Morning Chirps: Korchinski scores, Blashill getting some national recognition

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I am thankful and extremely grateful for all the support you’ve given me. And not just here at Blackhawk Up for the last three months, but over the years and in all my ventures. I couldn’t live out my dream of covering the NHL without your continued support. It will never be taken for granted. Now, before you enjoy your day of family, food, and football, get caught up on everything hockey.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Blackhawks played another solid game against the Minnesota Wild before losing 4-3 in overtime. Unfortunately, too much time was spent discussing another bad call against the Blackhawks rather than the many positives that came out of the game.

• Check out our discussions on the controversial call, Artyom Levshunov, and more from the CHGO Blackhawks Podcast.

• Our Jeff Maroon is back with this week’s NHL power rankings, where the Blackhawks fell after three straight losses.

• Scott Powers and Shayne Goldman of The Athletic had a great piece on Connor Bedard’s next contract. They break down the Blackhawks’ cap space, Bedard’s impact both on and off the ice, and his increasing market value. It’s definitely worth the read.

• The writers at NHL.com did a mid-season vote for the Jack Adams Award, given out each season to the league’s best head coach. A familiar name is at the top of the list, as Anaheim Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville got 61 points. Blackhawks bench boss Jeff Blashill is fifth in the voting with 23 points.

• It was somewhat appropriate that Kevin Korchinski scored his first goal of the season on the same night Levshunov netted his first career goal. He also recorded an assist, bringing his total to 14 points in 19 games. Unfortunately, the Rockford IceHogs got rolled 8-4 by the Chicago Wolves. Gavin Hayes scored his first two goals of the season, while Samuel Savoie netted his fourth.

• On this date in 1992, Chris Chelios scored his 100th career goal as the Blackhawks blew out the Edmonton Oilers 8-1. Steve Larmer had a six-point night in his 824th consecutive game, with two goals and four assists. Jeremy Roenick also recorded four helpers in the win.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Nov. 27: Norm Johnson, Garry Valk, Chad Kilger, and Anton Forsberg.

NHL Chirps

• Team USA released its jerseys for the upcoming Winter Olympics. They return to the royal blue as they pay homage to the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team, as they should. Will anyone in the Blackhawks locker room be wearing one of these come February?

• ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported that Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry is drawing a lot of interest on the trade market. He says the Oilers are the primary suitor, which should not surprise anybody. He’s had a nice bounce-back year with a 5-2-0 record for the Penguins, to go along with a .911 save percentage (SV%) and 2.60 goals-against average (GAA). However, his $5.375 million salary cap will be a huge hurdle to clear in any trade, especially one involving Edmonton.

• Gustav Forsling played in his 500th career NHL game last night. Of course, the first 122 of those games were spent in a Blackhawks uniform. He was a minus-2 in his milestone game, a Florida Panthers 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

• The Washington Capitals honored Alex Ovechkin for his 1,500th game and 900th goal ahead of their contest against the Winnipeg Jets. He was joined by his two sons, Sergei and Ilya, during pregame warmups. In the game, he scored his 11th goal of the season to give him 150 career goals in November. He now has two months with at least 150 goals, joining Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe as the only players to have multiple 150-goal months.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Nov. 27: Ken Schinkel, Pierre Mondou, Chris Kotsopoulos, Beau Bennett, and Filip Zadina.