NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 10, 2023

by | Mar 10, 2023 | News, NHL | 46 comments

The Stars enjoy a 10-goal performance against the Sabres, the Oilers down the league-leading Bruins, Erik Karlsson sets a career-high for points, Kirill Kaprizov sidelined, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The Dallas Stars crushed the Buffalo Sabres 10-4, marking their first 10-goal performance during a road game since October 1985. Jamie Benn and Mason Marchment each had a goal and two assists, Jason Robertson had three assists and Radek Faksa tallied twice for the Stars as they improved to 35-17-13 to sit atop the Central Division with 83 points. Jeff Skinner had a goal and an assist for the Sabres (32-28-4) as they sit six points out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot with 68 points.

San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was a costly win for the Stars as Tyler Seguin left the game in the first period after being cut by a skate blade above his left knee. There was no postgame word regarding his condition but he was spotted on crutches following the game.

San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson scored his 20th goal of the season in a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues. Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich each had two points for the 28-31-5 Blues while the Sharks fell to 19-35-12 on the season. Karlsson set a career single-season high with 83 points and reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time since 2014-15.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Karlsson, 32, leads all NHL defensemen this season in goals and points. He’s considered the front-runner for the Norris Trophy as the league’s top blueliner.

The Edmonton Oilers nipped the Boston Bruins 3-2 to snap the latter’s 10-game winning streak. Darnell Nurse tallied the winning goal late in the third period as the Oilers (36-22-8) hold the first Western Conference wild-card spot with 80 points. David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist as the league-leading Bruins (103 points) are at 49-9-5.

An overtime goal by Brock Nelson completed a three-goal rally by the New York Islanders as they dumped the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3. Anders Lee tallied twice and Ilya Sorokin stopped 33 shots as the Islanders (34-25-8) hold the first Eastern Conference wild-card berth with 76 points, two ahead of the 32-22-10 Penguins as they remain in the final Eastern wild-card spot. Jeff Petry had two assists for the Penguins.

Patrick Kane scored his first goal for the New York Rangers as they downed the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on a shootout goal by Mika Zibanejad. Kane finished with two points while Artemi Panarin collected three assists for the 36-19-9 as the Rangers sit third in the Metropolitan Division with 81 points. The 26-33-6 Canadiens have dropped five straight all by one goal.

Los Angeles Kings forwards Phillip Danault and Adrian Kempe each scored twice to defeat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2. Anze Kopitar had three assists, Joonas Korpisalo had 28 saves and Trevor Moore collected an assist in his return to the lineup for the 38-20-8 Kings as they sit in second place in the Pacific Division with 84 points. Nathan MacKinnon scored for the Avalanche (35-22-6) as they cling to third place in the Central Division with 76 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Speaking of the Avalanche, there’s concern over whether captain Gabriel Landeskog will return in time for the 2023 playoffs. He’s still recovering from the knee injury that has sidelined him for the entire season thus far.

An overtime goal by Alec Martinez lifted the Vegas Golden Knights to a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jonathan Quick made 32 saves for the win as the Golden Knights (39-20-6) hold first place in the Pacific (84 points) with a game in hand over the Kings. Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov each had three points for the slumping Lightning (38-21-6) as they sit third in the Atlantic Division with 82 points.

The New Jersey Devils defeated the Washington Capitals 3-2 on a shootout goal by Timo Meier. Dawson Mercer extended his points streak to 11 games with a goal and an assist as the Devils (42-16-6) as they sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 90 points. The Capitals sank to 31-28-7 (69 points) and sit five points behind the Penguins for the final Eastern wild-card berth.

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov made 19 saves to shut out the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0. Andrei Svechnikov’s first-period goal held up as the winner as the Hurricanes improved to 43-12-8 and sit second in the overall standings with 94 points. Felix Sandstrom made 28 saves for the 24-30-11 Flyers.

The Ottawa Senators kept their playoff hopes alive with a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Kraken thanks to third-period goals by Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat. With 70 points, the 33-27-4 Senators are four points behind the Penguins. Jared McCann tallied twice for the Kraken (37-22-6) as their five-game win streak came to an end. They sit third in the Pacific Division with 80 points.

Arizona Coyotes goalie Ivan Prosvetov kicked out 39 shots for his first NHL win to beat the Nashville Predators 4-1. Clayton Keller collected two assists for the 23-32-10 Coyotes while the Predators (31-24-7) are six points out of the final Western Conference playoff berth with 69 points.

IN OTHER NEWS…

STARTRIBUNE.COM: Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov will be sidelined for three to four weeks with a lower-body injury.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kaprizov is the Wild’s leading scorer with 39 goals and 74 points. He’s their main offensive engine so losing him is a significant setback as they jockey for a playoff berth in the Western Conference. How they adapt to his absence will be a big test that could decide their postseason hopes in the very close Western standings.

SPORTSNET: cited a report by Sportico indicating nine different groups have submitted bids to purchase the Ottawa Senators. Some of those bids value the franchise at over $900 million USD.

The list of potential buyers is expected to be narrowed down within the next several days. The Remington Group (a Toronto-based real estate developer) and billionaire Michael Andlauer (minority owner of the Montreal Canadiens) are among the most prominent bidders.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It appears the league hasn’t had any difficulty finding suitors willing to pay big bucks to purchase the Senators. Eugene Melnick, the club’s late owner, paid $92 million USD to purchase the team in 2003. Accounting for inflation, that would be worth nearly $150 million in 2023.

TRIBLIVE.COM: The Pittsburgh Penguins are planning upgrades to PPG Arena for 2023-24 starting at the conclusion of this season. They include a new video board, LED ribbon boards, sound system, control room, and content management system.







46 Comments

  1. Something else unusual about that 10-4 thumping by Dallas over Buffalo was that the Sabres coach left Comrie in the nets for the entire game, during which the Stars fired 59 shots at him!

    • He should have pulled a Roy, and told them thiswas his last game for the Bufa-slugs! 🤪

      • I watched the replays of goals from this game, and felt sorry for Comrie…his team abandoned him. So did Roy’s in Montreal, but, for some reason, I felt no sympathy for him.

      • FYI Serge Savard is on record that Roy was on his way out in Montreal.

        Roy for Fiset and Owen Nolan.

      • HF30, that would have been a way better return than what they actually got when Roy forced their hand.

        Nice move Mario.

      • Looking at the box score it shows Power, Dahlin and Jokiharju all -3 and Samuels -2 on D, while up front Cizens and Mittelstat were both -4, Quinn -3 and Greenway -2

      • Ray Bark – not Mario’s fault. If you give a chimp a gun and the chimp shoots someone, you don’t blame the chimp, you blame the guy who gave it the gun. The Roy fiasco rests entirely on Ronald Corey’s shoulder. Should never have fired Savard and Demers, 2 established and experienced hockey people and replaced them with a TV/radio analyst and a person who was working at Molson both with no experience in running and/or coaching a team. The results were predictable.

      • While I got a chuckle from the Chimp line Habman67, and your right Corey does deserve his share for hiring Tremblay. I think that’s who Roy told he was done right behind the bench wasn’t it?

        Tremblay gets the bulk of it IMO, he played in the NHL for more than a decade, he knew better than that. He and Roy just didn’t like each other. Or at least that is how I understand it.

        Seeing the look on his face, a dick head like him, was totally priceless. The second Roy did that, he knew he was losing his best player. A bully mouthpiece getting punched in the nose. And I’m not even a huge Roy fan, but I truly appreciated that. Priceless.

      • Guys, Yes Corey ordered him to be traded but Réjean Houle is the one that couldn’t get a better deal. He was a good player but as a GM Issshhh. Him, Gauthier and Gainey… Long and dark period for habs fans

    • Granato is the least of the Sabres worries. they need a #1 goalie and a veteran dman, and a top 6 veteran forward (similar to Palat)

    • I’m just hoping that the Stars didn’t use up all their goal allowance for the next few games in this one. Feast or Famine for this team.

      • Funny you should mention that, StarsFan … I’ve noticed that a lot over the years … a team pots 6-7 goals and in the very next game are struggling to score 1. Some kind of collective mental disorder? LOL

  2. knowing how the Penguins operate, they’ll be upgrading the arena by installing refurbished 10 year old equipment as part of the “upgrades” 🙂

    any truth to the rumors of a Philly management shakeup today? maybe Fletcher out? highly doubt anything happens to Torts

    • Fletcher is gone. Replaced by Danny Briere.

    • I read on Twitter last week that a school couldn’t afford to send their first-place girls basketball team to their championship tournament. The Penguins step in and fully paid for a charter bus for the girls and they had a 1st class trip the whole way.
      You have to give credit when it’s due. I know it’s a small drop in the bucket for them, but it meant the world to those girls. The penguins aren’t as cheap as some may think they are.

  3. Re: Dallas 10-4 Thumping of Buffalo

    Buffalo really dont have any one to take the #1 Goaltending Starting job,

    -Anderson is 41, think its his last year
    -Comrie is a mediocre back up
    -Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 24, is ther hope

    His numbers have been bad over the past 2.5 years
    over 3+GA and save % under 880….😳

    Buffalo & Ottawa are both in the Same Boat they need #1 Starters in Net,
    on the plus side they have $20.M in Cap space,

    As MIKE P said the need a vetrain d/man lots of good one are coming in UFA July 1st ✔️

    Maybe the Sabers look at Demko? Gibson? Jarry?
    to fill #1 in goal🤔

  4. I’m seeing reports on Facebook hockey pages that the Flyers fired Fletcher. Can anyone confirm?

  5. The Oilers win over the Bruins last night wasn’t the most exciting game, but it was a good one. Marchand did an excellent job of shadowing McDavid, but that showed if you spend too much attention to McDavid the Oilers have an underrated bottom 6 and they can do some damage when needed.
    Skinner did a great job of bouncing back after a bad 1st period. He is showing maturity beyond his age.
    I wonder if Nurse’s winning goal would have gone in if Ulmark had been in the net last night. I feel a little sheepish now when I was criticizing Bruins fans last season when they were making trade proposals to the Oilers for him.

    • I was hoping they would start Ullmark KevJam, as I thought it would be a tight game like the one in Edmonton a couple weeks ago.

      But it was Swayman’s turn, and he has played well for a while now too, including in Edmonton.

      The Oil seem to be able to snap into structure and manage the puck mode against the more elite teams which is positive for them. Seattle is hanging around like our winter this year. LA is rolling. Gonna need to beat both those teams head to head over the next few weeks to catch them I think.

      LA is starting to look like a team you don’t want to play in RD 1, but may likely be the team the do play.

      • Yeah, and the Kings seem to have the Oilers number this season. The other western teams don’t really scare me all that much. Not even the Avs. Their defence doesn’t seem to be as strong as it was last season, and that is why they have been struggling this season. They are actually below 50% in HDCF%. They are ranked 21st with 48.62%. The Oilers are shockingly ranked 3rd with 55.85%.

      • Linus’ dog passed away yesterday or the night before. I probably couldn’t bring my A game after losing one of my best friends either. Sway was alright.

      • Back in September 2019, we had to unexpectedly put our Golden Retriever down at 7 years old. That really hurt. I understand Ulmark wouldn’t have been in the right frame of mind to play last night.

      • I didn’t know that SOP. Bummer for Linus.

        I/we have had a dog(s) for every year of my life except for about 5 of them. I’m 58, so had to do it too many times. Never gets easier.

    • Even if McDavid was shadowed by Marchand there still was Leon Draisaitl wich makes me wonder why his name doesn’t pop up in conversations more often. Reminds me of when Dale Hawerchuk was playing for the Jets, didn’t here about him often too, don’t you think ?

  6. 🇺🇸 Hey Mike P

    it would be About Time that Philly get rid of there Garbage GM, Chuck Fletcher⁉️❓
    all he has done is make a mess of things, got a freind who love the Philly… but they all hate Fletcher big time😳

    Dont be surprized to see a x Player take over like
    A Smart guy like Danny Briere💥 Would get my Vote….👌

    They need to do a Re-Tool and move out the
    Old guys like

    -van Riemsdyk, 33, $7.M
    -Couturier 31 injured to much $7.7M
    -Atkinson 33, $5.8M
    they also have Ryan Ellis $6.@M who is on LTIR

    They have only $7.M in Cap space for next season so a good time to get going ..❓

    they have a few prospects coming F&D areas and Carter Hart & a good d core and Travis Konecny and a bunch of good younger forwards….🤔❓

  7. Watched the Oilers and Boston Game last night….

    WoW Boston are a Very Good & Deep Team….👀

    What made me even happier was the
    Oilers did a Come back…❗️ from being down 2-0 to winning 3-2… snapping the Bruins 10-game winning streak👌

    This is Something the Oil have been starting to develope but never getting it done till this season
    and then
    Darnell Nurse winding up to shoot the Winner … ⁉️He cant hit a Barn Door Normally 😝 … But he scored…… My wife said, is that the guy who you say cant hit a Barn door….. oh well it 2 point we will take it, well done Nurse🙈

  8. The Sen’s are continuing to roll….. with a 5-4 Win last night staying in the playoff Race….

    Jakob Chychrun 21 mins and a Goal & Assist👍

    Young Shane Pinto Scored his (17th) of the year… this kid is going to be very good in his 1st Full Season

    The Sens are Very Rich at Centre, with 21 yr old Stützle & 23 yr old Norris..
    Wonder if they can play Centre Pinto at wing….🤔
    Or
    Do they bring up at the start of Next season
    20 yr old RW Tyler Boucher and build a other
    3rd scoring line….😜 maybe put Motor-man young Ridly Greig on the LW……Pinto at Centre

    Now this would be a GREAT Line👌

    • Yes, I was a bit surprised that the Sens managed to win that game, after the Kraken went ahead 4:3. Giroux continues to be a great leader for them.

      I have my doubts about Boucher. Now they’ve decided to do shoulder surgery. With his physical style of play that is not a good omen.

      Pinto and Greig plus a reasonably skilled , heavy, physical player could be a good line but Greig still has a lot of maturing to do. Maybe Ostapchuk could fit in well there in a couple of years, if Boucher continues to have problems.

      I agree that the Sens could certainly use an established goalie now but it’s obviously too late for that this season.

    • actually, williew, lately they’ve been playing Stutzle back at LW – last night they used these 5 at C:

      Pinto – 17:04
      Brassard – 10:55
      Gambrell – 10.33
      Brown – 10:16
      Kastelic – 7:02

      • The Senators got themselves a good one in Stutzle. If you were to redo the 2020 draft Stutzle would be number one, and it wouldn’t even be close.

      • intresting…George,

        Stutzle is also good on LW…. maybe they are trying to figure this year where to play all there talent next season…❓ as they will have #1 centre J Norris back for next season…
        they could end up having 3 very good Young lines…. Pinto is big at 6.ft3 & 205lbs

        Zack Ostapchuk is very good young player but he is only 19, maybe a full year in the Belleville Senators will help hhim out lots

      • willieW, yeah, Ostapchuk is now regarded as their 2nd best prospect by The Hockey Writers – after Ridley Greig. In addition to Sogaard, they also list another goalie – Merilainen – here’s their top prospects

        1. Ridly Greig C/LW – 20 – Belleville
        2. Zack Ostapchuk LW – 19 – Winnipeg
        3. Jacob Bernard-Docker – RHD – 22 – Belleville
        4. Tyler Boucher – RW – 19 – 67’s
        5. Egor Sokolov – RW/LW – 22 – Belleville
        6. Mads Søgaard – G – 22 – Belleville
        7. Lassi Thomson – RHD – 22 – Belleville
        8. Roby Järventie – LW – 20 – Belleville
        9. Tyler Kleven – LHD – 20 – North Dakota
        10. Tomas Hamara – LHD – 18 – Kitchener
        11. Oskar Pettersson – RW – 18 – Rogle
        12. Stephen Halliday – C – 20 – Ohio State
        13. Maxence Guenette – RHD – 21 – Belleville
        14. Leevi Merilainen – G – 20 – Karpat
        15. Filip Nordberg – LHD – 18 – Sodertalje

      • I dont know what the Sen’s will do for 3rd & 4th line centre next season, Not sure if they will bring Brassard back or not..? going to be 36 right away❓

        I hope they give that young kid from Edmonton A go, David Quenneville he plays C & RW seen him 2 years ago here in Edmonton when he played for the Blackhawks, they beat us 4 in a row in the playoffs….⁉️

      • I think Brassard will be back.

        The “sleeper” in that list above could be the big LD (6′ 4″ 200lbs) Tyler Klevens out of Univ. of North Dakota. Apparently, several teams seeking a trade with Ottawa in recent weeks indicated they’d like him included in any trade – and Dorion flatly said “no.”

        As for the C position next season, at the moment it would seem to be Norris, Stutzle, Pinto and Greig, with one of Brassard, Gambrell, Kastelic or Brown as the 5th C back-up. Lots can change, though, over a busy summer.

  9. Not sure how Michael Andlauer can be considered a front runner to buy the Sens. His stake in the Habs is a huge conflict of interest. He could leverage his stake in the Habs by promising to sell his stake, but that adds a level of complexity to his bid. Not insurmountable but with so many bids, I am sure there is another out there…

    • He probably has something in his proposal that says he would sell his part of the Canadians if his bid is accepted and before he officially takes the team over. I’m pretty sure there is something in the NHL that prevents one person from owning more than one team.

    • As far as I understand it, there is always a stipulation that a sale is dependent on one divulging themselves of shares in another team. I do not believe this is the first time such a thing has occurred. There is no way he is getting a larger share in the Habs, so he would rather move on to a different team.

      These are pure business men owning the teams… rarely are they all that emotionally involved in the team itself.

      • Don’t want a return to when the Norris family owned both the Red Wings and Blackhawks, with the latter more or less a farm team for the Wings (develop a good player – trade him to Detroit).

        Most won’t recall the “Save The Blackhawks” effort in the early 1950s after the Norris consortium was forced to sell their interests.

      • I never knew that George. Seems unthinkable now doesn’t it?

        Crazy.

      • Oh yeah – it was a joke. Jack Adams even had their permission to deal Ted Lindsay and his good friend Glenn Hall to Chicago – after Lindsay had a 30g 55a 85pt season in 70gp for Detroit – simply because they didn’t like his agitation over player’s rights (which turned out to be the creation of the NHLPA eventually).

  10. I did not like the squandered 3-0 lead the Sens had, but I was buoyed by the ability to tie it up even after going down 3-4 and then keep pushing for the win. The Kraken are a good team too, so that is a good sign.

    Giroux is really turning into the Senator I had always hoped he would be.

    Mads looks good, remembering that he is a rookie, and the team seems to play confidently in front of him.

    • Yeah, I figured it was game over after they blew that 3-0 lead. I repeat what I said the day before the Chicago 5-0 blowout – that they better not take them lightly – as they head to Vancouver: do NOT go into that one figuring it’s 2 points in the bank.

      As a recent article notes “suddenly good goaltending is ruining Vancouver’s tank job.”