Niklas Hjalmarsson out, Scott Darling starts vs. Penguins

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Niklas Hjalmarsson will be out for the rest of this week and Scott Darling will start on Wednesday when the Blackhawks face the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Hjalmarsson suffered an upper-body injury on Thursday vs. the Arizona Coyotes. Be it precaution or because Hjalmarsson hasn't been on the ice since, the Blackhawks are going to rule the defenseman out for the next three games (Wednesday, Friday vs. the New York Islanders and Saturday at the Nashville Predators). The Blackhawks have four days off following Saturday's game, and head coach Joel Quenneville is hopeful Hjalmarsson can return after that time off.

"Hopefully Hammer gets on the ice soon," Quenneville added.

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Crawford did return to practice on Tuesday following an illness that kept him from starting on Sunday vs. the St. Louis Blues but Quenneville wants to give the goaltender a chance to fully recover.

"We want him more than ready," Quenneville said. "He can play tomorrow. But giving him another day or so to get his full energy back is what we're looking for."

Artem Anisimov did not practice on Tuesday but Quenneville said the second-line center will play on Wednesday.

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