On Wednesday afternoon, the Vancouver Canucks fired head coach Alain Vigneault and associate coaches Newell Brown and Rick Bowness.
The Blackhawks came up short against a dominant Jimmy Howard and the Red Wings in Detroit on Monday night, and now trail in their Western Conference semifinal series.
After practice on Monday morning, coach Joel Quenneville confirmed that forward Viktor Stalberg will return to the lineup for Game Three in Detroit.
Michal Handzus will also play, meaning Daniel Carcillo is the odd man out.
On Monday morning, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews was named one of three finalists for the 2013 Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, given to “the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice during the regular season.”
Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson and Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown are the other two finalists.
Messier solicits suggestions from club and League personnel as well as NHL fans in compiling a list of potential candidates before personally selecting the three finalists and ultimately the winner.
Game 5 between the Blackhawks and Red Wings is scheduled for 7 pm CT on Saturday, May 25.
A Saturday matinee once again treated the Blackhawks poorly, and the Red Wings handed the Hawks a loss equal to the defeat Chicago had given Detroit earlier in the week.
On Friday morning, the NHL announced that Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is one of three finalists for the Jack Adams Award, which is presented “to the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.”
The other two finalists are Bruce Boudreau of the Anaheim Ducks and Paul MacLean of the Ottawa Senators.
Quenneville has won the Jack Adams once before, in 1999-2000 after leading the St. Louis Blues to the Presidents’ Trophy. The Blackhawks captured the Presidents’ Trophy this year.
Last spring, a poor series against Phoenix put Johnny Oduya in the doghouse with many Blackhawks fans.
But 12 months later, Oduya is having a fantastic start to the postseason next to Michal Rozsival, and the Hawks’ “third” defensive pair is a big reason Chicago keeps rolling.
On Thursday morning, Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks was named one of three finalists for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded “to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”
Matt Moulson of the New York Islanders and Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning were also named finalists.
We made the case for Kane to win the Lady Byng a at the end of the regular season.
Patrick Sharp posted three points and Corey Crawford was strong once again as the Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead in their second round series against the Detroit Red Wings in Chicago on Wednesday night.
