Morning Chirps: Kantserov adds to his record, World Cup hosts announced

The Chicago Blackhawks are back in action tonight as they host former captain Nick Foligno and the Minnesota Wild. We’ll have a full game preview after today’s morning skate and plenty of analysis after the final horn.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Blackhawks signed Sacha Boisvert to a three-year entry-level contract on Monday. It’s still unclear when he will officially join the team, as he’s waiting for his work visa paperwork to clear. What we do know is that his locker stall is next to Connor Bedard’s and he will wear No. 12.

• The Athletic’s Scott Powers spoke with Boisvert, who is obviously excited about his NHL debut. Without giving away the interview, he offered some good insight into his disappointing season for Boston University. He also took full ownership of why he was held out of their Hockey East quarterfinal last week.

• Roman Kantserov scored his KHL-leading 35th and 36th goals of the season yesterday. He is adding to his league record for the most goals by a player under 23. The previous record of 33 was set by Kirill Kaprizov in 2019-20.

• Vaclav Nestrasil was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Week. He had a goal and two assists in UMass’ 4-1 quarterfinal win over Northeastern on Saturday. They will play Merrimack Friday afternoon in the first of two semifinals at TD Garden.

• On this date in 1962, Glenn Hall became the first goaltender in team history to have a 30-win season by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1.

• In 1991, the infamous “St. Patrick’s Day Massacre” took place at the Chicago Stadium. While the game is in the record books as a 6-4 win over the St. Louis Blues, it is remembered for being the most violent chapter in this long rivalry. At the end of the night, 12 players were ejected, 276 penalty minutes were served (24 minors, 12 majors, and 17 misconducts), and three players were eventually suspended for their actions.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, March 17: Tony Leswick and Gord Buttrey.

NHL Chirps

• The NHL announced the host cities for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey. Calgary and Prague will host the preliminary rounds, with round-robin play within each group of four teams. Edmonton will host the semifinals and final. It’s a little odd that no games will be played within the United States. You’d think the league would want to capitalize on Team USA’s gold medal win, but that isn’t the case.

• The Dallas Stars will still be without Mikko Rantanen for at least another two weeks. He suffered a lower-body injury during Finland’s semifinal game at the Olympics, but it sounds like he will be good to go for the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, the prognosis for Roope Hintz and Radek Faksa is not as good, as they need more time than Rantanen.

• Staying in Dallas, their franchise record-tying 15-game point streak was snapped by the Utah Mammoth last night. The 6-3 defeat was their first regulation loss since Jan. 22 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

• Patrick Kane scored twice in the Detroit Red Wings’ 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames last night. He moved ahead of Joe Mullen for fourth all-time in goals by a U.S.-born player with 504. The only players ahead of him are Mike Modano (561), Keith Tkachuk (538), and Jeremy Roenick (513).

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, March 17: Craig Ramsay, Stan Weir, Andrew Ference, Bobby Ryan, Ryan White, Mikael Backlund, Daniel Sprong, Andrew Peeke, and Will Smith.