The Chicago Blackhawks are watching the 4 Nations Face-off just like the rest of us, except for Teuvo Teravainen, who suits up for Finland against the United States tonight. Don’t forget, I’ll be on the CHGO Blackhawks Postgame show tonight to break down that game. If it’s half as good as last night’s tournament opener, we will be in for a treat.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Blackhawks are a better team when Connor Murphy is in the lineup, and Alex Vlasic is a better player when paired with the veteran.
• Scott Powers of The Athletic recently had a one-on-one interview with general manager Kyle Davidson, and they discussed many topics, including Connor Bedard and his future, trading their top draft pick, and the rising salary cap.
• On this date in 1992, Steve Larmer broke Craig Ramsay’s NHL record for consecutive games with the same team by playing in his 777^th straight contest with the Blackhawks.
• Seven years later, the Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 in the final game played at Maple Leaf Gardens. Former Maple Leaf Doug Gilmour scored the game-winning goal before Bob Probert lit the goal light at the historic arena for the last time. Current Blackhawks assistant coach Derek King scored the final Leafs goal in the Gardens. This was a fitting end as the Blackhawks won the first game played at Maple Leaf Gardens on Nov. 12, 1931.

4 Nations Chirps

• The 4 Nations Face-off kicked off with a bang as Canada beat Sweden 4-3 in overtime. Mitch Marner got fans in Montreal to cheer for him for the first time by scoring the game-winning goal. Sweden made things interesting by forcing overtime after trailing 3-1 to start the third period. Captain Sidney Crosby had three assists on the night. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t even sure he would play until Tuesday.

• Crosby’s first assist came on a power-play goal in the game’s opening minute. The play went from Connor McDavid to Crosby to Nathan MacKinnon. That’s some NHL25 stuff that isn’t fair in real life.

• Even worse than having to cheer for Marner, Canadiens fans had to willingly cheer for Brad Marchand when he put the home team up 2-0 in the first period. Canada is 9-0 all-time when Marchand scores a goal in an international game, including the World Cup, World Championships, and now the 4 Nations Face-off.

NHL Chirps

• Before Tuesday’s game, the NHL officially announced that the World Cup of Hockey will return in 2028. With the league returning to the Olympics in 2026, there will be an international tournament every other year. The NHL and NHLPA will run the World Cup and have no connection to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Unlike the 2016 event, played before the start of the regular season, the 2028 World Cup will take place in-season. I’m not a fan of pausing the season for international play, but the league is set on it. The NHL will start taking bids on hosting games in hopes of locking down sites as quickly as possible.
• According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, top prospect Cayden Lindstrom is in jeopardy of missing the entire season. General manager Don Waddell says the fourth overall pick of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft is just beginning the third stage of his five-stage recovery from November back surgery. Lindstrom was in plenty of draft talk last spring while the Blackhawks were deciding who to take with the second pick.
• Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now discussed why Jesse Puljujarvi terminated his contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins and signed a PTO with the Charlotte Checkers. My favorite part of this article is learning that Pulujarvi has a dog named Joffa!
• Noah Dobson’s name has been popping up a lot, as some recent rumors have him on the trading block. The defenseman recently changed agents, and Russ Macias wrote what that means for his future with the New York Islanders.