Blackhawks activate Crawford off IR

Corey Crawford's return appears imminent.

The Chicago Blackhawks activated their No. 1 goaltender off injured reserve Tuesday night, reassigning Lars Johansson to the AHL's Rockford IceHogs.

Crawford has been out since having an emergency appendectomy performed Dec. 3.

Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville said Sunday that he was targeting Friday's game against the Colorado Avalanche for Crawford's return, and that's the next time Chicago will play following Tuesday's loss to the Ottawa Senators.

Scott Darling was stellar at times in Crawford's absence, but has given up four goals in three of his last four games.

Crawford was 12-6-2 with a 2.27 GAA and a .927 save percentage before having the procedure.