Morning Chirps: Lardis, Vanacker, Pridham all score again

The Chicago Blackhawks have a day to regroup after a 6-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. The Dallas Stars are next on the schedule, so there is no rest for the weary. The schedule is pretty tough for the next few games, so the young core is going to have to step up and push themselves to play complete games if they want to stack up some wins.

Blackhawks Chirps

• Another NHL trade deadline has come and gone. The Blackhawks capped off their day by trading captain Nick Foligno to the Minnesota Wild. They also traded prospect Aidan Thompson to the New York Rangers for defenseman Derrick Pouliot, who will provide a veteran presence for the Rockford IceHogs. Ty Glenn graded the Blackhawks' moves over the past week/

• Kyle Davidson’s vision has been crystal clear since taking the job in 2022. He’s been committed to his plan, to his credit. While his patience has been constant, it is easy to see why some fans are growing frustrated with another trade deadline of subtractions. However, Davidson’s tone changed a bit during his press conference yesterday regarding adding from the outside.

• I hung out with my pals Jay and Mario for their trade deadline show, and we broke down the totality of the Blackhawks moves.

• I headed back to the CHGO studio to discuss the loss to the Canucks, including Oliver Moore’s impressive game, Andrew Mangiapane’s debut, and Arvid Soderblom’s subpar outing.

• The Rockford IceHogs picked up a big late-night win, as they beat the San Diego Gulls 3-2. They scored all three goals in the second period, starting with Nick Lardis’ team-high 18th goal, with the assist from Kevin Korchinski. After Dominic Toninato scored, Gavin Hayes scored a shorthanded goal, which went on to be the game-winner. Olivier Rodrigue made 28 saves for his first win with the IceHogs. These two teams will meet again later tonight. The IceHogs are seven points behind the Milwaukee Admirals for a playoff spot with 21 games remaining.

• There are only two 40-goal scorers in the Ontario Hockey League right now, and they are both Blackhawks draft picks. Jack Pridham scored his 40th and 41st goals of the season to lead the Kitchener Rangers to a 3-0 victory over the Soo Greyhounds.

• Marek Vanacker didn’t allow his fellow prospect to get too close for his OHL goal lead, as he scored his 43rd goal of the season in the Brantford Bulldogs’ 5-1 win over Saginaw Spirit.

• On this date in 1965, Eric Nesterenko scored a pair of shorthanded goals in the Blackhawks’ 8-0 blowout of the Montreal Canadiens. His fifth and sixth shorthanded goals gave the Blackhawks 14 on the season, setting a new league record. Goaltender Glenn Hall picked up his 62nd career shutout in the win.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, March 7: Mike Eagles and Dylan Strome.

NHL Chirps

• Overall, this year’s trade deadline was not as exciting as years past. For the best round-up of all the transactions on Friday, head to the NHL’s official trade tracker.

• The Pittsburgh Penguins are one of the most surprising teams of the season, as they currently hold down a playoff spot. However, losing Sidney Crosby to injury at the Olympics made their road back to the postseason a heck of a lot tougher. Now they will be without Evgeni Malkin, who was suspended for five games for slashing Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin in the head.

• Pierre LeBrun reported that the Florida Panthers are focused on re-signing goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and forward A.J. Greer despite dangling them on the trade market.

• Staying in Florida, Matthew Tkachuk scored all three goals in the Panthers’ 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. The hat trick was the sixth of his career, and his fourth with the Panthers, tying Aleksander Barkov and Olli Jokinen for the third most in franchise history. Ray Sheppard is second with five, while Pavel Bure holds the record with 10. Tkachuk is three hat tricks shy of tying his Hall of Fame father, Keith.

• Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson, and Colton Dach all made their debuts for the Edmonton Oilers. While they were acquired to help bolster the team’s defense, not much changed in a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The acquisition of goaltender Tristan Jarry has been a disaster. He’s allowed four or more goals in eight of 12 starts in Edmonton, including in four straight games. Is Stan Bowman’s seat already getting hot?

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, March 7: Billy MacMillan, Jack McIlhargey, Bryan Erickson, Mark Kumpel, Sean McKenna, Terry Carkner, Geoff Smith, Eric Godard, Danny DeKeyser, Steven Santini, Michael McCarron, Rasmus Sandin, and Jakob Pelletier.