Morning Chirps: OHL prospects remain undefeated, another goalie fight

The Chicago Blackhawks will hold their first practice since March 16 before heading out on a three-game road trip to Edmonton, Seattle, and San Jose. It will be the first NHL practice for Anton Frondell and Sacha Boisvert.

Blackhawks Chirps

• One bad period cost the Blackhawks a win last night, but the positives outweighed the negatives. Check out my postgame thoughts, in case you missed them late last night.

• I stopped by the CHGO Blackhawks Postgame Show on my way home from the United Center to discuss what we saw on the ice. Check it out.

• All three Ontario Hockey League teams that have a Blackhawks draft pick own a 3-0 series lead in the first round of the playoffs. Jack Pridham did not have a point in the Kitchener Rangers’ 4-3 overtime win against the Saginaw Spirit. A.J. Spellacy had an assist to help the Windsor Spitfires beat the Guelph Storm. Marek Vanacker for the Brantford Bulldogs in their 6-5 victory over the Sudbury Wolves. After getting a goal and an assist in regulation, he won the game in overtime.

• On this date in 1961, legendary goaltender Glenn Hall recorded his first career Stanley Cup Playoff shutout against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup semifinals. He didn’t wait very long for his second shutout, as he blanked the Canadiens again three days later to lead the Blackhawks into the Stanley Cup Final.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, April 1: Bill Kendall, Terry Caffery, Kevin Dean, and J.P. Dumont.

NHL Chirps

• Colorado Avalanche star defenseman Cale Makar left Monday’s game against the Calgary Flames with an upper-body injury. Multiple reports on Tuesday say the injury is not serious. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic says Makar will “likely miss a few games in order to get him to 100 percent before the playoffs.”

• Cutter Gauthier of the Anaheim Ducks suffered a lower-body injury in Monday’s overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He did not travel with the team for their game against the San Jose Sharks. According to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, he could return this weekend.

• We had another goalie fight last night, this time between Igor Shesterkin and Jacob Markstrom. This was the third goalie fight of the season, one more than we saw in the last 14 NHL seasons combined. This was the first goalie fight for the New York Rangers since Dan Cloutier on April 4, 1998, and the first for the New Jersey Devils since Corey Schwab on Dec 9, 1995.

• The Buffalo Sabres have been the feel-good story of the season, and they hit the 100-point plateau with their win over the New York Islanders last night. However, forward Sam Carrick was injured during a fight with Anders Lee. He dropped the gloves after Lee laid a questionable hit on Josh Norris. Carrick has been a real nice fit in Buffalo, with five goals and six points in his 12 games since being acquired from the Rangers.

• Cole Caufield recorded his 27th go-ahead goal of the season and passed David Pastrnak (26 in 2022-23) for the third most in a single campaign in NHL history. Only Brett Hull (39 in 1990-91) and Pavel Bure (28 in 1999-00) have more. The goal was also his 300th career point.

• Alex Ovechkin scored twice last night to become the only player in NHL history to have 20 career 30-goal seasons. He also joined Gordie Howe, Johnny Bucyk, and Teemu Selanne as the only players to have a 30-goal season at 40 years or older.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, April 1: Hib Milks, Ken Reardon, John Wensink, Scott Stevens, Darren McCarty, Jussi Jokinen, Reilly Smith, Warren Foegele, Cody Glass, and Sergey Murashov.