Morning Chirps: West returns to the ice, Olympics arena disaster continues

The Chicago Blackhawks started their four-game road trip with a tough shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. They’ll have the day off today before the first of two straight games against the Los Angeles Kings. Get caught up on a busy Tuesday at Blackhawk Up and across the NHL.

Blackhawks Chirps

• If you missed my late-night postgame thoughts, be sure to check them out. Frank Nazar looked close to breaking out, defense leads to offense, and Spencer Knight deserved a better fate.

• On Tuesday, the Blackhawks activated goaltender Laurent Brossoit from injured reserve and assigned him to the Rockford IceHogs for a conditioning stint. He was on the ice with his new teammates as he looks to return to game action this weekend.

• Connor Bedard was named the NHL’s Third Star for November. Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon was the First Star, with Second Star honors going to Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars.

• Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson appeared on yesterday’s episode of Frankly Hockey and discussed a myriad of topics with Frank Seravalli.

• Brian Germinaro focused on Ryan Greene’s tremendous start to his NHL career and why he shouldn’t be moved off the top line.

• Before Oliver Moore scored his goal last night, Todd Mathews wrote how Jeff Blashill’s recent comments about him should have fans excited.  

• Nestor Quixtan has noticed that the Blackhawks aren’t getting much respect from the national media in their playoff predictions.

• Back to Rockford, where the IceHogs announced that defenseman Cavan Fitzgerald will miss up to a month with a lower-body injury. He has been a big veteran presence on the blue line and will be missed.

• Mason West has traded in his football cleats for some hockey skates after winning the Minnesota state title. He has joined the Fargo Force in the United States Hockey League and is getting ready for game action.

• On this date in 2015, Patrick Kane scored a goal and recorded two assists in the Blackhawks' 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators. Kane extended his point streak to 21 straight games, tying Bobby Hull for the longest such streak in franchise history.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Dec. 3: Bob MacMillan, Radek Smolenak, and Evan Brophy.

NHL Chirps

• Elliotte Friedman reported that former Blackhawks defenseman Jared Tinordi has recovered from offseason knee surgery and is looking for a contract. You’d think, at the very least, he’d get an AHL deal with someone.

• The NHL’s return to the Olympics is off to a rocky start. Not only has the construction on the arena where ice hockey will be played been delayed, but there is now a new problem. Pete DeBoer revealed that the ice surface will be “three or four feet” smaller than NHL rinks. Friedman reported that there is no Plan B in case the arena isn’t ready in time. This is going great!

• Tyler Bertuzzi usually does his pregame warmups without his helmet, which is against the rules. According to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, deputy commissioner Bill Daly has sent a memo to all 32 teams to remind them that helmets are mandatory. The note came after both the Ottawa Senators and the San Jose Sharks recently took warmups without helmets.

• The Colorado Avalanche have been the NHL’s best team through the first two months of the season. The stellar play of goaltender Scott Wedgewood has been a big reason for their success. Unfortunately, he left Tuesday’s 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks with an upper-body injury. Head coach Jared Bednard had a positive update after the game.

• Jesper Wallstedt had a heck of a Tuesday. After being named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month in the morning, he went out and had another stellar game against the Edmonton Oilers. He stopped all 33 shots he faced in a 1-0 victory. He now leads the NHL with four shutouts and was the second-fastest goalie ever to reach five career shutouts. He did it in 15 games. Frank “Mr. Zero” Brimsek needed only nine games to record five shutouts in 1938 for the Boston Bruins.

• The Nashville Predators are 3-0-1 in their last four games. A big reason for the turnaround has been Steven Stamkos's play. On the same night Reid Schaefer scored his first NHL goal, Stamkos found the back of the net for his 1200th career point.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Dec. 3: Mike Ramsey, Igor Larionov, Tom Preissing, Julius Honka, and Rasmus Asplund.