Morning Chirps: Bertuzzi Buy Out Chatter, Demidov Signs with Canadiens

The Chicago Blackhawks are off today after phoning it in in Pittsburgh last night. We’ll see if an extended postgame meeting will make any difference against the Boston Bruins tomorrow. Meanwhile, a top NHL prospect is coming to North America, and it looks like he’s going to get his first taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Blackhawks Chirps

• Anders Sorensen called the Blackhawks’ poor effort last night “mind-boggling” after their 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
• Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now had the reaction from the opposing locker room last night.
• Lyle Richardson of Bleach Report did some “Buy or Sell” scenarios for the upcoming offseason. One is whether the Blackhawks will buy out the last three years of Tyler Bertuzzi’s contract. He also pondered if the Carolina Hurricanes would be suitors for Mitch Marner.
• Scott Powers of The Athletic has a great breakdown of Jack Pridham’s season with the Kitchener Rangers.
• Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times wondered what the future might hold for Lukas Reichel after another pedestrian season.
• On this date in 1972, Pit Martin scored the fastest overtime goal in Stanley Cup Playoff history when he lit the lamp 12 seconds into extra time to complete a four-game sweep of the Penguins. Bobby Hull scored his final postseason hat trick to lead the way in a 6-5 victory.
• On April 9, 1983, Al Secord set a franchise playoff record by racking up 37 penalty minutes during a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues. He earned a minor, major, misconduct, and two game misconduct penalties, with 35 minutes coming in one period.

NHL Chirps

• What a difference a day makes! On Monday, reports had Ivan Demidov staying in Russia to play in the VHL and MHL playoffs. Those reports were untrue, as SKA St. Petersburg released him from the remainder of his contract, and he quickly signed his entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens. Marc Dumont has a complete analysis of the move over at Montreal Hockey Now. The Blackhawks are in Montreal on Monday night, so we might be able to see a Demidov/Artyom Levshunov match-up.

• Speaking of the Canadiens, they picked up a massive 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night after being outshot 24-5 in the first period. While the victory didn’t clinch the second Eastern Conference Wild Card spot, it all but sealed the deal. Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now notes that the Red Wings have a less than one percent chance to make the postseason after the defeat.
• The Vancouver Canucks completed one of the craziest comebacks we’ve ever seen to beat the Dallas Stars 6-5 last night. They scored three goals in the game’s final minute, including two by former Blackhawk Pius Suter with the goalie pulled, to force overtime. Kiefer Sherwood scored in overtime to keep Vancouver’s slim playoff hopes alive. The Canucks are the first team in NHL history to erase a three-goal lead in the final minute of regulation.

• In a sad story, Winnipeg Jets prospect Chaz Lucius announced his retirement from hockey on Tuesday due to medical concerns. He revealed a recent diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a hereditary disorder that affects the connective tissue that stabilizes and supports the joints and organs throughout the body. Lucius was the 18^th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He played 54 AHL games over three seasons, scoring seven goals and 27 points.