Corey Crawford's season debut is a little more than a week away if things remain on schedule, and it can't come soon enough for the Blackhawks.
While coach Joel Quenneville refuses to pin all of the blame on Cam Ward for allowing 14 goals in three games, his yearning for predictability has extended to the goaltending. It hasn't been that way since Crawford became the starter during the 2010-11 season.
"It's a situation where we didn't have to think about it in the past," Quenneville said. "I think 'Crow' is a big reason why we never had to be concerned about it."
Quenneville has been trying to figure out why scoring is up around the league but doesn't have any clear-cut answers. Over the first few days of the season, teams are averaging 3.16 goals per game _ up from 2.97 per game last season.
"Probably haven't seen enough pucks or haven't gotten the rhythm that they're accustomed to," Quenneville said. "Might be some of it. Somebody mentioned today getting used to the new (smaller) chest protectors, I don't know about that."
Quenneville said Ward likely will start Thursday against the Wild in St. Paul, Minn.
