Morning Chirps: Kantserov racks up more points, Red Wings get Kane back

The Chicago Blackhawks have the day off before tomorrow afternoon’s road trip finale against the Detroit Red Wings. Meanwhile, in Russia, a top prospect keeps on scoring, and a former franchise legend made his return to the lineup, just in time for his old team to come calling.

Blackhawks Chirps

• Before yesterday’s game, Frank Nova and I took in a matinee in the Second Balcony. We discussed how the Blackhawks can be more effective on the power play and a new Glenn Hall documentary.

• Connor Bedard and Spencer Knight are not just off to good starts; they are elite NHL players. Check out all my postgame thoughts from last night's big win.

• My day of talking hockey wasn’t over as I hung out with my pals at CHGO Blackhawks, as we broke down the 4-0 victory in Calgary.

• The Rockford IceHogs fell short last night in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Admirals. The physical contest saw 112 combined penalty minutes, including 46 in the first period. Connor Mylymok accounted for 32 minutes on his own with two fights, an instigator penalty, and two misconducts. Ethan Del Mastro’s first goal of the season was the lone tally for the IceHogs. Drew Commesso earned Third Star honors for making 34 saves in the losing effort.

• Another game, another Roman Kantserov goal! He also had an assist in a 3-1 win over Amur to bring his season total to 15 goals and 26 points in 24 games.

• On this date in 1934, the Blackhawks won the first NHL game in St. Louis, beating the Eagles 3-1 at the old St. Louis Coliseum. The Eagles only played one season in the league and went 11-31-6.

• In 1978, Bobby Orr announced his retirement. The legendary defenseman was a shell of himself by the time he arrived in Chicago. A series of severe knee injuries limited him to only 36 games over three seasons with the Blackhawks.

• In 1992, Michel Goulet scored his 15th career hat trick to lead the Blackhawks to a 7-2 blowout of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The three goals gave him 514 in his career, passing Gilbert Perreault for 14th on the all-time NHL goals list.

• Six years later, Chris Chelios became the Blackhawks’ all-time leader in penalty minutes during a 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Two minor penalty minutes gave him 1,444, two more than Keith Magnuson. Chelios still holds the record with 1,495 penalty minutes.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Nov 8: Bob Gracie and Mike Peluso.

NHL Chirps

• Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff announced that defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is taking a leave of absence. He is returning home to Sweden to be with his fiancée, Carolina, who received a heart transplant over the summer. There is no timetable for his return to the team.

• The San Jose Sharks have been playing much better since they snapped their 17-game losing streak. However, they will be missing one of their talented young players for the foreseeable future. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky revealed that forward Michael Misa is week-to-week with a lower-body injury suffered during practice. The loss didn’t affect the Sharks last night as they beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1.

• Patrick Kane made his return to the Red Wings’ lineup after missing the last nine games with an upper-body injury. His return didn’t have the spark Detroit had hoped for as they lost 4-1 to the New York Rangers. Kane had six shots on goal but was absolutely robbed by his old pal Jonathan Quick after he misplayed the puck.

• The Minnesota Wild have been one of the bigger disappointments this season, but they got a huge boost to the lineup with the return of Mats Zuccarello. He picked up a pretty assist in his season debut as the Wild beat the New York Islanders 5-2.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Nov. 8: Johnny Bower, Keith Jones, Frantisek Kaberle, Shane Hnidy, and Ondrej Kase.