No news is bad news for Jonathan Toews.
Toews will miss his seventh straight game with a back injury Tuesday night against the Arizona Coyotes, and his progress continues to stall.
On Sunday, Joel Quenneville said the Blackhawks would keep Toews off the ice for two or three days to allow his back injury to heal. On Tuesday, Quenneville said he’d stay off the ice “a few more days.” Those days keep adding up. The afternoon after Toews hurt his back in San Jose, Quenneville said his captain was “day to day.” And that was 13 days ago.
“Hopefully, he gets back out there later in the week,” Quenneville said. “Once he gets on the ice, hopefully he’ll be close to [playing].”
The Hawks host the New York Rangers on Friday and the Dallas Stars on Sunday before going on a three-game road trip starting in New York. Quenneville said Tuesday that he was optimistic that Toews will play on the New York trip, either Tuesday against the Rangers or Thursday against the Islanders.
Crow up
Corey Crawford, who had an appendectomy Saturday in Philadelphia, was at the United Center on Tuesday, fully mobile and joking around with teammates and staff. Quenneville said he even did some exercises.
“Hopefully, by next week at some point, he’ll be in his equipment,” Quenneville said. “And we’ll get a better assessment of exactly when [he can play].”
Head games
The NHL’s new concussion protocol continues to draw praise from outsiders and criticism from old-school players. The forced removal of Edmonton superstar Connor McDavid on Sunday night after he forcefully faceplanted against Minnesota stirred up the debate again, with the Oilers upset about losing their star for the final 6:28 of the second period.
The Hawks have seen Marcus Kruger and Brent Seabrook taken off the ice by the league’s central spotters in New York. Quenneville — as old-school as they come — dismissed much of the complaints about the process so far, including the alleged inconsistency with which players are removed.
“I don’t think it’s confusing,” he said. “I think it’s good. Everybody’s aware of how you go about it, that you could lose key guys at key times in the games. Whether it’s your goalie and its late in the game, I think we’re al aware of what can happen, and that’s part of the process. I think [it has] been pretty consistent from where we see it.”
Get out the vote
Patrick Kane is the leading the Central Division All-Star balloting so far. Jonathan Toews is third, behind Nashville’s P.K. Subban. Fans vote only for the captains of each of the four divisions for the 3-on-3 All-Star tournament. The league does not provide actual vote counts.
Email: mlazerus@suntimes.com
Twitter: @marklazerus
