Hawks’ Toews sees light at the end of the tunnel
Ho hum.
Things are starting to get routine for Jonathan Toews, who practiced with the Blackhawks again Tuesday.
“Compared to a couple weeks ago, it’s just another day,” said Toews, who has missed 22 games with a concussion. “I’ve made huge progress. If I didn’t I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you guys yet. That’s the good news.
“It’s been going good this past week. I’m taking as good of care of myself as I can. I’m seeing light at the end of the tunnel.”
But despite all the optimism, Toews said he remains a game-time decision for Thursday’s series opener against Phoenix.
“I’ve got to make sure I’m smart with it,” he said. “Right now the biggest thing I’m worried about is just making sure that my game is ready to go and my conditioning is there. And if all those things keep following in place then I won’t be risking ...”
Toews said he’s exchanged text messages with Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, another star player who has gone through concussion limbo.
“Just little words of encouragement, just to hang it and stay with it,” Toews said of the texts. “Coming from a guy like that, you can imagine how frustrating it was to spend almost more than a year off the ice. I don’t know if I could have done that. It would have been pretty tough to do.
“But feeling great right now, did what I had to do these past couple of months and I hope that Thursday is the day.”