Morning Chirps: Flyers advance, Tkachuk addresses trade rumors

We got another team through the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, while the two most entertaining series of the opening round gave more great hockey. Start your Thursday off with a fresh batch of Morning Chirps.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Athletic released the results of their annual Blackhawks fan survey. The results were not very surprising. Most fans are still on board with the rebuild and the long-term vision, but are starting to get frustrated with the losing. This, once again, proves that the loudest voices on social media usually do not represent the majority.

• In the Gagarin Cup Semifinals, Ak Bars Kazan beat Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4-1 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. Roman Kantserov was held off the scoresheet and had two shots on goal. Former Rockford IceHogs defenseman Robin Press had Metallurg’s only goal. Game 4 will be on Friday.

• The Kitchener Rangers beat the Windsor Spitfires 6-3 to take a 3-1 lead in the Ontario Hockey League's Western Conference Championship Series. Jack Pridham had an assist, three shots on goal, and was a plus-2. The Rangers get their first crack at advancing to the Championship Series on Friday.

• On this date in 1945, goaltender Charlie Gardiner was named as part of the first-ever induction class into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He spent his entire career with the Blackhawks, winning 112 games over seven seasons. He was the captain of the 1934 Stanley Cup championship team and had a career 1.43 goals-against average (GAA) in the postseason. Howie Morenz was also part of this class. He spent the final two seasons of his career with the Blackhawks after winning three Stanley Cups and three Hart Trophies with the Montreal Canadiens.

• In 1985, the Blackhawks eliminated the Minnesota North Stars with a 6-5 overtime win in Game 6 of the Norris Division Finals. Darryl Sutter scored his second goal of the night in overtime after Troy Murray tied the game with less than five minutes left in regulation.

• In 1990, the Blackhawks rolled over the St. Louis Blues 8-2 in Game 7 of the Norris Division Finals. Jeremy Roenick scored twice in the opening period before they blew the game open with second-period goals from Steve Larmer, Denis Savard, and Dave Manson.

• In 1995, Eric Daze scored his first career NHL goal as the Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-0. The memorable goal came in only his second game.

• In 2013, the Stanley Cup Playoffs began with the Blackhawks beating the Minnesota Wild 2-1 in overtime of Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. After Marian Hoss scored a power-play goal in the middle frame, Bryan Bickell began his postseason for the ages with the game-winning tally 16:35 into overtime.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, April 30: Miles Zaharko, Steve Smith, Aaron Johnson, and Spencer Abbott.

NHL Chirps

• The Montreal Canadiens grabbed a 3-2 lead in the most entertaining series of the opening round by beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2. Brendan Gallagher, who was a healthy scratch for the first four games, opened the scoring. Former Blackhawks prospect Dominic James tied the game early in the second before Kirby Dach restored Montreal’s lead just 11 seconds later. Jake Guentzel evened the score before the end of the middle frame, before Alexandre Texier scored the game-winner 1:06 into the third period. Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes was spectacular, making 17 of his 38 saves in the final period. The Bell Centre will be rocking on Friday, as the Canadiens can advance to the second round with a victory.

• The Philadelphia Flyers only needed one goal to eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins. All the pressure was on the Flyers after losing the last two games, and it continued to mount as regulation finished with no goals scored. Defenseman Cam York scored the series-clinching goal at 17:32 of overtime. Matvei Michlov had the primary assist after being scratched for Game 5. Dan Vlader made 42 saves for his first career postseason shutout. The Flyers will take on the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round.

• The Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Mammoth treated us to another back-and-forth affair, with the Golden Knights winning 5-4 in double overtime. Utah defenseman John Marino broke a scoreless tie 17:11 into the first period, but Pavel Dorofeyev answered before the frame expired. Lawson Crouse gave the visitors a 2-1 lead midway through the second period, but Dorofeyev and Shea Theodore scored 1:40 apart to give the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead. Vegas killed off a four-minute power play to start the third period. However, the kill didn’t change the momentum, as Dylan Guenther tied the game shortly after the penalty expired with his third goal of the series. Michael Carcone finished off a 2-on-1 rush about seven minutes later to put the Mammoth back ahead. However, Dorofeyev completed his hat trick with 52.7 seconds left to force overtime. The Mammoth's power play has been awful the entire series, but they bottomed out by allowing a shorthanded goal to Brett Howden in the second overtime.

• The NHL announced the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy, given to the best goaltender every season. Ilya Sorokin (New York Islanders), Jeremy Swayman (Boston Bruins), and Andrei Vasilevskiy (Lightning) are the top three vote-getters from the league’s general managers.

• According to Rick Dhaliwal, the Vancouver Canucks have interviewed Patrick Burke for their vacant general manager job. He is the son of former Canucks general manager Brian Burke. He’s been the Vice President of Player Safety since 2021. Before that, he spent seven years as a scout for the Flyers.

• The best part of a team getting eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs is finding out the injuries some guys played through. Los Angeles Kings center Quinton Byfield was dealing with two torn obliques. He tore the right one after the Olympic break, then the left one just as the first injury was starting to feel better. However, it doesn’t sound like either injury requires surgery.

• On Monday, Ottawa Senators general manager Steve Staios told the media that he has no intention of trading Brady Tkachuk. The Senators' captain held his end-of-season press conference on Tuesday and called the rampant trade rumors a “distraction.” He reiterated his commitment to the team and the city.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, April 30: Fleming Mackell, Don McKenny, Dale Rolfe, Jeff Brown, Rich Pilon, Steve Webb, Chris Krieder, Timothy Liljegren, Brett Leason, and Tye Kartye.

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