Morning Chirps: Olympic injury replacements, latest on Panarin trade rumors

It’s our last game day before the Olympic break. The Chicago Blackhawks are in the Buckeye State to close out their season series with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Enjoy your Morning Chirps before today’s game preview and tonight’s postgame thoughts.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Vancouver Canucks are reportedly shopping forward Elias Pettersson. If he is available, whether at the trade deadline or in the offseason, the Blackhawks should inquire about the price. Nicolas Giannone writes about why they need to take a chance on him.

• Arytom Levshunov will miss his third straight game as a “reset.” He’s been working hard with the coaching staff and will use the post-Olympic break practices to get back into the lineup. Jeremiah Lee explains why he’s getting treated differently from Kevin Korchinski.

• The BMO Center in Rockford is ready to host the AHL All-Star Classic next week!

• On this date in 1956, Hall of Famer Pierre Pilotte scored his first NHL goal to help the Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2.

• In 1985, general manager Bob Pulford took over as interim head coach after firing Orval Tessier. The Blackhawks finished the season 16-7-4 under Pulford and made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers. His third stint as head coach lasted two more seasons before giving way to Bob Murdoch in 1987.

• In 1996, Brent Sutter scored his 350th career goal while Gary Suter recorded the 500th assist of his career in the Blackhawks' 4-1 road win over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 4: Adam Brown, Gary Smith, Denis Savard, Denis Cyr, and Andrew Campbell.

NHL Chirps

• Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen is officially out of the Olympics due to a lower-body injury. Boston Bruins netminder Joonas Korpisalo will replace him on Team Finland’s roster.

• Per Elliotte Friedman, Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett will replace injured Tampa Bay Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli on Team Canada. Bennett left Monday night’s game with an upper-body injury, but apparently it is not too serious. Cirelli was injured during Sunday's Stadium Series game against the Bruins.

• Cirelli’s teammate, Brayden Point, will not play in either of the Lightning’s games before the Olympic break, but there is no word on his status for Milan. Connor Bedard and Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis are two candidates to replace Point if he is unable to play.

• The NHL trade freeze goes into effect this afternoon, so it will be interesting to see if any big deals are made. Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet reported that the Washington Capitals are “all over” New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin. He says they are willing to give him the $40-50 million contract extension he’s seeking, but the biggest question is whether he wants to go there.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 4: Dave Pichette, Steve Patrick, Joe Sacco, Dallas Drake, Manny Legace, Jerred Smithson, Lee Stempniak, Brad Richardson, Mark Letestu, Sam Carrick, Darnell Nurse, Andrei Kuzmenko, Beck Malenstyn, Liam Foudy, Ivan Miroshinichenko, and Dmitriy Shimashev.