NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 13, 2022

by | Oct 13, 2022 | News, NHL | 27 comments

Recaps of Wednesday’s games, the Sabres sign head coach Don Granato and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson to contract extensions, Andy Greene retires and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Connor McDavid tallied a hat trick as the Edmonton Oilers overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 5-3. McDavid netted the game-winning and insurance goals, Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists while Darnell Nurse had a goal and an assist. J.T. Miller had a goal and an assist for the Canucks.

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Oilers dressed just 17 skaters as wingers Kailer Yamamoto and Warren Foegele missed this game with undisclosed injuries. Salary-cap constraints limited them to 11 forwards and six defensemen.

The Colorado Avalanche celebrated their 2021-22 Stanley Cup banner raising with a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Artturi Lehkonen scored twice and collected an assist, Valeri Nichushkin tallied two goals and Mikko Rantanen had four assists. Jonathan Toews and Max Domi replied for the Blackhawks.

Montreal Canadiens winger Josh Anderson’s goal with 19 seconds remaining in the third period lifted his club to a 4-3 upset of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Cole Caufield scored twice and Nick Suzuki picked up two assists. John Tavares and William Nylander each had two points for the Leafs.

David Krejci had a goal and two assists in his first NHL game since 2020-21 as the Bostons Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 5-2. David Pastrnak led the way with a goal and three assists while Linus Ullmark made 33 saves for the win. It was a costly victory as Jake DeBrusk left the game in the second period with what appeared to be an injured right arm.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Krejci looked good in his return to the Bruins after spending last season playing in his native Czechia. However, it was Pastrnak who was the standout in this contest. He was dominant throughout this game and is already making the case for a big raise on his next contract.

The Carolina Hurricanes rolled to a 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Martin Necas had a goal and two assists while Frederik Andersen made 31 saves for the win. Patrik Laine scored for the Jackets but left the game in the second period with an injured right arm following a collision with Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: No word yet on the severity of Laine’s injury. Jackets starting goalie Elvis Merzlikins missed this game due to a non-COVID-related illness.

Anaheim Ducks forward Troy Terry opened and closed the scoring in his club’s 5-4 overtime victory over the Seattle Kraken. Terry and Ryan Strome finished with three points while Trevor Zegras had two points. Kraken rookie center Matty Beniers had a goal and an assist.

HEADLINES

WGR 550: The Buffalo Sabres announced the signing of head coach Don Granato to a two-year contract extension. They also announced defenseman Mattias Samuelsson agreed to a seven-year, $30 million contract extension.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Granato’s extension was no surprise given the improvement of the Sabres thus far under his watch. The length of Samuelsson’s deal raised some eyebrows given his limited body of NHL action with just 54 games over the past two seasons.

Sabres management evidently believes Samuelsson’s going to be a key part of their blueline in the coming years. The 22-year-old’s average annual value starting next season will be over $4.285 million starting in 2023-24. If he develops as projected this contract could turn into a bargain for the Sabres.

TSN: Andy Greene retires as a member of the New Jersey Devils after signing a one-day contract with them. Greene spent 14 seasons with the Devils and was their captain from 2015 to 2020 before getting traded to the New York Islanders. The 39-year-old defenseman finishes with 264 points in 1,057 career games over 16 NHL seasons. He was part of the Devils’ run to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Best wishes to Greene in his future endeavors.

SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports Tampa Bay Lighting defenseman Ian Cole met with NHL security yesterday but there was no formal announcement or resolution in the aftermath. The league and the NHL Players Association declined to comment. Cole was suspended with pay pending an investigation following a social media post accusing him of sexual assault and grooming.

NEW YORK POST: Rangers winger Vitali Kravtsov will miss the club’s current two-game road trip with an upper-body injury. It’s hoped he’ll rejoin his teammates next week but there is no definitive timeline for his return.

TSN: The Colorado Avalanche reclaimed goaltender Jonas Johansson off waivers from the Arizona Coyotes.

WINNIPEG SUN: The Jets signed winger Brad Lambert to a three-year entry-level contract. The 30th overall pick in this year’s draft, he will start the season with their AHL affiliate.

CAP FRIENDLY: The New York Islanders loaned forward Richard Panik to Swiss League team Lausanne HC for the season. His contract will still count against the Isles’ salary-cap payroll at the amount for players demoted to the minors.

THE MERCURY NEWS: Former San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson will attend a pregame ceremony in his honor before the club’s game on Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks. Wilson stepped down from his post for medical reasons last year.

NHL.COM: The Pittsburgh Penguins named Kerry Huffman as their director of professional scouting.

The Tampa Bay Lightning extended their AHL affiliation with the Syracuse Crunch through the 2026-27 season.







27 Comments

  1. A couple of take aways from wed. Game and lastnight in general Pastrnak is due for a Huge payday based on last nights performance alone. Ullmark looked very good Swayman’s still better. Plan 9 was intriguing switched back and forth between that and the game Pastrnak plays like he did lastnight he could challenge for the scoring lead in The nhl.

    • What you said you no watch if your buddy Foligno plays????

      Bruins are better than last year I will save this post only positive post on bruins buy Rwm. Gotta go in man cave. Lol

  2. OMG! Do my eyes decieve me or has RWM actually posted some positive remarks?
    Seriously, though, while the Jackets lost last night, they were in the game until roughly midway through the 3rd. Against one of the teams picked to challenge for the Stanley Cup, and with the goalie who is intended to be the starter for their AHL affiliate, that is not a real disappointment.

    • This morning Johnny Gaudreau was reminded why he chose Columbus when he saw the local media running stories about Ohio State football and little about his performance in the 4- 1 loss. It was reaffirmed when Nick Foligno sent a sad emoji 🙁 saying he missed the Columbus media

  3. Words I didn’t think I’d say even at this point of the season: The Habs are undefeated!
    Seriously, the young players looked good. They’re still a ways from contending even for the playoffs and the D still needs much work but there may be light at the end of the tunnel after all.

  4. Guhle looked good but Harris and Xhekaj belong in Laval, the game is too fast for them.

    The kid they grabbed on waivers from the Jets, Kovacevic looked like he has good instincts and foot speed for a big man…..for one game.

    Dadonov is on the ice killing penalties and in a defensive mode, I never saw that coming, interesting experiment.

    Matt Murray waving at pucks over his glove hand will have the TML looking for a goalie again.

    • The Habs are one of the more interesting teams this season along

      with Buffalo and Ottawa. All three seem to be rolling out teams with a lot of young inexperienced players and it seems like they are ok with their errors along the way.
      All three teams seem to have some sheltering but for the most part free to learn with positive reinforcement along the way. It’s going to be great to watch all three develop and see how their usage/roles grow over this year; and all three wins and losses won’t mater since I’m not expecting any one of the three to make the playoffs but rather how the win or lose will.

  5. When Lehkonen first came up in Montreal it was all about how he was drafted to score goals. Then he was pronounced to have hands of stone and the next thing I knew he was a “two way” player and defensively responsible.

    I am really interested to see how a full season on the Avalanche unfolds for him.

    • Chemistry is huge too. He is smart enough to be in the right place for his talented linemates and also he can clean up the backchecking for them

  6. Last night the Boston Bruins dressed the Following:

    USA 8 players
    CZE 6 players
    Can 5 players
    Swe 2 players

    Has any team ever had 6 CZE dressed in the same game?

    Canada who at one point dominate the NHL was the third in players dressed for an NHL game, I don’t think that happen often. It’s also a positive note for the NHL.

    • 2000-01 pens

      Jagr
      Straka
      Lang
      Simicek
      Rozival
      Berenek
      Melichar
      Hrdina

      Ivan hlinka coach. ?

      Can’t promise they all dressed at same time.

  7. Decent game last night being the first game by Bruins, nice to see a true 2nd line center back in the mix …..D played well Carlo and Forbort, Clifton with hits and blocked shots…Foligno was on the ice but wasn’t….hello Beleskey…Backes

    • Even Backes showed more life than Foligno. They have got to get rid of this guy. Marc made the team easily and should be on it not The Human fence post.

      • Mclaughlin has decent finishing skills, but he only plays one zone somewhat effectively.
        He was a far cry from making the team. He needs to play in Providence to learn the system, and to be an effective part of said system.
        Lauko is a speed demon who plays the system well. He’s disruptive and on time. Drawing 2 penalties and causing several disturbances is only the tip for Lauko. He’ll be a solid bottom 6 contributor, unless they’re showcasing him for trade purposes.

  8. Bruins will be a completely different team with Brad And Charlie in lineup. They need to play 500 hockey until than. Biggest surprise last night for me was j.Lauko the kid played hard every shift just needs some line mates I could see him take DeBrusks place if he is out.

  9. Do we agree Frederic needs to play instead of Foligno or does the $$$ he’s getting says he plays ….. maybe package both TF & NF for someone who can cause havoc and actually play the game

    • I’m hopeful, but not at all optimistic with regards to Freddy. Same with Curtis Hall.
      John Beecher might be the best of the 3.
      Nick won’t be moved. May as well lay off that horse, cause he’s here for the rest of the year.
      He’ll prove his worth.

      • SOP you’re wrong, most of the sports writers that cover the bruins agree ( not posters) people that actually watch the games live, and most agree Mclaughlin made the team. Are the shock treatments working at home lately?

      • Hey, Rick. I will guarantee you that there are no fewer than 8 contributing posters on this site who’s opinions hold more validity than most NHL team beat writers……for me anyway.
        Most NHL teams are covered by people who know very little about hockey. This is true.
        Mclaughlin isn’t ready yet. He will be, but h isn’t yet. If he was, he’d have started last night.

  10. SOP you are one of the few people I actually like on here but you do need to get out more.

    • I will take that last part under advisement, Rick, but I’m far from being wrong about the rest.
      I know you like Fluto, for example. Fluto is closer to the team in physical proximity, yet I’d be more inclined to put stock in what Ray Bark, or Caper says about the club.
      Just because it’s someone’s job, doesn’t make them good at It. I’ve met all kinds of folks who aren’t good at what they’re getting paid for, and I’m also sure that relates to “journalists” who happen to cover hockey because there aren’t any spots left at the NBA, NFL, MLB, NCAA table.

      • Disagree again SOP. I’ve known dozens of sports writers, because of the nature of my work. These people work their butts off, a lot of em Have written books. They don’t write an occasional post on a website They live breath and eat sports. They make it their mission to know every detail of the sport they’re covering. Some of them are very good some them are just brilliant. Between professional sports writers and posters on this site no contest. It would like me suiting up & going one on one with Charlie McAvoy.

      • Disagreeing is all part of what makes this site so great, Rick. We don’t have to agree with one another all of the time. Heck, we don’t have to agree at all. That’s the magic of it.
        It stimulates conversation, and makes one think about things which may be contrary to one’s own belief. At least that’s what I’m hoping for you……….cause you’re wrong yet again. Lol

        See ya tomorrow!

      • Rick, the exception is not the rule. Many writers know their stuff, many know way more than us because of their proximity to the team…but then you have many more, I would say a majority, that write for clicks and page views. The half-truthers.

  11. 🍁The Edmonton Oilers could not dress a full team last night because of the Cap problems..
    They will need to look at Trading
    1)RW, Jesse Pulijarvi $3.M
    2) LW&RW Warren Foegele $2.75.M

    if RW Josh Anderson in Montreal is avalable at the deadline..? they should go after him

    Before the Trade deadline moving offencive
    RD-manTyson Barie and his $4.5M contract, playoff team looking for a PP Specialist
    in a trade for a big need to get a Big Tough Physical 3rd pairing Right hand D-man as thats there weakest spot on d

  12. Are the TML fans ready to commit suicide after their opening night loss to Montreal?

    • No not one fan. I guess it’s because it’s only game one and realistically the first 10 or so games really isn’t a good barometer of what the team is. So those that look to the first game to base an opinion on, are special folks indeed.