Morning Chirps: Mammoth win first playoff game, Canucks targeting recently fired GM

Another great night of Stanley Cup Playoff action is in the books. Three of the four series that played last night are now even 1-1. Nothing beats playoff hockey!

Blackhawks Chirps

• Yesterday, I looked back at Sam Rinzel’s first professional season. He didn’t live up to expectations, but, in hindsight, those expectations were set a little high.

• Speaking of looking back, Nestor Quixtan says the Blackhawks 2025-26 season was derailed because of a crucial injury.

• Don’t forget to sign up for the Blackhawk Up Newsletter to get even more content, not available on the website, sent right to your inbox twice a week.

• On this date in 1962, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Blackhawks 2-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to win their first of three straight championships. Yes, kids, the Maple Leafs did win Stanley Cups when there were only six teams in the league, but none since.

• In 1965, the Blackhawks got on the board as they beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. After losing the first two games of the series at The Forum, Kenny Warham scored the game-winning goal at the Chicago Stadium early in the third period. Phil Esposito and Chico Maki each had a goal and an assist. Glenn Hall made 22 saves for the victory.

• In 1997, the Blackhawks beat the Avalanche 6-3 to even the Western Conference Quarterfinals at 2-2. Bob Probert scored two of the Blackhawks’ four second-period goals, with Ethan Moreau and Steve Dubinsky adding the other two. Tony Amonte scored the game’s opening goal before adding a shorthanded empty-netter late in the game. Unfortunately, this was the last win of the 1996-97 season, as the Avalanche won the next two games by a combined score of 13-3.

• In 2010, the Blackhawks beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals to even the series at 2-2. Jonathan Toews scored his first goal of the postseason in between a pair of Patrick Sharp tallies, his first two of the series. Antti Niemi made 33 saves for his second shutout in the last three games.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, April 22: Bert Connelly, Ed Kachur, Doug Jarrett, Tom Lysiak, Bob Mason, and Madison Bowey.

NHL Chirps

• The Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens have had the most entertaining series so far in the Stanley Cup Final. After the Canadiens won Game 1 in overtime, the Lightning returned the favor with defenseman J.J. Moser scoring at 12:48 of extra time in Game 2. The game-winner was Moser’s first career playoff goal. Brandon Hagel had the first postseason Gordie Howe hat trick in Tampa postseason history and has three goals in the series. Nikita Kucherov tied the game in the third period, snapping his 16-game playoff goal drought. The Lightning are now 38-6 all-time in the postseason when Kucherov scores.  For whatever reason, over the last two years, the Lightning have felt they need to morph into the Broad Street Bullies in the playoffs. They are far too talented for that. It didn’t work against the Florida Panthers last year, and they are lucky not to be down 0-2 in this series. They need to play smarter in Montreal, or this series won’t go the way they want it to.

• The Boston Bruins will return home with a tied series after beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-2. While the way they lost Game 1 still stings, splitting the first two games in Buffalo is exactly where they want to be. Viktor Arvidsson scored Boston’s first and fourth goals. Morgan Geekie added a goal from center ice, proving that there is no such thing as a bad shot. The Sabres were never really in this game, with both of their goals coming late in the third period. They have to find a way to get their offense going long before the final minutes of the game if they want their feel-good story to continue past this round.

• On Sunday, Logan Cooley scored the first Stanley Cup Playoff goal in Utah Mammoth history. Last night, he scored the game-winning goal in the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Playoff victory. His second goal of the series gave Utah a 3-2 lead over the Vegas Golden Knights with six minutes to play. The Mammoth will host their first postseason game on Friday with the series tied 1-1.

• Game 2 between the Colorado Avalanche and the Los Angeles Kings was a strange one. After Quinton Byfield missed a penalty shot in the second period, the fans behind the Kings' bench pounded on the glass so hard that it shattered. The game was delayed for about 20 minutes to not only install a new pane but also to clean up all the shards on the bench. Early in the third period, everyone in the Ball Arena thought Sam Maliknski broke a scoreless tie, but the puck hit the side of the net instead of going in it. The game headed to overtime after Artemi Panarin and Gabriel Landeskog traded goals late in regulation. Nic Roy, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Maple Leafs, was the overtime hero to give the Avalanche a 2-0 series lead. The Kings have two goals in this series, both of which have been scored by Panarin on the power play.

• According to The Athletic, the Vancouver Canucks have requested permission to talk to former Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams for their vacant general manager job. They need permission for an interview since he still has time left on his contract with Buffalo. Stefen Rosner has reported that New York Islanders assistant general manager Ryan Bowness is also a candidate for the job.

• Staying in Vancouver, Rick Dhaliwal reported that Canucks defenseman Zeev Buium will not play for Team USA at next month’s IIHF World Championships. He was part of last year’s gold medal team, but is going to focus on resting up after his first full professional season.

• Ilya Kovalchuk was named the president of the KHL’s Shanghai Dragons. He won three Gagarin Cups as a player in the KHL in between his two NHL stints.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, April 22: Bob Paradise, Al Hill, Peter Zezel, Zarley Zalapski, Dan Cloutier, T.J. Galiardi, Chandler Stephenson, Eeli Tolvanen, and Jacob Melanson.

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