Morning Chirps: Savoie stays hot, historic night for NHL defensemen

The Chicago Blackhawks are back in action tonight as they wrap up their four-game road trip against the New Jersey Devils. We’ll have a full game preview after they come off the ice from their morning skate. Be sure to check in for all the updates.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Rockford IceHogs released a statement on Saturday about general manager Mark Bernard and his successful liver transplant. This is fantastic news, as Bernard is one of the best human beings in the hockey world. He’s helped me a lot in my career and is someone I am proud to call a friend. Go get ‘em, Bernie! Can’t wait to see you at the rink again.

• The IceHogs won on Saturday night for their general manager, beginning a home-and-home series against the Iowa Wild with a 3-2 overtime victory. The veterans did the scoring as Joey Anderson and Cavan Fitzgerald had the goals in regulation before Rem Pitlick won the game with a power-play goal in overtime. Samuel Savoie recorded assists on the first two IceHogs goals. The second-year pro has five assists in his last four games. Drew Commesso made 32 saves to earn his 13th win of the season. They are eight points behind the Milwaukee Admirals, who have a game in hand, for a playoff spot with nine games remaining.

• A.J. Spellacy scored a shorthanded goal in the Windsor Spitfires’ 4-1 win over the Guelph Storm. They lead the best-of-seven first-round series 2-0. He finished his night with four shots on goal and went 8-for-16 at the faceoff dot.

• On this date in 1953, Al Dewsbury scored in overtime to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals.

• In 1970, Tony Esposito recorded his 15th shutout of the season by blanking the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0. The 15 shutouts were the most in a single season since 1929 and are still the all-time rookie record. Only four goaltenders have had more than 10 shutouts in a season since Esposito’s incredible rookie year.

• Two years later, Eric Nesterenko scored the 250th and final goal of his career during a 5-5 draw with the Canadiens.

• In 1978, Stan Mikita scored in a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings to join Gordie Howe and Phil Esposito as the only players in NHL history to score 1,400 points.

• In 1992, Jeremy Roenick had a goal and two assists in a 5-1 win over the Maple Leafs to become only the fourth player in franchise history to have a 100-point season.

• In 2018, Scott Foster made his only NHL appearance after signing as an emergency backup goaltender before the game. Anton Forsberg was injured during the morning skate, then Collin Delia cramped up with 14:01 left in the third period and had to leave the game. The 36-year-old accountant stopped all seven shots he faced as the Blackhawks beat the Winnipeg Jets 6-2.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, March 29: Charley McVeigh and Ken Stewart.

NHL Chirps

• The Minnesota Wild will be without their captain for the next few days. Head coach John Hynes announced that Jared Spurgeon will miss the next handful of games with a lower-body injury. The Wild lost 6-3 to the Boston Bruins on Saturday without him.

• Nikita Kucherov and Nick Paul missed the Tampa Bay Lightning’s game on Saturday due to illness. The Bolts still beat the Ottawa Senators 4-2 without their leading scorer. The Senators remain one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

• Mikko Rantanen returned to the Dallas Stars lineup against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was his first game since suffering a lower-body injury in the semifinals of the Olympics. He had a goal and an assist in the Stars’ 6-3 victory.

• Lane Hutson recorded an assist in the Canadiens 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators. He joined Paul Coffey and Bobby Orr as the only defensemen in NHL history to have multiple 60-assist seasons before turning 23. He is also the only defenseman in Montreal’s long storied history to have consecutive 60-assist seasons.

• Staying on the blue line, Cale Makar had an assist in the Colorado Avalanche’s 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. He became the fourth-fastest defenseman to score 500 career points. He accomplished the feat in 467 games, trailing only Denis Potvin (465 games), Coffey (422), and Orr (396).

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, March 29: Frank Mathers, Duane Rupp, Hartland Monahan, Brad McCrimmon, Jon Casey, Richard Kromm, Adam Pardy, Maxim Lapierre, Adam Lowry, Tom Wilson, Travis Sanheim, Brett Howden, and Jake Neighbours.