NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 11, 2023
The Oilers extended their win streak to seven games, Jonathan Quick emerged victorious in his first meeting with the Kings, and much more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: The Edmonton Oilers extended their win streak to seven games with a 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist to extend his points streak to nine games while Evan Bouchard extended his streak to 11 games with a goal as the Oilers reached the .500 mark with a record of 12-12-1 (25 points). Jesper Bratt replied for the 14-11-1 Devils.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A solid performance by the Oilers in this contest as they effectively contained the Devils’ offense while exploiting their opponent’s defensive breakdowns. The Devils played without forward Erik Haula as he was sidelined by an upper-body injury.
New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick (NHL Images).
New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped 25 shots to defeat the Los Angeles Kings 4-1. It was Quick’s first game against the Kings since his trade to the Columbus Blue Jackets last season. Vincent Trocheck collected three assists as the Rangers (19-6-1) took over first overall in the Eastern Conference with 39 points. Phillip Danault scored for the Kings (16-5-4)as they dropped their first road game in regulation time this season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Boston Bruins also have 39 points but the Rangers hold first place based on wins. Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov left this game with a lower-body injury.
A shootout goal by Jonathan Marchessault lifted the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5-4 win over the San Jose Sharks. The Golden Knights held 3-1 and 4-2 leads but the pesky Sharks battled back to force overtime and the shootout. Marchessault also scored twice in regulation as the Golden Knights (19-5-5) remain perched atop the overall standings with 43 points. Mike Hoffman tallied twice for the 8-17-3 Sharks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic missed this game for personal reasons while teammate William Eklund is dealing with a lower-body injury. The Sharks have won five of their last 10 games with their last four contests all decided by one goal.
The Florida Panthers defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2. Panthers forward Sam Reinhart collected a career-high four assists while Aleksander Barkov had a three-point game to improve their record to 17-8-2 while the Jackets fell to 9-16-5. Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson received 29 minutes in penalties for retaliating against Panthers forward Nick Cousins hitting him from behind into the boards as well as a subsequent fight between the two instigated by Gudbranson.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Cousins initially received a five-minute major for his hit on Gudbranson but the officials reduced it to two minutes. That infuriated the Blue Jackets defenseman, prompting the altercation with Cousins later in the game.
This is a consequence of the NHL’s ongoing reluctance to crack down on hits from behind. Cousins skates away with a minor penalty for a dangerous hit while Gudbranson, who was fortunate to escape serious injury, faces a hearing and a likely suspension.
A four-goal third period lifted the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks. The Jets improved to 16-8-2 but lost winger Kyle Connor in the second period following a knee-on-knee hit by Ducks forward Ryan Strome. The Ducks dropped to 10-17-0 and have lost three in a row.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Connor could be sidelined for a while. He couldn’t put any weight on his injured right leg and had to be helped off the ice by his teammates. No word yet as to the severity of Connor’s injury. Strome was handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct but it remains to be seen if he receives supplemental discipline.
Washington Capitals forward Nic Dowd scored twice to double up the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2. Darcy Kuemper turned aside 34 shots as the Capitals improved their record to 14-8-3. Connor Bedard picked up two assists for the 9-17-1 Blackhawks.
The Nashville Predators got two goals from Colton Sissons and 36 saves from Juuse Saros in a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. The Predators 15-13-0 have won 10 of their last 13 games and hold the first Western Conference wild-card berth with 30 points. Jake Evans scored for the 12-13-3 Canadiens.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canadiens defenseman David Savard was activated from injured reserve for this contest. It was his first game since suffering a fractured hand on Oct. 23.
Minnesota Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson turned in a 24-save shutout performance to blank the Seattle Kraken 3-0. Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi and Joel Eriksson Ek were the goal scorers for the 10-12-4 Wild. Joey Daccord stopped 23 shots for the 8-14-7 Kraken.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before the game, the Kraken announced that starting goalie Philipp Grubauer (lower body) had been placed on injured reserve.
HEADLINES
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: NHL Network analyst Tony Granato announced Sunday he’s stepping away from his duties as he receives treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Granato is also a former NHL player and coach.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Here’s hoping Granato makes a swift and complete recovery.
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: The Red Wings offered no update yesterday on the status of captain Dylan Larkin. He was knocked unconscious during Saturday’s game against the Ottawa Senators and had to be helped from the ice. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported all scans for Larkin were negative but there’s no timeframe for his return.
MLIVE.COM: Red Wings forward David Perron faces an in-person hearing today with the NHL department of player safety for cross-checking Senators defenseman Artem Zub. His actions were the result of a scrum following Larkin’s injury.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Perron appeared to assume that Zub was responsible for Larkin’s injury, prompting his response. It was Senators forward Mathieu Joseph who struck the Red Wings captain in the back of the head, followed by another blow by Sens forward Parker Kelly. Perron could face at least a five-game suspension.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: The Penguins yesterday signed Jesse Puljujarvi to a professional tryout offer. The 25-year-old winger underwent double hip surgery in the offseason and hopes to resume his NHL career.
With so many injuries, Pens are scraping the bottom of the barrel. Worth a shot though, not a lot of other options out there but at least Dubas is still trying to improve the team.
Re Gudbranson. I’m not a fan of either team, Columbus or Florida, but cousins kinda had that coming to him. This is what happens when the NHL refuses to enforce their own rules. That was a clear hit from behind on Cousin’s part.
I agree. E. Kane had a dangerous hit on a Wild player on Friday that wasn’t penalized. From what I heard the NHLDOPS said that because the Wild player shoulder-checked, and saw Kane coming he still turned his back towards Kane and put himself in a dangerous position. In the replay, you can see Gudbranson also shoulder check.
This kinda contradicts the NHL when they say that the hitter is responsible for making the hit.
It wasn’t only Gudbranson who was outraged by the downgrade. The entire Jackets bench was upset and the crowd might have lynched the officials who ordered the downgrade, if they could reach them. IMO, with cause. I was watching the game and the hit was replayed several times. Cousins could have avoided Gudbranson easily, or gone face first into him. Instead, he intentionally turned his back to Gudbranson before slamming into him. Then, when Gudbranson retaliated, instead of being a man and defending himself, Cousins turtled.
Paul, i believe Gudbranson will be suspended and correctly so; however, i take no issue with Gudbranson taking care of business considering the refs did not.
If Cousin want to throw a dangerous hit like that he needs to stand up and defend himself. This says a lot about Cousin lack of character.
Cousins saw his back and still did the cheap hit. If league does not start penalizing for the first hits i cant blame the players retaliating
Cousins didn’t skate away after the hit and “took it like a man” when Gudbranson played possum on the ice before popping up and jumping on him.
Gudbranson has 6 inches and 45-50 lbs on Cousins and he has a total lack of character for jumping him 5 min later and beating on the back of his head when he was down.
Gudbranson deserves a suspension
Seriously HF30? A total lack of character?
It was a dangerous hit. Cousins needs to man up but he turtled. If the hit was deemed worthy of only a 2 minute penalty because Gudbradson shoulder checked and saw the hit was coming then the fight was worth only a 2 minute penalty because Cousins saw it coming and turtled. There was a total lack of character all right, but not by Gudbrandson.
I normally see zero value in debating penalties, but there have been cluster of hits from behind where players can be seriously hurt. The Cousins one deserved a major penalty – which if upheld would not have led to the fight after. NHL Player Safety Department is an ongoing, and dangerous, joke.
LJ,
Cousins didn’t skate away or turtle after the hit, Gudbranson hopped back up and jumped him, Cousins took his licks and it should have ended there.
Gudbranson boarded, punched Cousins in the face a full 5 minutes later and THAT is when Cousins turtled, and that’s why I have an issue.
Those types of plays are dangerous but there’s always a question of turning in, shoulder checking etc that come into play and it’s why refs call a 5 then review to see what the call should be.
Check out Craig Buttons comments.
You are entitled to your interpretation of what you saw, and so am I.
I don’t need Button to do my thinking for me. His perspective, by the by, is different from Friedman’s recent comments about this past weekend.
My comments stand. I see Gudbranson got a 1 game suspension under the Aggressor rule, and as it is written that’s fair. But Cousins gets nothing. Ludicrous.
The fact that 2 Ottawa players made contact with Larkins head, knocking him unconscious, and received the same 2 minute penalties as Detroit received for 2 very minor stick infractions later in the game, and no additional discipline was rendered, tells you everything that is wrong wi th the NHL’s regard for the players health.
The play by Joseph on Larkin wasn’t that dirty IMO. 2 minutes was about right. It was the fact that his head hit the 2nd guy that caused the injury.
What Joseph did, happens almost every game, and yes Detroit players do it too. In the playoffs it happens half a dozen times a game and there usually isn’t even a penalty called.
If you want to see a dirty hit on Larkin, it was the Joseph one with Tampa, that was dirty and suspension worthy. Just like the hit by Cousins yesterday. He deserved a worse beat down than he got.
That play is as dangerous as the head shots they suspend for. I just don’t get it. Are they waiting for someone to break their neck before they do something about it?
Owners, NHLPA and GM’s, how is this not on your agenda?
So when Joseph brought his hands/stick up from chest level and lunged to make contact with Larkins head ? Yep….every game….almost every shift.
And yep….aBenn crosscheck to the back of Larkins neck (you can find it online) that puts him in a neckbrace for 2 – 3 months….no call….Joseph runs him into the boards (I was there)….no call….hit in the head twice….knocked unconscious….2 minutes….noticing a pattern ?
Iago, agree on the hit when Joseph ran him into the boards, 100%, which is why I brought it up. I hate all those hits and think they are dangerous. They need to get them out of the game.
The shot he gave him in front of the net, 2 minutes seems right, and I don’t think it is what caused the concussion on it’s own.
An ya, it does happen almost every game where a scrum gets heated, hands come up, guys get hit in the head. And ya, it does happen multiple times in every playoff game, often without getting called.
I’m not a Sens fan or a Wings fan, just the way I saw it. Agree to disagree I guess.
It’s funny, I play hockey three times every week and can tell you in our games there is almost no head contact at all. Last time that happened the guy who did it wasn’t allowed back for 2 weeks.
So it is apparently possible to play hockey without recklessly getting your hands up above someone’s shoulders. You’d think the best hockey players in the world could manage to do it instead of hitting other people in the head half-a-dozen times per playoff game.
Maybe the point is that they don’t care to because the league doesn’t penalize it? And maybe if you started seeing calls made against players for initiating any contact to the head of an opponent it might go down drastically?
Hmmm…
When the 4th line was used for a hard checking line and a keep the peace line it eliminated much of the hitting from behind nonsense and taking liberties on other teams star players …almost every team had that snarl on the 4 the line nowadays not so much…..BTW…how this Bruins team has such a good record at this point is hard to explain …the don’t have a legit 1st line center, every game they play the lines are all mixed up no consistency, the Dmen don’t hit anyone and for the most part Dmen don’t score … as a whole this is the softest Bruins team I’ve seen in a long time and there’s been a lot of them … and to think you have in his day one of the top power forwards in the league as your team VP… maybe you can get by playing soft in the reg season but playoff time it won’t work as proven over and over ..every time a team takes the Bruins out of the playoffs is because they were beaten along the boards … Stop with these two goalies hugging after a win trade one plus a piece for a legit 1st line center, get a Dman with size that will take the body, get players in that will go to the puck hard … 18-5-3 … unbelievable !!!!!!!
You just need to look at Prichard Colon to see what a hit on the back of the head can do.
Should be looking at a season or career ban for those targeted hits.
So Larking gets punched in the back of the head sending him face first to the ice but the other Sen crosschecks him in the face. he is lucky to not have a broken neck….
Did anyone hear/read the clip out of Jordan Tootoo’s book on Twitter? It was about being put on LTIR? Bettman and the NHL must be pissed and scared about this. If you haven’t it was about a conversation with Tootoo’s GM where Tootoo said fine put me on LTIR, the GM said get me an MRI and I will make it happen.
If you haven’t read it, I will see if I can find it again.
Found it. Here is the link to it on twitter.
https://twitter.com/mikecommito/status/1734021294310523369
I think there needs to be an amendment made to the NHL accidental goalie interference rule in the NHL. In both goals that were called back on the Oilers yesterday, it was a NJD player who put the puck in their own net. So if a player is trying to put the puck under their own goalie, but they accidentally put it in their own net, accidental goalie interference should be waved off.
100% Agrred Kev, …👍
Re;the Oilers & Goaltending
Solid Goaltending by Pickard last night first start in 7 games…
The oil need to cool there jets and give Pickard a chance to see if he can handle the Back up goaltender position. Pickard only his 3rd start this season with the Oilers,
Pickard has better AHL and NHL numbers than Jack Campbell has this season
Pickard AHL G4, G.A. 2.02 SV% 0.939
Pickard NHL 3G, GA. 2.24 SV% 0.918
V
Campbell AHL G8 GA. 3.37 SV% 0.887
Campbell NHL G5 GA. 4.50 SV% 0.873
When the Oilers trade Jack Campbell, its going to cost the Oilers a 1st round pick and a Prospect of some type to a Rebuilding team
Hopfully his game improves down in Bako,,,⁉️
Agree willie, way to risky to bring Campbell up and play him.
Oilers are playing very good right now, do not fuq with it.
I hope Campbell finds it, good for the team and good for him. By all accounts a great guy, but from the outside it seems he gets in his own head if things go south a little bit. Gets down on himself.
A guy likes Skinner doesn’t get down, he gets mad and more competitive, and gets himself out of it. Not sure Campbell has that in him. Hope I’m wrong about that.
A very interesting assessment of the Larkin injury can be seen here. Of course it is speculative, but it is very interesting. It does seem that Kelly’s right glove and top of his stick contact Larkin in the neck, and it is after that when Larkin looses consciousness. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jjCmuzv5Kmw