The Chicago Blackhawks’ road trip out East didn’t finish the way they had hoped, as a late 3-2 lead quickly became a 4-3 deficit with two goals in 19 seconds from the New Jersey Devils in the third period. With a 5-3 defeat to the Devils, the Blackhawks returned home with a 1-3-0 record during the trip.
Believe it or not, Sunday’s performance was actually a notable improvement from the previous two games in Philadelphia (5-1 loss) and New York Rangers (6-1 loss). Defensively, the Blackhawks’ inexperienced blue line struggled once again, but there were a few sharp offensive outings from significant young players to hang their hats on.
More in the links for the recap and takeaways from a frustrating finish in New Jersey.
Also in Blackhawks news, Jonathan Toews has been enjoying his time in Chicago before battling the Blackhawks on Tuesday, while a goalie prospect had his NCAA season conclude. The OHL playoffs are also going well so far for a few forward prospects.
Around the league, the Golden Knights made a curious coaching change, Porter Martone is en route to Philadelphia, while the Bruins rallied to stun the Blue Jackets.
All that & more in the Daily!
Chicago Blackhawks Recap, News & Trade Rumors
Chicago Hockey Now: With Artyom Levshunov on the mend with a small fracture in his hand, Kevin Korchinski was recalled from the Rockford IceHogs on Sunday morning. Korchinski made his fifth NHL appearance of the season against the Devils.
More CHN: Sustaining late leads has been an issue for the Blackhawks all season long. The inability to close out games cost them again in New Jersey on Sunday, as they allowed two goals in 19 seconds in the third period en route to a 5-3 loss. Chicago blew three separate one-goal leads along the way.
More CHN: On the bright side, Frank Nazar scored twice for his first career multi-goal game, while Anton Frondell tallied two assists for his first career multi-point effort. Not to mention Connor Bedard set a new career high with his 68th point of the season. There were plenty of silver linings from GM Kyle Davidson’s former first-round picks offensively, despite another loss for the Blackhawks.
With the Winnipeg Jets already in town ahead of Tuesday’s tilt at the United Center, the team spent its Sunday at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs took on the Washington Nationals. Former Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews was in attendance and threw out the first pitch while donning a No. 46 Ryan Dempster jersey. Some Canadian on Canadian love.
Toews’ Winnipeg teammates and Team USA Gold Medalists, Kyle Connor and Connor Hellebuyck, were shown on the left-field scoreboard during the game and properly slugged their refreshments. That’s how it’s done at the Friendly Confines, fellas!
In OHL news, Marek Vanacker scored an empty-netter to seal the Brantford Bulldogs 4-2 win over the Sudbury Wolves on Sunday. Brantford now has a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, while Vanacker has three points (1G, 2A) through two games.
Vanacker with the empty-netter
SBY | 2
BFD | 4
— Brantford Bulldogs (@BulldogsOHL) March 29, 2026
In NCAA news, goalie prospect Adam Gajan and Minnesota-Duluth were defeated 4-3 by the Michigan Wolverines in the Regional Final on Sunday, putting an end to their season. Gajan finishes his sophomore year with a 19-13-1 record, a 2.25 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage, and two shutouts in 33 appearances for the Bulldogs. Michigan, Denver, Wisconsin, and North Dakota are heading to the Frozen Four in Las Vegas.
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
The Athletic: Uhhh… say what now? With just over two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Vegas Golden Knights decided that this was the proper time to make a coaching change. Out with Bruce Cassidy, and… BY GAWD, IS THAT JOHN TORTORELLA’S MUSIC?!
Philly Hockey Now: With Michigan State falling to Wisconsin in the NCAA Regional Final over the weekend, Porter Martone is now NHL-bound. The Philadelphia Flyers signed their 2025 first-round pick to his entry-level contract.
More Philly Hockey Now: Speaking of the Flyers, a recent report surfaced suggesting that extension talks have picked up with 25-year-old forward Trevor Zegras, which should come as no surprise. Zegras has resurrected his career since being traded from Anaheim.
Boston Bruins: Epic comeback from the Boston Bruins on Sunday, as they stunned the Columbus Blue Jackets by rallying from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 in a shootout. The B’s now have a six-point cushion as the top Wild Card team in the Eastern Conference with eight games to go.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pittsburgh Penguins are holding on for dear life, currently sitting in the third and final playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division. But with two star players out with injuries, things are starting to get dicey for the Pens. Here’s the latest injury updates on Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Florida Hockey Now: With just two wins in their last eight games, the postseason is out of the picture for the Florida Panthers. As a result, the two-time defending champions have shut down captain Aleksander Barkov for the rest of the season.
NHL.com: The Tampa Bay Lightning took down the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Sunday, with Jake Guentzel (1G, 2A) factoring in on all three goals. With the loss, the Predators hold a one-point lead over the Los Angeles Kings for the final Wild Card playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Seattle Kraken (two points back) and Winnipeg Jets (three points back) are also still in the mix.
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