Blackhawks Prospects
Morning Chirps: Nick Lardis Stays Hot, Hearing For Connor McDavid

The Chicago Blackhawks enjoyed the day off on Sunday after beating the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3 on Saturday. They will be right back at it later tonight as they welcome the Carolina Hurricanes. Yesterday’s schedule across the National Hockey League was light, but things got wild when two Original Six teams renewed their rivalry in Montreal.
Blackhawks Chirps
- In case you missed it, Seth Jones hit rock bottom to start the week, only to finish it with his best game of the season.
- Former Blackhawks forward Brendan Perlini signed with Spartak Moscow of the KHL last month, but he was released from his contract after appearing in four games. He shouldn’t have any problems landing an AHL contract for the rest of this season if he wants to keep playing.
- Nick Lardis was a big help in the Brantford Bulldogs’ three-win weekend. After missing Friday’s game due to illness, he scored two goals and three points on Saturday. He capped off his weekend by scoring the game-winning goal to beat the North Bay Battalion 2-1. The 2023 third-round pick is tied with Michael Misa for the Ontario Hockey League lead in goals with 37. Could you imagine these two being teammates with the Blackhawks one day? It could happen.
- Jan. 20 has been a busy day in franchise history. A record crowd of 19,749 packed the Chicago Stadium on this date in 1946 to watch the Blackhawks pound the New York Rangers 9-1. Max Bentley scored his fourth career hat trick.
- On Jan. 20, 1970, Bobby Hull was named the Most Valuable Player of the NHL All-Star Game. He had a goal and an assist in the Eastern Conference’s 4-1 win over the Western Conference. Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe scored his 10th and final All-Star Game goal.
- On Jan. 20, 2018, Patrick Kane scored two goals and an assist to become the fifth player in team history to score 800 points.
- One year later, Jonathan Toews scored his sixth career hat trick and had five points as the Blackhawks beat the Washington Capitals 8-5. He joined Kane, Hull, and Stan Mikita as the only players in franchise history to have 12 straight seasons of at least 20 goals to start his career.
NHL Chirps
- Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Tyler Myers of the Vancouver Canucks will have hearings with the NHL Department of Player Safety later this afternoon for their roles in the incident at the end of Saturday’s game.
- It was a strange weekend for the Montreal Canadiens. On Saturday, they opened up a 3-0 lead on the Toronto Maple Leafs only to lose 7-3. On Sunday, they erased four separate one-goal deficits to beat the Rangers 5-4 in overtime. Captain Nick Suzuki extended his home point streak to 11 games with an assist. It’s the longest home point streak in Montreal since Saku Koivu during the 1996-97 season. Lane Hudson extended his assist streak to eight games, one behind Shayne Gostisbehere’s nine-game streak in 2015-16 for the longest in NHL history by a rookie defenseman. Finally, goaltender Jakub Dobes improved to 5-0-0 to start his NHL career. He’s the 13th netminder in NHL history to win the first five starts of his career. Â
- The Dallas Stars rolled to a 4-1 win over the Red Wings thanks to Jason Robertson’s fifth goal in as many games. It was their 12th straight home win against the Red Wings. They have a 14-game home point streak against Detroit, dating back to Feb. 21, 2015.