NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 24, 2021
Recaps of Friday’s action, Dylan Larkin and Jakob Silfverberg are done for the season, P.K. Subban confirms COVID-19 diagnosis, Joe Thornton fined, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: The Calgary Flames kept their fading playoff hopes alive by doubling up the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. Sean Monahan scored the winning goal and collected two assists as the Flames (43 points) sit six points behind the fourth-place Canadiens in the Scotia North Division. Flames winger Josh Leivo missed the game after landing on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list while Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin was sidelined by an illness unrelated to COVID-19.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It remains to be seen if Leivo has the coronavirus or if this was a false positive. The rest of the Flames and their staff tested negative. They must sweep the next two games against Montreal to have a realistic chance of staying in the postseason chase.
Buffalo Sabres winger Sam Reinhart (NHL Images).
Sam Reinhart tallied a hat trick and goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 36 saves in his NHL debut as the Buffalo Sabres upset the Boston Bruins 6-4. Boston captain Patrice Bergeron missed the game with a suspected lower-body injury. The Bruins hold fourth place in the MassMutual East Division with 60 points.
The New York Rangers gained some ground on Boston with a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Pavel Buchnevich and Alexis Lafreniere each had a goal and an assist to give the Rangers 54 points, putting them six back of the Bruins.
A two-goal performance by rookie Kirill Kaprizov carried the Minnesota Wild to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Cam Talbot kicked out 40 shots for the win as the Wild (63 points) move within three points of the second-place Colorado Avalanche in the Honda West Division. The Kings (40 points) remain five points behind the fourth-place Arizona Coyotes.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kaprizov leads all NHL rookies with 21 goals and 40 points. He’s played a key role in the Wild’s solid performance and is the favorite to win the Calder Memorial Trophy this season.
Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros made 29 saves backstopping his club over the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1. The Predators sit in fourth place in the Discover Central Division with 54 points, sitting four up on the Dallas Stars and five ahead of the Blackhawks.
HEADLINES
THE DETROIT NEWS: Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin will miss the remainder of the regular season with an upper-body injury. He’s currently their leading scorer with 23 points in 44 games.
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: Anaheim Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg underwent season-ending hip surgery and is expected to be sidelined for four-to-six months. He could miss the start of training camp in September.
TSN: New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban took to social media Friday to confirm he’s dealing with COVID-19. He said the coronavirus “hit me pretty hard” but expects to be “back in the mix soon.” He thanked his supporters for their well-wishes, telling them to take care of themselves.
THE WASHINGTON POST: Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He could miss today’s game against the New York Islanders.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Stars head coach Rick Bowness is hopeful Tyler Seguin will make a return to play next week after being sidelined since the fall by hip surgery. However, he maintained he won’t rush the center’s decision to return.
SPORTSNET: Toronto Maple Leafs forward Joe Thornton was fined $3,017.24 by the NHL department of player safety for interfering with Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault on Thursday.
TSN: Leafs defenseman Zach Bogosian is out for four weeks with an injured shoulder.
YAHOO! SPORTS: WWE executive Nick Khan said it’s his company’s belief that the partnership between NBC and the NHL could end following this season. The remarks came in response to a question over whether the shuttering of NBCSN might create scheduling conflicts between WWE and the NHL on USA Network.
The NHL’s contract with NBC expires at the end of this season. ESPN has a new deal in place with the league for most of its US broadcast coverage. There’s speculation Disney, ESPN’s parent company, is in the process of working out a deal for the entire NHL slate.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: There was talk of the NHL making a deal with NBC or another media company like Fox Sports or Turner Sports to split its coverage with ESPN. That could no longer be the case if Khan’s remarks are anything to go by.
YUCK!! Rask was brutal but he didn’t get much help. Start Swayman Sunday! Glad to see Hall contributing. He seems to have woken up. They looked like a tired hockey club Friday. Keep Blidh out of the lineup he’s not even a good ahl player. Gone from Providence next yr Zach, Blidh useless
I can’t stand Rask. Never could. Never will. I’d have preferred if Don moved him at the deadline. Now he’ll only garner a pick if he’s moved after the season, or worse yet, nothing at all.
For my money Rask is a top notch reg season goalie but in the playoffs he always falters, philly, chi. Etc leaving the team in the lurch last year. I hate the guy I know they could easily have gotten a first rounder for him if they traded him at the deadline. Swayman will carry the load this kid is not a flash in the pan.
Task was the only reason Boston got past Pittsburgh several years back in the conf final. And no way he got a first. Goalies in general don’t garner that kind of value.
Rick, why do you hate a guy who had to choose between a medical emergency for his daughter and leaving the bubble?
If it was a regular playoff, he would have been back and missed a game or 2. Unfortunate circumstances more than anything. Hate is a big word for this situation don’t ya think?
Here is a section of the reporting that cuts to the chase:
“I can tell you that he got a phone call in the bubble from his wife, because there was a medical emergency with their daughter. Basically the kind of situation where I believe Tuukka Rask did what every parent would do and was obviously very concerned. It was suggested they seek medical help. Without revealing what that was, because I think I probably should leave that to him — he did tell me — as a father of two kids, I would be panicked and alarmed upon hearing that about a young kid.”
More kleenex for Bruins fans please …
Hahaha! Good one! Do another! How about something with Laturnover!
🙂 – broken record, ain’t he?
In other news the Leafs are a dirty team. Well that’s what you call a team known to be easy to play against or pillow soft, after it stands up for itself and do not gracefully accept being pushed around any more.
Hot take.
I think they’re pretty far removed from being a dirty team. Who, other than some folks in Winnipeg is saying that they’re dirty?
Ahh, ignore that crap Ron. Calling someone like Thornton and especially Hyman “dirty” is ludicrous.
Hyman isn’t dirty, but he makes sure he finishes, hard. I like him.
So do I. With tons of cap space I hope Dorion goes hard after him with an offer ($ and term) that Dubas will be hard pressed to match. I can’t believe he won’t at least wait to see what other teams will be offering before jumping on the Leafs offer … it’s his one big chance at solidifying his future to be a UFA at this age and capability.
I certainly don’t buy into suggestions that he’d leave millions on the table just to re-up with Toronto. Nor would the NHLPA look kindly on any such “sweetheart hometown” deal to save the Leafs some cap. That just defeats the entire bargaining process that they fought to achieve.
He’d be remiss if he didn’t test he waters, that’s for sure. He’d be a fine fit in Ottawa. I believe he’s more than a one trick pony. Strong leadership skills and a hard nose approach to the game. Sheesh. Who wouldn’t want him? I’ll guess he signs a multi years deal for Josh Anderson money…….maybe a little more or less, depending on the term.
Ron Moore,
Yeah it’s a terrible problem for my non-contact Maple Leafs. They will have to get rid of Simmonds and Thornton in the off season like they did with Kadri…that being said both hits were “heady” and deserved calls. On an aside it is interesting that Thornton is the buds’ leading hitter. Go Dirty Leafs Go!
What I find hard to fathom is how guys like Thornton – 6′ 4″ and up – are supposed to deliver hits on the league’s smurfs without coming into contact with the head.