NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 20, 2024
Three hat-trick performances as the Wild defeat the Canucks, Leafs center Auston Matthews moves closer to the 50-goal plateau, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: The Minnesota Wild overcame 4-1 and 5-2 deficits in a 10-7 upset of the league-leading Vancouver Canucks. Minnesota forwards Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov each scored three goals and three assists with the latter picking up his hat trick during his club’s seven-goal outburst in the third period. Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello each had a goal and three assists as the Wild improved to 26-23-6 and sit two points out of the final Western Conference wild-card berth with 58 points.
Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov (NHL Images).
J.T. Miller collected a hat trick and added an assist for the 37-14-6 Canucks (80 points) as they hold a three-point lead over the Boston Bruins in the overall standings. Pius Suter had three assists while Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes each had two points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Wild also set a franchise record for most goals in a single game. They capitalized on three 5-on-3 man-advantage scenarios to turn the game in their favor. They nearly blew an 8-5 lead when the Canucks scored twice to move within a goal but two empty-netters sealed the deal. Canucks winger Conor Garland left the game in the second period after blocking a shot but returned to action in the third period.
A shootout goal by Charlie McAvoy lifted the Boston Bruins to a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars. Jeremy Swayman kicked out 43 shots while David Pastrnak tied the game with his 35th goal of the season late in the third period for the 33-12-11 Bruins, who regained sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference with 77 points. Wyatt Johnson, Ryan Suter and Esa Lindell replied for the Stars (34-14-8) as they hold first place in the Central Division with 76 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Bruins honored captain Brad Marchand for recently reaching the 1,000-game milestone in a pregame ceremony. Meanwhile, the Stars played without center Matt Duchene due to a lower-body injury.
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews tallied his league-leading 49th goal of the season as his club doubled up the St. Louis Blues 4-2. Mitch Marner collected three assists and William Nylander netted a shorthanded goal for the Maple Leafs (30-16-8) as they picked up their fourth straight victory and sit third in the Atlantic Division with 68 points. Brandon Saad and Pavel Buchnevich scored for the 29-24-2 Blues as they cling to the final Western wild-card spot with 60 points.
A four-goal third period gave the Edmonton Oilers to a 6-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes, leaving the latter winless in their last 10 games (0-9-1). Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists, Evander Kane tallied twice and Evan Bouchard picked up three assists for the 33-18-1 Oilers as they hold third place in the Pacific Division with 67 points. Nick Bjugstad scored two goals and Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist for the Coyotes as they dropped to 23-28-4.
Vegas Golden Knights rookie Mason Morelli had a goal and an assist in his season debut while Logan Thompson made 29 saves to shut out the San Jose Sharks 4-0. Alec Martinez collected three assists for the Golden Knights (32-17-6) as they sit second in the Pacific Division with 70 points. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 22 shots for the 15-35-5 Sharks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Golden Knights activated defenseman Shea Theodore off injured reserve but he didn’t play in this game. He’s been sidelined since Nov. 22 with an upper-body injury. Meanwhile, the Sharks activated Henry Thrun on injured reserve and placed captain Logan Couture on IR. The Sharks also made winger Alexander Barabanov a healthy scratch.
The Calgary Flames kept their playoff hopes alive with a 6-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets. Nazem Kadri scored twice and collected an assist while Jonathan Huberdeau and Andrew Mangiapane each had a goal and an assist for the Flames (26-25-5) as they overcame a 3-1 deficit. With 57 points, they’re three back of the Blues for the final Western wild-card berth. Sean Monahan tallied a natural hat trick for the 33-15-5 Jets as they remain in third place in the Central Division with 71 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jets coach Rick Bowness was displeased by his club’s performance in this contest after they upset the league-leading Canucks in their previous game. “That’s as soft a five-on-five game as we’ve played all year,” he told reporters in a postgame interview. “That’s not us at all. That didn’t even look like the Winnipeg Jets out there.”
Carolina Hurricanes forwards Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas each had a goal and an assist to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3. Seth Jarvis picked up two assists as the Hurricanes (33-17-5) sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 71 points. Rookie Connor Bedard had a goal and two assists for the 15-38-3 Blackhawks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bedard is showing no lingering effects from the fractured jaw that recently sidelined him for six weeks. He has six points in three games since returning to action on Feb. 15. Meanwhile, Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield missed this game with an upper-body injury.
An overtime goal by Ben Chiarot gave the Detroit Red Wings a 4-3 win over the Seattle Kraken. Lucas Raymond had a goal and an assist while Alex Lyon made 38 saves for the 29-20-6 Red Wings, who hold the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth with 64 points. Jared McCann tallied twice for the Kraken (23-21-11) as they sit three points out of the final Western wild-card spot with 57 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Red Wings forward Patrick Kane collected an assist to reach 800 for his career.
The Ottawa Senators upset the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2. Mathieu Joseph scored two goals while Tim Stutzle had a goal and an assist for the 23-27-2 Senators. Brayden Point and Mitchell Chaffee replied for the Lightning (30-22-5) as they hold the first Eastern wild-card spot with 65 points.
Anaheim Ducks winger Frank Vatrano scored twice as his club nipped the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 4-3. Troy Terry had a goal and two assists while John Gibson stopped 34 shots for the 20-33-2 Ducks. Dylan Cozens collected two assists for the 24-27-4 Sabres.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before the game, the Sabres announced defenseman Owen Power (hand) was placed on injured reserve.
IN OTHER NEWS…
NHL COM: Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk are the three stars for the week ending Feb. 18, 2024.
NASHVILLE HOCKEY NOW: The Predators’ poor performance since the All-Star break prompted the club to cancel the team’s plans to journey to Las Vegas following Saturday’s game against St. Louis to watch U2 perform at Sphere. General manager Barry Trotz said the team’s recent standards were “below expectations”, especially during home games, pointing to their 9-2 loss to the Dallas Stars last Thursday. They face the Golden Knights tonight in Las Vegas.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: In other words, play well and be rewarded.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Odd move by Vegas to activate Theodore and not play him. If they didn’t want him to start with back to back games, wouldn’t it have been better to ease him in against SJ and then sit him tonight?
Also, if they weren’t going to play him, why take him of LTIR before the game. Isn’t there benefit to Vegas to keep him on IR an extra day? Every day counts, right?
foleyd7, I think once he gets medical clearance to play they have to take him off LTIR.
Not sure how the timing to get that clearance works, but pretty sure there are rules about that. If someone with more knowledge on the subject could confirm or deny, would be appreciated.
Auston Matthews is on pace for 73 goals. If he scores 70 plus goals but remain 7th in scoring and 21pts behind the leading scorer, is he consider a favoring for the Hart trophy?
Would be no from me but I have no vote. 😀
Re; Edmonton Oilers
Watched the Oilers -AZ game yesterday…
Cant say i was Not woried when it was 3-2 at the start of the 3rd….,
AZ were looking and playing bettter that the Oil…
Then,
its like a Switched Flipped and they were told ok boys, its Gun & Run time Now….⁉️ Bang its 6-3…
The Oilers biggest need
#1 is a Top 4 RD-man….like Tanev to replace Ceci
#2 is a RW, like David Perron from the Wings or VT from the Sen’s
that would helpthe top 6, but they are both about $5.M in Cap hits….
Being forced to watch U2 would have been a just punishment for the slump.
Lol. I thought the exact same thing.
Becoming more evident that the Bolts need to make a move just to stay in a playoff spot.
“The indication that I have is, if you were to pinpoint it on a map, I think the Hanifan camp has expressed to the Flames that he has interest in signing in Tampa Bay… I don’t know how mutual it is, but the Lightning are in need of defense.” Seravalli
I don’t see the assets for a Hanifin trade and how do they sign him to a lucrative extension when Sergachev comes back? But this is out there…..
Tampa Bay isnt that far from Florida where is bestie Chucky plays. They have assets Conroy would covet.
Dont See Tampa in the Running for LD/man
Noah Hanifin,
They are Capped out and have $11.5Min space next season, They have Stamkos to re-sign & 6 Roster players at $750,000 minimum to $1M ranger,
As a UFA, Hanifin is more than likly around a $8.5 to $9.? D/man
Tampa have No 1st & 2nd picks in 2024 & no 1st 2025…., Prospect pool is Very Weak, theyhave 1 only potential good player they have is 19 yr old
RW Ethan Gauthier,
D prospects are very poor life long AHL players.
F prospects are poor to…..
Florida are in a similar position but have $28.5 in Cap space 🤔
Ya Willie, doesn’t make much sense.
Mr Stamkos will be in line for a pay cut as well, if he stays in Tampa anyway.
As a hypothetical only, if TB had to choose between having Hanifin or a 35 yr old Stamkos, I would take Hanifin if I was TB. They score enough, but letting in too many.
Ray
That would be the correct answer but NHL. Teams always award winning vets contracts when they really should not. Look no further then Bruin kings hawks etcetc
That would be where the smart money is MB4, because that is exactly what teams do. But if I recall they haven’t talked extension yet and Stamkos didn’t sound thrilled about it. So maybe they go full Belichick!
I suppose he could take a big pay cut and take way less then he could get on the open market, and they can try and squeeze in both with some other changes, but that doesn’t happen very often either.
One thing we do know is Hanifin will get paid.
Hey Ray,
i know what your Saying, I too would look at Hanifin too….. But Stamkos has been there his whole career, on pace for 30+ goals again and 70++ points with 32 games left for TB…🤔
Stamkos is a fan favoriot down there
i think they try to get him for $6.M for 2 years or $5.5M for 3 years….❓
they just dont have much to trade for players from picks to the farm…..
You have 3 very good Young teams coming right on there Tail, Buffalo, Ottawa, & NJD will all be in the playoffs next year too
Flames need young centers & Florida has Lundell which would be of interest in a Hanifin deal.