NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 31, 2024
The Avalanche and Canucks clinch playoffs berths, it’s now a three-player race for the Art Ross Trophy, the Leafs’ Auston Matthews hits 60 goals and Jonathan Quick set a record for US-born goaltenders. Get the details on these and other stories in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals and set up two others as the Colorado Avalanche overcame 3-1 and 4-2 deficits to defeat the Nashville Predators 7-4 and clinch a playoff berth. Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar each had three points for the 47-21-6 Avalanche, who sit fifth in the overall standings with 100 points. Gustav Nyquist had two points for the Predators (43-27-4), who hold the first Western Conference wildcard berth with 90 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: MacKinnon holds first place in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with 127 points…A match penalty to Predators defenseman Ryan McDonagh in the second period for an illegal hit to the head of Avalanche forward Ross Colton was the turning point in the game. McDonagh’s ejection left the Preds with just five blueliners for the rest of the game…Avs defenseman Sean Walker missed the third period with an upper-body injury.
An overtime goal by Jonathan Marchessault into an empty net gave the Vegas Golden Knights a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. It was Marchessault’s 40th goal of the season as the Golden Knights (41-25-8) hold third place in the Pacific Division with 90 points. Kirill Kaprizov scored his 37th goal for the 35-28-10 Wild (80 points) as they sit seven points out of the final Western wildcard.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Wild head coach John Hynes opted to pull his goaltender to go for the win in the hope of keeping their fading playoff hopes alive. He gambled and lost. Because of that tactic, the Wild don’t get a point for reaching the overtime period…Before the game, it was reported that Wild forward Marcus Foligno will undergo season-ending surgery to address his lower-body injury…Golden Knights center Jack Eichel could face supplemental discipline after he was ejected during the second period for spearing Kaprizov.
San Jose Sharks goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood made 35 saves to shut out the St. Louis Blues 4-0. Filip Zadina, Mikael Granlund, Luke Kunin and Jan Rutta scored for the 17-48-8 Sharks, who snapped a nine-game winless skid. The loss leaves the Blues (39-31-4) sitting five points out of the final Western wildcard with 82 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The losses by the Blues and Wild clinched a postseason berth for the idle Vancouver Canucks (45-20-8), who sit seventh in the overall standings with 98 points…The Canucks and Avalanche join the New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers among the teams that have secured their spots in the 2024 playoffs.
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid scored two goals and collected an assist in a 6-1 drubbing of the Anaheim Ducks. Mattias Ekholm had a goal and two assists for the 45-23-4 Oilers, who hold second place in the Pacific Division with 94 points. Alex Killorn scored for the 24-46-4 Ducks.
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid briefly held the lead in the Art Ross Trophy race with 125 points before MacKinnon and Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov overtook him. On Nov. 12, a struggling McDavid sat 112th among NHL scorers. He’s turned this into a three-man race for the scoring title with less than three weeks remaining in the season.
Speaking of Kucherov, he picked up two assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the New York Islanders 4-1. Steven Stamkos tallied his 30th goal of the season and Anthony Cirelli scored twice and collected an assist for the Lightning, who improved to 41-25-7 and hold the first Eastern Conference wildcard berth with 89 points. Kyle Palmieri scored for the Islanders, who dropped to 31-27-15 (77 points) and sit five points out of the final Eastern wildcard spot.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kucherov sits second in the Art Ross Trophy race with 126 points. Erik Cernak was a healthy scratch for the Lightning after missing a team meeting.
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews reached the 60-goal plateau for the second time in a 3-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Ilya Samsonov turned in a 34-save shutout for the 42-22-9 Leafs, who sit third in the Atlantic Division with 93 points. The Sabres slipped to 35-35-5.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Matthews leads the goalscoring race, eight goals ahead of Oilers winger Zach Hyman. Before this game, the Leafs placed winger Mitch Marner (ankle) on long-term injury reserve retroactive to March 7, though he could return to the roster later this week.
The New York Rangers defeated the Arizona Coyotes 8-5. Jonathan Quick made 27 saves to set the record for most wins by an American-born NHL goaltender with 392. Alexis Lafreniere had a hat trick and collected two assists while Chris Kreider scored his 300th career regular-season goal for the Rangers. They’re the first team to reach 50 wins this season (50-20-4) and sit first overall with 104 points. Clayton Keller tallied his 32nd goal of the season for the 31-38-5 Coyotes.
Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov scored twice and Sam Reinhart scored in a shootout in a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. The Panthers (47-22-5) sit sixth in the overall standings with 99 points. Dylan Larkin scored to tie the game late in the third period for the 36-30-8 Red Wings, who sit two points out of the final Eastern wildcard.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Larkin had a brief injury scare when he was struck by a shot on his left leg early in the game. He returned to action in the second period and finished the game.
A shootout goal by Kevin Shattenkirk lifted the Boston Bruins over the Washington Capitals 3-2. Jeremy Swayman made 18 saves in regulation and overtime for the Bruins, who improved to 43-17-15 and sit fourth in the overall standings with 101 points. Playing in his 1,000th career regular-season game, John Carlson scored the tying goal for the Capitals (36-27-10), who vaulted over the Philadelphia Flyers into third place in the Metropolitan Division with 82 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin missed this game with a lower-body injury.
Speaking of the Flyers (36-29-10), they lost their fourth straight game as they dropped into the final Eastern wildcard with 82 points following a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Philipp Kurashev, Lukas Reichel and Joey Anderson each had a goal and an assist for the 22-47-5 Blackhawks. Tyson Foerster replied for the Flyers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Flyers head coach John Tortorella hopes this loss to the lowly Blackhawks serves as a wakeup call for his slumping club. “I think we hit the bottom tonight here,” he said. “Maybe that needs to happen for us to get back into it.”
The Dallas Stars set a franchise record with their seventh straight win by blanking the Seattle Kraken 3-0. Jake Oettinger made 17 saves for the shutout while Wyatt Johnston, Joe Pavelski and Roope Hintz scored for the Stars (47-19-9), who sit second overall with 103 points. Joey Daccord turned aside 27 shots for the 30-30-13 Stars.
Speaking of 3-0 shutouts, Pyotr Kochetkov kicked out 26 shots to backstop the Carolina Hurricanes over the Montreal Canadiens. Jordan Staal, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis were the goalscorers as the Hurricanes improved to 47-21-7 and sit third in the overall standings with 101 points. Sam Montembeault made 27 saves for the 28-33-12 Canadiens.
Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk scored late in the third period as his club upset the Winnipeg Jets 3-2. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 28 shots for the 33-36-4 Senators. Jets goalie Connor Hellebucyk made 24 saves in his 500th career NHL regular-season game in a losing cause as his club sits third in the Central Division with 94 points but slipped to 44-24-6.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Jets’ slump continues as they’ve won three of their last 10 games.
The Calgary Flames surprised the Los Angeles Kings with a 4-2 win. Nazem Kadri led the way with a goal and an assist for the 34-34-5 Flames. Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe scored for the Kings (38-24-11) as they hold the final Western wildcard with 87 points.
A shootout goal by Damon Severson gave the Columbus Blue Jackets a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Zach Werenski had a goal and an assist and Elvis Merzlikins turned aside 30 shots for the 24-38-12 Blue Jackets. Bryan Rust had a goal and an assist for the 32-30-11 Penguins.
Figures, where it comes to the Senators. They post their 5th straight win for the first time this season at a stage where it doesn’t matter – other than to push them one notch higher (or lower – depending upon the way you view it) in the drafting order.
They now sit 7th in the pecking order with 70 pts and 9 games to play, 3 pts back of Seattle & Calgary. 5 back of Pittsburgh and Buffalo (who have just 7 games left).
What Staios has to decide now is, what draft year over the next three does he relinquish in the Dadinov fiasco? Is his evaluation such that he sees his team being gradually better over the next two seasons? If so, he likely retains this year’s pick as their final position would be the best it’ll be over the next three drafts. If that’s the way it goes, he’d better be right because he’ll look pretty incompetent should the new coaching hire falls flat and the bottom falls out again next season and they wind up even lower in the standings.
Here’s where he starts to earn his keep as a GM.
Maybe trading one those “core” players (CHABOT?) for this year’s 1st or next year’s will decide which pick he will relinquish?
Could be Johnny Z – but I just don’t see teams lining up to take on an $8 mil cap hit for a guy who can’t seem to stay in the line-up.
Any trade involving Chabot would need some deft combination of cap % withheld combined with another sweetener.
That, and more, George.
This year’s draft talent is not supposed to be that deep, and most rankings I see have a heavy presence of d in the top 10. Do the Sens need another D, or a goalie or forward? Is Staios better off trading the pick outright for a player or for a few picks further back to get a player they like but who isn’t as highly rated as #7?
Kind of like the same thinking that has to be going through Hughes’ mind as well.
By the by, keep your boys winning. The Habs need all the help with their draft position that they can get.
Heh. THAT’S what worried me the most, even “catching” Pittsburgh.
There has been “chat” in here over the season that the Senators seem to be able to beat the top teams but flop when they play the bottom feeders – and I have been as guilty as any in that regard.
I suppose part of that stems from their 3-1 record against the Leafs and doing well against the likes of the NYR and Edmonton.
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But the stats don’t bear that out over their 73 games to date.
Against the Top 10 teams (NYR, Dallas, Carolina, Bostpn, Colorado, Florida, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto their record to date is
7 14 2 68 96
Against the “middle” 10 (Nashville, Vegas, Tampa, L.A., Washington, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Detroit, Minnesota, NYI, NJ their record to date is marginally better at
12 12 2 88 91
Against the rest (Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Calgary, Seattle, Montreal, Arizona, Columbus, Anaheim. Chicago, S.J.) their record is barely above .500 at
11 10 89 62
Boston won an overtime game on a shootout goal from Kevin Shattenkirk! The shot was a bomb! Another example of an unsung veteran coming through! Not a Sweeney fan but his bargain basement veteran players other than Lucic have really come through! Here s hoping Maroon can be part of that mix!
And, who knows, Lucic may also have been a decent pick-up had he not ruined what was left of his career with that assault and battery case – something Sweeney could not have foreseen.
As for that situation, despite his wife causing the case to be dropped by refusing to testify, I doubt we’ll ever see him in a NHL jersey again.
Lucic won’t pull on another NHL jersey because he has been in free fall since 2016-17. In 6 seasons since then he hasn’t scored more than 10 goals a season. He was always a ponderous skater and since the league has gotten faster he’s looked like a model T against sports cars; and since fighting has fallen in importance he has become excess baggage.
He has made way more money than his talent should have earned him, enough to move into an extremely comfortable retirement.
Which has been long overdue.
The Avalanche and Predators was some serious big boy hockey; the Avalanche need to be ready to go for that every game and all playoffs long. The Avalanche have difficulty being mentally focused to handle the initial onslaught of these types of teams. The good news is, once they get cranked up, they can be an unstoppable juggernaut. To me, that is what they need to correct; otherwise, what a great game that was too watch. Against Rangers as well: serious hockey. The Avalanche are a treat to watch. GO AVS!!!!
tommy boy, 8-1-1 heading to the playoffs, just 4 pts back of 1st overall in the league, and a league-best team +58 goal differential has served notice that Colorado is going to be a team you want to avoid in round 1.
Recently I had Dallas as my choice to win the west … but that is changing swiftly with the way the Avalanche are playing.
As Lyle pointed out the Dallas Star are 2nd overall in the Nhl!
You don’t hear much chatter about Dallas but here they are 2nd overall.
Presently no 30 goal scorer and only 1 player at a point per game.
What they do have is 7 players with 20+ goals! Jamie Benn can make it 8 if he gets 2 more. That’s a lot of depth.
10 players with 40+ points
This is a big team , they will be a tough out.
Caper
I have them winning the west in the pool and Canes in east
Would be a nice 1000 payday if it happens
MB4 going to be tough with Carolina 3pts behind and 7 games remaining.
For $1000 i guess you’re betting against your bruins for the 2 games remaining against the Canes.
Caper
Na. Never bet against bruins. That is sacrilegious
It is for who makes finals regardless of regular season