Morning Chirps: Mikheyev update, Avs in big trouble

Happy Memorial Day! Start your day off with a fresh batch of Morning Chirps.

Blackhawks Chirps

Last week, Elliotte Freidman reported that Ilya Mikheyev’s negotiation rights were available for trade. The next day, Scott Powers said the door wasn’t closed on the veteran winger returning, and an offer had been made. Frank Seravalli recently added to that report by saying the Blackhawks aren’t interested in trading Mikheyev. He thinks they offered a three-year deal and told him to shop it around to see if he could get a better one on the market.

On this date in 1995, Chris Chelios scored in overtime to beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 and give the Blackhawks a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference Semifinals. Patrick Poulin and Murray Craven scored in regulation, while Russ Courtnall netted both Canucks’ goals.

In 2013, forced Game 5 in the Western Conference Semifinals by beating the Detroit Red Wings 4-1. Andrew Shaw scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner on a second-period power play. Bryan Bickell and Jonathan Toews had the other tallies, while Duncan Keith recorded two assists.

In 2015, the Anaheim Ducks built a 3-0 lead in the first period of Game 5 of the Western Conference Final. Teuvo Teravainen and Brent Seabrook started a comeback with goals in the middle frame. Future Blackhawk Pat Maroon gave the Ducks a 4-2 lead with just over five minutes to play before Toews answered with two goals in the final two minutes of regulation. Unfortunately, Matt Beleskey scored just 45 seconds into overtime to give the Ducks a 3-2 series lead.

For one period, it looked like the Colorado Avalanche had everything going their way as they built a 3-0 lead on the Vegas Golden Knights. Cale Makar was back, and Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri, and Jack Drury had them up by three goals 13 minutes into the game. Then the second period began as it all fell apart with the Golden Knights scoring five unanswered goals to take a 3-0 stranglehold on the Western Conference Final. Mark Stone, who missed the last five games with a lower-body injury, started the comeback with a power-play goal 19 seconds into the middle frame. Tomas Hertl scored the game-winning goal midway through the third period. To make matters worse, Nathan MacKinnon left the game in the second period after getting hit with a shot on the right knee. He did return to the game, but never looked comfortable.

The Los Angeles Kings are in need of a new head coach after firing Jim Hiller mid-season. D.J. Smith, the interim head coach, is still in the mix for the job. The Kings reportedly want to interview Bruce Cassidy, as well. General manager Ken Holland recently suggested that hiring a new coach isn’t imminent.

According to Daily Faceoff Rundown, negotiations between the Buffalo Sabres and Alex Tuch will pick up in two or three weeks. If the 30-year-old forward does in free agency, he will be the top target for numerous teams.

The Daily Faceoff also reported that the Calgary Flames want to move up from the sixth overall pick at next month’s NHL Entry Draft. The San Jose Sharks and the Blackhawks could be teams looking to trade their respective picks, so I’d expect a few phone calls to be made between now and then.

NHL Birthday Roll Call, May 25: Nick Fotiu, Robert Picard, Rick Wamsley, Ric Nattress, David Shaw, Kyle Brodziak, Matt Murray, Matt Benning, Karel Vejmelka, David Pastrnak, Devin Cooley, and Mikey Anderson.

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