Morning Chirps: Kantserov snipes another one, ECHL going on strike

The Chicago Blackhawks are hosting the Philadelphia Flyers tonight. They’d love to head into the holiday break on a high note. We’ll have a game preview after today’s morning skate and full coverage after the game ends. Get caught up on all the news from around the world of hockey with today’s Morning Chirps.

Blackhawks Chirps

• In case you missed it yesterday, captain Nick Foligno is working his way back into the lineup and will be a welcome addition when he returns.

• Meanwhile, Jeremiah Lee points out that Connor Bedard is still one of the top producers over the last few games despite missing most of them.

• Roman Kantserov scored his KHL-leading 24th goal yesterday with a filthy snipe. He has four goals and eight points in his current five-game scoring streak.

• Czechia beat Slovakia 2-1 in overtime in their World Junior Championship pre-tournament game last night. Blackhawks prospect Vaclav Nestrasil did not find the scoresheet in the victory.

• On this date in 1989, Jeremy Roenick scored his first career hat trick to lead the Blackhawks to a 7-5 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. He scored 10 hat tricks in his Hall of Fame career; six with the Blackhawks and four with the Phoenix Coyotes.

NHL Chirps

• The Toronto Maple Leafs fired assistant coach Marc Savard and did not name an immediate replacement. He was in charge of the power play, which has underachieved all season. Yeah, that ought to right the ship!

• San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky announced that Will Smith is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury. He won’t be re-evaluated until January. The dynamic young forward has been out since suffering the injury on Dec. 13 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

• Seattle Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour underwent successful hand surgery. The team announced that he will be out for approximately four weeks.

• The Carolina Hurricanes will be without the services of two of their top players. Defenseman Jaccob Slavin and forward Seth Jarvis are both out week-to-week with upper-body injuries.

• The Professional Hockey Players’ Association announced that ECHL players will go on strike effective Dec. 26. The players feel their concerns on unfair labor practices have been ignored, and a new Collective Bargaining Agreement has yet to materialize.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Dec. 23: Cy Denneny, Woody Dumart, Petr Klima, Mikael Samuelsson, Brett Clark, Ales Kotalik, Scott Gomez, Johan Franzen, Shaone Morrisonn, Zbynek Michalek, T.J. Oshie, Jori Lehtera, and Vitali Kravtsov.