The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Blackhawks dealt another blow with Crawford’s concussion:

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The Chicago Blackhawks added another difficult question to their long list of problems when Corey Crawford suffered another concussion. Suddenly, their goaltendin­g situation is completely up in the air. There was no update on Crawford’s status a day after he was placed on injured reserve. The two-time All-Star got hurt in the first period of Sunday’s 7-3 loss to San Jose when the back of his head struck the right post during a scary goalmouth pileup. “He just needs time to get better,” Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said Tuesday. “Obviously you feel for him and want him, first of all as a person, just get back to 100 percent as quick as he can. Until then we’ll keep battling.” Crawford, who helped the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2015, also missed most of last year and the start of this season because of a concussion. The pair of head injuries in a relatively short time period raises questions about whether he might play again. “It looks rough, how he hit his head on the post,” defenseman Connor Murphy said, “especially a guy like that who battled so hard to come back and was such a big part of our team. To me, he was our best player. ... Hopefully he’s back soon.” Collin Delia was recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis when Crawford went on IR. Cam Ward was set to start Tuesday night against Nashville. The 24-year-old Delia began last season in the ECHL before being promoted to Rockford and then making his NHL debut in March. He went 1-1 in two starts with Chicago. “Just the adversity that I went through last season, starting in the ECHL and kind of working my way up, it’s a huge character-building moment for me,” Delia said. “I had to see where my game was at, see if this was something that I could take to the next level. I think I kind of proved to myself and teammates, coaches, staff that I had the capabiliti­es.” Crawford’s concussion is another tough blow for last-place Chicago, which missed the playoffs last season for the first time in a decade. Longtime coach Joel Quennevill­e was fired on Nov. 6, but the Blackhawks went 4-13-3 in their first 20 games under Colliton.

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