Morning Chirps: Sabres, Ducks win, salary cap goes up

We’re one day closer to the weekend! Celebrate with a fresh batch of Morning Chirps!

Blackhawks Chirps

• When the Blackhawks fell to the fourth pick in the upcoming draft, many felt that Ivar Stenberg wouldn’t be added to the roster. However, it just might be the right three teams ahead of them to have the talented Swedish forward fall to them.

• Justin Lynch gave us some options for the Blackhawks at the fourth overall pick, including Stenberg.

• Could the Blackhawks trade the fourth overall pick? Sure, but subscribers to the Blackhawk Up Newsletter will learn that trading top-10 draft picks is not a common occurrence.

• The Kitchener Rangers improved to 9-0 on home ice in the postseason by beating the Barrie Colts 5-2 in Game 1 of the Ontario Hockey League’s Championship Series. Jack Pridham recorded an assist on the Rangers’ second goal of the game, scored by Dylan Edwards. Game 2 will be at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on Friday night.

• On this date in 1985, the Edmonton Oilers beat the Blackhawks 7-3 in Game 2 of the Campbell Conference Final. The victory was their 12th straight playoff win, setting a new NHL record. They held that record until the Pittsburgh Penguins won 14 straight playoff games between 1992 and 1993.

• In 1995, the Blackhawks lost 5-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Patrick Poulin, Tony Amote, and Jeff Shantz scored in the losing effort. The start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs was later than usual because of the earlier owners’ lockout.

• In 2009, Andrew Ladd scored in overtime to beat the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Martin Havlat forced overtime with less than three minutes remaining in regulation as the Blackhawks evened the series at two wins apiece.

• One year later, Jonathan Toews had a historic night as the Blackhawks beat the Canucks 7-4 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals. He tied an NHL postseason record with three power-play goals and added two assists to have the first five-point playoff game in team history.

• In 2013, Patrick Sharp scored a pair of goals to lead the Blackhawks to a 3-0 win over the Minnesota Wild in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Bryan Bickell scored his third goal of the series as Corey Crawford made 25 saves to give the Blackhawks a 3-1 series lead.

• Two years later, the Blackhawks beat the Wild 4-3 to complete the four-game sweep of their second-round series. Brent Seabrook, Andrew Shaw, Patrick Kane, and Marian Hossa provided the offense, while Corey Crawford made 34 saves.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, May 7: Tom Cook, Ian McKegney, Anton Khudobin, and Anton Frondell.

NHL Chirps

• The Buffalo Sabres showed their first-round win was no fluke as they opened their series against the Montreal Canadiens with a 4-2 win. Josh Doan and Ryan McLeod each had a goal and an assist, while Zach Benson chipped in with two assists. Bowen Byram scored his fourth goal of the playoffs, tying Jason Wooley, Alexei Zhitnik, and Mike Ramsey for the most goals in franchise history by a defenseman in a single postseason. Kirby Dach scored a highlight-reel goal to cut the lead to 4-2 late in the second period, but the Canadiens would not draw any closer. Jakub Dobes allowed four goals on only 16 shots. Game 2 will be on Friday night.

• The Anaheim Ducks evened their series at 1-0 with a 3-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Beckett Sennecke scored the opening goal in the second period to become the fourth player in team history 20 or younger to score multiple goals in a single postseason. Leo Carlson and Jansen Harkins also scored for the Ducks. Mark Stone ruined Lukas Dostal’s shutout bid with a power-play goal with only 5.6 seconds remaining. Game 3 is back in Anaheim on Friday.

• Elliotte Friedman reported that teams across the league have been giving these numbers for next season’s salary cap:

• Anthony Cirelli of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Brock Nelson of the Colorado Avalanche, and Nick Suzuki of the Canadiens have been named the three finalists for the Selke Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL’s best defensive forward.

• Jake O’Brein, Marek Vanacker and Parker Holmes’ teammate with the Brantford Bulldogs, was reassigned to the Coachella Valley Firebirds for the remainder of their Calder Cup Playoffs run. They currently trail the Ontario Reign 2-1 in their best-of-five Pacific Division Semifinal series.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, May 7: Dave Karpa, Steve Reinprecht, Brad Isbister, Tim Connolly, Nate Prosser, David Schlemko, Chad Ruhwedel, Josh Anderson, Jesse Puljujarvi, Ryan Ufko, and Gabe Perreault.

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