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Kane upset over Crawford ASG snub -- ‘he’s the best goaltender in the league’

By all accounts, Corey Crawford is having a really good year for the Blackhawks.

But by Patrick Kane’s account, Crawford’s having more than that -- and, as a result, should be at the All-Star Game in Nashville.

Even though he won’t.

“Very disappointing,” Kane said of Crawford’s snub, per the Chicago Tribune. “If there’s one guy on this team who deserves it, it’s probably him. He has had a great start to the season. If you look at his numbers they’re very, very impressive.

“He’s the best goaltender in the league.”

Crawford (21-10-2, 2.22 GAA, .925 save percentage) is on pace for the best statistical season of his career. He could crack the 40-win plateau for the first time and, with six shutouts, has already established a career-high.

It’s also fair to suggest that, outside of Kane, nobody is more responsible for Chicago’s success this season.

Crawford has been a workhorse, which is unlike years past -- he’s at 33 games played already, within striking distance of his career-high 59. He sits third in the league in games played, third in time on ice, third in shots faced and fourth in saves.

Of course, his snub is probably about logistics more than anything else.

In a loaded Central Division where each team needs at least one representative, Minnesota’s Devan Dubnyk and Nashville’s Pekka Rinne got the nods over Crawford in goal.

But if Kane was to make an argument about Crawford over Rinne, it’d probably be strong.

This hasn’t been a stellar campaign from the veteran Finn, who has the lowest save percentage (.907) of any goalie going to the ASG. What’s more, Rinne is one of three Predator All-Stars.

Yes, they’re the hosts and yes, they’ve had a good year, but do the Preds -- currently sitting 12th overall in the league -- really deserve three nominees?

“To not have the best goaltender in the league (there) is kind of a little bit difficult for us,” Kane said. “He is definitely deserving to go.”