''It takes some time. I want to get back playing, but it's a process to get there," he said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
That's for certain.
Crawford began experiencing symptoms of vertigo just before Christmas. He allowed three goals on seven shots in just over 13 minutes of action against the New Jersey Devils before being lifted from the contest.
He hasn't played since.
The game before, Crawford allowed four goals on 22 shots in a loss to the Dallas Stars on Dec. 21.
Prior to those games, Crawford was virtually unbeatable, winning nine of his 10 previous starts between Nov. 15 and Dec. 17, allowing two goals or fewer in seven of those games.
For the season, Crawford is 16-9-2 with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage, numbers that would put him squarely in the mix for the Vezina Trophy if they held over the course of an entire season.
It's hard not to wonder where the Blackhawks would be in the standings if not for Crawford's injury. Chicago began the day Tuesday 10 points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
With numbers like he has, one would have to think Chicago's deficit in the standings would be much smaller -- if it was a deficit at all.
Crawford's replacements, Anton Forsberg and Jeff Glass, each have a goals-against over three and save percentages hovering around 90 percent.
That's simply not good enough to sustain many teams in today's NHL, at least not over the long term, and certainly not for a team ranked 20th in the NHL in goals per game (2.82) and 29th in power-play efficiency (15.4 percent).
Still, if Crawford can return sooner rather than later, and can post numbers in the vicinity of where he was earlier this season, the Blackhawks certainly have the talent and the pedigree to make one final push for a playoff spot.
''You never count this team out. We've gone on streaks before, and no one has doubt that we can go on another streak and fire off a bunch of wins and put ourselves in a position," Crawford told the Sun-Times. "There's no question about that at all. As far as I'm concerned, right now, for me, we're just looking at it day-to-day to try to get better to put myself in a position to play. That's all.''
Related:
- Injuries ravaging Central Division's star power
- Klingberg a shining example for Stars' blueline
