Morning Chirps: Kantserov & Behm score, big night for some of the NHL's elite

The Chicago Blackhawks are right back to work tonight after a big road win last night. They return to the United Center, where they will host the Vegas Golden Knights. We will have our usual game day coverage with a preview later this morning and plenty of postgame thoughts.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Blackhawks beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 in a shootout last night to improve to 3-1-1 after the holiday break. The game had a little bit of everything, including some great goaltending and two unlikely shootout participants.

• While the Blackhawks were playing the Capitals last night, the Rockford IceHogs took on their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. Things started off well with them taking a 4-2 lead into the third period before losing 5-4. Dominic Toninato, who was reassigned to the team on Saturday morning, scored the opening goal. Of the prospects, Martin Misiak, Gavin Hayes, and Kevin Korchinski recorded assists. Hayes has stepped up his game of late, with two goals and six points in his last six games. Drew Commesso gave up five goals on 23 shots.

• In case you missed it, Connor Bedard has been allowed to start shooting pucks again. While there is no definitive timeline for his return to the lineup, this is an encouraging sign of progress.

• Speaking of Bedard, Elliotte Friedman had some interesting comments about him on the latest episode of 32 Thoughts.

"“There are a lot of coaches with their own eye test who believe what Blashill believes. Bedard has changed the way people see him in the league for the better and has done it better than anybody else this year.” "

Elliotte Friedman

• Roman Kantserov had a goal and an assist on Saturday. He leads the KHL with 27 goals and is now just one point behind his teammate Vladimir Tkachyov for the league lead in overall scoring. Kantserov has eight goals and 15 points in his last 10 games.

• We’ve talked a lot about Kantserov and Anton Frondell this season, but Nathan Behm is the top-scoring prospect right now. He scored the game-winning goal on the power play and recorded an assist during Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Kelowna Rockets. The 2025 third-round pick has scored 22 goals in 37 games for the Kamloops Blazers, and his third in the Western Hockey League with 55 points.

• Sacha Boisvert returned to the lineup for Boston University and scored two goals in an exhibition game against Simon Fraser. While these two tallies won’t count towards his season stats, they are hopefully a sign of things to come. The combination of being healthy and having a chip on his shoulder from being left off Canada’s World Juniors roster could lead to a big second half.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Jan. 4: Earl Balfour, Dmitri Nabokov, and Colton Dach.

NHL Chirps

• Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith was granted a personal leave of absence to attend to a family matter. The team recalled Remi Poirier from the AHL to take his roster spot.

• The Buffalo Sabres’ 10-game winning streak was snapped in a 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Defenseman Zach Werenski returned after missing the last four games with a lower-body injury and recorded two assists. There are few things I enjoy in hockey more than when a player loses a skate blade and tries to get back to the bench. Blue Jackets forward Mason Marchment had an all-timer on Saturday!

• Auston Matthews scored the 420th and 421st goals of his career last night, passing Mats Sundin as the Toronto Maple Leafs all-time leading goal scorer. He also joined Mike Modano as the only American-born player to lead a franchise in career goals. Unfortunately for him and the Maple Leafs, rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer won the game in overtime for the New York Islanders with this electric goal.

• Nikita Kucherov had a goal and four assists to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 7-3 win over the San Jose Sharks. This was his franchise-record eighth career five-point game. He also has six straight multi-point games as he builds a case for his second Hart Trophy. Former Blackhawks prospect Darren Raddysh became the third defenseman in Lightning team history to net a hat trick.

• Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist in the Edmonton Oilers’ 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. He extended his point streak to 15 games, giving six point streaks of at least 15 games in his career. Only Wayne Gretzky (19) and Mario Lemieux (7) had more in NHL history.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Jan. 4: Greg de Vries, Jiri Hudler, Nico Hischier, Spencer Stastney, Albert Johansson, Ian Moore, Aleksei Kolosov, and Zach Dean.