Corey Crawford has been itching to get back. He's been practicing for two weeks now, and finally took — and cleared — his concussion protocol test that allowed the Blackhawks to activate him from injured reserve.
And he couldn't be more excited to get back to playing hockey after missing the last 28 games.
"It's been another long wait," Crawford said. "It's always tough watching from the sidelines. Try to get back in there, hopefully I feel really good right away and it's just going to be fun to play hockey again."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The Blackhawks kick off a three-game road trip on Wednesday in Anaheim, but it's still unclear when Crawford will make his actual return. Jeremy Colliton only acknowledged that he'll play at some point with the Blackhawks having a back-to-back stint over the weekend in Los Angeles and San Jose.
The Blackhawks are 16-9-3 since Crawford went down on Dec. 16. They're on a pretty good run, and have played themselves into the Western Conference playoff race — although picking up zero out of a possible four points over the weekend was a step back. Crawford is hoping he can provide a boost.
"Hopefully it brings some energy," Crawford said. "But we've been playing so well that I just want to jump in and be a part of that and try and contribute as much as I can. Hopefully I get the feelings — the good feelings — back right away and just roll with it. That'd be nice."
The obvious question now is how much rust he'll have to shake off. But that likely won't be too much of an issue.
NHL
After missing more than nine months with a concussion last year, Crawford returned between the pipes in mid-October and it looked like he didn't skip a beat. He had a .946 save percentage in his first four starts, and allowed one goal or fewer in three of those games. He'll be fine.
"He’s going to stop more pucks than the other guy across the rink, that’s the biggest thing," Colliton said. "He does play the puck really well, that is a factor. Very composed back there. The other thing he brings is a calmness. Nothing’s going to bother him, and that filters down to the rest of the team. We’ve been talking about, don’t get too high or low, never give up. He’s got that."
Reaction to an idle trade deadline
The Blackhawks were quiet on NHL trade deadline day. They didn't make any moves, electing to keep the roster intact. Sometimes that can be a positive thing for the locker room because nobody got shipped out. But sometimes it can be a little bit deflating because no pieces were added to a team that still has playoff aspirations.
Colliton was in the war room on Monday, and had some input on what was being discussed, like everyone else. But as the head coach, he's content with the group he has to finish out the season.
"Couldn't find anything," Colliton said on the lack of action. "I was there, they tried. But we have to ... each decision they make has an impact down the road and I think you can't force it and I don't think they did. Everyone has an opportunity to have a say. Ultimately, he's the man. But I think that's what the organization's been built on is collaboration, everyone working together. We're all in it to help the team have success."
Getting back on track
The Blackhawks obviously wanted last weekend to go better. They came up empty against a pair of divisional opponents battling for the same two wildcard spots as them.
But now isn't the time to wave the white flag. Every game is important from here on out, and the Blackhawks know there's a good opportunity to take care of some business on a three-game West Coast trip and turn the ship back into the right direction.
"It is, yeah," Connor Murphy said. "You usually don't want to lose games in a row, if you do, you definitely have to get back on a streak, so that's important. We know that, but we're not going to get stressed about it and just get back to having fun, play our game. When you can go on a road trip like that out west in some nicer weather, it can get guys in a good mood and just focusing on winning and it'll be a good trip."
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Blackhawks easily on your device.