Slam dunks and a big miss for Vegas

COLOGNE, Germany — Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman has seen the reports and has a message for anyone who thinks his firing of assistant Mike Kitchen was a warning shot directed at coach Joel Quenneville. Speaking with the Sun-Times on Friday at the world hockey championships, Bowman dismissed that notion. ‘‘People think that’s the case, even though there’s no validity to it,’’ said Bowman, a member of the advisory group for the U.S. men’s national team. ‘‘I learned a long time ago that you can’t control what other people are going to think or say. We know what the truth is, and none of that is accurate. But that’s OK. That’s the way it goes.’’ Bowman said he hasn’t set a deadline to replace

Puck Daddy’s Justin Cuthbert makes his playoff picks, Stanley Cup winner, and shares his predictions for the major awards.