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Morning Chirps: Big Night For Blackhawks Prospects, Goalie Goal in Pittsburgh

Originally posted on Chicago Hockey Now | Last updated Jan 18, 2025 10:12 AM ET

The Chicago Blackhawks will be back at it later tonight when they host the Vegas Golden Knights with the dads and mentors in the building. Friday night was busy within the organization as the Rockford IceHogs picked up a big win while other recent draft picks found the scoresheet for their respective teams. There were only two NHL games, but history was made, nonetheless.

Blackhawks Chirps

In case you missed it, Frank Nazar is proving that you don’t need to be a big, bruising power forward to be an effective forechecker in the NHL.
Head coach Anders Sorensen gave updates on the trio of injured Blackhawks, with Connor Murphy continuing to work his way back into the lineup.
In the college ranks, Ryan Greene had a pair of goals to help lead the 11^th-ranked Boston University Terriers to a 6-3 win over the University of New Hampshire. The 2022 second-round pick has been red-hot of late. He has five goals and nine points during his current four-game goal streak. The BU captain has 10 goals and 22 points in 20 games this season. Greene is likely to turn pro once his college season concludes.
Nick Lardis was not in the Brantford Bulldogs’ lineup on Friday night. Despite missing their leading scorer, they still knocked off the Oshawa Generals 5-4 in overtime. Marek Vanacker, the third of three 2024 first-round picks, had a pair of assists. He’s been playing well since returning from offseason shoulder surgery. He has six goals and 14 points in 18 OHL games. He is on a three-game assist streak and has four goals and nine points in his last 10 games.

IceHogs Chirps

On Friday morning, Cole Guttman was named to the Central Division roster for the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic. He will replace Nazar, who doesn’t appear to be heading back to Rockford soon. At the time of the announcement, Guttman led the IceHogs with 16 goals, 17 assists, 33 points, and six power-play goals.
Guttman had an All-Star-worthy performance Friday night with two goals and an assist in the IceHogs 6-3 win over the Iowa Wild. That’s back-to-back wins for Rockford by a combined score of 11-3. They improved their record to 3-4-0 against the Wild this season with a rematch later tonight in Des Moines.
It was a good night for the prospects. Landon Slaggert opened the scoring with a power-play goal, followed by the first of two Paul Ludwinski goals 20 seconds later. Slaggert is up to nine goals on the season, while Ludwinski has three. Kevin Korchinski had a pair of assists, including one on the power play. Samuel Savoie and Ethan Del Mastro also had helpers.
Goaltender Drew Commesso made a season-high 41 saves to earn his eighth victory of the season. After a slow start, the second-year pro has played well of late. He has a .902 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.81 goals-against average (GAA).

NHL Chirps

History was made during Friday night’s Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. In the game’s waning moments, Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic scored into the empty. He had an assist earlier in the game to become the first netminder in NHL history to have a goal and an assist in the same game. Nedeljkovic also became the first goaltender to have a goal in the ECHL, AHL, and NHL. Read Dan Kingerski’s report directly from Buffalo over at Pittsburgh Hockey Now.
New York Islanders defenseman Maxim Tsyplakov was suspended three games for his hit to the head of Philadelphia Flyers forward Ryan Poehling. Officials reviewed the hit and never handed out a penalty. Russ Macias has a full write-up of the incident at New York Islanders Hockey Now.
The Colorado Avalanche could be getting some much-needed reinforcements soon. On Friday, head coach Jared Bednar told reporters that winger Valeri Nichushkin is close to returning to the lineup. He’s been out since late December with a lower-body injury. This came after missing the first month of the season while being in the Player Assistance Program. Nichushkin has 11 goals and 17 points in the 21 games he’s played.
It’s a shame the Blackhawks don’t have any true centers to trade unless they want to move on from Jason Dickinson . Several teams will be looking for help down the middle, and not many teams will be selling. So much so that Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff believes that the Seattle Kraken can fetch a first-round pick for Yanni Gourde . The two-time Stanley Cup champion is in the final year of his contract, with a $5.167 million cap hit. The Kraken will likely have to retain salary in any deal, but it will be well worth it for a first-round pick.