Morning Chirps: Bedard's World Championships decision, only one Game 7

The NHL’s top insider got the world on whether the Chicago Blackhawks’ top star will be playing more hockey this spring. As great as the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has been, it stinks that we are only going to get one Game 7, but it should be a classic!

Blackhawks Chirps

• According to Elliotte Friedman, Conor Bedard will not play for Team Canada at the upcoming IIHF World Championships. While he wants to play in the tournament, he is going to skip to fully rehab his shoulder injury so he’s ready for next season.

• Roman Kantserov and Metallurg Magnitogorsk are in big trouble. They are down 3-1 in the Gagarin Cup to Ak Bars Kazan after a 4-1 loss in Game 4. Kansterov had another pointless game. After 36 goals and 64 points in 63 regular-season games, he has four goals and eight points in his 14 playoff games.

• Jack Pridham and the Kitchener Rangers advanced to the Ontario Hockey League Championship Series after beating the Windsor Spitfires 5-4 in overtime. This is the Rangers’ first trip to the Championship Series since 2008. Pridham had the primary assist on Carson Campbell’s game-tying goal in the third period. The Rangers will play either the Brantford Bulldogs or Barrie Colts. The Bulldogs have a 3-2 series and can punch their ticket to the Championship Series tonight.

• On this date in 1971, the Blackhawks beat the New York Rangers 4-2 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals. Bobby Hull recorded two assists before scoring the series-winning goal as the Blackhawks advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1965.

• In 1996, Jeremy Roenick scored in overtime as the Blackhawks beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in overtime of Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. The regulation goals were scored by Enrico Ciccone and Murray Craven.

• In 2009, the Blackhawks evened the Western Conference Semifinals 1-1 with a 6-3 victory against the Vancouver Canucks. Patrick Sharp and Dave Bolland both scored two goals. The rivalry between these two teams really heated up as they combined for 102 penalty minutes.  

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, May 2: Dave Hutchinson, Brad Richards, and Brett Connolly.

NHL Chirps

• The Tampa Bay Lightning forced a Game 7 by beating the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in overtime. Gage Goncalves was the hero with the game-winning goal shortly after the Lightning killed off a Nikita Kucherov tripping penalty. Tampa Bay will host the only Game 7 of the first round on Sunday.

• The Buffalo Sabres are on to the second round for the first time since 2007. They wrapped up their series against the Boston Bruins with a 4-1 win in Game 6. The Sabers had three players with two points, including Zach Benson, Tage Thompson, and Rasmus Dahlin. Benson was on the receiving end of a vicious slash from Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy late in the third period. He was given a game misconduct and will likely be hearing from the Department of Player Safety. Buffalo will play the winner of Game 7 between the Lightning and Canadiens.

• The Utah Mammoth gave the Vegas Golden Knights all they could handle, but their first playoff run came to an end with a 5-1 loss in Game 5. Brett Howden, who was the overtime hero in Game 5, opened the scoring late in the first period. Mitch Marner doubled the lead in the final minute of the second period. Kailer Yamamoto got the Delta Center back into the game by cutting Vegas’ lead in half about eight minutes into the final frame. However, Colton Sissons put the Golden Knights back up by two less than two minutes later. Marner delivered the dagger with a power-play goal about three minutes later. The lack of success on the power play was one of the biggest reasons the Mammoth came up short. They went 1-for-13 on the man advantage, while allowing two shorthanded goals.

• We’ll see a second-round series begin before the first round is completed. The Carolina Hurricanes will host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at 7 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on ABC. The Hurricanes should get forward Nikolaj Ehlers and defenseman Alexander Nikiskin back from injury for Game 1.

• In addition to the Bedard news, Friedman also reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs asked the Lightning for permission to interview general manager Julien BriseBois for their vacant general manager job, but were quickly denied.

• The St. Louis Blues signed forward Dylan Holloway to a five-year, $38.75 million contract extension. The 24-year-old winger has been excellent in his two seasons with the Blues, scoring 48 goals and 114 points in 136 games.

• The Jack Adams Award is given every season to the NHL’s best coach as voted on by the National Broadcasters' Association. This year’s finalists are Jon Cooper (Lightning), Dan Muse (Pittsburgh Penguins), and Lindy Ruff (Sabres).

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, May 2: Real Chevrefils, Greg Terrion, Mike Weaver, Jason Chimera, Kris Russell, Nikita Grebenkin, and Connor Clattenburg.

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