Crawford out; Blackhawks turn to Raanta

Pretty much since the start of the season, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville has not been able to say enough about goalie Corey Crawford, with "rock solid" being his go-to description of choice.

And why not? The guy has indeed been stellar, with a 12-5-1 record, a 1.87 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.

But when Crawford, who has started 14 straight games, missed practice Tuesday, Quenneville had very little to say about No. 50 other than he won't play Wednesday against St. Louis after suffering an "off-ice lower body" injury.

"He's being evaluated right now, so we'll know more (Wednesday,)" Quenneville said following practice at Johnny's IceHouse.

Asked if it was serious, the Hawks' coach responded simply, "don't know."

So there you go.

What is crystal clear is that Antti Raanta will get what for him will be a long-awaited, albeit unexpected, start Wednesday against St. Louis, the Hawks' fiercest division rivals.

It was just a week-and-a-half ago that Crawford was prepared to serve as Raanta's backup in Edmonton, but a sudden illness forced Raanta to miss the game and Crawford to step up.

Now it's Raanta's turn.

"That's the same thing; Corey had to jump in there in Edmonton as well," Quenneville said. "That's all part of it with goalies - you're sitting on the bench, you think you have a day off, and all of a sudden you're in there.

"It's an unpredictable job being a goalie. You expect to play every day … I think that's part of the job description."

This is the second time Crawford has been sidelined this season. He sat out a handful of games in late October with an upper-body injury.

The Hawks on Tuesday recalled Scott Darling from Rockford to serve as backup Wednesday. The Lemont native is 2-1-0 with a 1.98 goals-against average and .933 save percentage in limited duty with the Hawks. He has an 8-2-1 record with a .929 save percentage and a 2.05 GAA in 11 games with the IceHogs.

But all eyes Wednesday - and perhaps beyond - will be on Raanta, who will be making his first start since Oct. 25. He is 1-2-0 with a 2.03 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.

"I'm sure he's excited to get back, get a chance to play," Quenneville said. "It's a big game as well, so it'll be fun for everyone."

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