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There wasn’t much adversity for the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes in the opening two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but both teams now find themselves trailing 1-0 in the Conference Finals after getting upset in Game 1 on home ice.
After the Vegas Golden Knights defeated Colorado to begin the series on Wednesday, the Carolina Hurricanes suffered a similar fate to kick off their battle with the young and fearless Montreal Canadiens last night. More in the links for the recap from the opening game of the Eastern Conference Final.
In Blackhawks news, the organization’s lone prospect still playing postseason hockey is set to return to the ice on Friday night, with the 2026 Memorial Cup getting underway. Plus, some updates from the IIHF World Championship in Switzerland.
Around the league, trade rumors are swirling around a Devils defenseman, an update on Cale Makar’s injury, and a potential trade chip for the Bruins.
All that & more in the Daily!
Blackhawks Offseason, News & Trade Rumors
Chicago Hockey Now: ICYMI — Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman collaborated to predict the first 63 selections in the 2026 NHL Draft. Once again, Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg was projected to fall to the Chicago Blackhawks with the fourth overall pick. Check out The Athletic’s latest mock draft.
More CHN: Without much explanation whatsoever, Blackhawks forward Anton Frondell was healthy scratched for the first three games of the 2026 IIHF World Championship. Finally, Frondell made his tournament debut for Sweden on Wednesday and made a major impact, despite playing a minimal role.
More CHN: In that same game, Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom stopped all 16 shots faced to record a shutout in a 6-0 win over Slovenia. Soderblom is now responsible for both of Sweden’s wins at the World Championship.
Speaking of the World Championships, Blackhawks netminder Adam Gajan served as Slovakia’s backup behind Samuel Hlavaj in a 5-1 win over Denmark on Thursday. The Slovaks have won all four games so far and are tied with Canada at the top of Group B with 11 points.
In prospects news, Jack Pridham and the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers play their opening game of the 2026 Memorial Cup against the host Kelowna Rockets on Friday night. The Rangers also face the Everett Silvertips (WHL champions) on Monday and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Tuesday as part of the round-robin style preliminary games.
Lastly, 17 years ago today, Patrick Sharp scored the overtime winner in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final against the Detroit Red Wings, giving the Blackhawks hope by cutting the series deficit to 2-1. Of course, the Hawks went on to lose Game 4 and Game 5 to Detroit, but that proved to be a spark for the club the following season, as they proceeded to win the first of three Stanley Cup titles in six years.
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
The Athletic: Who’s the best winger in the 2026 NHL Draft? Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg? Corey Pronman debates between the two talented prospects.
Montreal Hockey Now: The red-hot Montreal Canadiens dropped the ice-cold Carolina Hurricanes with a lopsided 6-2 victory. The Habs came out of the gate with a purpose and put up four goals in the first period. Juraf Slavkovsky and Nick Suzuki led the charge with three points each, while Cole Caufield (1G, 1A) and Phillip Danault (1G, 1A) both had multi-point efforts. Jakub Dobes stopped 25 of 27 shots faced.
Carolina Hockey Now: The Carolina Hurricanes had to wait 12 days between series, and it showed in their performance against Montreal in Game 1. However, Rachel Barkley from Carolina Hockey Now explains why fans shouldn’t be worried following the Canes’ first defeat of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Colorado Hockey Now: Ahead of Game 2 of the Western Conference Final, here’s the latest on Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar’s injury, which forced him to miss the opening game of the series against Vegas.
New Jersey Hockey Now: Once again, former No. 2 overall pick Simon Nemec is the subject of trade rumors. However, this time, there are some holes in the recent reports surrounding the New Jersey Devils young defenseman.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Does Mavrik Bourque make sense as Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas next reclamation project? How about Cole Perfetti or Nick Robertson? Dan Kingerski weaves through the Pens’ potential trade targets for this offseason.
Boston Hockey Now: Speaking of trade chips, could the Boston Bruins have one on their hands with young defenseman Mason Lohrei? For the Bruins to get better, some tough decisions must be made this summer, and parting ways with Lohrei could be one of those.
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The post Jack’s Daily: Habs Roll Hurricanes; Bruins & Devils Trade Chips; Pridham Back appeared first on Chicago Hockey Now.
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