Morning Chirps: Gretzky praises Bedard, Michkov heating up

The Chicago Blackhawks are off today after losing last night. They are scheduled to practice tomorrow before hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. We have plenty of Chirps from all around the NHL, so let’s get started.

Blackhawks Chirps

• You probably missed my thoughts on last night's overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils, with the game ending so late on a school night. It feels good to be disappointed after losses again because there are higher expectations!

• Once the game ended, I jumped on the CHGO Blackhawks Postgame show and broke down the game with my pals Jay and Mario.

• We’ve talked a lot already about how the national narrative about the Blackhawks has changed. Wayne Gretzky spent some time talking about Connor Bedard on TNT’s broadcast last night and said he’s playing himself onto Team Canada.

• The Rockford IceHogs suffered a disappointing loss last night, too. They jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Marcel Marcel and Aidan Thompson. Unfortunately, the Manitoba Moose came back with three goals of their own to steal a win. They tied the game in the second period thanks to a shorthanded goal from former friend Isaak Phillips. Nick Lardis, who went scoreless for his fifth straight game, had a game-high five shots on goal.

• On this date in 1963, Bobby Hull scored twice and recorded two assists, giving him 400 career points, as the Blackhawks defeated the Bruins 6-4.

• In 1975, Dennis Hull, Bobby’s younger brother, netted his 259th career goal in a 5-5 tie with the Philadelphia Flyers. This made him the third leading goal scorer in franchise history. His 298 goals still rank as the seventh-most scored in a Blackhawks uniform.

• In 1982, Tony Esposito won his 400th career game by beating the Detroit Red Wings 3-2. He made 34 saves while Tom Lysiak scored the game-winning goal on a third-period power play.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Nov. 13: Len Lunde, Wayne Hillman, and Mark Fitzpatrick.

NHL Chirps

• Valeri Nichuskin has been a valuable part of the Colorado Avalanche’s recent success, but his biggest problem has been staying on the ice. He will be out of the lineup for “some time,” according to head coach Jared Bednard. He suffered a lower-body injury in Tuesday’s win over the Anaheim Ducks. Bednard said the team is still evaluating the extent of the injury and hopes to have a better idea later today.

• Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko, another talented player who can’t seem to stay healthy, finds himself on the injury report again. According to Frank Seravalli, he suffered a groin injury in Tuesday's loss to the Winnipeg Jets and will miss two to three weeks.

• Former Blackhawk Nick Schmaltz scored his 10th goal of the season last night in the Utah Mammoth’s 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. He is the 20th 10-goal scorer in the NHL this season. This is the most 10-goal scorers at this point of the season since the 1996-97 season.

• Matvei Michkov scored in his third straight game last night after just one goal in his first 13 contests. He became the sixth player in Flyers franchise history with 30 goals at age 20 or younger, joining Eric Lindros, Simon Gagne, Mike Ricci, Peter Zezel, and Bill Barber.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Nov. 13: Gilbert Perreault, Jason Garrison, Brenden Dillon, and Sean Walker.