Morning Chirps: IceHogs can't pull off sweep, worst case scenario for Kings

The men’s Olympic tournament is into the elimination rounds, while the women’s semifinals take place today. Meanwhile, back home, the Chicago Blackhawks will hold an optional skate tomorrow and have their first mandatory full-team practice on Wednesday.

Blackhawks Chirps

• Nestor Quixtan wrote that Blackhawks fans might have to wait a little longer to see one of the team’s top prospects in Chicago on a regular basis.

• The Rockford IceHogs had a chance to sweep three straight games from the Milwaukee Admirals and draw even with them for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Central Division. They had to settle for winning two out of three after losing 4-1 at the BMO Center on Sunday. Drew Commesso started his second game in less than 24 hours and wasn’t sharp early, as he allowed four goals on 23 shots in the first 40 minutes of the game. Defenseman Jake Furlong, who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks for Nolan Allan last month, scored the IceHogs’ lone goal in the third period. It was his first goal in Rockford and just his second in 85 AHL games. With the loss, the IceHogs are four points out of a postseason berth with 27 games to play. They will host the San Diego Gulls next Saturday and Sunday.

• Speaking of the IceHogs, Gail Kauchak of The Hockey Writers caught up with head coach Jared Nightingale and got some good insight on the development of some of the young AHL defenders.

• On this date in 1967, goaltender Denis DeJordy extended his team-record unbeaten streak to 12 games (9-0-3) with a 5-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. The Blackhawks' unbeaten streak was stretched to 15 games (12-0-3) with the victory.

• In 1992, Michel Goulet became the 17th player in NHL history to score 500 career goals in the Blackhawks’ 5-5 draw with the Calgary Flames. The goal was his 44th in Chicago after scoring 456 with the Quebec Nordiques.

• Two decades later, in 2012, the Blackhawks scored four goals in the first 10 minutes of a 4-2 win versus the New York Rangers to snap their nine-game losing streak. Despite the nine-game skid, they still finished the 2011-12 season with 101 points.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 15: Mikhail Yakubov and Tuomo Ruutu.

NHL & Olympic Chirps

• The men’s tournament wrapped up its group play at the Winter Olympics. The elimination round is set, with the Playoff Round taking place tomorrow. The United States, Canada, and Slovakia got byes to the quarterfinals by winning their respective groups. Finland got the fourth bye because it had the most points of all the second-place finishers.

• Switzerland dedicated its win over Czechia on Sunday to Kevin Fiala. The Los Angeles Kings forward suffered multiple fractures to his left lower leg against Canada on Friday. He underwent successful surgery to repair the injuries, but he will miss the remainder of the NHL regular season. The Kings said that he will be reevaluated at the end of the regular season. Fiala is the Kings’ second leading scorer with 18 goals and 40 points. They will begin play after the Olympic break three points out of a Stanley Cup Playoff spot, but will have Artemi Panarin on the roster.

• The women’s semifinals will take place today. Team USA will play Sweden at 9:40 am CT, followed by Canada and Switzerland at 2:10 pm. The winners will play for the gold medal on Thursday, while the losers got to the bronze medal game.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 16: Nick Metz, Bobby Bauer, Bernie Geoffrion, Andre St. Laurent, Darcy Rota, Lanny McDonald, Mark Mowers, Colin Forbes, Aleksey Morozov, Blair Betts, Jordan Greenway, Owen Tippett, Nikita Chibrikov, Elias Pettersson, and Michael Misa.