NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 7, 2023
Connor McDavid enjoys another multipoint game, the three stars of the week are announced, the Leafs place Ryan O’Reilly on LTIR and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid enjoyed another multipoint game by opening and closing the scoring with a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, extending his points streak to 11 games. Stuart Skinner made 37 saves for the Oilers (35-22-8), who hold the first wild-card berth in the Western Conference with 78 points. Jeff Skinner and Dylan Cozens scored for the 32-26-4 Sabres (68 points), who’ve dropped three of their last four games and sit three points out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: With 54 goals, McDavid sits 10 goals ahead of second-place David Pastrnak while his 124 points are 28 ahead of teammate Leon Draisaitl for the lead in the scoring race. With 17 games remaining in the season, he has a shot at becoming the first player since Alex Ovechkin in 2007-08 to reach 65 goals in a season and the first to reach 140 points since Jaromir Jagr (149) in 1995-96.
The Calgary Flames nipped the Dallas Stars 5-4 on a goal by Tyler Toffoli with 6.2 seconds remaining in the third period to snap a five-game losing skid. Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and MacKenzie Weegar each collected two assists as the Flames improved to 28-23-13 and sit five points out of the final Western wild-card spot with 69 points. Jamie Benn scored a goal and an assist for the Stars (34-17-13) as they sit second overall in the Western Conference with 81 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: That was a big win for the flickering Flames to keep their playoff hopes alive. They’ll need to string together some more victories if they hope to climb back into the race.
The Los Angeles Kings picked up their fourth straight win by doubling up the Washington Capitals by a score of 4-2. Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist while Pheonix Copley made 20 saves to earn his first-ever 20-win NHL campaign as the Kings (37-20-8) sit in second place in the Pacific Division with 82 points. Alex Ovechkin scored his 36th goal of the season as the Capitals dropped to 31-28-6 (68 points) to sit three points out of the final Eastern wild-card berth.
An overtime goal by Logan Couture lifted the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 upset of the Winnipeg Jets. Tomas Hertl scored the tying goal for the 19-33-12 Sharks with 11 seconds remaining in the third period. Nino Niederreiter and Nate Schmidt replied for the Jets (36-25-3) as they sit third in the Central Division with 75 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Jets have nosedived over the last 10 games winning just twice over that stretch.
Chicago Blackhawks goalie Alex Stalock kicked out 35 shots to shut out the Ottawa Senators 5-0. Seth Jones scored twice for the 22-36-5 Blackhawks while Ottawa slipped to 32-27-4 and remain three points out of the final Eastern wild-card spot. Senators goalie Cam Talbot was a late scratch with a lower-body injury.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: All due respect to Stalock for his stellar play but this is a game the Senators should’ve won. They can’t afford duds like this game against one of the worst teams in the league when they’re battling for a wild-card spot.
A shootout goal by Elias Pettersson gave the Vancouver Canucks a 4-3 victory over the Nashville Predators. Pettersson also tallied his 30th goal of the season in regulation for the 26-32-6 Canucks. Luke Evangelista tallied twice for the Predators (31-23-7) to tie the game as they sit five points out of the final Western wild-card spot with 69 points.
HEADLINES
NHL.COM: Boston Bruins defenseman Dmitry Orlov, Ottawa Senators forward Claude Giroux, and Minnesota Wild netminder Filip Gustavsson are the three stars for the week ending March 5.
TSN: The Toronto Maple Leafs placed center Ryan O’Reilly (broken finger) on long-term injury reserve. He saw a specialist on Monday and is expected to return in time for the playoffs.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: O’Reilly was the Leafs’ biggest acquisition leading up to the recent trade deadline. His absence won’t hurt their chances of reaching the playoffs but it could raise questions about his effectiveness for the postseason.
OTTAWA SUN: The first round of bids for the purchase of the Senators officially started on Monday. The sale of the club could eclipse $1 billion.
Well, yesterday when I posted the overall standings up to December 31, 2022 and then the standings to date from January 1, 2023, one of the best turn-arounds belonged to Chicago – dead last overall up to December 31 and 19th in the stretch from January 1 to date, I mentioned that Ottawa had better not take them lightly last night.
That was driven home forcibly.
There are two constants to this NHL season so far – Boston will win and Connor McDavid will put on a show.
12-10-22 in his last 8 games…. Just give him his 4 trophies now
I’m thinking Oil need to play skinner every game in the playoffs. 913 save %’age
Campbell 882 (66th in league [goalies played in at least 10 games])
Buyout this summer?
Saves $3.5 M, $3.7M, $2.7 M, $2.4 M for the next 4 years; with deadcap of $1.5 M for 4 years after (when Cap ceiling has risen substantially)
Or retain 50% …. Saving $2.5 M in space per year for 4 years; no deadcap after; but also having to add a pick/prospect for someone to take him!!!
What does Holland do?
To Ray and all in Oil country…. This is not a facetious question
I’ve not heard anything at all re Smith for months
Is there any chance he could be healthy enough come playoffs to replace Campbell ??
Katz placing some dough into a Swiss account in Smith’s (and verifying [health] Doctor’s) names??? LOL
All I have to say is, thank God for Skinner. Last season Campbell was a decent goalie, this season he just fell off a cliff. I’m not sure if the Oilers can afford to give him the start of next season to to see if he can bounce back or not.
Funny one Pengy.
Smith comeback? – No.
Campbell buyout? – No.
Campbell spending the off season on a couch seeing a psychologist? Yep.
This guy is in his own head big time. Quit feeling bad about it, shake it off, get pissed off at the all the questions and fight to win a bloody game. Seriously, snap out if it and quit pouting. I would be pretty flippin’ annoyed right now if I was a team mate of his. I’m fired up and I’m just a fan.
That’s my rant.
Feel better now because they have Skinner who actually has a competitive attitude. KevJam is right, the kid can play. He’ll play 3 out of 4 and every playoff game. If he get’s hurt I would hire a hypnotist for Campbell and I’m not even sure I believe in what they do.
That or roll with Rodrigue or Pickard.
Skinner gets hurt and the Oil need an intervention. Or maybe by chance the playoffs would snap him out of it, but wouldn’t bet on it. He’s a good guy, but he seriously needs to get his head cleared up and get competitive, maybe they need to head slap him before every game to get him angry.
Ok, now my rant is over.
Thanks Ray and KevJam
If it were me….. unless he has a miraculous turnaround this spring…. Buy him out…
$3.5 M savings next year; $3.7 M year after…. Must be easy enough to sign a UFA back-up for Skinner
Pickard’s historical numbers not good… Rodrigue very young and I believe untested atNHL level right??
Don’t know much about him(Rodrigue) …. Is he ready to make the jump?
Could they give him a chance boo 20/3 (@ home v Sharks) or 22/3 (@ home v Yotes)??? If he fairs well…. Maybe go Skins/Rodrigue from then onward
Re face slap forCampbell to wake him up….. Get Holland to put in a call to Will Smith’s agent!!! Katz can foot the bill for a 1 hour personal services contract with Smith…. Flight, accommodations, etc etc … all on Katz 👍
While tempting, I can’t see them giving up on him that quick Pengy.
I’m serious when I say he spends the off season with a psychologist. He needs to focus on beating the guys in the other jerseys and not beating himself up.
Baseball does it with pitchers who can’t find it. Jays did it with Kikuchi this off season, along with mechanics. Great stuff, got in his own head and got raked. We don’t know if it will work yet, but in early spring training he looks good.
Funny how drastically things can change over the course of 3 seasons. Check out this exchange of views in here back in February 2020 when the Leafs acquired Campbell … and in the same exchange how some were horrified at the thought that they could or should have relinquished Kapanen for a goalie.
https://www.spectorshockey.net/2020/02/nhl-morning-coffee-headlines-february-6-2020/
Interesting to see the takes back then George. Some of us were debating millennials and their impact on the salary cap!
Pengy was right, Campbell was a steal for the Leafs, played great for the cap hit IMO. He did well for them last year too. Kind of what Samsonov is doing for them this year. Dubas might have this tender thing figured out?
Maybe it’s the extra $ and pressure that Campbell is struggling to deal with. I dunno, but as far as the rest of the season goes the Oil have to roll with Skinner 75% of the time, no choice.
Hi Pengy,
No Smith is done, he lives in AZ in the Winter.
Looking at other comment below,
No they will Not buy out Jack Campbell, and yes he has had a shaky start in Edmonton but has also had a good run, and some very bad nights too…
We hoping for good goaltending in the playoffs from JC… Young Skinner is playing Great and he is just loving it every night…👌
I agree with Ray Bark,
Cambell heeds to get his head cleaned up
love this one..❗️ (maybe they need to head slap him before every game to get him angry).😝
Maybe a X Goaltender needs to start Therapy Classes in the Summer to get them all ready for the Season…..
JC is popular with his oilers team mate’s really like Jack Cambell,
Re; Edmonton Oiler’s back up goaltenders,
Sorry Guys….
We got nothing good in the pipeline
Olivier Rodrigue, is the #1 goaltending prospect is Very Very Inconsistant in bakerseild
I follow them and get updates … Oilers Goaltending in the AHL is a Horrer Show…..‼️
Ryan Fanti a 23 yr oldwont make the NHL
and the 1 st call up is 30 yr old Calvin Pickard,
who has been on 4 teams a back up for
1 game with the leafs, 11 games with philly, and 12 Games with Redwings..😳
Oilers 2nd round pick this year, 2023 should be a Goaltender as they take minumum 5-6 to develope properly for the NHL….❓
maybe they should look to /europe for a potential back up
Anyone know what exact injury either Taylor Hall or N Foligno have
Nope not saying much Joe.
Foligno is on IR and not LTIR, so the B’s don’t think he will miss at least 10 games. He’s older I would keep him out until he is 100%.
Hall is concerning. I read or heard he was seeking a 2nd opinion. To me that means serious. If it seemed obvious that rest then rehab was all that was required, then that’s what he would be doing.
2nd opinion, in my head, means surgery or no surgery. Either way, this doesn’t sound minor to me. I wouldn’t bet on him being available come playoff time, hence Bertuzzi.
Was trying to find tape where Hall got the injury but can’t seem to find one … If surgery is needed then have to assume he won’t be ready to start next season ..
I can’t find it either Joe, some talk/rumor that it might be a lingering issue, or one that he has been trying to play through, and it isn’t improving, or might be getting worse.
He was struggling for a while, so maybe there is some truth in it. Or maybe that is what the 2nd opinion is for, to properly diagnose the problem. I dunno, might be OK? but LTIR is strange if they didn’t think it was somewhat serious?
Best case scenario he gets back in time and they have him and Bertuzzi!
Not having Oreilly for the rest of the regular season won’t be a problem for the Leafs. But if he’s not ready for the playoffs, it will be.
O’Reilly is a huge loss
Very unfortunate..
Tavares out of the lineup , with flu like symptoms
Tavares took a major hit from Myers early in the game , and another hit later , I would imagine there would be post like symptoms after that game .
Tavares is having a decent year , hopefully not an issue , as he has had related issues in the past
I could just imagine someone clobbering Bergeron in that manner , Myers would of been tuned , or the benches would of emptied
Psycho coach Tochet is congratulating Myer as per his game ?
Was there a call on the hit? Was it a clean hit? If so, s#it happens when you play a physical game…there’s unforeseeable consequences that are married to risk…unless you remove that element of the game. I’ve never read Myers as a physically punishing player so maybe Tochet should be happy with Myers finally being able to play the physical game.
Dirty hit…different story. The rule book makes it pretty simple to spot the difference.
Bids start at 1 billion. Well, I guess I’m out.
Dang, I only have $997M
Whalercane, I can kick in $100 if it’ll help.
Thanks Howard. I’ll have to pass, though. I just realized I’d need another $82M for 1 year of player payroll, too.
(although ARZ seems to get by with seemingly about $30M in actual salary)
I’ll match Howard’s $100 contribution; put Mrs. Pengy down for a C-Note as well
Howard and the Pengy couple only need 9,999,997 contributors to our consortium…. Come on posters at Spectors….. we can get this done by EOD!!
Even if it doesn’t, that’s one heck of an investment. The better this is for a small market like the Sens the better off the league will be, players included.
The WC race in the east is turning out to be better than I expected and gonna make some real good, playoff like games from here on out. That’s gotta help with the sale. Fun times there in Ottawa.
The bidding going that high is an indication that, while the team itself is worthy of perhaps $500 mil, the rest is for the development opportunities in the Flats area in addition to the new arena – which, by the way, could still be in the plans of Laliberté in connection with a summer training facility for Le Cirque du Soleil.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/robhuntley/6313761398
Yeah, the team is but a small portion of the real estate bidding that is really involved here.
Yawn ..,
We could go dutch SOP?
That was a wow when I read that too.
Lol. Great news for the NHL, though, all the same. This wonderful game is growing, and I’m very excited about the future. It’s catching on in nontraditional markets here in NA. Just wait until the Asian markets are on board. Then watch out.
You, me, and Whalercane need to have a sit down and go over our proposal.
Anyone else on board?
Sorry, I said $997M a while ago. That’s a typo.
I meant 997 ¢.
Hi SOP
Easy Peezy….move the Yotes to Shanghai ….. they’ll build a 25,000 seat arena for only $15 M….. sell out (in 10 minutes) the arena for 5 years @ average price of $20 per ticket…. And have higher revenues than Yotes are getting now
That’s only if the joint doesn’t collapse the first time someone slams a door.
@Ron Moore
I have come to the conclusion , U R just a “freekin” moron !!
I have most likely never played a contact sport in your life .
I guess Nylander and I are wrong , amongst others , as they commented on the Myers hit .
Like , I say , let Myers perform that act towards a team , as the Bruins for example , see what happens ..
Too bad a “wimp” like you doesn’t play hockey in a Sr. Men’s league , I would love nothing better than to be the opposition .
Teams come to star players aid , when a hit as such , is administered as such
U R just too pathetic ,to acknowledge this !!
It was you , that was the illustrious Campbell , when he was in Toronto whenever I made a comment ., How is your Campbell soup performing in Edmonton today .
@Ron Moore
No malice intended , but I just find you really annoying , continuous jabs on here