NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 23, 2022
The Canucks’ Elias Pettersson had a five-point performance, the Hurricanes’ Brent Burns reaches a points milestone, another record falls to Alex Ovechkin and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines
NOTE: I will be taking my annual Christmas break from Dec. 24 to Dec. 26, 2022. The next update to this site following today will be Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: The Vancouver Canucks nipped the Seattle Kraken 6-5 on a shootout goal by Elias Pettersson, who also had a five-point performance (two goals, three assists) in regulation play, including his game-tying goal. The Canucks improved to 14-15-3. Daniel Sprong tallied twice for the 18-10-4 Kraken, who sit fifth overall in the Western Conference with 40 points.
Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson (NHL Images).
The Boston Bruins overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 3-2. Nick Foligno broke a 2-2 tie in the third period as the league-leading Bruins improved to 26-4-2 (54 points). They sit six points ahead of the second-place Carolina Hurricanes in the overall standings. The Jets (21-11-1, 43 points) sit one point behind the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars.
Speaking of the Hurricanes, they improved to 21-6-6 (48 points) by dropping the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on an overtime goal by Jaccob Slavin. Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns’ assist on Slavin’s goal was his 800th career point. Sidney Crosby tallied his 19th goal of the season for the Penguins (19-9-5), who sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 43 points.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin collected two assists in a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Marcus Johansson scored the game-winner in overtime while Ovechkin set an NHL record for career shots-on-goal with 6,211. The Capitals improved to 18-13-4 while the Senators dropped to 14-16-3.
The Toronto Maple Leafs held off the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 with William Nylander scoring a goal and collecting two assists. The Leafs (21-7-6) are unbeaten at home in their last 10 games (8-0-2). They also sit third overall in the overall standings with 48 points as the Hurricanes hold a game in hand. Travis Konecny and Tony DeAngelo each had two points for the 11-16-7 Flyers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Earlier in the day, the Maple Leafs placed defenseman Rasmus Sandin (neck) on injured reserve.
San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson had a goal and three assists to lead his club to a 5-2 upset of the Minnesota Wild. Tim Meier had a goal and an assist for the Sharks (11-18-6). The Wild (19-12-2) remain three points back of the Jets in the Central Division with 40 points.
Three unanswered third-period goals by Barclay Goodrow, Kaapo Kakko and Vincent Trocheck lifted the New York Rangers over the New York Islanders 5-3. Goodrow had a three-point night for the Rangers (19-11-5) as they sit fourth in the Metropolitan Division with 43 points as the Penguins hold a game in hand. Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist for the 18-14-2 Islanders.
An overtime goal by Adrian Kempe gave the Los Angeles Kings a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames. Gabriel Vilardi and Blake Lizotte each had a goal and an assist for the Kings (19-12-5) as they sit second in the Pacific Division with 43 points. The Flames dropped to 15-12-7.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Kings activated Brendan Lemieux off injured reserve but he didn’t play in this game.
IN OTHER NEWS…
BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: The Bruins announced yesterday that they’ve completed their independent review of their vetting process in the aftermath of the botched Mitchell Miller signing on Nov. 4. The review revealed “no misconduct” by team executives but provided a list of specific recommendations to be implemented to prevent a recurrence of the same mistake.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli observed, the “independent review” was hardly independent since it was initiated and funded by the Bruins. He also noted that the exact findings and substance of the review were not publicly released, as other teams have done following internal reviews.
As Seravalli’s colleague Matt Larkin observed back in November, the Bruins embarrassed themselves and insulted our intelligence with the Miller affair.
NHL.COM: The Columbus Blue Jackets activated defenseman Adam Boqvist and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo off injured reserve and placed center Cole Sillinger (upper body) on IR.
The New Jersey Devils placed winger Nathan Bastian on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 26.
The NHL has postponed Friday’s games between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres and the Detroit Red Wings versus the Ottawa Senators due to extreme weather conditions. Both games have been rescheduled for the new year.
DAILY FACEOFF: Canada has revealed its roster for the upcoming Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. It features such former NHL players as Tyler Ennis, David Desharnais, Brett Connolly, Cody Eakin, Riley Nash and Michael Hutchinson. This is the first Spengler Cup tournament to be staged since 2019 as COVID-19 led to the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 tournament.
Merry Christmas all! And stay warm and safe!
You too, Chrisms! Merry Christmas!
Merry Chrisms !
Merry Christmas to Lyle and all the fellas on here.
Gettin ready for my two12 hour shifts this weekend which stinks but hey…hospitals never sleep !
All the best !
Merry Christmas Lyle! We’ll miss you over the next few days. Have a well deserved rest.
Thanks, Howard. Merry Christmas!
To Lyle and all here who celebrate as I,
Wishing you and your families a Very Merry Christmas
To all here of the Jewish faith
Happy Hanukkah
To those here who celebrate Kwanzaa,
May the Seven Guiding Principles light your way this Kwanzaa
To all here and your families
Wishing you the absolute best in the New Year
Lyle,
Once again, thanks for all your great NHL coverage over 2022
Pengy
Thanks, Pengy. Merry Christmas!
Thanks Pengy. Happy Hanukkah to all my brethren.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all ! 3° F here in SE Michigan, winds 40+ mph. Stay warm….stay safe.
Merry Christmas from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where are weather is very North Pole like to welcome Santa and his tasty reindeer! I hope all of you enjoy your own celebration of Christmas with your loved ones. May God bless all of you!
Where in the UP are you Johnny ? My wife and I did a road trip there in September, including Marquette and Copper Harbor .
Huskies, Wildcats or Lakers hockey fan?
Merry Christmas 🎄. Happy holidays to all the Hockey fans
Cheers 🍺
Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate … and Lyle, hope you avoid the pre-Christmas quagmire Mother Nature is throwing at us right now – freezing rain, rain, high winds, +5 but dipping to -12 very quickly, followed by, of course, snow. I understand it’s headed east but maybe it’ll stay south of the Island.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate and happy days off to those who don’t!
Glad you’re taking a well deserved break Lyle.
Happy the Sens will have a little longer break to maybe get back on track. Anyone living there, PLEASE stay safe.
The Mitchell Miller saga is pretty incredible for such a marginal player. Hope it’s all over now.
Not gonna lie, I miss Tyler Ennis. He may not be a superstar but he’s all heart and really brings stability to a team. Hoping for lots of success for him and Team Canada at the Spengler Cup!
Have to agree re Tyler Ennis. One thing you could be sure about when it came to him – you’d always get 100% effort and tenacious back-checking. I’d much rather have him taking up 4th line minutes than Gambrell.
Oh yes, very much agreed there.
Wonder how Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs feels about paying Mitchell s salary!