Morning Chirps: Nestrasil's season ends, Panthers lose again

The Chicago Blackhawks have a well-needed day off today after two tough games on back-to-back nights. They will be back in action tomorrow afternoon against the Nashville Predators. Let’s get your weekend started by getting up to date on all things hockey.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Colorado Avalanche became the first NHL team to reach 100 points and clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with their 4-1 win over the Blackhawks last night. Check out my postgame thoughts on how everything went down.

• I stopped by the CHGO Blackhawks Postgame Show on my way home from the United Center to discuss the game with Jay Zawaski. We broke down just how close the Blackhawks are to contending for a playoff spot.

• According to The Athletic’s Scott Powers, Sacha Boisvert’s visa paperwork still hasn’t been processed, and he likely won’t make his NHL debut until next week during the Blackhawks’ East Coast road trip. Jeff Blashill confirmed this after last night's game.

• Anton Frondell is playing a do-or-die game today as Djurgardens and Malmo Redhawks play the third and final game of their three-game playoff series. A loss today could get him on a plane to Chicago within the next day or two.

• Ilya Mikheyev has been one of general manager Kyle Davidson’s best acquisitions. That’s why Justin Lynch feels that re-signing him should be one of Davidson’s top priorities this summer.

• The Rockford IceHogs lost 4-2 to the Grand Rapids Griffins last night. Veterans Rem Pitlick and Joey Anderson scored to tie the game heading into the third period before the AHL’s top team scored twice in the final frame. Samuel Savoie was the only prospect to find the scoresheet with the secondary assist on Anderson’s goal. They will be in Rosemont to take on the Chicago Wolves before returning home for a rematch against the Griffins on Sunday.

• Vaclav Nestrasil’s tremendous freshman season came to an end yesterday, as UMass lost 2-0 to Merrimack in the Hockey East semifinals. Merrimack has beaten the top two seeds in the tournament in back-to-back games and will play UConn in tonight's championship game. Nestrasil finished his season with 13 goals and 31 points in 34 regular-season games, and had a goal and two assists in two Hockey East tournament games.

• The Brantford Bulldogs clinched the Ontario Hockey League’s regular-season championship by beating the North Bay Battalion 6-5 last night. Marek Vanacker scored his league-leading 47th goal of the season and added an assist.

• Jack Pridham kept pace with Vanacker as he scored his 46th goal of the season in the Kitchener Rangers’ 4-3 loss to the Sarnia Sting. Both players have one game left in the regular season to see who will be the second straight Blackhawks prospect to be the OHL’s top goal scorer.

• On this date in 1994, the Blackhawks acquired Tony Amonte from the New York Rangers for Stephane Matteau and Brian Noonan.

• One year later, Bernie Nicholls scored his third hat trick of the season to lead the way in a 7-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Each goal came at a different strength, with one shorthanded, one on the power play, and one at full strength. Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios racked up a career-high five assists.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, March 21: Duke Keats and Boris Mironov.

NHL Chirps

• The injury bug keeps biting the Edmonton Oilers, with Mattias Janmark, Curtis Lazar, Colton Dach, and Leon Draisaitl already on long-term injured reserve. Trent Frederic is the latest forward to join the infirmary, and there is no timeline for his return.

• The Florida Panthers lost 4-1 to the Calgary Flames last night, putting them in 8th overall pick before the NHL Draft Lottery. It’s starting to look like the Blackhawks will have three first-round picks in 2027.

• Alexander Nikishin scored his 10th goal of the season in overtime last night, giving the Carolina Hurricanes a win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He became the first rookie defenseman to score 10 goals in a season. He and Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders are the first pair of first-year blueliners to reach double-digit goals since John Klingberg and Aaron Ekblad did it in the 2014-15 season.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, March 21: Joe Carveth, Jim Kyte, Al Iafrate, Johan Garpenlov, Rostislav Klesla, Ryan Callahan, Erik Johnson, Sven Andrighetto, and Mirco Müller.