Ailing Toews out again; Q eyeing return next week
No news is bad news for Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews.
Toews missed his seventh consecutive game with a back injury Tuesday against the Coyotes, and his progress continues to stall. On Sunday, coach
Joel Quenneville said the Hawks would keep Toews off the ice for two or three days in an effort to allow his back injury to heal. On Tuesday, Quenneville said Toews would stay off the ice for ‘‘ a few more days.’’
Those days keep adding up. The afternoon after Toews hurt his back in San Jose, California, Quenneville said he was day- today. Thatwas 13 days ago.
‘‘ Hopefully he gets back out there later in the week,’’ Quenneville said. ‘‘ Once he gets on the ice, hopefully he’ll be close to [ playing].’’
Quenneville said he was optimistic Toews would play on the Hawks’ trip next week to New York, either Tuesday against the Rangers or Thursday against the Islanders.
Crow up
Goalie Corey Crawford, who had an appendectomy Saturday in Philadelphia, was fully mobile and joking around with teammates and staff at the United Center. Quenneville said he even did some exercises.
‘‘ Hopefully by next week at some point, he’ll be in his equipment,’’ Quenneville said. ‘‘ And we’ll get a better assessment of exactly when [ he can play].’’
Head games
The NHL’s new concussion protocol continues to draw praise from outsiders and criticism from old- school players. The forced removal of Oilers superstar
Connor McDavid after he faceplanted Sunday against the Wild stirred up the debate again. The Hawks have seen center Marcus Kruger and defenseman Brent Seabrook taken off the ice by the NHL’s central spotters in New York.
Quenneville, who is as oldschool as they come, dismissed many of the complaints about the process so far, including the alleged inconsistency with which players are removed.
‘‘ I don’t think it’s confusing,’’ he said. ‘‘ I think it’s good. Everybody’s aware of how you go about it, that you could lose key guys at key times in the games. Whether it’s your goalie and it’s late in the game, I think we’re all aware of what can happen, and that’s part of the process. I think [ it has] been pretty consistent.’’
Get out the vote
Hawks winger Patrick Kane is leading the Central Division in All- Star balloting so far. Toews is third, behind Predators defenseman P. K. Subban.
Fans vote only for the captains of each of the four divisions for the three- on- three All- Star tournament.