NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 26, 2015

Flyers defeat the Blackhawks, plus updates on David Krejci, Henrik Lundqvist, Nick Leddy, Tanner Pearson, the date for the NHL Draft lottery & more.

Game Recap.

Wayne Simmonds celebrates his goals against the Blackhawks with Andrew MacDonald.

PHILLY.COM: Wayne Simmonds scored his 100th career NHL goal, Claude Giroux got his first even-strength tally on home ice this season and Steve Mason made 34 saves to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. It was former Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen’s first game back in Philadelphia since he was dealt to the Blackhawks. It proved a costly victory for the Flyers, as Simmonds and Andrew MacDonald suffered season-ending injuries.

Notable Headlines.

BOSTON HERALD: David Krejci (knee injury) could suit up tonight for the Boston Bruins against the Anaheim Ducks.

NEW YORK POST: Henrik Lundqvist returns in a backup role tonight as the New York Rangers face off against the Ottawa Senators.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: The FBI is investigating threats made on Twitter against NY Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy.

LOS ANGELES TIMES: Kings forward Tanner Pearson (broken leg) might be returning soon.

SPORTSNET: Sources claims the NHL draft lottery will be held on Saturday, April 18.

TSN: A U.S. federal judge has denied the NHL’s motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit brought against the league by former players over concussion-related injuries. Lawyers representing the players hope to depose league commissioner Gary Bettman on the matter within the next three months.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Depose in this case doesn’t mean removing Bettman from office, but rather the commissioner has testify under oath as part of the lawsuit.

2 Comments

Coachman on March 26, 2015 at 6:26 pm

Heard a great idea about a year ago on Fan590.
To stop tanking for the first overall pick:

The team with the most points AFTER they are officially out of the playoff race receives the first overall pick.
Example. This year the Sabres are now officially out of the playoffs as is Arizona. The winner of tonight’s game receives 2 points as usual while the 2 points earned puts them 2 points closer to picking first overall.
Every game would mean something.
It would make games at the end of the season meaningful. GM’s would think twice about dumping players that can help them earn wins.

geduffer on March 26, 2015 at 7:40 pm

The only problem with that is teams are eliminated at different times. (Cue the jokes about Edmonton and Buffalo being eliminated after the first exhibition game.) Maybe the team with the highest PPG after the deadline that doesn’t make the playoffs gets #1?

Coachman on March 26, 2015 at 6:26 pm

Heard a great idea about a year ago on Fan590.
To stop tanking for the first overall pick:

The team with the most points AFTER they are officially out of the playoff race receives the first overall pick.
Example. This year the Sabres are now officially out of the playoffs as is Arizona. The winner of tonight’s game receives 2 points as usual while the 2 points earned puts them 2 points closer to picking first overall.
Every game would mean something.
It would make games at the end of the season meaningful. GM’s would think twice about dumping players that can help them earn wins.
- geduffer on March 26, 2015 at 7:40 pm
  
  The only problem with that is teams are eliminated at different times. (Cue the jokes about Edmonton and Buffalo being eliminated after the first exhibition game.) Maybe the team with the highest PPG after the deadline that doesn’t make the playoffs gets #1?