Morning Chirps: Team USA Rolls at Teuvo Teravainen’s Expense

Team USA had a very impressive debut in the 4 Nations Face-off at the expense of the Chicago Blackhawks lone representative. Saturday will be a great day with a pair of international rivalry games: Finland and Sweden, followed by Canada and the United States.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The NHL trade deadline is three weeks away. Check out our new Blackhawks Trade Deadline Hub, which will be updated as new rumors and speculation emerge.
• The Rockford IceHogs released some injury updates on Thursday. Colton Dach will be out for the next 7-10 with a right hip flexor strain. Goaltender Drew Commesso sprained his right ankle during Saturday’s game against the Texas Stars and will miss the next 7-14 days.
• Teuvo Teravainen was a non-factor in Finland’s 6-1 loss to the United States last night. He had three shot attempts in his 10:34 of ice time. Not sure what kind of offensive production he will put up on the fourth line with Erik Haula and Joel Armia. It will be interesting if Finland switches up their lines against Sweden on Saturday to find more offense. I got to chat about the US victory with my pals on the CHGO Blackhawks Podcast.

• On this date in 1989, Jeremy Roenick scored his first NHL goal in a 4-2 win over the Minnesota North Stars. He finished his Hall of Fame career with 513 goals, the first 267 of which came in a Blackhawks uniform.
• Happy 33^rd birthday to Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek!

4 Nations Chirps

• The biggest fear about an international tournament two months before the Stanley Cup playoffs start is having a star player go down to injury. That fear was realized for the Vegas Golden Knights when defenseman Shea Theodore’s tournament ended after being hit by Adrian Kempe. The Golden Knights announced that he is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Hannan Kirkell laid out what a long-term injury means for Vegas Hockey Now.
• Chris Johnston of The Athletic reported that Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley is on stand-by for Team Canada. He will travel to Boston but cannot participate in any team activities unless there is another injury on the blue line.
• Two former Blackhawks factored into Finland’s only goal, with Olli Maatta assisting Henri Jokiharju’s first-period tally.
• This was Team USA’s first win at a best-on-best international tournament since the quarterfinals of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, snapping their five-game losing streak.
• The Blackhawks give out a tool belt in the locker to their player of the game, and Team USA is hanging Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey in the stall of their top player. The honor went to Brady Tkachuk after Thursday’s win.

NHL Chirps

• Former Blackhawk Anthony Duclair opened a new sheet of synthetic ice at Boyd Anderson High School in Lauderdale Lakes, FL. George Richards of  Florida Hockey Now was on hand for the big day Duclair had been working to make happen for over two years.
• Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens has been the subject of trade rumors for much of this season. Ansar Kahn of MLive speculated on whether the Detroit Red Wings would be interested in acquiring the young center. I’ve been saying for months that if Cozens is actually available, the Blackhawks should be making an offer.
• Staying with the Red Wings, Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now says the recent Vladimir Tarasenko to the Florida Panthers trade rumors is a good thing.
• The Athletic’s Arthur Staple and Peter Baugh say the New York Rangers have plenty of players that will draw interest on the trade market if they decide to become sellers before the deadline. Defenseman Ryan Lindgren and forwards Jimmy Vesey and Reilly Smith are all on expiring contracts and could fetch decent returns.
• The Calgary Flames have already been active in the trade market by acquiring Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee from the Philadelphia Flyers two weeks ago. Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun thinks the Flames might use the 4 Nations break to shore up their roster. He mentions the need for a defensive partner for MacKenzie Weegar and an upgrade at the backup goaltender position.