Morning Chirps: Pridham's big goal, Michkov benched

Happy Monday! If you missed anything from an extremely busy Sunday, today’s Morning Chirps will get you up to date!

Blackhawks Chirps

• The 2025-26 season didn’t end like the Blackhawks had hoped it would, but, as Justin Lynch writes, there are plenty of positives to focus on for the start of next year.

• The Brantford Bulldogs are up 2-1 in the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference Championship series 1-1 after beating the Barrie Colts 2-0. Marek Vanacker didn’t factor in either goal, but he did have five shots on goal.

• The Kitchener Rangers beat the Windsor Spitfires 2-1 to take a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference Championship series. The Rangers scored both of their goals in a span of 1:57 of the second period. Jack Pridham had the primary assist on Sam O’Reilly’s game-tying power-play goal. Less than two minutes later, Pridham scored the eventual game-winning goal while on the penalty kill. A.J. Spellacy was a plus-1 and had two shots on goal in the losing effort.

• On this date in 1971, Bobby Hull scored in overtime to lead the Blackhawks to a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals. Believe it or not, this was Hull’s only overtime playoff goal of his Hall of Fame career.

• In 1982, the Blackhawks opened the Campbell Conference Finals with a 2-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks in double overtime. Terry Ruskowski had the lone Blackhawks’ goal in the first period. Jim Nill, yes, that Jim Nill, scored at 8:58 of the second overtime.

• In 2009, the Blackhawks beat the Calgary Flames 4-1 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals for their first playoff series win since 1996. Adam Burish’s first-period goal proved to be the game-winner. After recording the primary assists on the first two goals of the game, Dustin Byfuglien capped off his three-point night with a late empty-net goal.

• In 2014, Jonathan Toews broke a 1-1 tie with a power-play goal in the opening minute of the third period. The goal opened the floodgates as the Blackhawks rolled to a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues to advance to the second round with a six-game series victory. Patrick Sharp, Andrew Shaw, and Duncan Keith added to the third-period offensive explosion. Keith had three assists to finish the game with four points.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, April 27: Keith Magnuson, Murray Bannerman, Bob McGill, Mike Brown, Brendan Perlini, and Jaxson Stauber.

NHL Chirps

• The Buffalo Sabres did not have a first-period goal in the first three games of their series with the Boston Bruins. They made up for that by scoring four goals in the opening frame on Sunday, turning Game 4 into a laugher. They added two more goals in the third period on their way to a 6-1 win. Sean Kuraly’s late third-period goal ended a run of nine straight goals by the Sabres. Buffalo has a chance to end the series on home ice Tuesday night.

• Anze Kopitar’s Hall of Fame career came to an end Sunday with a 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Cale Makar’s second-period goal proved to be the game-winner as the Avalanche rolled to a series sweep. The Kings struggled offensively with only five goals over the four games. The Avalanche will wait for the winner of the series between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild, which is currently tied 2-2. Kopitar, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, retires with 452 goals and 1,316 points in 1,521 games. There is no doubt he will be taking his place in the Hockey Hall of Fame in three years.

• Is there any way we can get the NHL to extend the series between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning to a best-of-13? After the first three games of the series went to overtime, these two rivals treated us to another barnburner. After a scoreless first period, Zach Bolduc and Cole Caufield scored just over three minutes apart to give the Canadiens a 2-0 lead. Jake Guentzel turned the momentum of the game around with a goal in the final minute of the middle frame. Brandon Hagel continued to terrorize Montreal with the game-tying goal early in the third period and the game-winner with less than five minutes to play. Hagel has factored into 10 of the 11 Lightning goals. The series will head back to Tampa on Wednesday, tied 2-2.

• Jason Dickinson returned for the Edmonton Oilers after missing the last two games against the Anaheim Ducks. He made an immediate impact as he picked up the secondary assist on Kasperi Kapanen’s goal 38 seconds into the game. However, they once again couldn’t hold a 2-0 lead as the Ducks stormed back with their fifth and sixth power-play goals of the series to tie the game heading into the third period. The Oilers took a 3-2 lead early in the third period with an Evan Bouchard power-play goal, but Jeffrey Viel answered 10 minutes later. In overtime, Ryan Poehling just threw the puck towards the net, where it hit Darnell Nurse's skate and just barely crossed the goal line to give the Ducks a 3-1 series lead.

• After a review by the situation room in Toronto, the call on the ice that it was a good goal was confirmed. The leaky goal ruined another otherwise solid night for Tristan Jarry, who was making his first start of the series. He made 34 saves and should start the next game in Edmonton as the Oilers look to fend off elimination.

• The Carolina Hurricanes announced that defenseman Alexander Nikishin has entered the NHL’s concussion protocol. He was shaky on his feet and needed help off the ice after a big hit from Ottawa Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven. No penalty was called on the play. Although there was no direct contact with the head, there was plenty of debate on whether this should have been an interference penalty. The officiating in this series was pitiful at best. The Hurricanes will have a few days off as they wait for the first round to conclude. Being the first team through means you get the most time to rest.

• The Philadelphia Flyers have a chance to eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second straight game tonight. However, they will try to do so without Matvei Mickov. Charlie O’Connor reported that the young Russian forward was an extra in line rushes at Sunday’s practice, meaning he will likely be scratched for Game 5. Michkov has had a tough time earning the trust of head coach Rick Tocchet this season. He has no points, four shots on goal, and six penalty minutes in the first four games of the series.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, April 27: Vern Ayres, Bob Dillabough, Anders Hankansson, Mike Krushelnyski, Mark Stuart, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Semyon Varlamov, Paul Byron, Mike Condon, Niko Mikkola, Drake Batherson, Joakim Kemell, and Denver Barkey.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow