NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 15, 2023
The Leafs’ Auston Matthews starts the season with consecutive hat tricks, Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner tallies a hat trick in his club’s home-opener, Mackenzie Blackwood turns in a 51-save debut with the Sharks, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews collected his second straight hat trick in as many games to lead his club over the Minnesota Wild 7-4. William Nylander scored twice and collected an assist while Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly each had two helpers. Wild rookie Marco Rossi scored his first-ever NHL goal.
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Matt Boldy also scored for the Wild but he left the game in the third period with an upper-body injury following a hit by Rielly. He will be reevaluated on Sunday.
A natural hat trick by team captain Boone Jenner powered the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 5-3 victory over the New York Rangers. Johnny Gaudreau picked up two assists and rookie David Jiricek scored to collect his first-ever NHL point as Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent picked up his first win as an NHL bench boss. Adam Fox and Erik Gustafsson each had two points for the Rangers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins left the game in the second period due to illness after making 24 saves. He was replaced by Spencer Martin for the remainder of the game. Earlier in the day, the Jackets placed winger Eric Robinson on waivers.
San Jose Sharks goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood made 51 saves to steal a point as his club dropped a 2-1 shootout decision to the Colorado Avalanche. Cale Makar scored the tying goal in the third period, setting the stage for Mikko Rantanen’s shootout winner.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blackwood’s 51 saves were the most by a goaltender in their debut with a team since 1955-56.
The Vancouver Canucks defeated the Edmonton Oilers for the second straight game with a 4-3 win as Sam Lafferty snapped a 3-3 tie in the third period. Casey DeSmith made 37 saves while Nils Hoglander had a goal and an assist for the Canucks. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and two assists while Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each had a goal and an assist for the Oilers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A better effort by the Oilers in this one compared to the 8-1 shellacking they received from the Canucks in their season opener. They outshot the Canucks 40-17 but costly defensive breakdowns and shaky goaltending from Stuart Skinner proved to be their undoing.
The Ottawa Senators got two goals and an assist from Jakob Chychrun to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2. Brady Tkachuk also scored twice for the Senators and Claude Giroux picked up two assists. Travis Konecny had a goal and an assist for the Flyers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: In a pregame ceremony, the Senators honored Giroux for reaching his 1,000th career point on Oct. 10 against the Carolina Hurricanes. He netted most of those points during his tenure with the Flyers and was touched that the Senators chose this game against his former club to honor his achievement.
Winnipeg Jets winger Kyle Connor scored twice and picked up an assist as his club held off the Florida Panthers 6-4. Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey each picked up two points for the Jets while Evan Rodrigues had two goals and two assists for the Panthers.
A two-goal performance by James van Riemsdyk carried the Boston Bruins to a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators. David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist while Jeremy Swayman stopped 33 shots for the Bruins. Colton Sissons scored both times for the Predators.
The Detroit Red Wings upset the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-4. Alex DeBrincat scored two goals and added an assist while Moritz Seider and J.T. Compher each collected two points for the Wings. Steven Stamkos netted two goals and collected a helper for the Lightning.
Montreal Canadiens forward Sean Monahan scored what proved to be the game-winner as his club held on for a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Monahan finished with a goal and an assist, Tanner Pearson netted his first goal with the Canadiens and Samuel Montembeault turned aside 28 shots for the win. Tyler Johnson tallied both goals for the Blackhawks with rookie Connor Bedard picking up an assist, giving him points in his first three NHL games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canadiens center Kirby Dach left the game in the first period after suffering a lower-body injury following a hit by Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi. He will be reevaluated on Sunday.
A five-goal third period carried the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames. Jake Guentzel had a goal and two assists, Bryan Rust tallied twice and Alex Nedeljkovic kicked out 34 shots for the Penguins. Matt Coronato and Jonathan Huberdeau replied for the Flames.
The New York Islanders nipped the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 3-2. Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist while Ilya Sorokin got the win with a 26-save performance. Casey Mittelstadt and Zach Benson each had two points for the Sabres.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Sabres felt that Casey Cizikas’ game-winner in the third period was knocked in by a high stick. When the video review confirmed the goal they launched a coach’s challenge claiming the Isles were offside but the officials disagreed after reviewing the play.
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington stopped 30 shots and Robert Thomas scored in the shootout in a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken. Jordan Kyrou scored in regulation for the Blues as did Jaden Schwartz for the Kraken, who got a 24-save effort from goalie Joey Daccord.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was a costly win for the Blues as winger Pavel Buchnevich left the game late in the first period with an upper-body injury. Blues coach Craig Berube said he didn’t know the extent of Buchnevich’s injury but he didn’t rule out a concussion. He will be reevaluated on Sunday.
Vegas Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson had a goal and two assists as his club rolled to a 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Jack Eichel and Shea Theodore each had a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights. Mason McTavish replied for the Ducks while John Gibson stopped 34 shots.
A goal by Jordan Martinook in the ninth round of the shootout lifted the Carolina Hurricanes over the Los Angeles Kings 6-5. Sebastian Aho scored shorthanded and picked up an assist for the Hurricanes while Anze Kopitar had two goals and Kevin Fiala picked up three assists for the Kings.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before the game, Kings general manager Rob Blake told Bally Sports West that Viktor Arvidsson could require back surgery. The 30-year-old winger suffered the injury during practice on Monday and was placed on long-term injury reserve on Thursday.
The commentators and panels are so torturous , often by giving national instead of regional coverage.
The Habs were winning the game 3-0 and the 2nd intermission was busy discussing Connor Bedard, analysing his impact his game, shot while ignoring his poor shot choice setting up the 3rd goal.
The kid has been great at every level and looks like he’s at home in the NHL, but give us a break. Call the game, give analysis but cut the hyperbole.
That at least had some relevance to the game HF30. On Wednesday’s Leafs/Habs game the lead topic for the intermission panel was the Leafs’ celebration song.
HF30/LJ – I’ll give both of you props for hanging in there and watching the intermissions. I gave up decades ago after becoming tired of listening to Cherry rant on about how great the Leafs and Bruins were and how he disliked the Europeans and French Canadian players. Back in those days, I would leave during intermission. Nowadays, I PVR the game and fast forward through it. Good to see that somethings don’t change.
habfan, Speaking of hyperbole, “generational talent” must be the most overused phrase on NHL telecasts. A generation is 18 years, give or take. Yet, the NHL now has these “generational talents”: Ovechkin, Crosby, McDavid, Matthews and Bedard. And others were probably in the conversation over the past 10 years. My take: “generational talent” should be reserved for retired players or those near the end of their careers.
No slight against any of these current players, all will probably be inducted into the hockey hall of fame. In the old days, they would be known as superstars. Generational talents were players who dominated year after year – Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Denis Potvin, Guy Lafleur and others were one tier lower.
Hammer-Of-The-Gods, two others who should always be mentioned when speaking of Howe, Orr, Gretzky and Lemieux are Jean Beliveau and Maurice Richard. I saw them all in their prime and believe me those two were a notch above in so many respects — for their time.
HotG,
In my opinion Doug Harvey , Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky were generational players who changed the game as it was played.
Many others were stars and superstars and great players.
Tampa and Detroit put on one of the ugliest defensive games you ever want to see. Both goalies played very well, which you can’t often say in a 6 – 4 game. Neither team will go very far playing like this, and both failed Hockey Defense 101.
The Avalanche had the puck the whole game and Blackwood stood on his head. Apparently, the ice was bad or it probably would have been different? It must have been difficult to watch if you are a Sharks fan but you have to feel good if you have a guy like that in goal. The sharks were skating however and the Avalanche were a little too cute trying to make the perfect pass or play
I guess the bottom line was, it wasn’t worth staying up to watch. So, I should be happy the Avalanche got the two points, lol !!!
Tommy Boy, Idk, i enjoyed the game. I was switching between Van vs emd and the Col vs SJ game. Then in the the third i stead with the Colorado game, just to see if the Avalanche could beat Blackwood, he put on quite the performance.
Yes Colorado deserve the win put watching all them saves i was pulling for MacKenzie Blackwood.
little note for Edmonton, you need a goaltender.
Yeah how about that save he made on Makar in the 3rd period?…..I am pretty critical of Avalanche as great as they are, I guess but to me they complicate things too much. I would like to see the other lines get more involved & get more ice time. If the stars are going to Jack around on special teams and 5×5, I would rather see what the other lines can generate. I don’t feel like Colton, Wood & Tatar got enough time? Maybe I should have watched Vancouver and Edmonton?
Bruins team looks heavy and quick , good goaltending and god bid D but to get the job done they are going to need that center for the #1 line .. just maybe if PB likes what he sees he just might hop back in and for this year if not they need to get that center sooner rather than later
In the 2 games against the Canucks, the Oilers’ goalies each had a SV% of .750 compared to the Canucks’ goalies with SV% of .955 and .933. If the Oilers don’t do something to address their goaltending and their poor defensive play they can give up their dream of winning the cup this year.
Goaltending was identified as a potential weakness for the Oil. Off the top of my head I can’t think of a team who has a quality starter to spare, so this could be a year of disappointment for Edm.
Two games into the season, and fans are already over reacting. Campbell looked great in pre-season, but had a shaky opening night, same as the rest of the oilers. Tuesday, Edmonton plays in Nashville, one team will earn its first win.
That is the rub LJ. Replace them with who. The Oil were dominant last night, except in net.
Both tenders have shown the ability to provide long stretches of quality NHL tending, that is the bet Holland made. Campbell did work his but off this offseason and looked great in the preseason, to HOTG’s point. Neither has in the 2 games played.
Too early to panic, but until one or both start to put some starts together the fans will be nervous.
I think they will, but a little nervous about it, ya.
loved it last night at the end of the Game the Sens fans were cheering We Want Pinto….❗️👏