CHICAGO _ Despite practicing with the team and saying he feels good, Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford has yet to be cleared by team doctors to return to game action.
Before Crawford can play, he must pass what coach Jeremy Colliton called a "return-to-play protocol."
Crawford, who suffered a concussion in December, said Tuesday he hopes to take the final tests he must pass "around the end of this week."
"It's something where you have to feel good or else probably you're not going to pass it, right?" Crawford said. "I mean, there's no point in taking it if you don't feel good. I think once you're in shape and ready to go, you're fine to do that."
After he's cleared, Crawford will leave it to the coaching staff to decide when he gets his first start.
"I'm just trying to get better every day," Crawford said. "When you first come back, it's kind of like you're stopping pucks on accident almost. It's funny to say that, but the game's so fast, it's hard to be on right away. And then maybe you go back to sucking for a little bit and then the timing comes back. It's just going through stages of little things.
"But right now I (am) seeing the puck pretty good. Just work out every practice and I'll be ready."
