Crawford Activated off IR

Corey Crawford is expected to return to the Blackhawks’ lineup on Wednesday. Chicago activated Crawford off injured reserve Tuesday and re-assigned Collin Delia to Rockford (AHL). Crawford has not played since suffering a concussion on December 16.

Crawford also missed the last 47 games of 2017-18 and the first five this year with an undisclosed upper-body injury. The 34-year-old has looked off this year when healthy, posting a .902 SV% and 3.28 GAA.

More Help this Time Around

Luckily for Crawford, he should receive a lot more goal support than he’s accustomed to. Chicago’s offense has exploded over the last couple of months. Since Crawford went down, Chicago is averaging 3.93 goals per game. It’s a drastic increase over the 2.82 goals they were averaging prior to his injury. Their power-play is clicking at a league-best 34.1% over that same span. With that kind of goal support, mediocre goaltending is all Chicago will need from Crawford to string some wins together. The Blackhawks currently sit five points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Delia returns to Rockford after an up-and-down stint with the big club. He was spectacular early on, posting a .947 SV% through his first five appearances. His play slowly started to tail off, culminating in a .831 SV% over his last three outings. After seemingly taking control of the Hawks’ crease, Delia eventually forfeited the interim starting gig to veteran Cam Ward. He returns now to Rockford where he owns a .933 SV% in 17 games this season.