Blackhawks star Corey Crawford has shown little progress since he was put on injured reserve as part of concussion protocol last month, coach Jeremy Colliton said.
Speaking before Wednesday’s optional practice, Colliton said he wasn’t sure if Crawford is currently on a workout plan while he fosters his injury.
“All I know is he’s in the [concussion] protocol and nothing’s changed as far as improvement,” he said.
Crawford, who has already missed seven games, won’t travel with the team for their road games against the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins.
While Colliton previously said he expects Crawford to play once he’s medically cleared, the lack of improvement is troubling news for the Hawks.
Crawford missed the 47 games last season after he suffered a concussion. Nine months later at the start of training camp, Crawford admitted that he was still dealing with lingering symptoms stemming from his head injury.
Crawford was out for the first two weeks of this season before making his season debut Oct. 18 against the Coyotes. He’s played decent this season, making 23 of a possible 29 stars and posting a .903 save percentage despite facing an average of 32.5 shots on goal per game.
With Crawford’s timeline to return still unclear, the Hawks will have to rely on goalies Cam Ward and Collin Delia to step up in his absence.
Ward is 2-3 with a .897 save percentage in the five games he’s played in since Crawford went down. Meanwhile, Delia has risen to the occasion. Since being recalled from Rockford, the 24-year-old goalie is 3-0 with a .957 save percentage and 1.66 goals against average.
