Morning Chirps: First Blackhawks prospect at World Juniors, big injury for Stars

The Chicago Blackhawks return to action tonight with their first of two back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Kings. They will play at the Crypto.com Arena tonight and again on Saturday. We’ll have a full preview after today’s morning skate and Jeff Blashill meets with the media. Of course, there will be some late-night analysis after the game, as well.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Blackhawks rose a little in Jeff Maroon’s weekly NHL Power Rankings. Find out who is trending up and which teams are headed in the opposite direction.

• Nextor Quixtan stopped by to tell us it would be foolish for general manager Kyle Davidson to make a “big splash” move this season. We’ll see if the Blackhawks become buyers, sellers, or stand pat at the trade deadline.

• Roman Kantserov had another big day in the KHL with a goal and two assists. He leads the league with 22 goals and is tied for second with 38 points.

• Speaking of league leaders, Marek Vanacker sits atop the Ontario Hockey League after scoring his 24th goal in 24 games.

• Vaclav Nestrasil is the first Blackhawks’ prospect to make a World Junior Championship roster officially. He is one of 14 NHL draft picks on Czechia’s roster, giving fans in Chicago a chance to see him against the best U20 players in the world.

• On this date in 1926, the Blackhawks recorded the first road win in franchise history, beating the Canadiens in Montreal 5-3. The victory improved their road record to 1-1-1 on the season.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Dec. 4: Fred Hucul and Jassen Cullimore.

NHL Chirps

• Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin suffered an ACL injury against the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. Head coach Glen Gulutzan told the media yesterday that he will likely miss the rest of the season. While Seguin’s injury is a big blow, if the Stars place him on long-term injured reserve, they will get his $9.52 million cap hit off the books. That gives general manager Jim Nill plenty of room to acquire a significant replacement, or even an upgrade, before the trade deadline.

• Petr Mrazek left Sunday’s loss to his former team with an apparent lower-body injury. Anaheim Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville told reporters that the veteran netminder will be out of action for two to three weeks.

• The San Jose Sharks assigned forward Michael Misa to the American Hockey League for a conditioning stint. He’s been out of action since early November with a lower-body injury. The Sharks could have used him last night as they lost 7-1 to the Washington Capitals on home ice.

• Even though the Nashville Predators have played better of late, they will likely look to move some of their veteran players. A likely trade candidate is center Ryan O’Reilly. The former Stanley Cup champion should get plenty of interest around the NHL. According to Bleacher Report’s Joe Yerdon, he might need to get used to playing in the Atlantic Division.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Dec. 4: Jack Darragh, Alex Delvecchio, Irv Spencer, Gary Sabourin, Dennis Polonich, Rick Middleton, Dave Taylor, and Luke Kunin.