Morning Chirps: Frondell & Kantserov stay hot, Toews debuts in Winnipeg

The Chicago Blackhawks will get a well-deserved day off today after losing 3-2 to the Detroit Red Wings last night. They will be back on the ice tomorrow and Friday before back-to-back road games against the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild over the weekend. In the meantime, enjoy your Hump Day Morning Chirps!

Blackhawks Chirps

• There was plenty to discuss after last night’s loss, including Connor Bedard’s impressive night, the struggles of the top defensive pair, getting dominated at 5-on-5, and how Colton Dach and Lukas Reichel fared in an important first game for them.

• Things didn’t go well for Djurgarden yesterday, as they were bombarded by Frolunda, 11-2. Anton Frondell picked up the secondary assist on their first goal. He finished the night with three shots on goal, won seven of 15 draws, and managed to only be a minus-1 in 16:42 of ice time. He has two assists in four games.

• Roman Kantserov had the primary assist on the game-winning goal on Tuesday. He showed some great patience in the slot, pulling the goaltender out of position, then finding an open teammate for an easy one-timer. He has three goals and seven points through eight games.

• On this date in 1977, Blackhawks forward Dennis Hull had the game-tying goal in Canada’s 3-2 win over the Soviet Union in Game 6 of the Summit Series. This was the same game that saw Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke take one of the most infamous penalties in hockey history – a two-handed slash that broke the ankle of Valeri Kharlamov, the Soviet’s top scorer.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Sept. 24: Dan Maloney.

NHL Chirps

• Jonathan Toews made his Winnipeg Jets debut last night. It will take some time to get used to seeing him in dark blue instead of red. He was a minus-1 in 18:36 of ice time with no shots on goal.

• The Colorado Avalanche could be without their top goaltender to start the season. Head coach Jared Bednar said Mackenzie Blackwood is recovering from his lower-body injury but is questionable for their first regular-season game against the Los Angeles Kings.

• Zeev Buium returned to Wild training camp after missing the last three practices due to injury. Head coach John Hynes said the rookie blueliner is likely to dress for their next preseason game on Thursday.

• Brady Martin, the fifth overall pick of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, scored two goals in his debut for the Nashville Predators. However, the Tampa Bay Lightning scored two third-period goals on their way to 3-2 shootout victory.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Sept. 24: Tim Ecclestone, Steven Kampfer, and Karl Alzner.