Morning Chirps: Olympic drama, busy day for former Blackhawks

What a day of hockey in Milan! The men’s tournament is down to the final four teams, while the women play for gold today. The Chicago Blackhawks will practice again today, while Wednesday was a very busy day for guys who used to play for them. It’s time to Chirp!

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Blackhawks had their first of six full-time practices yesterday before they return to action next week against the Nashville Predators. The team recalled two defenders from Rockford before implementing changes to its defensive-zone coverage.

• Justin Lynch listed the Blackhawks to watch once the games start up again. The final 25 games of the season will be an important stretch as the young core looks to build momentum.

• On this date in 2019, Patrick Kane scored his 20th goal of the season in the Blackhawks’ 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. The tally made him the first American-born player in NHL history to score at least 20 goals in his first 10 seasons.

• In 2023, the Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs behind Kane’s ninth career and final hat trick with the team. He is tied with Steve Larmer for the fourth-most in team history. Bobby Hull has the most hat tricks with 28, followed by Stan Mikita with 16, and Denis Savard with 11.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 19: Jeff Taffe.

NHL & Olympic Chirps

• Wednesday was a day to remember at the Olympics with plenty of drama in the men’s quarterfinals. The least dramatic game of the day was the first one as Slovakia beat Germany 6-2. Former Blackhawk Lukas Reichel had a goal and an assist in the losing effort. San Jose Sharks forward Pavol Regenda led the way for the Slovaks with two goals and an assist.

• From there, we were treated to the game of the tournament as Canada beat Czechia 4-3 in overtime. Ondrej Palat gave the Czechs a 3-2 lead with less than eight minutes to play, but the Canadians had plenty left in the tank. Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki evened up the score four minutes later. In overtime, Mitch Marner quieted all his critics in Toronto by scoring this beautiful goal in overtime.

• The biggest news to come out of the game was an injury to Pittsburgh Penguins legend Sidney Crosby. Canada’s captain left the game in the first period after his leg folded underneath him from a hit by defenseman Radko Gudas. Head coach Jon Cooper did not have an update after the game, but revealed that the team used the injury as motivation to win.

• Finland staged a dramatic comeback to end Switzerland’s tournament. They trailed 2-0 with seven minutes to play before Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes got them on the board. Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen tied the game with just over a minute left in regulation. Artturi Lehkonen of the Colorado Avalanche won the game 3:23 into the extra time.

• In the final quarterfinal, Team USA beat Sweden 2-1 in overtime. It looked like Dylan Larkin’s second-period goal looked like it was going to stand until Mika Zibanejad evened things up with 1:31 to play. Minnesota Wild star blueliner Quinn Hughes snapped the puck past Jacob Markstrom in overtime to put the Americans into the semifinals. Connor Hellebuyck was excellent with 28 saves.

• The semifinals will take place on Thursday. Canada will play Finland at 9:40 am CT, followed by Team USA and Slovakia at 2:10 pm CT. The winners will play for the gold medal on Sunday. The losers head to Saturday’s bronze medal game.

• Don’t worry, there will be one hell of a hockey game today as the United States and Canada will play for the gold medal in the Olympic tournament. This is the seventh time in eight Winter Olympics that these two rivals will battle for the gold medal. Puck drop is at 12:10 pm CT.  

• Wednesday was also a busy day for former Blackhawks. First, the Wild recalled forward Boris Katchouk from the AHL. If he gets into game action, it will be his debut with Minnesota.

• Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey, who had a memorable 10-game stint in Chicago, will rejoin the Edmonton Oilers’ coaching staff. He resumed his role as a Special Advisor to Ownership after last season, but he’s back to run the team’s defensive group.

• The Sharks recalled defenseman Nick Leddy. He cleared waivers and was reassigned to the AHL in mid-January, but has not played a game for the San Jose Barracuda.

• Finally, Anaheim Ducks goaltender Petr Mrazek will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing hip surgery. The former Blackhawks netminder just cannot shake the bad injury luck that has plagued him his entire career.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 19: Randy Gregg, Gary Leeman, Peter Douris, Rob DiMaio, Ryan Whiteny, Clanton Stoner, Kyle Chipchura, Shawn Matthias, and Dylan Coghlan.