Crawford to return to practice with Blackhawks soon

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford, out since Dec. 27 with an upper-body injury, has started working out again, and coach Joel Quenneville said there's a chance Crawford will be back on the ice soon.
"Yeah, I think he's getting closer," Quenneville said after practice Tuesday. "He was in today, had a good workout and he's feeling much better. When we get him on the ice soon here, we'll get a better assessment of when [he'll be ready]."

Crawford also was out the first week of December with a lower-body injury. He is 16-9-2 with a 2.27 goals-against average and .929 save percentage this season.
Asked what the Blackhawks need to see from Crawford to know he's ready to play, from conditioning to movement, Quenneville said, "probably all of the above."
In Crawford's absence, goaltender Anton Forsberg is 3-7-3 with a 3.15 goals-against average and .907 save percentage, and goaltender Jeff Glass is 3-3-1 with a 3.17 GAA and .909 SV%.
"Those guys have done a great job," Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane said. "You have to give them credit. Glass has come in, given some energy to this team in certain games and he's played really well for us. Forsberg's played really well for us; we probably haven't played as well in front of him as we can.
"But obviously we miss [Crawford]. I think a lot of us feel that's he's the best goalie in the League. I don't know if it's confidence or what it is, but you're going to miss a guy like that. We're hoping he gets back sooner rather than later, but obviously he has to take care of himself."
The Blackhawks host the Toronto Maple Leafs at United Center on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports, NHL.TV)