Morning Chirps: 4 Blackhawks head to Switzerland, update on Robertson's status

If you’ve missed seeing the Chicago Blackhawks on the ice, four members of the team will be lacing up their skates overseas in the near future. Also, you might be disappointed by an update out of Dallas. Happy Friday! Let’s get Chirping!

Blackhawks Chirps

• The moment the Toronto Maple Leafs won the NHL Draft Lottery, the offseason landscape changed for many teams, including the Blackhawks.

• Connor Bedard’s contract extension is the next big thing on Kyle Davidson’s to-do list, and Richard Jelinek says it needs to be a long-term deal.

• Four Blackhawks have been named to Team USA’s preliminary roster for the IIHF World Championships: forwards Oliver Moore and Sam Lafferty, defenseman Wyatt Kaiser, and goaltender Drew Commesso. Frank Nazar and Alex Vlasic, who won gold with the United States last year, are not participating in this year’s tournament. I’m a little surprised to see Matthew Tkachuk on the team. With all the hockey and injuries, he and the Florida Panthers have gone through over the past couple of years, you’d think he’d want a long summer off.

• On this date in 1973, the Blackhawks beat the Montreal Canadiens 8-7 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. The two teams set a record that still stands today for the most goals in a Stanley Cup Final game, despite two Hall of Fame goaltenders, Ken Dryden and Tony Esposito, in the crease. Stan Mikita led the way with two goals and four points. Jim Pappin found the back of the net twice, while Lou Angotti scored the game-winning goal in the third period.

• In 1992, the Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 to complete their four-game sweep of the Norris Division Finals. Brent Sutter scored the series-clinching goal with less than two minutes remaining in the third period. Ed Belfour made 29 saves to record the first postseason shutout of his career.

• Four years later, Belfour was the hard-luck loser in a 3-2 triple overtime defeat to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals. He made 54 saves before Joe Sakic scored at 4:33 of the third overtime. Sutter and Jeff Shantz had the Blackhawks’ goal during regulation.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, May 8: Herb Gardiner, John Mariucci, Cully Simon, Jack Price, and Casey Hankinson.

NHL Chirps

• The Carolina Hurricanes took a 3-0 stranglehold on the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 last night. The Flyers took 14 penalties in a must-win game, which led to their demise. The Hurricanes scored goals at four different strengths: 5-on-4 power play, shorthanded, 4-on-3 power play, and 5-on-5. Jordan Staal, Jalen Chatfield, and Andrei Svechnikov all scored their first goals of the postseason. Carolina can become the first team to sweep back-to-back playoff series since the Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins did it in 1992.

• Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill revealed that Mikko Rantanen tore his MCL while playing at the Olympics, but won’t need surgery. That explains why he was never quite his explosive self after returning to action. This is another reason why playing an international tournament in the middle of a season is not ideal.

• Nill also said that a contract extension for Jason Robertson will be a top priority this offseason. He hopes Robertson will play the rest of his career with the Stars.

• The Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild won’t resume their series until Saturday. Even with the extra rest, Joel Eriksson Ek will not play in Game 3. Head coach John Hynes told reporters that Eriksson Ek has skated since suffering a lower-body injury against the Stars on April 30. Hynes was optimistic that defenseman Zach Bogosian would be available after missing Game 2.

• Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, Cale Makar of the Avalanche, and Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets are the three finalists for the Norris Trophy, given to the NHL’s best defenseman as voted on by the PHWA.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, May 8: Ken Smith, Eddie Joval, Peter McNab, Rick Zombo, Ray Whitney, Matt Martin, Lars Eller, Kevin Hayes, Marcus Pettersson, and Harrison Brunicke.

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