Blackhawks Trio Wins Gold, U.S.-Canada Border Opening for NHL, Are the Canadiens for Real? And Other Blackhawks Bullets

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Blackhawks Trio Wins Gold, U.S.-Canada Border Opening for NHL, Are the Canadiens for Real? And Other Blackhawks Bullets

Chicago Blackhawks

Watching Chicago Blackhawks players hoisting a Cup in June is a very cathartic experience … even if it isn’t technically with the Blackhawks and it’s not the Stanley Cup. Hopefully, for the trio of Blackhawks who helped Canada win the IIHF World Championship yesterday (at least for two of them anyway), it’s not the last time they have the opportunity to lift a Cup. I can dream, right?

Here are some bullets.

•   It may not be Sidney Crosby in 2010, but this is a Golden Goal this group of Canadian players will not forget after the tournament they had.

•   Starting with three-straight regulation losses, the Canadians were on the brink of not getting out of the Group Stage at the IIHF World Championships just four games in. But after the worst start at the tournament in the Nation’s history, the Canadians went 6-0-1 and captured Gold.

•   Brandon Pirri, Brandon Hagel, and Nicolas Beaudin weren’t stars for the Canadian side, but still were part of the process in winning the 27th Gold Medal at the IIHF World Championships in Canada’s history.

•   I’m sure it’s sparkling cider…

•   Also going home with a Medal from the IIHF World Championships was Blackhawks 2020 second round draft pick and goaltending prospect Drew Commesso. After joining Team USA during the Group Stage as a replacement for Alex Stolarz, Commesso didn’t get into a game for the United States, but still gets to go home with a Bronze Medal. Decent consolation for missing out on the World Junior Championships this past January.

•   Staying in the Blackhawks world, Scott Powers of The Athletic wrote about Marian Hossa and the official end of his career with the expiration of his contract, one signed back in 2009 with Chicago. He talks about life after hockey and what is next for him now that his career officially ends. Highly recommend checking it out.

•   Back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Blackhawks connections are still going strong…

•   Brandon Saad got the scoring started in last night’s Colorado Avalanche-Vegas Golden Knights Game Four with his sixth goal in eight games in these Stanley Cup Playoffs. His career-high for postseason goals was back in 2015 when he scored eight in 23 games helping Chicago to its third Stanley Cup in a six-year span.

•   Unfortunately for Saad and Colorado, the only Avalanche we saw last night after the game’s opening goal came from the Golden Knights in the form of Jonathan Marchessault.

•   Hey, a goal is a goal. They don’t ask for them to be pretty in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

•   After Max Pacioretty gave the Golden Knight’s the 2-1 lead, Marchessault netted his second of the game as the insurance goal. This one being a bit more on the pretty side.

•   One more for good measure, right? These are still the Avalanche.

•   What was once looking like a Runaway for both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche in their second-round series’, both teams have been pushed hard following taking 2-0 series leads. The Lightning have a chance to end their series against the Hurricanes on Tuesday, while the Avalanche will look to rebound from two road losses when the series goes back to Denver for Game Five, also on Tuesday night.

•   Speaking of chances to close a series, tonight we will see if the Montreal Canadiens can finish off the Winnipeg Jets in Game Four of their second round series, leading 3-0 after a win in Game Three last night.

•   Turning the clocks back this season, Corey Perry has been found money for the Canadiens. At 36-years-old, Perry scored 21 points in 49 games with Montreal this season, matching his total points with the Dallas Stars last season in eight fewer games. In the postseason, Perry has three goals and six points in ten games for Montreal, including the opening goal in last night’s contest.

•   Montreal got the game’s opening lead and never looked back. They haven’t looked back since Game Four against the Toronto Maple Leafs…

•   A clean opening period tonight would give them the fourth-longest streak without trailing in a Playoff year in NHL history.

•   One thing going for the Canadiens is their young players coming through to supplement their veterans leading the way. And of course I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to talk about Cole Caufield.

•   These are the same Winnipeg Jets that swept the Edmonton Oilers right? I know they are missing Mark Scheifele, but still.

•   With the opportunity to close the series tonight, the Montreal Canadiens might be the first Canadian NHL team to cross the U.S.-Canada border since the COVID-19 Pandemic shutdown. Yesterday, it was announced that the U.S.-Canada border would be open to travel for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for teams to play in the final two rounds of the postseason. The winner of the Jets-Canadiens series will go on to face the winner of the Colorado-Vegas series. By the looks of it, we’re probably going to see the first team to allow fans back in the arena in Canada be the first team to travel outside of the country as well.

•   That will do it for today. Have a good Monday! Oh, and FINAL CALL for Monday Mailbag questions! Send them to [email protected] or use the hashtag #BNHawksMailbag on Twitter!

Filed to: Chicago Blackhawks
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Author: Mario Tirabassi

Mario Tirabassi is a writer for Bleacher Nation. You can follow him on Twitter @Mario_Tirabassi.