Crawford rejoins Blackhawks, still ‘long shot’ to play anytime soon

BOSTON — Even Corey Crawford’s teammates were surprised to see him at TD Garden on Thursday for the Blackhawks’ morning skate. The injured goalie flew from Chicago to Boston late Wednesday to get back on the ice with his teammates.

“I was just surprised,” Jonathan Toews said. “I saw him in the training room this morning; didn’t think he’d be showing up this quick. But it’s always good to get him back, especially when it was kind of a question — we didn’t really know how long it was going to be for his injury. Glad to know it was nothing serious.”

Crawford shared a net with Antti Raanta during the skate, while the game’s starter, Scott Darling, manned the other net. Crawford looked sharp and fully mobile on the ankle or foot that he said he hurt missing a step at a concert last Monday.

Joel Quenneville said it was a “long shot” for Crawford to play either Saturday on Long Island or Sunday at home against the Calgary Flames. The Bruins game was the fifth straight he’s missed.

“As far as [a timetable], I’m not sure yet,” Crawford said. “I’m getting better pretty quickly, but we don’t want to rush things, either. It was nice to get back on the ice and see some shots from the guys again.”

Meanwhile, Darling won his third straight start, increasing the possibility that when Crawford does return, it could be Raanta heading down to Rockford instead of Darling. Raanta had said last week that he was excited about the chance to finally get in some games, but after wins against the Blues and Canadiens, he’s only been able to watch as Darling beat the Predators and Devils on the road.

“We expect there’s a good chance [Raanta is] going to play on the weekend, as well,” Quenneville said. “Let’s keep pushing and trying to work your way in there and try to take advantage of a good opportunity. But certainly it’s a healthy situation from where we stand. It’s a competitive game and that’s the business we’re in.”

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