The Blackhawks signed forward Jacob Nilsson to a one-year extension Friday, and Russian winger Max Shalunov and CSKA Moscow completed a four-game sweep against Avangard Omsk to win the KHL’s Gagarin Cup.
Blackhawks prospect MacKenzie Entwistle and the Guelph Storm look to even their Western Conference Final series against the Saginaw Spirit in Game 2 on Saturday. Fellow prospect Josiah Slavin and the Chicago Steel begin their best-of-five Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Saturday at Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva.
#Blackhawks goalie prospect Alexis Gravel made 38 saves on 41 shots and defenseman Jake Ryczek had a primary assist in Halifax’s 3-1 loss to Drummondville and Nicolas Beaudin in Game 1 of a #QMJHL semifinal series. Game 2 is Saturday.
— 𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏 Cain (@brandonmcain) April 20, 2019
Elsewhere in Chicago sports, Kyle Hendricks struck out a season-high 11 in seven scoreless innings in the Cubs’ 5-1 win over the Diamondbacks. The White Sox pulled away for a 7-4 win against the Tigers in Detroit. Both the Cubs and White Sox play Saturday.
The Fire and Red Stars will have a doubleheader at SeatGeek Stadium in Brigeview. The Fire play the Colorado Rapids at noon then the Red Stars take on the Portland Thorns.
BLACKHAWKS
Blackhawks sign Nilsson to 1-year, $700K extension (SCH)
What are Blackhawks’ plans for Forsberg? (SCH)
Blackhawks’ Max Shalunov, CSKA Moscow win KHL’s Gagarin Cup (SCH)
Gustafsson, Kruger will play for Sweden at Worlds (SCH)
Evaluating present, future for Blackhawks goaltenders (SCH)
Josiah Slavin, Steel to play RoughRiders in USHL’s Clark Cup playoffs (SCH)
CENTRAL DIVISION
Game 5: Avs dominate Flames, win first playoff series in 11 years (Mile High Hockey)
When it comes to his No. 1 fan, Matt Nieto will never change himself or his number (The Athletic)
NHL
Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round schedule (NHL)
Game 5: Maple Leafs edge Bruins, push them to brink (Pension Plan Puppets)
Should Toronto’s first goal been called back for goalie interference? (Stanley Cup of Chowder)
The Black Aces: Out of sight, out of mind but prepared to step into the playoff fray at a moment’s notice (The Athletic)
Yzerman is returning to Detroit, and he faces a major decision in his approach to building (The Athletic)
Other stars’ returns to Detroit haven’t gone well (Detroit Free Press)
Foligno, Lehner, Thornton are the 2019 Masterton Trophy finalists (PHT)
Islanders’ Boychuk out 3-4 weeks with lower-body injury (The Score)
Flyers to stop playing Kate Smith’s version of ‘God Bless America’ (NHL)
Why history suggests Lightning shouldn’t ‘blow up’ team after collapse (The Athletic)
HOCKEY WORLD
NCAA announces D1 men’s regional sites for 2020, 2021 (NCAA)
QMJHL: Huskies beat Oceanic to open 3rd-round series (Sportsnet)