ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Blackhawks tried to keep game day as close to normal as possible, but it’s hard to downplay the return of someone this significant.
Corey Crawford will be back in net tonight for the first time in more than two months when the Hawks visit the Ducks. He’s their best goalie, and regardless of the last two seasons going sideways because of concussions, he has the stature of a man who helped this franchise capture the Stanley Cup twice.
There’s nothing ordinary about finally getting Crawford back, especially for teammates who were with him during the dynasty.
“He’s always been one of those guys where you just love having him around,” Jonathan Toews said at morning skate. “It’s been tough to see him go through something similar to last season again this year, missing a lot of games. But we all trust he’s been doing everything he can to get back in and get himself healthy.
“He’s got the opportunity to get back in and play some hockey, and that’s what we all want for him. We’re excited to have him back for sure.”
Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton declined to give a sketch of the plan for Crawford. The team gets two days off before playing the Kings on Saturday and Sharks on Sunday. Colliton will almost certainly split the back-to-back between Crawford and Cam Ward.
Crawford practiced Tuesday and went through morning skate at Honda Center, as he has for the last few weeks, but there was purpose in it this time. He joins a frantic fight for a playoff spot, an endeavor nearing desperation, and the Hawks hope he can propel them back into the race.
They lost two important games last weekend and dropped from the fringe of the second wild-card spot to six points out heading into the Anaheim game.
Crawford could be “a game changer,” as Alex DeBrincat put it. He set a career high in save percentage before a concussion wrecked last season for him and was at .902 this season before the injury. He stopped 78 of 85 shots in the two games before hitting his head on a goal post in mid-December.
It’s hard to know what to expect in his first few games after long layoff, but even if it’s a rocky start, simply having him out there again energizes the Hawks.
“I think it does,” Colliton said. “He’s got a presence, and that’s on and off the ice. Getting back to how he carries himself, it’s going to have a good effect on our team.”
Crawford is unflappable, and Colliton didn’t sense any jitters leading up to the game. Goaltending coach Jimmy Waite told him Tuesday he was getting the start, and there wasn’t much reaction.
“Probably had the same look on his face as he usually does,” Colliton said. “Just no big deal, ready to go.”
But there’s no doubt this is meaningful for Crawford. No matter what anyone else thought about whether he should keep playing after a second concussion, he was determined to make it back. He has been working toward it mostly in isolation.
He spent the first month-plus of his recovery training on his own until he returned to partial practice three weeks ago. He didn’t start traveling with the Hawks until the Detroit game last week, and hasn’t been on the bench. It has been a long, lonely trek to get here.
“You don’t want to see a teammate that kind of has to be on his own page dealing with a long-term injury and just being disconnected from the rest of the locker room,” Toews said. “You just feel for a guy that’s not feeling like himself and not feeling 100 percent day to day [and] there’s always some setbacks and things getting in his way.
“Personally, just happy he’s healthy and he’s feeling good. Hockey comes second after that.”
