Morning Chirps: Another Frondell snipe, Oilers looking for defense

The Chicago Blackhawks flew to Denver after last night’s loss and will practice today before taking on the NHL’s best team tomorrow. This date was a busy one in team history, while a former Blackhawks defenseman had one of his records broken by a young phenom last night. Let’s start your Friday with some Morning Chirps!

Blackhawks Chirps

• Connor Bedard looked extra motivated against the Nashville Predators last night, as if watching Team Canada from home put a chip on shoulder. However, poor puck management and special teams failure wasted his effort. Check out all my postgame thoughts from the 4-2 loss.

• Anton Frondell scored his 16th goal of the season yesterday as Djurgardens IF looks to sneak into the SHL playoffs. It’s going to be fun seeing him on Bedard’s line before the season is over!

• On this date in 1964, Glenn Hall became the first goaltender in Blackhawks history to win 200 games by beating the Detroit Red Wings 4-2.

• A decade later, in 1974, Tony Esposito became the fifth netminder in NHL history to rack up five 30-win seasons with a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota North Stars.

• In 1977, Stan Mikita victimized Vancouver Canucks netminder Cesare Maniago to become the eighth member of the NHL’s 500-goal club.

• In 1982, the Blackhawks beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-2. Denis Savard’s assist made him only the second player in team history to have a 100-point season. He added 19 more points before the end of the year to break Hull’s single-season points record of 107, which he set in 1968-69.

• The Blackhawks had one of their most memorable giveaways on this date in 2009. The first 10,000 fans who showed up for the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins received an OSHA-certified hard hat. Captain Jonathan Toews scored an apparent third goal in the second period, which caused the hard hats to come raining down. However, it was ruled that he touched the puck with a high stick, and the goal was taken off the scoreboard. Those remaining hard hats eventually made it onto the ice in the third period when Toews scored again to make his hat trick official. As you could imagine, the Blackhawks have never had another hard hat night.

• In 2015, the Blackhawks acquired veteran defenseman Kimmo Timonen from the Philadelphia Flyers for the costly price of two second-round draft picks. It worked out well for Timonen as he concluded his NHL career by being the first player that Toews handed the Stanley Cup to that June.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 27: Andy Blair, Lee Fogolin, Marc Lamothe, and Matthew Highmore.

NHL Chirps

• It’s no secret that the Edmonton Oilers want to add a defenseman before next week’s trade deadline. Insider Frank Seravalli says they are in on Justin Faulk of the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson. However, he stated that they need to move Andrew Mangiapane first to free up enough cap space to make an addition. It’s unlikely that they’d be interested in Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy, as Faulk and Ekman-Larson are more offensive-minded blueliners.

• According to Pierre LeBrun, Steven Stamkos would be willing to waive his no-movement clause for only three teams: the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, or Tampa Bay Lightning. Seeing him back with the Lightning would be crazy!

• Matthew Schaefer scored two goals 55 seconds apart in the New York Islanders’ overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens last night. The second goal, his 18th, broke Phil Housley’s single-season record for the most goals by an 18-year-old defenseman. He’s up to 41 points, joining Housley and Rasmus Dahlin as the only 18-year-old defenders with 40-point seasons.

• Meanwhile, let’s check in with the Maple Leafs….

• Brad Marchand continued to terrorize Toronto, as he scored two goals in the 5-1 win. He already has five multi-goal games with the Florida Panthers, tying himself with Joe Nieuwendyk for the second-most for a player 37 or older in team history. Jaromir Jagr holds the record with six.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 27: Ab DeMarco, Jerry Butler, John Davidson, Robert Kron, Dallas Eakins, Mike Sullivan, Jaroslav Modry, Braydon Coburn, Casey Cizikas, and Mith Matheson.