Corey Crawford says he will be “ready to go” for the Blackhawks when they play the Oilers in Game 1 of a Stanley Cup Qualifier series Saturday.
“I felt good in practice again today, so I should be ready to go, unless something crazy happens last minute,” Crawford said Thursday. “I should be all right.”
Crawford noted there hasn’t been a final decision made by coach Jeremy Colliton on if he will start Game 1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
“We’re just focused on getting better each day,” he said. “Honestly, we haven’t even talked about that yet.”
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Crawford made 11 saves — all at even strength — before exiting in the second period of Chicago’s 4-0 win against the Blues in an exhibition game Wednesday in Edmonton. He did not participate in voluntary workouts and missed all but the last day of training camp on July 25 following a positive test for COVID-19. Malcolm Subban made 10 saves — eight at even strength — after replacing Crawford at 10:06 of the second.
“I felt pretty good,” Crawford said. “That was a pretty good game to get into. We didn’t give up that much from the middle. It was nice to see a couple power plays.”
Crawford was 16-20-3 with a 2.77 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and one shutout in 40 games (39 starts) this season. After Robin Lehner was traded to the Golden Knights on Feb. 24, Crawford started Chicago’s final eight games before the NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.