Goaltender Corey Crawford is progressing well enough in his recovery from a Dec. 3 appendectomy that he might start Friday against the Avalanche, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said.
That would put Crawford's return in the two- to three-week timetable doctors gave him after the procedure. Crawford skated in Chicago during the Hawks' recent three-game trip and again Sunday, and he will skate Monday when the rest of the team is off.
Quenneville would like to see Crawford in a full practice before giving him the green light to start.
Quenneville started Scott Darling on Sunday in the second game of a back-to-back rather than inserting first-year goaltender Lars Johansson. Darling had allowed eight goals in his previous two games, but the Hawks won both.
"We talked about it," Quenneville said. "It was a good discussion, and at the end of it, (Darling) came back with another win, so we didn't want to change the pattern. Our thought process originally was he had the net here, but we certainly thought about it."
