Morning Chirps: Frondell dazzles, Wild & Ducks advance

The Chicago Blackhawks had some exciting prospects score on Thursday. Meanwhile, two more Stanley Cup Playoff series ended last night, leaving us with 11 teams. Happy Friday, let’s get Chripin’!

Blackhawks Chirps

• As we continue to look back at the season with player reviews, the final few games of Kevin Korchinski's season showed that progress is being made.

• Connor Bedard and Oliver Moore were spotted training together in Florida, where they swapped autographs with some aspiring young hockey players.

• Speaking of Bedard, if you’re subscribed to the Blackhawks Up Newsletter, you’ll get the latest on his impending captaincy.

• Anton Frondell hasn’t officially made Sweden’s World Championships roster yet. Instead, he’s playing in the Fortuna Games, which are a bit of a tryout for the main squad. After watching the goal he scored yesterday, it’s a safe bet that he’s made the team.

• The Barrie Colts avoided elimination by beating the Brantford Bulldogs 4-3 in overtime of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Championship Series. Dallas Stars prospect Bard Gardiner scored 13:40 into overtime to extend the series to a sixth game on Saturday. Marek Vanacker scored a power-play goal in the second period, while Caleb Malhotra netted another pair of goals.

• On this date in 1965, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Blackhawks 4-0 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. Jean Beliveau scored the only goal they needed only 14 seconds into the game, the fastest Stanley Cup-winning goal in postseason history. After the game, Beliveau was awarded the first Conn Smythe Trophy for being the playoff MVP. The Blackhawks won all three games at Chicago Stadium, but were dominated in the four games at The Forum, getting outscored 15-2 and shut out in three straight.

• In 1973, the Blackhawks had another rough outing in Montreal, losing to the Canadiens 4-1 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Cliff Koroll tied the game early in the second period before Yvan Cournoyer scored twice to put the game out of reach.

• In 2010, the Vancouver Canucks struck first with a 5-1 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. The United Center crowd had little to cheer for as the Canucks built a 5-0 lead after 40 minutes. Patrick Kane scored the lone goal for the home team on an early third-period power play.

• In 2015, the Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild opened up the second round with their third straight meeting in the postseason. The Blackhawks exploded for three first-period goals by Brandon Saad, Kane, and Marcus Kruger. The Wild answered with three goals in the first 9:30 of the second period before Teuvo Teravainen scored the game-winning goal in the final minute of the middle frame.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, May 1: Sid Finney, Frank Martin, and Bryan Marchment.

NHL Chirps

• The Vancouver Canucks should call Bill Guerin and ask for another two first-round picks for Quinn Hughes; they’d probably get them. The superstar defenseman has been a huge difference-maker for the Minnesota Wild, and he came up huge in their series-clinching 5-2 win over the Stars. He had two goals, including the game-winner, and recorded an assist for a three-point night. The game was tied 2-2 entering the third period before Hughes broke the tie midway through. Matt Boldy added a pair of empty-net tallies to cap off the scoring. This series was won at 5-on-5, where the Stars went 254:01 without a goal before Mavrik Borque’s game-tying goal in the second period. Mikko Rantanen had a goal and seven points in the series, but only one assist at 5-on-5. The Wild will take on the Colorado Avalanche in the second round. That won’t suck!

• The Anaheim Ducks flipped the script on the Edmonton Oilers and scored first for the first time in their series. After falling behind 3-0 in Game 5, the Ducks took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission of Game 6. Two of the three goals came on fortunate bounces, while Connor Murphy had the lone Oilers’ goal of the period. Moments after Zach Hyman had a goal disallowed for kicking the puck into the net, the Ducks extended their lead to 4-1 in the final minute of the second period. Vasily Podkolzin got the Oilers two within two goals just over a minute into the third period, but that's as close as they could get. Leo Carlsson picked up his third point of the night with a late empty-net goal. The Ducks await the winner of the series between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Utah Mammoth. Meanwhile, Murphy and Jason Dickinson finished the postseason with more goals than Connor McDavid. Yikes!

• The Seattle Kraken announced that assistant coach Jessica Campbell, whose contract is expiring, will explore other options this summer. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported that there is no ill will, and the Kraken hasn’t ruled out her returning to the organization.

• The NHL announced that Cole Caufield (Canadiens), Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles Kings), and Jake Sanderson (Ottawa Senators) are the Lady Byng finalists. This trophy is awarded every season to the player who exhibits a high standard of sportsmanship, gentlemanly conduct, and playing ability. 

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, May 1: Mickey Roach, Jim Lorentz, Pat Conacher, Clint Malarchuk, Patrick Eaves, David Backes, Frederick Gaudreau, Dylan DeMelo, Jaccob Slavin, and William Nylander.

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