Armia's Army, Caufield's Not So Small Impact, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

Social Navigation

Armia’s Army, Caufield’s Not So Small Impact, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

Chicago Blackhawks

So the Montreal Canadiens are going to be a formidable opponent for the Vegas Golden Knights after all, eh? After dropping Game One to the Golden Knights 4-1, the Canadiens stormed back in Game Two to even the series heading back to Montreal. We got ourselves a series on both ends of the Stanley Cup Semifinal bracket and I’m here for it.

•   First thing is first…WHAT IS UP WITH JEFF PETRY’S EYES

•   This is like something out of a zombie movie, right before the plucky, feel-good best friend character reveals that he was bitten by a zombie in the dramatic attack scene where they all narrowly escape. Then followed by the main character having to kill the best friend in the middle of their transformation into a full-on murderous zombie….anywho…

•   Apparently what was causing Petry’s zombie eyes is something called a subconjunctival hemorrhage and is totally normal and okay, I guess?

•   Hey, whatever works for you. Petry returned to the Canadiens after missing Game One and he made an immediate impact, recording an assist in just over 20 minutes of ice time.

•   Getting the Canadiens on the board first was a player that, if you’ve been paying attention to some recent posts on BN Blackhawks, you’re familiar with already.

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1405337437287616512?s=20

•   Joel Armia scored his fifth goal of the postseason to give Montreal the early 1-0 lead. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent this summer and would look great in a Blackhawks uniform next season. But he’s getting into Bryan Bickell 2013 territory, where a stellar postseason, seemingly out of nowhere, prices him out of Chicago’s market. Possibly.

•   After getting dominated in Game One, the Canadiens came out and played a nearly perfect first period against the Golden Knights, something they desperately needed. Two of their best playoff performers hooked up again in this postseason and gave Montreal the 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

https://twitter.com/NHLonNBCSports/status/1405341277781172228?s=20

•   The red-hot Cole Caufield set up the also red-hot Tyler Toffoli for Toffoli’s fifth goal of the postseason, extending his current point streak to a 2021 Stanley Cup Playoff-long eight games.

•   Put me down for Toffoli reaching nine games in Game Three.

•   For the setup man Caufield, the rookie continues to have an instant impact on the Canadiens and continues to show that, despite his small stature, he’s ready to play a big role in the NHL.

•   Four goals and an assist in 10 regular season games, one goal and five assists in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including four points in his last four games for Montreal, I’d say Caufield is going to be a big deal in Canada.

•   Caufield is not only getting his due recognition in the NHL, but is also being put on blast, in a good way, by a fellow former-Wisconsin Badger in J.J. Watt. Brandishing a “Caufield 22” Canadiens sweater ahead of the Stanley Cup Semifinal series, Watt is coming to the defense of Caufield against his previous detractors that he was going to be too small to be effective in the NHL. Hmm, sounds like someone I know on the Blackhawks too.

•   Ok, putting my Badgers hat back down for a second.

•   The Canadiens jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second period with a goal from Paul Byron that would be enough to hold on for the win. The Golden Knights fought back with two goals from Alex Pietrangelo late in the second and third periods, but the comeback effort would fall short.

•   Carey Price stopped 29 of 31 shots for his ninth win of the postseason, the most he’s had in one postseason since the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Price now has a .930 save-percentage in these Stanley Cup Playoffs, second only to Andrei Vasilevskiy’s .933. He and Vasilevskiy, along with Marc-Andre Fleury all have nine wins in the postseason, tied for the most in the league.

•   Like they did in Game Two, the Canadiens are going to have to be a team that starts fast the rest of the Stanley Cup Playoffs if they are going to have continued success against the Golden Knights and either the Tampa Bay Lightning or New York Islanders, if they move on to the Cup Final.

•   Like I said, we got ourselves two great series’ ahead of us in the Stanley Cup Semifinals.

•   The Golden Knights travel to Montreal for Game Three on Friday night at the much more limited capacity Bell Centre for a 7:00 p.m. CT puck drop. Tonight we get Game Three between the Islanders and Lightning, with the defending Cup Champions heading into the Nassau Coliseum for a 7:00 p.m. CT puck drop.

•   Elsewhere around the league, teams are one month away from needing to officially submit their protection lists for the upcoming Seattle Expansion Draft. Unlike with the Vegas expansion draft, the sense is that teams are going to be much more cautious when making side deals with the Kraken than they were with the Golden Knights, essentially helping Vegas create a perennial contender.

•   In The Athletic’s latest Seattle Expansion Mock Draft, Ryan S. Clark, Dom Luszczyszyn, and Eric Duhatschek take a stab at which players the Kraken will take in the July draft. They are not unanimous on the selection from the Chicago Blackhawks, but it wouldn’t be surprising if either of those three players were selected. Highly recommend checking out the full mock draft.

•   Speaking of former (well, soon to be former) Blackhawks, newly retired Stephen Johns is continuing his #MentalMiles cross-country roller-blading trip. It appears that he will be heading through the Chicago area tomorrow after getting some rest in Notre Dame, Indiana, where Johns played four seasons with the Irish.

•   Make sure to go support the former Blackhawk and IceHogs on his cross-country journey for Mental Health awareness!

•   Another former Blackhawk being celebrated today, a Happy 22nd Birthday to 2017 first-round pick Henri Jokiharju!

•   The Jokiharju for Nylander trade still gets on my nerves, almost weekly…ugh.

•   Now I’m aggravated.

•   That will do it for today, have a good Thursday!

Filed to: Chicago Blackhawks
Latest from Bleacher Nation:

Blackhawks 1, Stars 4 — Three Stars, Key Takeaways
Blackhawks vs Stars – Lineups, Broadcast Info, Game Thread
Kyle Davidson Blackhawks Sign Forward Prospect Antti Saarela
Candid Jonathan Toews Talks Future, Health, Priorities … Kane in a Rangers Sweater
Toews Skates, Vlasic Recalled, Kurashev’s Season Over, and Other Blackhawks Bullets
Jonathan Toews Returns to the Blackhawks Morning Skate
28 on 28: Steve Larmer Dominated The (North) Stars
What Will The Blackhawks’ Blue Line Look Like Next Year?
Tinordi Hurt (Again), Toews Skating, Legends Cup Final, Frozen Four Set, and Other Blackhawks Bullets
Blackhawks 2, Canucks 4 — Three Stars, Key Takeaways
Blackhawks vs Canucks – Lineups, Broadcast Info, Game Thread
Happy Birthday Coach, BU’s Tampa-Bound, the Rebuild Foundation, and Other Blackhawks Bullets
Blackhawks 1, Wild 3 — Three Stars, Key Takeaways
Drew Commesso Named Regional MOP, Boston University Is Headed to the Frozen Four!
Blackhawks at Wild – Lineups, Broadcast Info, Game Thread
Blackhawks Sign Forward Prospect Paul Ludwinski
Bedard Race Tightens, Michigan’s Analytics, Huge Prospect Production, and Other Blackhawks Bullets
A Blackhawks Fans’ Guide to the NCAA Quarterfinal Weekend

Author: Mario Tirabassi

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