Defenseman Jarred Tinordi has been more than the Blackhawks likely hoped when they claimed him off waivers from the New York Rangers in October. But the 31-year-old hasn’t been able to stay on the ice because of a number of physical issues, from a nasty cut from a skate to a broken jaw. He left Sunday evening’s game against Vancouver, and head coach Luke Richardson said it’s a hip issue that’s been bothering him since before the season began. Richardson told the media they would know more about his availability on Tuesday (no practice today) but this is apparently a lingering issue that might need something more formal. “At some point, it either gets enough rest in the summer or it gets fixed,” Richardson said last night. “I don’t know what it is but this would probably be the summer to do that.”
Before Sunday’s game, head coach Luke Richardson confirmed that Jonathan Toews skated earlier on Sunday and has been on the ice for a bit. With the rest of the team on the road for what felt like a calendar year, he’s been out of sight but Richardson indicated they’ve seen good progress and he might be able to join practice whenever the Blackhawks have their next skate.
Also before Sunday’s game, the championship game of the Blackhawks Legends Cup was played. And man, I wish they marketed this and sold tickets for it because it was fun! From the dynasty teams, we had action from Bryan Bickell, Adam Burish, Jake Dowell, Andrew Shaw, Troy Brouwer and Ben Eager. Kyle Calder and Adrian Aucoin were there. And… yes Steve Larmer was on the ice! Team Shaw defeated Team Larmer for the title. It looked like the guys had fun (and will probably regret it for a couple days).
During Sunday night’s Blackhawks’ game, Chicago prospects were hoping to punch their tickets to the Frozen Four. Unfortunately for Jake Wise, his collegiate career came to an end with a loss to Quinnipiac.
Michigan, on the other hand, needed overtime to knock off a pesky Penn State team. Adam Fantilli scored a clutch power play goal with less than eight minutes left in regulation to tie the game. Mackie Samoskevich scored the game-winner in OT. The Blackhawks will have three prospects in the Frozen Four, including Frank Nazar on the Wolverines. The other two — Drew Commesso and Ryan Greene — skate for Boston University.
This report out of Russia is interesting to say the least. If Russian players and, more specifically, the KHL withdraw from the IIHF, that could both open the doors for players to come to the NHL quicker but also complicate relations between the NHL and professionals in Russia. This is definitely something to keep an eye on in the coming months, specifically because Matvei Michkov is arguably the second-best prospect in the 2023 draft class (though his contract in Russia and politics might cause him to slide to the fourth pick or, in the eyes of some, even lower).
Concussions suck. I’ve had my share playing football in high school and college (at least a dozen). The fact the symptoms can be totally different for every individual make them so hard to not only diagnose, but also treat. Reese Johnson missed 16 games because of a concussion, but told Ben Pope that he played three games after the hit before talking to the team’s medical staff about the issues he was experiencing.
“After that [second] Toronto game, I wasn’t feeling like myself off the ice,” Reese told Pope. “I was actually feeling pretty good on the ice, to be honest. That’s why it was tough. But whenever you step on the ice, it’s easy to block everything else out if you’re feeling a little off. It was off the ice where I noticed most of my symptoms.”
Finally, I will absolutely always be here for a little swagger on the court/ice/field. And last night Patrick Beverley did his thing in his return to LA against LeBron and the Lakers.
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