NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 16, 2021

by | Nov 16, 2021 | News, NHL | 17 comments

Jarome Iginla and Marian Hossa are among the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2020 inducted on Monday, COVID-19 derails the Senators schedule, Alex Ovechkin tops the three stars of the week and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: Jarome Iginla and Marian Hossa were among the six inductees of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s class of 2020 on Monday. Kevin Lowe and Doug Wilson were the other notable former NHL players to be inducted. Canadian women’s hockey star Kim St. Pierre was also inducted into the players’ category while Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland was inducted into the builders’ category.

Jarome Iginla, Marian Hossa and Kevin Lowe are among the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020. (NHL.com).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to the HHoF Class of 2020. Their induction ceremony was delayed a year due to COVID-19. The pandemic also meant there would be no inductees for 2021 as the decision was made to allow last year’s class to enjoy the same ceremony as those of previous classes.

OTTAWA SUN: The NHL has postponed the Senators’ three games this week due to the outbreak of COVID-19 that has sidelined 10 players and assistant coach Jack Capuano. The expectation is the Senators will return to action next Monday against the Colorado Avalanche.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The NHL is the first major North American sports league to postpone games this season. This recent outbreak among the Senators reached the point where the club depleted their AHL affiliate calling up replacements. The San Jose Sharks endured a recent outbreak that sidelined seven players and head coach Bob Boughner but it didn’t reach the point where they could no longer call up replacements from the minors.

Everyone on the Senators and Sharks was fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Breakthrough infections, however, can still occur, especially among athletes in close contact with each other despite protocols to limit the spread. The NHL’s protocols had been loosened for this season as COVID restrictions eased throughout North America.

The Senators will make up those postponed games at later dates. Whether this leads to any tightening of the NHL’s COVID protocols remains to be seen.

Washington Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin, Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, and Anaheim Ducks winger Troy Terry were the NHL’s three stars for the week ending Nov. 14, 2021.

GAME RECAPS

Brayden Point had a goal and an assist and Victor Hedman collected two assists to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders, handing the latter their third straight loss. The Lightning has won six of their last 10 games while the Islanders (5-5-2) sit at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s been an uneven start for the Isles. They were projected to be a Stanley Cup contender after reaching the Eastern Conference Final in 2020 and the semifinal last season.

The Columbus Blue Jackets overcame 2-0 and 3-2 deficit to beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-3. Yegor Chinakhov tied the game for the Jackets with his first career NHL goal and Zach Werenski tallied the game-winner. Red Wings forwards Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond each had a goal and an assist.

IN OTHER NEWS…

NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA: Two days after returning from injury, Flyers defenseman Ryan Ellis is once again sidelined by a lingering lower-body injury. His status is listed as week-to-week.

COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: Avalanche forward J.T. Compher will be sidelined for approximately a month with an upper-body injury.

WASHINGTON POST’s Samantha Pell reports Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby won’t face supplemental discipline for throwing Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary into the boards during Sunday’s game.

VEGAS HOCKEY NOW: Golden Knights forward William Carrier entered COVID protocol while defenseman Alec Martinez remains sidelined after suffering a facial laceration requiring 50 stitches in last Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Wild.

ARIZONA REPUBLIC: Coyotes forwards Christian Fischer and Dmitrij Jaskin were placed on injured reserve while Johan Larsson entered COVID protocol.

TSN: The St. Louis Blues placed forward Kyle Clifford on waivers.







17 Comments

  1. Jerome Iginla should get into the HHF on class alone. Kevin Lowe should get in for causing Brian Burke to theatrically blow a gasket, and Marian Hossa should get in, well, just because he’s itching to get in!

    • Nice

    • Good one Strider!

  2. I don’t know if these players were all symptomatic but if the players were vaccinated they should not undergo asymptomatic testing.

  3. Congrats Iggy, Kim, Marion, Kevin, Doug and Ken

    Well earned

    Iggy was one of my favourite players

    Question to those on here with medical backgrounds (Chrism et al) re recent breakthrough outbreaks…

    I fully understand that if there is a breakthrough case on a team…. Players are in very close contact and susceptible to exposure. What I don’t understand is the very high numbers of breakthrough cases. I thought that the rates for the lowest vaxxes …. JP& J and Astro Zeneca were mid sixties percent…. 10 plus players and coaching staff…. That’s much lower rates of protection and would assume that entire team (or most of team) took either J&J or AZ?

    Those players are obviously much much closer to many more people than I; and they are in close contact without masks…. Again understandable. The breakthrough rate , to me, is astonishing

    I’m just waiting for Ford to give the nod on boosters for those now 60

    Re Sid and no supplementary….This was the opportunity for Parros to step up…. Forget about his misses in the past… give Sid a suspension… and continue with all thereafter…. the result would be reduction in head shots, hits from behind through the boards, nut spears, cross checks to face and neck; etc, etc. Parros continues his inconsistencies, endangering careers and possibly lives

    I’m in no way defending Sid for his actions…. But the boundaries of acceptable behaviour (no penalty) had been grossly pushed throughout the game to that point. Had the game been called as it should to that point (both Pens and Caps got away with crap) ; then IMHO, Sid’s likelihood of doing his “rag doll” is much much lower

    What Parros has now done (with no suspension on Sid); is to load up ammunition for Wilson , Hathaway, Ovi , et al for next game against Pens…. One or more of them will come headhunting ; fully expecting no recourse

    To the Walkom…. You have the power to discipline or suspend your guys for letting games get out of hand; grossly missing calls; or subjectively showing bias in a game…. Lay the law down

    To Bettman…. Fire Parros …. and potentially save someone’s NHL career or possibly their life

    • No good answer pengy. Just a lot of speculation that doesn’t really address it.

      • Cheers and thanks Chrisms

        Have you been allowed (as a nurse) to get your booster shot yet?

        Ontario is allowing first responders and those over 70 and/or immunocompromised

      • Yup. Three jabs. No COVID. But didn’t prevent the upper respiratory viral infection that has been hanging around for several weeks. Oh the gunk that gets hacked up in the shower each morning.

    • Anyone who thinks the Senators’ situation is an isolated event are whistling past the graveyard. They are merely among the tips of the iceberg (along with SJ to a lesser degree in terms of multiple players affected).

      This is going to get a lot worse – I cannot believe they are still talking about going to China for the Olympics. What they should be doing is to collectively tell that military dictatorship to take a hike!

      You really have to wonder if stupidity itself is a virus.

      • I agree George. My hope is that we see China come apart at the seams before they cause more trouble in the world.

      • You know the 2 most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and Stupidity. I’m with you, George.

    • I finally watched the Sid play in question.
      Was it an obvious penalty, yep. And impossible to miss, so chose not to call it.
      Suspension worthy, not IMO.

      If they start suspending guys for penalties that should have been called during the game, it will be a long line.

      • Not sure what you’re looking at, but definitely a dangerous play. Hopefully Wilson just absolutely destroys him next time around.

        Crosby has got away with more than a few dangerous plays. Maybe it’s time for someone like Wilson to put his career in jeopardy!

      • In my humble opinion, that isn’t a good thing to hope for CaptainNYR4Obvious.
        I’d hope that Wilson stays in his own lane and let’s the stars be stars.

  4. Congrats to all the new hof inductees . I hope in the next year or so we will Don Cheery in before he passes . I get this maybe a hot topic but the guy was a legend on Hockey Night in Canada and deserves to be in the builder catagory

  5. Sammy Blais is likely out for the season. When will the Parros & the DOPS suspend PK Subban for ALL of his dirty trips and slewfoots.

    Some of their decisions are downright head-scratchers.

    • Subban’s body of work this season speaks for itself