NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 22, 2022
Recaps of Friday’s games, why Phil Kessel is poised to break the league Ironman record, the Panthers sign Eric Staal, an update on Jake Guentzel, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: Brayden Point scored the game-tying goal in the third period and the game-winner in overtime to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Florida Panthers 3-2. Steven Stamkos also scored for the Lightning, extending his season-opening goal streak to five games and his league-leading total to seven goals. Matthew Tkachuk and Rudolfs Balcers replied for the Panthers.
Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (NHL Images).
The Seattle Kraken upset the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 as Karson Kuhlman broke a 2-2 tie in the third period. Jaden Schwartz and Jared McCann gave the Kraken a 2-0 lead but the Avs tied it on goals by Evan Rodrigues and Bowen Byram.
An overtime goal by Max Domi gave the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings. The Blackhawks overcame a 3-1 deficit on third-period goals by Philipp Kurashev and Connor Murphy.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was a costly win for Chicago as goaltender Petr Mrazek left the game with an undisclosed injury following the second period. Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe made his season debut after recovering from cervical spine surgery that he underwent in September.
HEADLINES
THE SCORE: Vegas Golden Knights winger Phil Kessel is poised to equal the NHL’s 989-game Ironman record held by Keith Yandle on Monday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He can break that record the following night against the San Jose Sharks.
John Matisz and Nick Faris interviewed teammates from each of Kessel’s career stops in the NHL as well as his junior and college years to determine how the 35-year-old winger reached this point.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is a fascinating and insightful look at how Kessel reached this stage in his career. Reticent with the media but outgoing with teammates, the quirky winger’s chunky body doesn’t look like today’s typical NHL player. However, he’s a classic example of the old saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Kessel is also on the verge of scoring his 400th career NHL goal and has 957 career points.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: Eric Staal is back as an NHL player, signing a one-year contract worth $750K with the Panthers. He joined the club on a professional tryout offer during training camp. Staal, 37, played four games last season with the AHL’s Iowa Chop and also skated for Canada’s Men’s Hockey team at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Penguins winger Jake Guentzel didn’t participate in practice on Friday but traveled with the club to Columbus where they’ll face the Blue Jackets on Saturday. He suffered an upper-body injury during Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings but head coach Mike Sullivan said it wasn’t a concussion.
TORONTO SUN: Wayne Simmonds is expected to make his season debut on Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets. The 34-year-old winger cleared waivers earlier this month but has skated with the Leafs’ injured players.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This could also be an opportunity for the Leafs to showcase Simmonds for a trade. They’ve informed the other clubs that he’s available and they aren’t concerned about the return, hoping instead to do right by the winger by finding a suitable destination for him.
TSN: The Minnesota Wild placed defenseman Andrej Sustr on waivers. Meanwhile, the Kraken bought out the contract of blueliner Michal Kempny after he was placed on unconditional waivers.
THE ATHLETIC: Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is leading a group considered to be the front-runner to purchase Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals franchise. Leonsis is also the owner of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.
So, the original Montreal Expos might have yet another owner.
Could the Avalanche possibly be facing the “dreaded Stanley Cup Hangover?”
And did Stamkos discover the Fountain Of Youth in the off-season?
Maybe Ted could buy the Commanders while he’s at it
Along with D.C. United and he holds ALL cards there.
Yes, Stamkos and Vas are playing as well as any time jn their careers….the rest of the team, not so much…..missing so much depth…JT Miller, Palat….McDonagh…Verhaeghe…
I hope Kessel breaks the record, celebrates by getting a hot dog from a street vendor, washes it down with a beer and tweets it at Steve Simmons.
Ray, I must’ve missed, what did Simmons say?
Simmons wrote an article a while back where Simmonds wrote a typical Simmonds full of crap puff piece that basically called out kessel and his physical appearance and attributed this to him going to a street hotdog vendor a couple blocks from the arena to eat hotdogs before or after games or practices… bullsh1t is always hard to remember.
100% fabricated story but ran with it because of phil’s chubby body. Mind you of all the faults that Leaf’s team had, Phil was not one of them but because Phil barely if ever spoke to the spiteful Toronto media, Simmons pulled the biggest hatchet jobs I’ve ever seen.
Yes! I would love to see that. I was always impressed by him especially after his battle with testicular cancer short after he was drafted 5th overall by Boston. For Boston, it’s just another HHOF that got away.
Just Google Steve Simmons on Phil Kessell and you’ll get a host of hits preceded by “In that column Simmons wrote a lead about Kessel having an afternoon habit of guzzling down a couple of dogs, using that launching pad to segue into a point about how the Leafs could no longer stomach Kessel’s personality. It was, probably, the single funniest media controversy in recent Toronto sports history.”
Dates to, I think, 2015
I’m pretty sure by dealing Phil, it enabled the Bruins to win a cup in ’11.
Have the Leafs traded a future HHOF anytime in recent memory resulting in a cup win?
No, wait. They always lose to the eventual cup winner, right? Good enough?
Nah?
SOP the Leafs not only did that but also unfairly run guys outta town all the time, mostly due to unfounded public opinion.
Journalists lie Steve Simmons have to write with some kind of an edge. The competition among Toronto based writers must be quite intense. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. I found this on Simmons Wikipedia page which pretty much sums up his style. “Simmons was referenced in a spoof letter supposedly written by Phil Kessel after Kessel had won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016. The post script of the letter reads thus: “How did the country that produced literary giants like Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro also crap out Steve Simmons?”[14]” I sure hope Kessel breaks the record and would be curious if Simmons would write something about it.
Some journalists lie snuffy, but not all. There are lots of good ones and I am thankful for that because we need them, and they provide a valuable service to society.
I’m not sure I would categorize Simmons as a journalist anymore, definitely not in the “investigative journalist” sense. Not like a guy like Rick Westhead who does the work to ensure accuracy and facts. I would suggest he is more opinion writer these days. All good, he is entitled to his opinions, he is what he is, grain of salt and all that. Up to us to know the difference.
Regards to Kessel eventually breaking Iron Man streak – asterisk stating Kessel’s +/- career stats. Total joke considering Kessel’s streak.
But let’s be fair, here. Over the course of his career after leaving Boston following their 116 point season in 2008-09 (where he was +23), Kessell has played for some pretty dismal teams where you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone with a + stat.
George, since you’re a numbers guy to be fair , compare Kessel’s +/- rating year by year to the rest of teammates’ +/- rating.
As long as Phil can score goals the way Phil scores goal. Eat another hot dog!
Back in his Boston days he walked by coach Julien and the coach said Phil the training room is the other way. Phil kept on walking and scoring i may add.