Seabrook hurting; Crawford’s health improves
The Blackhawks got a mixed bag of injury news Tuesday.
Defenseman Brent Seabrook was scratched from the evening’s game against the Vancouver Canucks with a lower-body injury. Seabrook was struck in the groin area by a puck in Sunday’s game against the Kings.
“He’s out, day to day,” said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville. “Hopefully we get him on the ice the next day or so.”
Sheldon Brookbank moved up to join Duncan Keith on the top defensive pairing for the Hawks to start the game. Quenneville said after the morning skate that he did not want to break up the combo of Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya, who have played well together.
Goaltender Corey Crawford missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury, with Ray Emery getting the start. Quenneville said Crawford is making progress.
“Corey skated today prior to practice,” the coach said. “He did well. Get him on again tomorrow and hope he keeps progressing here.”
Forward Daniel Carcillo took part in the morning skate but did not play in the game. He is on the mend from a right-knee injury that he suffered in the first game of the season.
“He’s doing good,” Quenneville said. “He feels good. We expect him on this homestand to play. We’re getting him in practice here and getting him some good skates. He looks like he’s ready.”
Already there?Tuesday#146;s game was the 16th of the shortened regular season for the Blackhawks. #147;It#146;s amazing we hit the (one)-third pole tonight already in the season,#148; said Joel Quenneville. #147;It seems like it just started. You#146;re seeing games throughout the league where playoff implications are already in place. The jockeying to move ahead is there. There#146;s meaning in every single game. Guys are bringing a purpose to our team game right now.#148;Back to the Wolves:The Canucks waived onetime Blackhawks forward Andrew Ebbett, who subsequently cleared. That paved the way for Ebbett to return to the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League. Wolves general manager Wendell Young was on hand for the morning skate. Sorry for asking:Canucks coach Alain Vigneault danced around a question about his goaltender selection. Cory Schneider started in place of Roberto Luongo, a favorite target of Blackhawks fans. A Vancouver reporter asked Vigneault whether the compressed schedule with its tough travel had anything to do with his goaltender selection. Luongo started Sunday against St. Louis in Vancouver.#147;There#146;s a lot of factors that go into picking the goaltender, especially when you#146;ve got two quality goaltenders like we do,#148; Vigneault said. #147;But I#146;ve been pretty consistent with that since the beginning. I keep that to myself about divulging any of the reasons, and that#146;s what we#146;re going to continue to do.#148;