March 30--Blackhawks center Artem Anisimov missed his second consecutive game Tuesday night because of a lower-body injury.
Anisimov played in Saturday's victory over the Flames before sitting out Sunday's triumph over the Canucks. Anisimov's last shift Saturday ended with 12 seconds remaining in the game. Tuesday's was the third game he missed this season.
Coach Joel Quenneville said he was hopeful Anisimov could return Friday when the Hawks visit the Jets.
Quenneville was less optimistic about the status of goaltender Corey Crawford (upper body).
"We'll see. I don't know," Quenneville said.
Quenneville said Saturday he was not concerned about Crawford's status for the playoffs but Crawford has been considered day-to-day since last playing March 14 and apparently has made little progress in being able to return.
With Anisimov out, Teuvo Teravainen skated as the second-line center during the team's morning skate. The line was effective in Sunday's victory with Teravainen scoring a goal while the line generated several scoring chances. Anisimov's absence made room for Dennis Rasmussen to play his second consecutive game.
Leighton's Minions: If you take a look at backup goaltender Michael Leighton's helmet, you'll see a unique design -- it's covered in Minions, the yellow characters from the animated movie franchises "Despicable Me" and "Minions."
Leighton has that design because his children are big fans of the films and also because he has a charity called "Leighton's Minions," which help provide VIP experiences at Rockford IceHogs games for people with special needs.
"It's to get a special night out for people to get the VIP treatment, get autographs from the players and stuff like that," Leighton said.
Leighton's Minions has a Facebook page that provides information about the charity.
