Don't call it a comeback. A setback might be more like it.
Corey Crawford's hopeful return to the ice last weekend was put on ice for the time being.
The injured goalie did not make it there during the All-Star break like coach Joel Quenneville said he had hoped.
Crawford has been on injured reserve since Dec. 27 with an upper-body injury and will not travel with the team on its three-game trip, which begins Tuesday in Nashville.
"Setback, whatever," Quenneville said Monday after the team practiced at MB Ice Arena. "We were encouraged that he might be on the ice this weekend."
Attached to his absence from the ice over the weekend is extension of an unclear timetable for his possible return. Quenneville said Crawford did some light training and hopefully can skate sometime later this week.
"It doesn't give us a clear idea of when he'll be able to play," Quenneville said.
But Quenneville remains "optimistic" that he will return this season, saying Crawford is "showing all the signs that he'll be helping us at some point."
With the Hawks in the thick of a playoff race and backups Anton Forsberg and Jeff Glass performing pretty well, Quenneville said he was unsure how long a reacclimation process might take should Crawford be deemed game ready.
He is 16-9-2 and was among the league's leaders in save percentage (.929) and goals-against average (2.27) when he was put on injured reserve.
"We'll have the answers when we have that decision in front of us," Quenneville said.
