, win games, and we got right back to that … The pace is up, the intensity's up and it's fun hockey to be able to play this time of year."

Now, the Blackhawks await the First Round opponent: either the Colorado Avalanche or the Vegas Golden Knights. The two teams go head-to-head on Saturday afternoon and the winner will face Chicago in the best-of-seven series as the Western Conference's top-seeded team.

"Both excellent teams," Colliton said after Game 4. "They've had great seasons and they're coming into the playoffs with the expectation that they're going to win the Cup. It's a great challenge for us and I'm happy that we get the opportunity to prepare for them and to compete against them. We feel like we've been getting better all the time and it's going to be a great test for us … They're going to push us to play a more consistent game, to find another level, but that's perfect. That's good for our guys and it's up to us to answer the challenge."