McDavid Extinguishes Flames, Canes Blow By Rangers, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

Holy jumpin’ what a pair of games last night! Carolina took care of business on home ice and Edmonton ended this year’s Battle of Albert in a wild affair that saw more historic numbers for individual players — and the two teams — achieved. This year’s playoffs have been everything a hockey fan could want. And they aren’t done yet.

•   We start this morning with the end of last night. The Oilers-Flames game was ridiculous. A tight first period ended with the Flames up 1-0. The second period was a whole other story. Climaxed with four goals scored in 71 seconds, the score was tied at four after two periods and fans were looking for enough caffeine to make it through a potentially explosive third period.

•   Seven goals in 20 minutes opened things up and people were throwing money at the over, which had climbed to 10.5 by the end of the second period. But the fans that believed the offense would continue in the third were disappointed. The next goal scored was the game-winner… in overtime. And it came from none other than Connor McDavid. Because of course.

•   The good news for the Blackhawks is the Oilers are now one step closer to sending a second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft to the Hawks. Duncan Keith skated 25:17 last night, the highest ice time on the Oilers.

•   This morning we took a trip in the way-back machine to see how the Sedin brothers ending up together in Vancouver somehow ended up with Connor Murphy in Chicago.

•   The first game on Thursday night saw the Carolina Hurricanes take a 3-2 series lead over the New York Rangers. Carolina stayed undefeated at home with a strong 3-1 victory. Our old friend Teuvo Teravainen scored the Canes’ first power play goal of the series.

•   There’s one game on tap tonight. The Avalanche get another shot at sending the Blues to their offseason. The puck drops in St. Louis at 7 PM CT and the game is on TNT.

•   Do yourself a favor today/this weekend and read this absolute masterpiece about Hilary Knight.

•   It was a rough night for Chicago baseball, but at least we got to see pitches my 11-year-old son might be able to handle coming from a major league shortstop.

written by

Tab Bamford has been writing about the Chicago Blackhawks for almost two decades. He joined Bleacher Nation as the lead Blackhawks writer in May 2022. Tab is a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and is the author of two books about the Blackhawks: "100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die" (Triumph Books) and "Chicago Blackhawks: An Illustrated Timeline" (Reedy Press, 2021). Find him on Twitter/X/Instagram/Threads at @The1Tab

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