NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 26, 2022
The Blackhawks down the Flyers, the three stars of the week and the Masterton Trophy nominees are revealed, Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner to undergo season-ending surgery, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.
NHL.COM: Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist and Alex DeBrincat matched his career-high with his 41st goal of the season as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the only game on the NHL schedule last night.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Earlier in the day, the Blackhawks announced center Kirby Dach is expected to miss their remaining games of this season due to a shoulder injury.
Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (NHL Images).
Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, Minnesota Wild winger Kevin Fiala and Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick are the three stars for the week ending April 24.
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel and Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf are among the 32 nominees for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. It is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
Other noteworthy nominees include Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin, Florida Panthers winger Anthony Duclair, New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier, New York Islanders defenseman Zdeno Chara, New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider, St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko, San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns, and Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom.
The full list can be seen at this link. Three finalists will be chosen with the winner announced between Games 3 and 4 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to all the nominees. Each of them are worthy candidates for the Masterton Trophy.
The eight Eastern Conference clubs that qualified for the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs made history. It’s the first time eight teams in the same conference each reached 100 points in a single season.
DAILY FACEOFF: The Vegas Golden Knights announced goaltender Robin Lehner will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. Frank Seravalli first reported on Lehner’s injury and his requirement for surgery over two months ago. The Golden Knights denied Seravalli’s report, as they did with a recent report by ESPN.com’s Emily Kaplan claiming the 30-year-old Lehner would require a surgical procedure.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Golden Knights’ handling of this situation was very puzzling. It was apparent Lehner was struggling over the past two months and had missed some games likely because of his injury. They did themselves no favors with their public denials. It’ll be interesting to see if there will be any fallout from this story in the coming months.
WASHINGTON HOCKEY NOW: Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He was hurt during Sunday’s loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs when he crashed awkwardly into the boards following a failed scoring attempt.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: By the sound of things, Ovechkin is expected to return to action in time for the start of the playoffs next week.
THE ATHLETIC: Sara Civian cited sources reporting sidelined Carolina Hurricanes goalies Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta are expected to return in time for the playoffs starting next week. Andersen is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Raanta left the club’s previous game but that was due to a cramping issue. He’s expected to suit up as the backup for Tuesday’s game against the New York Rangers.
NEW YORK POST: Speaking of the Rangers, sidelined forwards Andrew Copp, Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko are considered game-day decisions for tonight’s match with the Hurricanes.
CBS SPORTS: Buffalo Sabres winger Kyle Okposo is being evaluated for a leg injury suffered during practice on Monday.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: The NHL department of player safety levied a one-game suspension on Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg for instigating a fight with Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak on Sunday. Panthers coach Andrew Brunette received a $10,000.00 fine for a game misconduct in the aftermath of the Lomberg-Cernak scuffle.
TSN: Los Angeles Kings forward Arthur Kaliyev was fined over $2,245 for cross-checking Anaheim Ducks defenseman Josh Mahura on Saturday.
Sidelined Ottawa Senators forwards Shane Pinto, Connor Brown and Colin White are expected to remain out of the lineup for the remainder of the season.
TORONTO SUN: 2022 Hobey Baker Award winner Dryden McKay signed a two-year AHL contract with the Maple Leafs’ farm team, the Marlies.
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: The Red Wings have signed top prospect Simon Edvinsson to a three-year entry-level contract.
Katy bar the door, cake walk for the best team in the regular season.
Agree bruins will win
Lyle you left out the juicy park of the Dryden McKay signing by the The Leafs ahl team.
Mckay is presently serving a 6 month suspension for doping.
Nothing “juicy” about it, Caper. He didn’t knowingly ingest a banned substance, and it was a trace amount in vitamins that he had been assured were safe to take and was in such minute amounts that it gave him no competitive edge. The “suspension” is simply window-dressing. It has no impact upon his professional career.
So your saying he got wrongfully suspended and did nothing wrong?
I was wondering which of the usuals would be the first to squawk about this. It’s funny how far removed we all from this situation that it’s a joke to think you have some reason of moral whatever and are serious. It’s makes you a joke then, no?
If he wasn’t the winner and signed with Toronto but maybe your crap of a team, would you still raise a stink? If not you shouldn’t here because you look thirsty. Real thirsty
Like the pun caper.
Caper, is that what they’re saying at the salon?
Slow day.
Anybody cheering for Vegas over Dallas? Or is most wanting to see Vegas fail, as they perceived to have try and circumvent the cap?
Vegas has always tried to do whatever possible to win hard not to like that as a fan. But with goalies out. It will take a miracle
Agreed
Caper. Similar to what happened to Theodore in Montreal when he was taking. Propecia for hair growth
Suspicion because trace was found of banned substances. But not from taking the substance to achieve better performance
Exactly. The suspension was based on that trace of a banned substance he unknowingly ingested because that’s the way the rules are governing such substances. You can read the full story here:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/article/hobey-baker-winner-dryden-mckay-discusses-suspension-for-banned-substance/
all well in good; however its still part of the story and without clarification one will always question.
In the end he’s suspended, regardless of what or how, he is suspended for 6 months.
The clarification was already reported so there was no reason to mention it again when I posted the link to his signing with the Leafs’ AHL affiliate. The “suspension” only lasts during the offseason, meaning he’ll be allowed to play for the Marlies next season.
Those are the rules Caper so I get the suspension and good on them for realizing it was a honest mistake and making it fair with having in off season.
Highly competitive athletes who get tested need to be more careful about what they take for supplements which have no regulatory controls regarding labelling or claims they make. You can’t trust what they say is accurate.
He is lucky he still had a partial and full bottle to make/prove his case as it was then obvious where it came from.
Lesson learned and good for him.
Goalies are in limited supply these days. Any chance Craig Anderson returns next year? He wasn’t terrible this year in Buffalo.
Word is that Anderson enjoyed his time in Buffalo as a veteran presence but is undecided about his future. A lot depends on his wife’s health plus the fact that the family lives in Florida. If he comes back he may be looking for a team closer to home.