Morning Chirps: West's big weekend, Hurricanes make history

The Chicago Blackhawks' lone prospect still playing in the USHL had a big weekend. Meanwhile, we have the first team through to the Conference Finals and a big response in last night's Stanley Cup Playoffs action. Happy Mother's Day to all the hockey moms out there!

Blackhawks Chirps

• We got a dozen games from Anton Frondell at the end of last season, and what we saw gives plenty of reasons to be excited about the future.

• Jeremiah Lee chimed in with what he feels Jeff Blashill needs to address for more success next season.

• Mason West and the Fargo Force had a busy weekend, hosting Games 3 and 4 of the United States Hockey League Western Conference Final. In Game 3 on Friday, West scored his second goal of the postseason to tie the game just 11 seconds after the Sioux Falls Stampede took a 2-1 lead. He later picked up an assist on Gavin Uhlenkamp’s goal that forced overtime with less than a minute left in regulation. Nate Delladonna gave Fargo a 2-1 series lead 5:17 into the third overtime.

• Saturday’s Game 4 needed more than 60 minutes to decide a winner. West recorded another assist on Arseni Marchenko’s first-period goal. Noah Mannausau tied the game for Sioux Falls 16 minutes into the second period, which ended up being the final goal of regulation. Game 4 didn’t need nearly as much extra time as Thomas Zocco won the game for the Stampede 12:04 into overtime. The fifth and final game of this series will be back in Sioux Falls on Tuesday.

• On this date in 1973, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Blackhawks 6-4 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to win their 19th championship in franchise history. Pit Martin’s hat trick wasn’t enough as Yvan Cournoyer scored the Cup-clinching goal early in the third period.

• In 1989, the Blackhawks were eliminated by the Calgary Flames after a 3-1 loss in Game 5 of the Campbell Conference Finals. Mike Hudson scored the lone Blackhawks’ goal, while Hall of Famer Joe Nieuwendyk scored twice for Calgary.  The Flames went on to beat the Canadiens in six games to win their first Stanley Cup.

• In 2021, Alex DeBrincat scored in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars in the regular season finale. He became the first player to score in his team’s final seven games of the regular season since John Anderson did it for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1985.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, May 10: Ab DeMarco, Pete Babando, and Randy Cunneyworth.

NHL Chirps

• The Carolina Hurricanes are the first team through to the Conference Finals as they completed their sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers with a 3-2 overtime win. Jackson Blake was the hero by scoring the Hurricanes’ first goal in the second period and the series-clinching goal 5:17 into overtime. He also assisted on Logan Stankoven’s third-period goal. The line of Blake, Stankoven, and Taylor Hall has combined for 14 goals and 31 points in the postseason. The Hurricanes are the first team to start the Stanley Cup Playoffs 8-0 since the 1985 Oilers. They are also the first team to sweep back-to-back series since the Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins both did so in 1992. They await the winner of the series between the Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres.

• The Minnesota Wild got the game they needed by beating the Colorado Avalanche 5-1 in Game 3 of their second-round series. They scored their first two power-play goals of the series to build a 3-0 lead and chase goaltender Scott Wedgewood. The Avalanche looked to gain some momentum with a power-play goal in the second period, but Brock Faber restored Minnesota’s three-goal lead 20 seconds later. Jesper Walstead was very good in his return to the lineup with 34 saves. The Wild will look to even the series at 2-2 when they host Game 4 on Monday.

• It looks like the Sabres are going to get forward Sam Carrick back sooner than expected. He initially was considered unlikely to play in round two, but head coach Lindy Ruff said if Friday night were an elimination game, the veteran forward would have played. He hasn’t played since injuring his arm in a fight with Anders Lee of the New York Islanders on March 31.

• Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser will play for Switzerland, the hosts of the IIHF World Championship. The preliminary round gets underway on Friday with four games, including the United States versus Switzerland and Canada taking on Sweden.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, May 10: Al Shields, Mikael Anderson, Adam Deadmarsh, Ryan Getzlaf, Carter Rowney, Alex Tuch, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel.

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