Morning Chirps: Brothers lead Team USA, Canada loses defender in opening victory

The two favorites at the Winter Olympics, Canada and the United States, both won their first games of the tournament. Meanwhile, the first two quarterfinals of the women’s tournament will take place later today. Get caught up with your Morning Chirps before another busy day of international hockey!

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Blackhawks have released the fourth episode of this season’s Every Shift, with a great behind-the-scenes look at this year’s team.

• David St. Louis of Elite Prospects ranked the top 12 rookie defensemen in the NHL this season. No surprises as Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders takes the top spot. Artyom Levshunov made the list, but you’ll have to click the link to see where he lands.

• On this date in 1992, Steve Larmer played in his 777th consecutive game with the Blackhawks, breaking Craig Ramsay’s NHL record for the longest games-played streak with the same team.

• In 1999, the Blackhawks played the final game at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, spoiling the big night with a 6-2 win. Former Maple Leaf Doug Glimour scored the game-winning goal, while Bob Probert scored the final goal in the historic arena. Former Blackhawks coach Derek King scored the final Maple Leafs’ goal in the building. The Blackhawks bookended Maple Leaf Gardens’ history with victories, beating them in the first game on Nov. 12, 1931.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 13: Cecil Browne, Marc Crawford, Everett Sanipass, and Sylvain Cloutier.

NHL & Olympic Chirps

• Switzerland is one of the countries hoping that having its NHL stars on the roster will make it a contender in this year’s tournament. They are definitely a dark horse for a medal and got off to a great start on Thursday. They blanked France 4-0 in their Group A preliminary round opener. Former Blackhawk Philipp Kurashev picked up the secondary assist on Damian Riat’s opening goal just 55 seconds into the game. New Jersey Devils forward Timo Meier scored a pair of goals six minutes apart to turn the game into a blowout late. Swiss goaltender Leonardo Genoni made 27 saves to earn the first shutout of the men’s tournament. At 38, he became the oldest netminder to earn a shutout in Olympic history.

• Canada opened its tournament with an impressive 5-0 win over Czechia. They got goals from Macklin Celebrini, Mark Stone, Bo Horvat, Nathan MacKinnon, and Nick Suzuki. Goaltender Jordan Binnington quieted his doubters with a 26-save shutout. It wasn’t all good news for the Canadians, as Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey never returned after the first intermission with an undisclosed injury. Head coach Jon Cooper said he’s hopeful the injury is not serious.

Team USA beat Latvia 5-1 in its first game. It was a big game for the two sets of American brothers. Brady Tkachuk scored the opening goal, while his brother Matthew recorded two assists. Jack and Quinn Hughes had two helpers each. Brock Nelson led the charge with two goals, with Tage Thompson and Auston Matthews rounding out the scoring. Connor Hellebuyck made 17 saves to earn the victory. The game could have really gotten out of hand as Team USA hit two goal posts and had two goals overturned in the first period.

• In the final game of the day, Germany beat Denmark 3-1. Tim Stutzle’s two second-period goals were the difference, while Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist. Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer was spectacular by stopping 37 of the 38 shots he faced.

• Today’s men’s schedule features Finland v Sweden (5:10 am CT), Italy v Slovakia (5:10 am CT), France v Czechia (9:40 am CT), and Canada v Switzerland (2:10 pm CT). Meanwhile, on the women’s side, the quarterfinals begin today with Czechia v Sweden (9:40 am CT) and USA v Italy (2:10 pm CT).

• According to Eric Engels of Sportsnet, the Montreal Canadiens will look to trade forward Patrik Laine after the Olympics. He has played only five games this season, and he's working his way back from muscle core surgery. However, his $8.7 million salary cap hit will be difficult to move without some retention by the Canadiens.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 13: Gaston Gingras, Mats Sundin, Juha Ylonen, Niklas Backstrom, Todd Fedoruk, Al Montoya, and Kaapo Kakko.