Ward bounces back from embarrassment
After his “embarrassing” United Center debut as a Blackhawk on Tuesday, goalie Cam Ward redeemed himself Saturday in the Hawks’ 4-1 victory against the Blue Jackets.
In his second preseason start on home ice, Ward, who allowed six goals and had a .647 save percentage against the Red Wings, appeared more confident in the crease and stopped 16 of 17 shots.
Ward said he was pleased with his outing, but he would’ve liked more of a challenge. In the first two periods, the Blue Jackets, whose lineup was mostly made up of minorleague players, only got off nine shots.
“You want to feel the puck, right?” Ward said. “You control what you can control. But regardless, you want to look at the positives and build off them.”
Ward was relieved to end the preseason on a high note, which is important as he’ll likely start the opener Thursday in Ottawa in place of Corey Crawford, who’s still battling symptoms from last season’s concussion.
While Crawford’s timetable to return is still unclear, the Hawks’ No. 1 goalie has continued to show improvement. With the exception of a few scheduled days off, Crawford has been on the ice with goalie coach Jimmy Waite before every team practice since training camp began Sept. 14.
In recent days, Waite has increased the tempo and intensity of Crawford’s workouts. Waite also has incorporated two players to take shots at Crawford. Defenseman Gustav Forsling, expected to be out until November with a wrist injury, and forward Dylan Sikura worked on shootout drills against Crawford.
Crawford hasn’t practiced with the Hawks since Feb. 13, but coach Joel Quenneville is hoping to change that early next week. Quenneville predicted that Crawford could rejoin the team Monday.
“Today was another great day for him,” Quenneville said. “Real good progress over the last week and a half.”
Much-needed momentum
Although preseason games don’t mean anything, winger Patrick Kane said at the morning skate that the Hawks were treating their preseason finale as a regular-season game.
“It’s important in that regard to try to get a win here on home ice,” said Kane, who scored two goals and had three assists in three preseason games. “Start to treat this one like a regular-season game, so you’re ready when it comes along next week.”
Hawks finalize roster
The Hawks had their last round of roster cuts after the game. In unsurprising moves, they sent Sikura and goalie Collin Delia to Rockford.
Sikura, who played in the Hawks’ last five games in 2017-18, was viewed as a potential roster lock at the beginning of camp, but his stock quickly fell after he struggled to stand out.
Quenneville said earlier this week that Sikura could benefit from playing in the AHL for a bit. Last season, the Hawks demoted forward Vinnie Hinostroza to Rockford after he struggled offensively. After 23 games, Hinostroza returned to the Hawks revitalized.
Although Delia sparkled during the preseason, the Hawks didn’t want to risk losing third-string goalie Anton Forsberg on waivers.