Blackhawks happy with Crawford progress; Murphy may be out until mid-December

From Corey Crawford to Connor Murphy to Artem Anisimov, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, Day 6 of Blackhawks training camp brought with it a truckload of news.

So to get you all caught up, let's unveil it in one neat Six-Pack of a story …

1. Crawford concerns?

Even though Crawford's on-ice session was just 15 minutes Wednesday - and appeared to be cut short under the watchful eye of trainer Mike Gapski - coach Joel Quenneville said everything is still going according to plan with the team's No. 1 netminder.

"No (issues)," Quenneville said. "He's been on the ice six days in a row and tomorrow he's not skating as well. But that's part of the schedule. He was in the gym as well. We still like the progress and the way he's going along here."

Quenneville still won't put a timetable on when Crawford might join his teammates for practice, nor would he rule him out for the first three games of the season - at Ottawa on Oct. 4, at St. Louis on Oct. 6 and at home against Toronto on Oct. 7.

As for being called over by Gapski?

"I think in talking to the group it was almost like, 'Let's go out there for this amount of time,' " Quenneville said. "That was the deal. I wouldn't read too much into that."

2. Murphy update:

Connor Murphy could now be out as long as three months with a back injury that was discovered the day before training camp started. The original timetable was eight weeks, but team physician Dr. Michael Terry said Murphy will undergo testing after being off the ice for six weeks. At that point, it will be determined if he can begin physical activity or if he'll require four more weeks of rest.

After acquiring Murphy from Arizona for Niklas Hjalmarsson, the 25-year-old struggled at times last season and was a healthy scratch six times. Still, he is definitely one of the Hawks' top six defensemen and Duncan Keith admitted, "it's a tough loss."

"Murph was obviously excited to be back," Keith said. "Last year was his first year to a new team, new city. It was a lot of feeling out there on his part.

"He's a great teammate and he feels that much more comfortable around here. I think it was going to show on the ice. He's a big body - big part of our team, big part of our defense corps. We're going to have to fill that void until he gets back."

3. Don't bet against him:

Every time Joel Quenneville is asked about Henri Jokiharju, the Hawks' coach can't contain himself. It was the same story Wednesday as Quenneville reflected on the 19-year-old D-man's preseason performance at Columbus the night before.

"I know it's only one exhibition game, but he certainly helps himself every single day by the way he comes to the rink," Quenneville said. "He brings an element where you can see he wants to get better; he wants to learn. He wants to make the team."

Certainly, injuries to Connor Murphy, Gustav Forsling and now Jan Rutta (day to day with a groin) have given players like Jokiharju, Carl Dahlstrom, Blake Hillman and Brandon Davidson more of a chance to show what they can do. All four played at Columbus, but it's Jokiharju who continues to stand out.

"We don't want to give anything away," Quenneville said. "There's still a lot of time to make those decisions. But with Murphy being out, there's obviously an opportunity there. And Rutts is hurt right now.

"(Jokiharju is) certainly in a spot to get a lot of consideration."

4. Toews, Kane will play:

Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Chris Kunitz and Tyler Sikura are among the forwards scheduled to play at Detroit on Thursday in the Hawks' second preseason game. The goalies will be Anton Forsberg and Kevin Lankinen.

Joel Quenneville is looking forward to seeing how Toews, DeBrincat and Kunitz fare together.

"They've had some good days," Quenneville said. "The best way to measure it and see it is in a real game. You get a little bit more awareness to how they complement one another and then get a little more familiar with where each other are on all areas of the rink."

5. Where was Anisimov?

When the Blackhawks worked on their power play Monday, Artem Anisimov was not on either unit. Considering Anisimov led the Hawks with 11 PP goals last season, it seemed to be a glaring absence.

Here was Joel Quenneville's answer when he was asked about it Wednesday:

"He's always available and he's useful. He takes advantage of being that net-front guy. He's got a good patience level there, absorbing some contact.

"(Chris Kunitz) is going to be one guy that's going to get an opportunity in there as well. Want to see what he can do. Whether they're competing with one another or not, that's kind of where it's at."

6. Roster moves:

Goalie Alexis Gravel, forward Philipp Kurashev and defenseman Jake Ryczek were assigned to their respective QMJHL junior teams. Forward Shaw Boomhower was released from his amateur tryout.

Gravel, selected in the sixth round of last June's draft, impressed goalie coach Jimmy Waite and will play for the Halifax Mooseheads this season.

"For a young kid coming in here he learned a lot and I think that will be a good year for him," said coach Joel Quenneville.