Joel Quenneville, Ex-Blackhawks Players Continue To Impact Stanley Cup Playoffs

On Wednesday night, the Montreal Canadiens went up 3-2 in their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Former Chicago Blackhawks third overall pick Kirby Dach scored one of Montreal’s 3 goals in the victory.

Earlier in the series, Marty St. Louis kept Dach in the lineup after a horrific game that included a bad turnover that led to a Lightning overtime winner. Since then, he’s been one of the Canadiens’ most impactful forwards.

On the other side is Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel, who is also a former Chicago Blackhawks forward. Although he didn’t impact the scoresheet in Game 5, he’s been their best player, drawing a lot of attention to the fact that the Blackhawks traded him away.

On Thursday, all four prominent players the Blackhawks traded at the deadline were on the ice for their new teams. One of them had a good night, and the other three went out with a whimper.

First, Nick Foligno and the Minnesota Wild defeated the Dallas Stars 5-2, earning a first-round victory in Game 6 at home. Foligno didn’t have any points while playing on a line with his brother, Marcus, but he was a physical specimen all over the ice for the entire game.

Foligno is more of a depth piece to the Wild than he was as the captain of the Blackhawks. He throws his weight around, brings a sense of urgency on every shift, and provides a steady game in all three zones.

The nightcap was Game 6 between the Anaheim Ducks and the Edmonton Oilers. With a 3-2 series lead, the Ducks had a chance to eliminate Jason Dickinson, Connor Murphy, Colton Dach, and the Oilers.

From the puck drop on, the Ducks were the better team. Eventually, they skated their way to a 5-2 win of their own and will move on to the second round for the first time since 2017.

Connor Murphy scored a goal for the Oilers in Game 6, and it was assisted by Colton Dach. Dickinson almost single-handedly won Game 1 with two goals of his own. The Blackhawks, who moved on to the Oilers, did their job, but it wasn’t enough.

Anaheim’s head coach is former Blackhawks head coach and three-time Stanley Cup champion Joel Quenneville. There are a lot of parallels between what Quenneville has now and what he had when he first got the Blackhawks into the playoffs. He seems to be saying the right things and putting the right systems into place once again.

Even when Quenneville was in Florida, he had the team on the rise. When he left, they kept it going and have been to three straight finals and won two. Now, the Ducks are trying to do something similar.

Stan Bowman, who was Quenneville’s GM for part of his tenure in Chicago, is the GM of the Oilers. Some of his moves have been questionable, and there is now a lot of pressure to make Connor McDavid happy before he packs his bags.

Up next are three Game 6’s on Friday, including the big Canadiens (Kirby Dach) vs Lightning (Brandon Hagel) matchup. Foligno and the Wild will face the Colorado Avalanche in Round 2.

Blackhawks Are Far Away From True Contention In Central Division

Blackhawks Are Far Away From True Contention In Central Division The Chicago Blackhawks are far away from contention in the Central Division.

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