Blackhawks' Quenneville: Crawford will be ready for playoffs

Corey Crawford is in.

As in "absolutely" in when the Chicago Blackhawks begin the postseason next week.

That one word uttered from coach Joel Quenneville on Tuesday morning should allay any fears Hawks fans might have had that the team's No. 1 goaltender wouldn't be able to return in time to help the team try to defend its 2015 title.

Crawford was on the ice Tuesday, facing shots from his teammates for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in mid-March.

"Been doing some pretty hard workouts in practice (the last few days)," Crawford said. "I feel pretty good. It's nice to see some shots today and be out there with the guys."

He later added: "I'm itching to get back in there."

Crawford wouldn't go into details as to when he suffered the injury or what, exactly, has been ailing him. He last played against the Los Angeles Kings on March 14, then backed up Scott Darling on March 16 when the Hawks hosted the Phildelphia Flyers.

The next day, the Hawks announced the injury and called up Michael Leighton from Rockford.

"How did it happen? I'm not going to talk about that," Crawford said. "I want to be positive and think about what's been going good for me right now and getting better."

Just like he said Monday, Quenneville reiterated that he expects Crawford to start Saturday's season finale at Columbus. Crawford wasn't as definitive when addressing reporters at his locker stall, saying "it's literally day by day."

If he can go Saturday, it will be close to a month since Crawford started a game. He's not sure how the time off will affect him.

"The little details kind of go away a little bit the longer you miss, but who knows?" Crawford said. "Practices have been pretty hard, pretty intense, technical stuff with (goaltending coach) Jimmy (Waite) I've been working on. … Just go day by day, but … after today I felt good out there seeing stuff."

Crawford missed two significant stretches last season. His first injury cost him six games, and when he returned he lost three of his first four starts (although his save percentage was .934).

Crawford then missed eight games between Dec. 3-16. He lost his first two starts, getting pulled in his second one after allowing 3 goals in 15:30 at Winnipeg. He then went 5-4 with a .915 save percentage in his next nine starts.

It's a different year, though, one in which Crawford had been a top Vezina Trophy candidate as the league's best goalie until he was injured. Crawford has set career highs for wins (35) and shutouts (7) and is very close to a career best in save percentage (.926).

"It's good to have Crow back out there with the boys and know that he's on the right path," Jonathan Toews said.

A path Hawks fans hope leads to yet another Stanley Cup title.

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