NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 25, 2022
Keith Yandle ties the league’s Ironman record, Chris Kreider takes the lead in the goal-scoring race, the Avalanche takes over first overall in the standings, the Canucks hire their first female assistant GM, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle tied the NHL’s Ironman record of 964 consecutive games but his club also tied a franchise record with its 12th straight defeat in a 3-1 loss to the Dallas Stars. Roope Hintz had a goal and an assist and Jake Oettinger made 27 saves as the Stars won their third straight game to sit tied with the Calgary Flames with 44 points.
Philadelphia Flyers defeneman Keith Yandle (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to Yandle, who can break the record tonight against the New York Islanders. It’s the sole bright spot for the Flyers of late, who hold the fourth-worst record (13-21-8, 34 points) in the Eastern Conference.
Speaking of the Flames, they’ve taken over the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference by thumping the St. Louis Blues 7-1. Matthew Tkachuk collected a career-high five assists while Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and three helpers for Calgary, who hold two games in hand over the Stars and five games over the San Jose Sharks, who also have 44 points.
New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider scored his league-leading 30th goal of the season as his club beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2. Adam Fox tallied the winning goal in a shootout while teammate Artemi Panarin picked up two assists for the Rangers, who sit atop the Metropolitan Division with 60 points and are just one back of the Eastern Conference-leading Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. The Kings, meanwhile, slip to third in the Pacific Division with 48 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Rangers played without Kaapo Kakko as the 20-year-old winger is listed as week-to-week with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Filip Chytil also missed this game as he’s day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
The Colorado Avalanche extended its home winning streak to 16 games and its points streak to 13 by blanking the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0. Pavel Francouz turned in a 23-save shutout while Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen were the goal scorers. With 61 points, the Avalanche sits atop the Western Conference and has taken over first place in the overall standings.
Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and an assist and Hampus Lindholm collected three assists as the Anaheim Ducks downed the Boston Bruins 5-3. With the win, the Ducks slipped ahead of the Kings into second place in the Pacific with 49 points. David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist for the Bruins, who hold the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot with 50 points. Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk missed this game with an undisclosed injury and is considered day-to-day.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask did not look sharp in this game as he struggles to shake off the rust from his lengthy absence recovering from offseason hip surgery. He’s won two of his four starts but gave up five goals in each of his losses and has a 4.29 goals-against average and .844 save percentage after four games.
Robin Lehner made 34 saves and Michael Amadio scored the only goal as the Vegas Golden Knights shut out the Washington Capitals 1-0. It was the seventh straight road victory for Vegas, who remains atop the Pacific Division with 52 points. The Capitals hold the first wild-card berth in the East with 55 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lehner had a frightening moment in the second period when a slapshot by Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin broke the cage of his mask, forcing him to use the mask he wore last season as a backup. “It was probably the hardest shot I have ever taken to the head,” said Lehner. It was a little scary, as I felt the cage bend…”
The Minnesota Wild extended their points streak to seven games by crushing the Montreal Canadiens 8-2. Nico Sturm had a goal and two assists while Kirill Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello, Jared Spurgeon and Kevin Fiala were among eight Wild to finish the night with two points. Canadiens center Christian Dvorak left the game after a high hit by Spurgeon in the first period and didn’t pass the concussion protocol.
HEADLINES
THE PROVINCE: The Vancouver Canucks made franchise history as Emilie Castonguay become the club’s first female assistant general manager. Castonguay had previously made history by becoming the first female NHLPA-certified player agent in 2016. She played NCAA Division 1 hockey in her youth and holds degrees in law and finance.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to Castonguay, who was also under consideration for the role of general manager of the Montreal Canadiens before they hired player agent Kent Hughes last week.
NHL.COM: New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider, St. Louis Blues goaltender Ville Husso and San Jose Sharks winger Timo Meier were the NHL’s three stars for the week ending Jan 23, 2022.
TRIBLIVE.COM: Pittsburgh Penguins forward Teddy Blueger will be sidelined six-to-eight weeks following surgery to repair a fractured jaw.
DAILY FACEOFF: The International Ice Hockey Federation accidentally leaked Canada’s roster for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics before Hockey Canada’s official reveal today. Former NHLers include Eric Staal, Jason Demers, David Desharnais and Mark Barbeiro. 2021 NHL first-overall pick Owen Power and third-overall pick Mason McTavish are also on the roster.
RAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHSSSSKKKK!!!!!! You stink! I liked you better on injury reserve, your grade thus far D going for an F minus. Let him ride the pine for while or stick him down in providence for a few games. He’s been horrible!
“Christian Dvorak left the game after a high hit by Spurgeon in the first period and didn’t pass the concussion protocol.”
No penalty on the play despite the clear headshot and no hearing with the DOP announced yet.
The wild completely dominated the Habs and the play had no bearing on the game but if the refs won’t make the calls a little retribution would be nice.
Similar on the Bluger injury. Dillon leaves his skates and squashes Blueger’s face to the glass. Blood pouring out of his mouth. Surgery. No penalty, no hearing.
Emilie Castonguay? What a joke …
Keith Yandle? a bigger joke
Bruins fans? the biggest joke … ever
Beg for Rask and now want him exiled … same tissue, different day.
Using boring insults to prop up your ego again this morning Ed? Not a good look. At least try and have some wit.
I would bet a $100 that Ms. Castonguay would have skated circles around you when you both played, unless of course you didn’t.
She would also whip your butt in anything else involving hockey, finance or law as she has a degree in both. Interned with the Habs, was a player agent since 2016. Including LAF with the Rangers as the most notable.
Seems kind of, what’s the right word… qualified?
I believe Emilie is a token appointment. Get busy Sweeney your job depends on it. How long do you have to wait to make a move?! Sweeney is the worst gm in Bruin history.
Seems kind of, what’s the right word…qualified?
I love this statement. Kind of closes the book on the haters.
Ed’s mad at Yandle , he broke Kris Letangs iron man game streak on his 4th conservative game.
I’m just hoping Kessel ends up getting the record.
That was kinda funny co. And I would love to see kessel celebrate the record with a hot dog party.
True that Chrisms, and have it in front of Steve Simmons house.
The “experts” pontificating about the Habs never getting anywhere till they choose the best man as GM and/or coach must be scratching their heads about the Castonguay hire, the Ducks refusal to let Madden interview, the upcoming Darche interview and the Hughes hire.
A number of French speaking hires chosen for their abilities.
I think the idea or point is, they may be good hires but where they the best choice?
When they win, yes but when they fail, no, regardless of any sense or logic.
First, just to be clear, there is only one “expert” on this site and that is you. I am truly humbled. You had posted a while back that Castonguay should be considered for Habs GM – she was hired as an asst GM in Vancouver, so no, I am not scratching my head. With no NHL experience it would be foolish to give her an NHL team to manage- evidently Montreal and Vancouver both agree. None of the other names you mentioned, have received a GM position to date. Darche got an interview in Montreal and the team of Molson, Gainey and Gorton passed on him. Lastly, as I said before, the actual GM of the Habs is Gorton until Hughes gets enough knowledge and experience to do the job himself. In the mean time, he will be able to communicate Gorton’s plan in French so everyone is happy!
Ron Moore,
The point is that the very same people who were discounted on account of meeting Habs criteria have either been hired or are being strongly considered by others.
The Habs were purportedly looking for both a GM and ASM after the Gorton hire.
Three of the names bandied about were Madden Jr, Darche and Castonguay, all three of whom are held in high esteem by Canucks,and the Ducks, not just the Habs.
Rumor has it that Kent Hughes sold his share of his agency for $300 million, not chump change or puppet money.
No one is being discounted by me. The only people being discounted are those who do not speak French and seek a GM or coaching position with the Canadiens. See, other organizations interview all suitable candidates and then pick the best candidate and the Habs interview only those suitable candidates who speak French. So Ron Moore is absolutely correct – are they the best hires?
Lehner’s experience makes me think that teams might have refused to take the ice against Ovechkin if he’d played 40-50 years ago.
@Francis S……actually if Ovechkin was playing 40-50 yrs ago and he purposely nailed a goalies head he’d be the one being carted off the ice. Hockey was different back then.
Francis S.
There were goalies facing Bobby Hull who weren’t wearing masks, same for Boom Boom, both considered among the hardest shooters in the game.
Ovechkin has a great shot but not as heavy as Iafrate, Weber, MacInnis or Chara.
Not to mention that the banana blades used at that time made the puck rise or dip unpredictably.
Hulls shot was definitely scary.
A couple of Bruins Observations: missed the first period but watched the Oscar Steen hit.
Why they changed it from a 5 minute major to a 2 min minor, i dont know but should’ve stayed a 5 min major.
For Steen if making that hit you need to answer the bell; but refused several invitations.
When you refused instead of having the incident dealt with; you worried the whole game, checking over your shoulders, doing none of the things that got you a regular spot in the lineup.
In away it was like you got a game misconduct. Stand up take you lumps and move on.
Or is that to old school?
No, not too old school Caper.
Seems about right.
There was nothing wrong with the Steen hit. Plenty wrong with Rask, they can not afford to play this guy till he gets to near normal, he was dreadful against Carolina, even worse against Anaheim, two easy stops and he blew it. You’re giving away points at this time of the year. Bruins brass should have sent Rask to Providence to begin with it, Idiots. What is the hold this guy has over management, whatever Rask wants he gets.