NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 13, 2020

by | Feb 13, 2020 | News, NHL | 11 comments

The Canucks retire the numbers of Daniel and Henrik Sedin, David Pastrnak regains the lead in the NHL goal-scoring race, an update on Jay Bouwmeester, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The Vancouver Canucks retired the numbers of future Hall-of-Famers Daniel and Henrik Sedin in a pre-game ceremony before going on to blank the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0. Jacob Markstrom turned in a 49-save shutout while Brandon Sutter had a goal and two assists. With the win, the Canucks (69 points) widened their lead over the Edmonton Oilers atop the Pacific Division by three points. The Blackhawks (58 points) remain six points away from the final Western Conference wild-card spot.

The Vancouver Canucks retired the numbers of Daniel and Henrik Sedin on Wednesday (Photo via NHL.com).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The cermony was a fitting tribute to the two greatest players in Canucks history.

David Pastrnak tallied a hat trick as the Boston Bruins rolled to a 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. With 41 goals, Pastrnak regained the lead in the league goal-scoring race. The Bruins (82 points) opened a three-point lead atop the overall standings over the surging Tampa Bay Lightning, while the fading Canadiens remain seven points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for third in the Atlantic Division. Earlier in the day, the Habs also learned defenseman Shea Weber will be sidelined four-to-six weeks with a lower-body injury.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The lengthy absence of their captain and top defenseman could be the final nail in the coffin for the Canadiens’ playoff hopes.

The Los Angeles Kings snapped a five-game losing skid by upsetting the Calgary Flames 5-3. Cal Petersen kicked out 35 shots while Anze Kopitar collected two assists. The Flames (64 points) cling to the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

HEADLINES

THE SCORE: St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said defenseman Jay Bouwmeester is doing well after suffering a cardiac incident during Tuesday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks. He’s undergoing a battery of tests, but Armstrong said things are looking “very positive.” Medical staff used a defibrillator to revive Bouwmeester after he collapsed on the bench during the first period. The game was subsequently postponed.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Best wishes to Bouwmeester for a speedy recovery.

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS: The Jets agreed to a multi-year contract extension with head coach Paul Maurice. Contract terms weren’t disclosed.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Maurice’s future with the Jets was in doubt after the club’s early exit from the 2019 playoffs and their slow start to this season. However, his efforts to keep the club competitive with a depleted defense corps convinced ownership he remains the right man for the job.

ARIZONA SPORTS: The Coyotes are unsure of the timeline for goaltender Darcy Kuemper’s return. He was scheduled to return to action from a lower-body injury on Monday but reaggravated it during the morning skate.

SPORTSNET: The Edmonton Oilers placed winger James Neal on injured reserve and recalled Tyler Benson from their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.

NEW YORK POST: Islanders forward Casey Cizikas will miss three-to-four weeks with a leg laceration.

TWINCITIES.COM: Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba was fined $5,000.00 by the NHL department of player safety for slashing Vegas Golden Knights winger Ryan Reaves on Tuesday.

TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs re-signed forward Pierre Engvall to a two-year contract extension worth an annual average value of $1.25 million.

SPORTING NEWS: NBC Sports confirmed Jeremy Roenick will not return as their hockey analyst. Roenick was suspended in December for making inappropriate remarks about his co-workers.







11 Comments

  1. IF the Habs were in a better points position – say 3 or 4 back and with the same number of games played – I’d say they might have been a buyer for a D leading up to the deadline.

    But in addition to being 7 back of Toronto, they have to climb over 3 teams to get to the last WC spot – and every one of them has games in hand – Toronto, Columbus and Philadelphia have 2 each and Carolina and Florida each have 3.

    Even teams just behind them could knock them further down – the Rangers sit just 1 point behind with 4 games in hand and Buffalo 3 back with 2 more to play.

    Stick a fork in them.

    • And not helping at all are those ubiquitous 3-pointers – the bane of any sane schedule.

      • so many issues with the points and playoff seeding. Having all the top teams playing each other without re-seeding is crazy, and as a Toronto fan I find it ridiculous that it is basically guaranteed that Toronto will play either Boston, Tampa, Pittsburgh or Washington in the 1st round, the 4 top teams in the league.

      • Hi tb

        with you on this

        …. and it has nothing to do with me being a Leafs and Pens fan…. as a whole …. the playoff format sucks

        With current format the league is set up so that there would is a possibility (I’m not claiming this year; but in general) that a very weak Div qualifies 3 teams that potentially could all be lower in the standings than 6 (or even 7) teams in a much stronger Div

        I get why they can’t do top 16…1 v 16; 2 v 15..,. (potentially massive excessive East West travel)

        But why not limit guaranteed top 2 only in each Div; 4 wildcards each Conf ; 1 v 8 ; 2 v 7 ; re-seed each round…. SC still winner E v Winner W

        Current playoff format will result in a minimum 60 games (all 15 series go only 4) to 105 games (all series …7

        What about (all below includes re-seeding each round)

        Top 2 each Div in automatically ; 8 WC each conference (extra 4 teams make the playoffs)

        Top 2 in each Div; and top 4 WCs each Conference …. get a Bye for round 1

        Round 1 (Best of 3 )…. WC5 v WC8 ; WC 6 v WC7 …. both conferences

        Re-seed

        Round 2 (best of 5) ; in each conference:

        Top Conf. team vs lowest ranked remaining WC ; 2nd overall in Conf v 2nd lowest remaining WC etc

        Re-Seed

        3rd … best of 7

        Re-seed

        4th… Conf finals …. best of 7

        SC …. E winner v W wiiner … just like always…. but best of 9

        Result …. 4 extra teams in playoffs; re-seeding should seriously limit early rounds match-ups of top 4 teams in league

        …. and total play-off games go from now (60-105) to (61-103)….. basically unchanged…. so play-offs fit into exact same time-frame

      • Yes, they need to do something. I get why it is why it is, they want people to be able to do bracket pools, which needs seeding at the beginning, to help drive up interest but it hurts the game.

      • Should have read 6 WC per conf not 10

        The 10 was total number of teams making playoffs in EACH conference…. 4 extra in league making it …. 20 of 32 teams (once Seattle is in)

        Before VGKs joined…. 14 teams missed playoffs

        When Seattle joins; my proposal has just 12 missing the playoffs

      • The central division has been screaming about this for years, glad to see this issue finally getting some attention. It seems as though it was not recognized as an issue until it affected the leafs.

      • Yikes, everyone has been complaining about it for years, not just because it affects Toronto. I mention it now because it affects my team significantly this year but everyone has had issues with it since it came in, but people like to complain about Toronto for no reason I guess.

      • The current playoff format is great. Keeps the early rounds almost as exciting as the later ones. This format is one of the best moves the nhl has made in a long time

    • Good morning

      I hear ya George ..they are in tough …

      If Players that are UFAs are rentals …and commanding multiple pieces starting off with a First round pick then it would seem to me that it may be best that the Habs look to move out Drouin …for the same incentive program !

      He is a locked in contract would be of the same skill set as most of these rental players who are commanding these great sums …this team needs a decent reboot / rebuild …I would also move out Kotkaniemei as well…but that may be an off season thing where as Drouin can be dealt at this deadline !

      If you get that first a top forward and a top 4 D man …in that deal it would be a better direction ..if you need to sweeten the pot just a little bit to capatalize on a better return look to do so !

      I think they should start there …and I also think Beregevin needs to step down ..he is in to deep now to make the proper decisions ,,,drinking his own kool aid so to speak !

  2. Jaybo …. hoping for a speedy and full recovery👍😀

    Pasta Tre …. wow…. that Bolts Bruins series is going to be some kind of fun🥅

    Roenick ….. B-Bye ….. not a fan👋👋

    Habs …. agree with Lyle , Kal El & George …. probably straw that broke the Camel’s back …. unloading is now likely

    Kovy and Scands are sought after; can’t see any calls on Weise or Thompson or Folin

    Recent talk is 3rd for Kovy. Scands effectively was “bought” for a 4th …. in and around the 100th pick

    Would love both on Pens

    Is a 3rd and 4th equal to Legare (Montreal Lad) and depth forward Laffy?

    Pens have space

    🤞🙏