Today's News Clips Feb. 6, 2018
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Today’s News Clips Feb. 6, 2018 Chicago Tribune Corey Crawford’s return to Blackhawks ‘probably not that far away’ Paul Skrbina Feb. 5, 2018 The masked man was outfitted in all black and flanked by a few teammates Monday morning at MB Ice Arena. For the third straight day, Corey Crawford was on the ice in full Blackhawks armor, this time taking shots — and instruction — from goalie coach Jimmy Waite as he took another step toward returning from injured reserve. Coach Joel Quenneville called Crawford’s workout before practice “a good sign.” And it’s a sign Crawford, 33, could begin practicing with the team soon. He has been on IR with what the Hawks called an upper-body injury — reported to be either vertigo-like or concussion-related symptoms — since Dec. 27. “It’s probably not that far away,” Quenneville said. Once that happens, Quenneville said, Crawford’s first game action since Dec. 23 could soon follow. “I don’t think he’ll be too far away, once he’s practicing with us, that he’d be able to play,” said Quenneville, who has been steadfast that Crawford would return this season. Five television cameras and several sets of watchful eyes focused on Crawford, who soon was joined in his workout by fellow goalies Anton Forsberg and Jeff Glass and teammates Jordan Oesterle, Jan Rutta, David Kampf and Erik Gustafsson. Crawford hasn’t played since he was pulled during the first period of a loss against the Devils after allowing three goals on seven shots. He is 16-9-2 with a .929 save percentage and 2.27 goals-against average, the latter two among league leaders at the time of his injury. He didn’t look to be at full speed while moving side to side as Waite fired pucks in his direction — all above the waist — during a drill. While the Hawks are looking forward to Crawford getting back, Patrick Kane said the team “can’t be sitting around waiting for him.” The Hawks entered Monday in last place in the Central Division and five points and four teams out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. They likely will need more than a healthy Crawford to make a meaningful push for the playoffs. Kane said the team’s in-game approach doesn’t change, though, regardless of its goalie. “We try to play the same way no matter what,” Kane said. “Glasser was unbelievable last game, maybe one of the sole reasons we had a point (in a 4-3 overtime loss against the Flames). He … kept us in the game. But Crow’s a great goaltender. When he’s ready to come back, it’ll be great to have him in there.” The Hawks are 7-7-3 since Crawford was put on the shelf and still fighting to continue a playoff streak that stretches back nine seasons. They lost all three games Crawford missed in early December with an upper-body injury, part of a five-game skid. They won five in a row after he returned. Since Crawford’s latest injury, backups Forsberg (4-4-0, .913 save percentage, 2.63 goals-against average) and Glass (3-3-3, .908, 3.24) have helped keep the team’s hopes afloat. “Both goalies have been very good and both deserve the net,” Quenneville said. “You measure the performance, probably identical.” Measuring Crawford’s progress has proved more difficult. The timetable for his possible return to games has, for the most part, remained a mystery as the Hawks have waited for him to return to the ice for workouts. Now that he’s there, that timetable has become a bit clearer. “With anyone’s recovery, there’s always a process that’s in place,” Quenneville said. “You always want to push it as much as you can. When it’s time, it’s time. You want to make sure you’re 100 percent ready to go.” Which goalie will go to Rockford when Crawford is 100 percent also remains a mystery. “We’ll worry about that (later),” Quenneville said. Chicago Tribune Brandon Saad’s next stop: Blackhawks’ fourth line Paul Skrbina Feb. 5, 2018 There’s no need for Brandon Saad to try to read between the lines. All the Blackhawks forward has to do is look at them to know where he stands — and to know how far he has fallen. Saad spent most of the season on the top line before recent, brief stops with the second and third lines. He was dropped to the fourth line during practice Monday when he skated with Patrick Sharp and Ryan Hartman a day ahead of the Hawks’ meeting against the Flames at the United Center. Saad’s assessment of his standing lines up with the team’s place in the standings — last in the Central, clinging to playoff hopes that can turn either way on a whim. “It’s along with the team,” said Saad, who has one assist in his last 11 games and seven goals in his last 127 shots. “I could have 50 goals right now, but being in the situation we’re in, it (would be) tough to feel good about it.” If Saad had that many goals — or even a few more than the 13 he has, six of which were in the first six games — the Hawks might not be in this situation. "It's something you try not to pay attention to it and you're just hoping the next one goes in,” Saad said of his offensive output. Simply put, the Hawks expect more than 24 points from a player who makes $6 million per season, who helped lead them to two Stanley Cups, who cost them Artemi Panarin in the trade that brought him back from the Blue Jackets. “If you want to (go by) his production at the start of the year, I would expect a higher number than we’ve seen so far,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “At the same time, everybody has their stretches. We still think he’s capable of adding more offense to his game.” One-timers: Artem Anisimov did not practice Monday but Quenneville said he was fine. … Goalie Jeff Glass will start his second game in a row Tuesday against the Flames. … Defenseman Connor Murphy, whose mistake led to the Flames’ tying goal Saturday, likely will be a healthy scratch for Tuesday’s game. Chicago Sun-Times Still searching for goals, Brandon Saad dropped to Blackhawks’ fourth line Mark Lazerus Feb. 5, 2018 Among them, they have scored 19 goals or more 13 times, with five 30-goal seasons. So as far as fourth lines go, it’s a dream. But for Patrick Sharp, Ryan Hartman and Brandon Saad, this season has been closer to a nightmare. Sharp has six goals and has been a healthy scratch for four consecutive games. Hartman has seven goals and none in his last 13 games. And Saad, who opened the season with a hat trick and had four game-winning goals in the first six games, has 13 goals but has only one assist to show for his last 11 games. On Monday, coach Joel Quenneville threw them all together on the fourth line, his latest desperate toss at the dartboard. Call it the Misery Loves Company line. ‘‘I think it’s a pretty good line,’’ Saad said. ‘‘Even though we’ve been a little snakebit, we’re all good players. It should be pretty exciting here to get going [Tuesday against the Flames].’’ Saad has managed to put a positive spin on a massively disappointing season. If his goal drought is hurting his confidence, he’s not letting it show. And it’s not because he’s an analytics guy, buoyed by his tremendous possession numbers (fifth in the league) or by the fact that he’s long overdue for a course correction in his shooting percentage (8.5 percent, well below his previous career average of 11.8 percent). Instead, Saad is just holding tight to the notion that he’s a proven scorer in the NHL and that it’s only a matter of time before he regains that finishing touch. ‘‘Yeah, that’s not something I pay so much attention to,’’ he said of the advanced metrics. ‘‘It doesn’t really matter. It’s about living in the moment and following through. It’s been tough, you know? But you just try to get stronger from it.’’ Saad’s bigger concern is the Hawks’ situation — five points out of a playoff spot with four teams to leapfrog. But when he said, ‘‘You could have 50 goals right now, but being in the situation we’re in, it’s tough to feel good about ourselves,’’ he might have been missing the larger point. Because if Saad, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Sharp or any of the other underperforming veterans were scoring at their customary rate, the Hawks wouldn’t be in the situation they’re in. The Hawks’ last 13 goals have been scored by players 23 or younger. That’s simultaneously encouraging and alarming. So Quenneville said that while he expected more production from Saad this season, he hoped his latest lineup would both send a message and spark players such as Saad and Sharp. ‘‘There’s certainly ability there to be successful,’’ Quenneville said. That has been the story of the season for the Hawks — lots of potential with very little to show for it. And for all the talk about goalie Corey Crawford’s possible return and all the progress made by the younger players, this team is going nowhere without production from its most proven performers.