Blackhawks Place Corey Crawford on IR, Recall Berube

Today the Blackhawks surprised everyone by announcing that Corey Crawford was put on IR and Jean-Francois Berube was recalled from the Rockford Icehogs. In conjunction to the Berube move, Collin Delia was moved from the Indy Fuel to the Rockford Icehogs to backup Jeff Glass.

Not much is known about Crawford’s injury status, but he did make a save on a shorthanded Mattias Janmark break-a-way early in Thursday night’s game and was very slow to get up. He also didn’t play all that well for the remainder of the first and second periods. He looked to have returned to glory in the third period, but found himself on his back side more than usual. This may indicate that Crawford tweaked a groin or hamstring, and woke up more sore than expected. More will be announced as we get updates. Here is the play in question:

The Blackhawks could really be hurting if they are going to lean on Anton Forsberg like they have Corey Crawford.  He has been decent, but if he is forced to face 35+ shots a game, the result could be a very frustrating slump.

These will be big opportunities for both Berube and Delia, as well, although I highly doubt Berube sees any action unless Crawford is out for more than a week. Delia may actually see some time in Rockford, though, with only Jeff Glass in front of him.