Morning Chirps: Teravainen & Nazar Stay Hot, Stars Advance to WCF

Saturday was another busy day for the members of the Chicago Blackhawks playing on the international stage. Also, the Western Conference Finals are set after a very emotional day in Dallas. Time to Chirp!

Blackhawks Chirps

• All three Blackhawks were in action at the IIHF World Championships on Saturday. Teuvo Teravainen had the primary assist on the game-winning goal in Finland’s 2-1 victory over Latvia. He leads the tournament with eight assists.

Mikko Lehtonen likes to shoot and he makes it 2-0.

Teravainen and Tolvanen with the assists. #MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/Y6pjGZbHAI

— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) May 17, 2025

• Team USA rolled to a 6-3 win over Germany without Lukas Reichel. The United States stormed out to a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes, only to see the Germans tie the game with three goals in the middle frame. The Americans scored three times in the final frame to pull away. Frank Nazar scored a goal and recorded an assist, while Alex Vlasic had a shot on goal in 15:19 of ice time and was a plus-one. Nazar has three goals and six points in five games.

• This was an extremely disappointing night on this date in 1971. The Blackhawks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final 3-2 to the Montreal Canadiens. Chicago was in control with a 2-0 lead late in the second period until Jacque Lemaire scored from center ice. Henri Richard scored twice for the Canadiens to clinch another championship.
• On this date in 1992, Chris Chelios tied a playoff record with three assists in one period as the Blackhawks beat the Oilers 4-2 in Game 2 of the Campbell Conference Final. The win gave Chicago a 2-0 lead in the series and set a team record with nine straight playoff victories.
• On May 18, 2010, Dustin Byfuglien scored his sixth goal of the playoffs to lead the Blackhawks to a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Andrew Ladd, Jonathan Toews, and Troy Brouwer all found the back of the net, while goaltender Antti Niemi made 25 saves.
• Four years later, the Blackhawks opened a memorable Western Conference Final with a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Duncan Keith scored the game-winning goal midway through the second period. Brandon Saad had a goal and an assist, with Marian Hossa picking up two helpers.
• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, May 18: Tom Fowler, Bill Stewart, and Bob Janecyk.

NHL Chirps

• New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier will miss the rest of the World Championship for Switzerland due to a muscle injury. It’s not considered a serious injury, and sitting out is a precautionary measure.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers will meet in a winner-take-all Game 7 later tonight. The Leafs will be on home ice, but could be without one of their most effective players. According to Chris Johnston of The Athletic, Matthew Knies is questionable due to an undisclosed injury that limited him to only 13 minutes in Game 6.
• The Carolina Hurricanes await the winner of tonight’s huge tilt in Toronto. However, head coach Rod Brind’Amour is uncertain about the status of injured defenseman Jalen Chatfield for the start of the Eastern Conference Finals.
• Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon held his end-of-the-year press conference on Saturday. Among the topics discussed, he confirmed that the injured trio of Mark Stone, Brandon Saad, and Brayden McNabb will not require any offseason surgeries.
• Mark Scheifele rode a roller coaster of emotions on Saturday. He found out early in the morning that his father, Brad, had passed away suddenly. The Winnipeg Jets veteran forward played in Game 6 against the Dallas Stars and scored the opening goal. However, he was in the penalty box while Thomas Harley scored the series-clinching goal in overtime. The Stars are back in the Western Conference Finals for the third straight season and will have a rematch with the Oilers. Head coach Pete DeBoer has made it to the Conference Final for the eighth time in his career, the third-most since 1968 behind Scotty Bowman (16) and Al Arbour (11).

• Despite not knowing who will play the Hurricanes yet, the NHL has released the schedule for the Conference Finals.