Morning Chirps: Kantserov sits, OHL coaches love Spellacy

The Chicago Blackhawks are back in action tonight against the Minnesota Wild. Tonight is the first of three games over the next four days, with home games against the Colorado Avalanche tomorrow and the Nashville Predators on Sunday. You know the routine around these parts on game day!

Blackhawks Chirps

• Outside of Connor Bedard, Tyler Bertuzzi has probably been the Blackhawks’ most valuable player. Justin Lynch wrote about how his improvement this season will serve the team going forward.

• Matthew Knies’ name has come up in trade rumors, and the Blackhawks have had reported interest in him in the past. Jeremiah Lee ponders whether they should make a big offer to the Toronto Maple Leafs this offseason.

• Roman Kantserov was a healthy scratch for Metallurg Magnitogorsk yesterday, and he will likely sit out of Friday’s regular-season finale, too. The team obviously doesn’t want its top star to risk injury ahead of the KHL playoffs. He’ll finish the season with a league-leading 36 goals and 64 points in 63 games.

• The results of the Ontario Hockey League Coaches Poll were released, and the Blackhawks have plenty of prospects named. A.J. Spellacy got the most mentions. He was named the Western Conference’s hardest worker and best penalty killer, second-best bodychecker, and third-best skater. Marek Vanacker was voted as the Eastern Conference’s most dangerous player in the goal area.

• On this date in 1933, the Blackhawks hosted the Detroit Red Wings in the first afternoon in NHL history.

• In 1935, Lorne Chabot became the first Vezina Trophy winner in team history. He went 26-17-5 with a 1.70 goals-against average (GAA) and eight shutouts during the 1934-35 season.

• In 1998, the Blackhawks retired Denis Savard’s No. 18. After the ceremony, Chad Kilger scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens, the team Savard won the Stanley Cup with in 1993.

• In 2014, Joel Quenneville joined Scotty Bowman and Al Arbour in the NHL’s 700-wins club. His milestone win came at the expense of the St. Louis Blues, with whom he won the first 307 games of his career.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, March 19: Eddie Wares, Glen Smith, and Louie DeBrusk.

NHL Chirps

• Jeff Maroon checked in yesterday with his weekly NHL Power Rankings.

• Cole Eiserman became the third Boston University player to sign his entry-level contract this week. However, his deal will begin next season, so he will finish out this year with the Bridgeport Islanders in the AHL on an amateur tryout contract.

• His teammate in Boston, Cole Hutson, made his NHL debut for the Washington Capitals. He picked up his first NHL goal with a late empty-net goal in a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. Fun stat: Hutson is the first teammate of Alex Ovechkin to be born after he made his NHL debut in 2005.

• Sidney Crosby returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ lineup last night. It was his first game action since suffering a lower-body injury at the Winter Olympics last month. He had a goal and an assist in his first game back, but the Penguins fell 6-5 in overtime to the Carolina Hurricanes.

• Former Blackhawks first-round draft pick Lukas Reichel was recalled by the Boston Bruins yesterday under emergency conditions. It remains to be seen if he will make his team debut tonight against the Winnipeg Jets, an important game for both teams.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, March 19: Gregg Boddy, Larry Patey, Vladimir Konstantinov, Janne Laukkanen, Mike Mattau, Tyler Bozak, Anders Nilsson, and Jack Thompson.