Corey Crawford will sit out Tuesday night’s game against the Flyers, but Kris Versteeg will make his season debut for Chicago.
The 29-year-old Crawford, who started the first four games with a record of 3-1, suffered an upper-body injury. Backup goaltender Antti Raanta will get the nod for his first start of the year. Last season, Raanta posted a 13-5-4 record with an .897 save percentage and a 2.71 goals-against average.
The Blackhawks are set to have their first back-to-back this coming weekend where Raanta was scheduled to get his first start, however, the call came a few days early.
Scott Darling will be called up from the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs to back up Raanta.
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It’s not all bad news for the Blackhawks, though, as left winger Versteeg will make his season debut after sustaining a lower-body injury in the pre-season. Versteeg is slotted to play on the second line alongside Patrick Kane and Andrew Shaw.