Morning Chirps: Another Big Day for Nazar, Panthers Dominate Maple Leafs Again

The Chicago Blackhawks have two of the top players at the World Championship, and one of them added three more points to his total on Saturday. Both Conference Finals are set after the reigning Stanley Cup champions showed their might. Let’s start your week off with a fresh batch of Morning Chirps.

Blackhawks Chirps

• Our Blackhawks Draft Profiles continue with Micael Misa, the prospect most Blackhawks fans want to fall to No. 3.
• In case you missed it over the weekend, here’s why the Blackhawks interviewed Jeff Blashill for their head coaching job.
• Frank Nazar had another huge performance at the IIHF World Championship as Team USA rolled Kazakhstan 6-1. He scored the game’s opening goal before recording two assists for a team-high three points. He has four goals in the tournament and is tied for second in scoring with nine points.

• On this date in 1995, the Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Joe Murphy scored two goals, including the game-winner in the third period. Hall of Famer Denis Savard had a goal and two assists in the series-clinching victory.
• On May 19, 2009, Jonathan Toews scored a pair of goals in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. However, they weren’t enough as Mikael Samuelsson scored in overtime to give the Detroit Red Wings a 2-0 series lead.
• The Blackhawks played the longest game in franchise history on this date in 2015. Marcus Kruger scored at the 16:12 mark of the third overtime to give them a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Andrew Shaw and Marian Hossa each scored power-play goals in the first period.
• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, May 19: Wayne Van Dorp, Mark Janssens, Denis Arkhipov, Michael Leighton, and Jack Skille.

NHL Chirps

• According to James Murphy of RG Media, Rick Tocchet never pursued the Boston Bruins head coaching job because he was concerned about general manager Don Sweeney’s future and his recent track record of firing head coaches.
• Daria Tubolseva of RG Media reports that Max Comtois is receiving offers from several NHL teams, including the Red Wings. He led Dynamo Moscow of the KHL with 16 goals and 33 points this past season. Comtois was a second-round draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2017. The 26-year-old forward has 38 goals and 87 points in 211 NHL games.
• Ahead of last night’s Game 7 in Toronto, Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice sent out condolences to Mark Scheifele, whom he coached for nine seasons with the Winnipeg Jets.

“I think just as an observation from last night, the display of courage and focus for him to do what he did, but it’s possibly an even greater display of the family — of the Scheifele family, of the Winnipeg Jets family — for him to play with his brothers. That extends out to Scott Arniel. Kevin Cheveldayoff, Mark Chipman, and all of the Winnipeg Jets fans. They’ve built a culture of family there that allowed that inspiration to happen. Our thank you to them for that display, and also our condolences to them.”

• Once Game 7 started, the Panthers dominated the Maple Leafs in a smothering 6-1 win. Former Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones was the best player on the ice, scoring a goal and adding an assist. Another former Blackhawk, Max Domi, scored the lone Maple Leafs goal early in the third period.  The Panthers had 75 shot attempts in the first two periods, the most through 40 minutes in the NHL this season, including the regular season and playoffs. The Panthers will open the Eastern Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.