After skating on his own with goaltending coach Jimmy Waite one hour before Blackhawks practice throughout training camp, Corey Crawford remains on track to practice with the team next week. And it could be as early as Monday.
"Today was another great day for him," coach Joel Quenneville said on Saturday. "Real good progress over the last week and a half. If not Monday, early next week."
Gustav Forsling, who's recovering from a wrist injury, and Dylan Sikura teammed up to take shots on Crawford before Saturday's morning skate, varying from shootout drills to screens to shots from the top of the faceoff circle. It's the second time Crawford's teammates joined in on the workout.
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That's certainly a step in the right direction as Crawford slowly gets acclimated to getting his tracking and timing back down by facing NHL-type shots, which started to elevate off the ice over the last several days.
Aside from a couple scheduled off-days, Crawford has skated just about every day since training camp opened on Sept. 14, which is when he revealed he's still getting over concussion symptoms from last season. The Blackhawks open their season in Ottawa on Oct. 4, but it's doubtful he'll be ready to go by then.