BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford says he's still trying to prove himself. That's understandable after spending five years in the American Hockey League.
Crawford, 25, made the team this year as the backup to Marty Turco. He will get his first chance to prove himself this season Monday night, getting the start against the Buffalo Sabres.
"I'm just anxious to go here," Crawford said. "I'll worry about my job. We have confidence in here. We'll just worry about what we can do on the ice and the results will come after."
Turco started the Hawks' first two games, losing both. But the decision to start Crawford was planned and had little to do with Turco's defeats.
"We want to get him in early," coach Joel Quenneville said. "He had a real good training camp. I think he deserves a chance a play. He looks he's ready for a challenge.
"Marty is not struggling. When I look back to the start of the year, we targeted this game [for Crawford to start]."
Sharp returns
Patrick Sharp will play against the Sabres after sitting out Saturday's loss to the Detroit Red Wings. The center said he was "jarred" in a collision with Colorado Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson in the season opener.
"It was a tough game to miss," Sharp said of the home opener against the Wings.
It may take some time for this team to come together. Losing major cogs in your 3rd/4th lines is hard to overcome quickly. Winning the division again? Probably not.. being a 4th seed ..not hard to see that. Turco will be fine. Hawks fell asleep for major parts of the Av's game. And the Wings game was doomed for a loss. Wings are healthy and the whole team is back together. Gonna have some bumps early this year.. We need to be patient. Who cares.. Lets see them in April. Will be a totally different team. And Crawford will be the future.. Big and confident.