NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 23, 2021
Recaps from Friday’s action, the Columbus Blue Jackets are trying to trade Pierre-Luc Dubois, the latest notable injury updates and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: Anton Khudobin had a 34-shot shutout as the Dallas Stars crushed the Nashville Predators 7-0. The Stars tallied a franchise-record five power-play goals in their season-opener which had been delayed nearly two weeks due to a spread of COVID-19 among several players. Alexander Radulov and Joe Pavelski each scored twice for the Stars but captain Jamie Benn left the game with a lower-body injury following an awkward collision with Nashville’s Viktor Arvidsson in the second period. The club provided no update on Benn’s status following the game.
Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn sidelined during season-opening win over the Nashville Predators (NHL Images).
The Washington Capitals edged the Buffalo Sabre 4-3 on a shootout goal by John Carlson. Jakub Vrana had a goal and an assist for the Capitals but they also lost rugged winger Tom Wilson to a lower-body injury. The Caps were playing without Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and Ilya Samsonov as the four were recently placed on their COVID-19 absence list. Sabres rookie Dylan Cozens tallied his first career NHL goal.
Kris Letang netted the game-winner in a shootout as the Pittsburgh Penguins overcame a 3-1 deficit to nip the New York Rangers 4-3. Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry made 31 saves for his first win of the season. Former Charlottetown Islanders defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph collected an assist in his NHL debut with the Penguins.
Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares broke a 2-2 tie with a third-period power-play goal in a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers. The Leafs were playing without Auston Matthews and Joe Thornton. Matthews (upper-body) isn’t expected to be sidelined for long but Thornton (fractured rib) will be out for at least a month.
The Chicago Blackhawks picked up their first victory of the season by downing the Detroit Red Wings 4-1. Blackhawks goaltender Kevin Lankinen kicked out 30 shots for his first career NHL win while Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist.
San Jose Sharks goaltender Devan Dubnyk lost his first game against his former club as the Minnesota Wild picked up a 4-1 win. Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway each had a goal and an assist for the Wild while Kaapo Kakhonen got the win after replacing sidelined starter Cam Talbot, who left the game with a lower-body injury. It’s uncertain how long Talbot could be sidelined but he’s expected to miss Sunday’s rematch.
The Arizona Coyotes spoiled the Vegas Golden Knights’ home-opener with a 5-2 victory to snap the latter’s four-game season-opening win streak. Conor Garland led the way for the Coyotes with a goal and two assists. Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta (undisclosed) missed the game but will rejoin his teammates for Tuesday’s match against the Anaheim Ducks.
HEADLINES
**UPDATE**
Boom. Told that the Blue Jackets are also sending a third-round pick to Winnipeg as part of this blockbuster deal. https://t.co/ZtyyhiV5aP
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) January 23, 2021
TSN: Darren Dreger last night reported the Columbus Blue Jackets are closing in on a trade involving Pierre-Luc Dubois. The 22-year-old center requested a trade earlier this month and was benched for most of Thursday’s games against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Dreger reports the Winnipeg Jets are the front-runners, although nothing is done yet. He speculates Patrik Laine or Jack Roslovic could be part of this deal as both players requested trades from the Jets. Dreger feels a trade could be done before the end of this weekend, perhaps as early as Saturday.
Pierre LeBrun points out Roslovic, a Columbus native, would be a natural fit with the Blue Jackets. He also reports the Anaheim Ducks and Montreal Canadiens appear to be among the other interested clubs.
The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline tweeted Dubois was informed he’ll be a healthy scratch for Saturday’s rematch against the Lightning, assuming he’s still on the team by then.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was assumed Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen preferred to retain Dubois for the remainder of this season and attempt to trade the center in the offseason. Dubois’ benching on Thursday, however, appears to have created an untenable situation that cannot be allowed to fester any longer. I’ll have more about this in the Rumors section.
Speaking of Laine, he’s nursing an upper-body injury and was placed on injured reserve yesterday by the Jets. Nate Thompson (lower body) was also placed on IR.
OTTAWA SUN: Senators rookie Tim Stuetzle could return to the lineup today against the Jets after missing the last two games with an undisclosed ailment.
USA TODAY: NBC Universal will reportedly shut down its main sports channel (NBCSN) at the end of 2021. NBC owns the NHL’s national broadcast rights in the United States, with most of the league’s game televised on NBCSN. The league’s deal with the network expires at the end of this season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The NHL intended to shop around for a new broadcasting deal this summer. If they stay with NBC, their games would be shown on USA Network, which goes into more homes than NBCSN currently does.
A deal around Laine and Dubois makes most sense, but. I get feeling Laine won’t sign long term in Columbus and that could be deal breaker. Roslovic won’t get it done. Not for PLD. Maybe in a separate deal. Also get feeling that with reports, a bidding war has been created behind the scenes. I still say don’t count out Rangers. With one of the top prospect pools, center depth is sketchy. They are loaded with young d men and wingers. Strome is off to rough start, although I never thought he was as good as his Panarin inflated numbers.
Whew… Leafs eked it out 👍👍. There were patches of really exciting hockey for both teams; but sporadic…. then again … my liking is for a high scoring game
Like the comeback for Pens. Would love a regulation win; but a win is a win. Thank you Quinn for playing JJ …huge help in the win 👍👍. Please play JJ tons O’ minutes next game🙏🤞
Rust had a fantastic game👍👍
Pens need Zucker to get out of this awful slump. He is playing awful. He can neither receive or give an effective pass and he keeps panicking and dumping quickly handing over possession. Hoping this is just rust (no exhibition games and short training camp) that he has to shake off; and that this will happen very soon…. or trade him
Knights finally lose. Lehner looked a tad out of sorts; but Coyotes were flying
Still think it’s VGK or Avs that will be playing in SCF
Pengy…..
I got Colorado/ Toronto SCF
Leafs will need a Dman or two to get there
Hi Joe
Yep can see Avs in SCF for sure… it will come down to their goaltending if they want to beat out VGKs
I’ve been a Leaf fan for over 5 decades
I just can’t see them getting there
As at now I don’t see them winning the CanDiv. To me Habs are better:
No ifs ands or buts Habs are way better in net
Habs D is better (not by as much as in goal; but better)
Leafs top 4 Fwds… for sure
Leafs top2 lines… most likely
But Habs more balanced 4 lines vs Leafs 4 lines…. Habs have the Advantage
Habs better team
We’ll see if GMMB does go for PLD…. he’d (Bergevin) have to give to get and then would be down those assets AND PLD (for quarantine…. that’s prob 5 games)
To me as at now…. Habs win CanDiv
… but also as at now, Habs or Leafs are not better than Bolts or VGK or Avs and they’ll likely have to go through one of them (as their Div winners) to get to SCF
As at now I can’t figure out who will come out of the “old” Metro Div …. ‘course I hope for Pens but that is looking right now like a long shot
I am a Hab fan so don’t be to mad with my comment . I don’t think the Leafs even make the playoffs let alone go to the cup final .
Montreal, Calgary, Winnipeg and Edmonton are my guesses for the playoffs but have been wrong many times lol . Cheers guys
Also no way the Jets send both for PLD and not get something big in return not sure what that would be ?
As I’m sipping my morning coffee I’m begging Sweeney/Neely to trade for PLD
Would certainly help Bruins Joe, agree
What’s the offer (if Sweeney/Neely arise from slumber)?
Start with DeBrusk and keep adding until they say yes
Debrusk? Laughable … but nice try
I know other assets (prospects/picks) may have go both ways but Laine/Roslovic for Dubois/Werenski would help both clubs immediately. Clb would be short a 1st line centre but they are not going to get one anyway/anywhere for Dubois. Wpg would have to play for 2 weeks without Duboid and Werenski. Contract extensions would have to be worked out. Never say never
Werenski??? C’mon man, you are delusional …
Who would want to play in Columbus or Winnepeg?Both revolving doors with examples being in columbus being Panarin,Duchene,bobrovsky and Winnepeg Byfulin,Trouba.That and the fact of the tax situation and the 14 day quarantine period in Canada makes deals tough to complete.I don t see Laine staying long term in Columbus,or PLD staying long term in Winnepeg.
It’s certainly entertaining looking at comments today which were made before Pierre-Luc Dubois experienced Christmas in January which was 11 months early this year. Congrats and best wishes to PLD! And when things get touch in your future, just remember … at least you’re not having to play with childish tortorella as your coach!