NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 18, 2021

by | Mar 18, 2021 | News, NHL | 7 comments

Recaps of Wednesday’s action features a record-tying performance by Mika Zibanejad and three-point performances from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, plus the latest on Anders Lee, Robin Lehner, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Mika Zibanejad tied an NHL record with six points in the second period as his New York Rangers crushed the Philadelphia Flyers 9-0. Zibanejad had a natural hat trick and collected three assists. Teammate Pavel Buchnevich enjoyed a four-point performance (including two goals) during that period. Alexandar Georgiev picked up the shutout with 26 saves. The loss leaves the Flyers (31 points) three points behind the fourth-place Boston Bruins in the MassMutual East Division.

New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (NHL Images).

The Rangers also accomplished this feat with their entire coaching staff missing the game due to COVID-19 protocols. Hartford Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblach, associate coach Gord Murphy and assistant general manager Chris Drury were behind the bench for this game.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hey, maybe the Rangers should stick with those replacements even if the current coaching staff is cleared to return. Don’t change the luck, right? (Insert winky face emoji here).

Edmonton Oilers stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each had three points in a 7-3 drubbing of the Calgary Flames, handing the latter their first defeat under new head coach Darryl Sutter. Oilers defenseman Tyson Barrie collected four helpers. The Oilers remain in third place in the Scotia North Division with 38 points while the Flames (31 points) are three points behind the fourth-place Montreal Canadiens.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: With 56 points in 32 games, McDavid sits seven points ahead of Draisaitl in the scoring race. Chicago’s Patrick Kane is third with 42 points. If McDavid remains healthy, he’s assured of winning the Art Ross Trophy.

Speaking of the Canadiens (34 points), they dropped a 4-3 decision to the Winnipeg Jets on an overtime goal by Nikolaj Ehlers. The Habs overcame a 3-1 deficit to force the extra frame on third-period goals by Brendan Gallagher and Tyler Toffoli. Kyle Connor scored twice and Pierre-Luc Dubois had three assists for the Jets (38 points) as they maintained their hold on second place in the North Division, two points back of the first-place Toronto Maple Leafs.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canadiens are 0-5 in overtime and 0-3 in shootouts this season.

A four-goal third period rallied the Vegas Golden Knights over the San Jose Sharks 5-4 for their fourth straight victory. Shea Theodore had a goal and two assists for Vegas while Evander Kane replied for the Sharks with a goal and two helpers. With 41 points, the Golden Knights sit in first place in the Honda West Division with a four-point lead over the Minnesota Wild.

The Los Angeles Kings rode a three-goal first period to a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist as the Kings (30 points) moved to within three points of the fourth-place Blues in the West Division. The Blues have dropped five straight contests.

A shootout goal by Adam Gaudette gave the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Thatcher Demko made 30 saves for the win. The Senators overcame a 2-0 deficit to force overtime and the shootout but goalie Joey Daccord left the game in the third period with an apparent injury to his left knee. The Canucks (32 points) are one point behind the Canadiens in the North Division. Earlier in the day, they claimed forward Jimmy Vesey off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs while the Senators claimed goalie Anton Forsberg from the Jets.

HEADLINES

SPORTSNET: The New York Islanders announced captain Anders Lee is sidelined for the remainder of the season as he undergoes surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Isles also placed Lee on long-term injury reserve, meaning they can use his $7 million cap hit to bring in a player or two by the April 12 trade deadline.

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Sidelined Stars Tyler Seguin and Ben Bishop still aren’t close to practicing with their teammates. Seguin underwent hip surgery on Nov. 2 while Bishop had knee surgery on Oct. 21. It’s expected they could return by mid-April.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: That won’t be in time to save the Stars’ season. With 25 points in 25 games, they’re eight points behind the fourth-place Chicago Blackhawks in the Central Division. They hold five games in hand on the Blackhawks but they must start stringing some wins together soon.

SPORTSNET: Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner revealed he suffered a concussion that kept him out of the lineup since the second week of February. He chose to disclose the injury to combat baseless rumors that his absence was linked to the mental health issues he revealed back in September 2018.

I said this many times before, without going on a rant, the stigma around mental health is insane,” said Lehner. He spoke about the difficulty it creates for people struggling to make progress with those issues. “I think I should get the benefit of the doubt because I’ve been honest with it. If I had those issues again, which are not happening, I would be honest about it.”

TWINCITIES.COM: Minnesota Wild defenseman Carson Soucy received a one-game suspension by the league for a high hit on Arizona Coyotes forward Conor Garland.







7 Comments

  1. Zibanejad scored the first 1-on-4 goal that I can remember seeing.

    Pitiful effort by Philly. I thought the goalies did relatively well, considering. It probably could have been 14-0.

    • In another thread I wondered if they had dressed their ECHL team. Even the Sabres, Senators and Red Wings haven’t been on the receiving end of that kind of s&^t-kicking!

    • 9 goals on 29 shots

      I guess Mika is back finally

  2. Those temporary coaches for the Rangers deserve another shot and, wow, when the Flames have a down game, they don’t mess around.
    Bag skates coming up in Philly and Calgary.

    • Include the Philly coaches in that bag skate! Therrien and Yeo have got to do a better job with the defense and pp/pk.

  3. A solid comeback last night by the Habs. And then they blow it again in OT. If they had won even half of their 8 OT games they’d be 2 points out of first.
    There’s been much justifiable criticism over player selection in OT. Last night, they started with Danault and Byron. I get that Byron is a great skater and Danault is their top face off guy, but they each have only 2 goals. For 3 on 3, you have to put out better offensive players than them.

    • Danault has played like a 4th liner this year … he would love to have signed that earlier 5 year $30MIL offer at the beginning of the season … if I’m Bergy I let him walk and go after RNH hard & heavy …