Niklas Hjalmarsson to miss rest of week; Scott Darling to start Wednesday

Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson is unlikely to play the rest of the week because of an upper-body injury he aggravated Thursday, coach Joel Quenneville said. The Hawks have three games left this week followed by four days off. They are targeting...

Niklas Hjalmarsson to miss rest of week; Scott Darling to start Wednesday

Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson is unlikely to play the rest of the week because of an upper-body injury he aggravated Thursday, coach Joel Quenneville said.

The Hawks have three games left this week followed by four days off. They are targeting a return for Hjalmarsson after that break so he has time to completely heal.

"Hopefully he's back after that," Quenneville said. "Let's get him ready to play. He hasn't been on the ice."

Goaltender Corey Crawford was back at practice Tuesday after missing Sunday’s game because of an illness.

Scott Darling will still get the start Wednesday against Pittsburgh so Crawford can have extra rest to "get his full energy back," Quenneville said.

"We want him more than ready," the coach said.

chine@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @christopherhine

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