NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 17, 2024
The Capitals clinch the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, the Canucks and Panthers claim the final two division titles, the Sabres fire head coach Don Granato, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: The Washington Capitals are heading to the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. TJ Oshie’s empty-net goal late in the third period was the game-winner for the Capitals (40-31-11) as they clinched the final Eastern Conference wildcard berth with 91 points. Alex Ovechkin scored his 31st goal of the season for the Capitals.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flyers pulled their goalie late in the third because they needed a regulation win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Speaking of regulation wins, that was the margin of victory of the Capitals, whose 32 regulation victories punched their ticket to the postseason. They’ll face the New York Rangers in the opening round.
A shootout goal by Patrick Kane lifted the Detroit Red Wings to their second-straight 5-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens but the Capitals win eliminated them from playoff contention. Daniel Sprong had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings (41-32-9), who missed the postseason for the eighth straight season. Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky had a goal and an assist to finish the season with 20 goals and 50 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Red Wings’ struggles through March doomed their playoff chances. The idle Pittsburgh Penguins were also eliminated from postseason contention.
Before this game, Canadiens defenseman Chris Wideman announced his retirement. He’d been sidelined for the season by lumbar disc problems. The 34-year-old blueliner had 20 goals, 58 assists and 78 points in 291 career games with the Ottawa Senators, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers and the Canadiens.
Florida Panthers winger Sam Reinhart (NHL Images).
A four-goal second period lifted the Florida Panthers over the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2. Sam Reinhart scored twice to finish the season with 57 goals as the Panthers (52-24-6) clinched the Atlantic Division title with 110 points. Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews was held off the score sheet and remains one goal shy of 70 on the season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Panthers’ first-round opponent will be the Tampa Bay Lightning while the Leafs will meet the Boston Bruins. Matthews will get one more shot at reaching the 70-goal plateau when the Leafs face the Lightning on Wednesday.
The Vancouver Canucks downed the Calgary Flames 4-1 to clinch the Pacific Division title. Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko kicked out 39 shots in his first game back from a knee injury while Tyler Myers had a goal and an assist for the 50-22-9 Canucks (109 points).
A 22-save performance by goalie Logan Thompson gave the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Michael Amadio scored what proved to be the game-winner for the Golden Knights (45-28-8) as they moved into third place in the Pacific Division with 98 points. Jason Dickinson replied for the Blackhawks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Golden Knights hold a one-point lead over the Los Angeles Kings. Both clubs are playoff-bound and each has a game left to decide their final placement in the Western Conference postseason standings. Vegas forwards Chandler Stephenson and Anthony Mantha (day-to-day) missed this game with undisclosed injuries.
Winnipeg Jets winger Kyle Connor tallied twice in a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken. Nikolaj Ehlers and Tyler Toffoli each had a goal and an assist for the 51-24-6 Jets (108 points) as they secured second place in the Central Division and home-ice advantage in their first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche. Yanni Gourde had a goal and an assist for the Kraken.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jets forward Morgan Barron left this game in the first period with a lower-body injury.
The Ottawa Senators finished their season by beating the Boston Bruins 3-1. Jakob Chychrun tallied what proved to be the game-winning goal for the Senators. The loss cost the Bruins the opportunity to clinch the Atlantic Division title.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot left this game in the second period with an upper-body injury.
Before the game, broadcaster Jack Edwards announced his retirement at the end of the postseason. He’s been the Bruins’ play-by-play man on NESN for 19 seasons.
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski scored twice and collected two assists in a 6-3 upset of the Carolina Hurricanes. Blue Jackets rookie forward Luca Del Bel Belluz scored in his NHL debut. Teuvo Teravainen scored twice for the Hurricanes, who’ll face the New York Islanders in the opening round of the playoffs.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast left this game in the second period after being cross-checked in the back by Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson, causing him to tumble awkwardly into the boards. There was no postgame update on his condition.
IN OTHER NEWS…
NHL.COM: The Buffalo Sabres fired head coach Don Granato on Tuesday. With a record of 39-37-6, the Sabres finished sixth in the Atlantic Division and missed the playoffs for a league-record 13th straight season. The Sabres will seek their sixth head coach since 2013.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Granato signed a two-year contract extension last year that begins next season. I’ll have more about the Sabres’ coaching situation in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
TSN: The NHL announced it set a single-season attendance record of 22, 560, 634 in 2023-24 with 18 games remaining in its schedule. It claimed its arenas have averaged 97 percent capacity. Revenue for this season is projected to reach a record-high of $6.2 billion.
SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: The Sharks could receive the Pittsburgh Penguins’ first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft as part of the return from last summer’s Erik Karlsson trade. The pick is top-10 protected and the Penguins could go into next month’s trade lottery in either the 13th or 14th overall spot. Unless the Pens win the lottery and move up into the top 10, that pick will belong to the Sharks.
I realize that :
1. Pens had 81 games to do better just to get a single extra game point to make tonight’s game a playoff deciding one
2. Pens had 23 one goal game losses where just 1 more goal for or 1 less goal against in ANY of those would have made tonight’s game a playoff decider; 3 more for or 3 less against and they are already in
3. Pens are 31st on power play, and just moving up 2 spots to 29th (note still abysmal); would have been enough to have them already in; tonight’s game irrelevant
4. Penguins have a very old team
5. Penguins have a GM that has lost multiple trades; severely over-paid depth/4th liners; constructed a top heavy roster ; ignoring 3rd line needs, ignoring size needs, ignoring grit needs; and a GM that refuses to fire a PP coach that has a loaded PP cadre, that unbelievably is 31st in league
I realize all of that. All of that!!!
But when tonight’s game is made moot solely by two seasoned guys in stripes making absolutely bonehead moves (Sutherland forgetting to look up; and the absolutely brain dead icing call on Habs [that in no other arena, at no other time is called icing] with 7 seconds left)….. well…, that absolutely sucks. Just S U C K S
Tonight’s Pens/Isles tilt is completely irrelevant regarding playoffs or playoff match-ups.
Right now Pens have a 3.2 % Chance of picking 4th; 96.8 % chance of handing Sharks 14th to 16th pick
Pens should play all WBS guys tonight and hope for Wild (who are favoured) to get but a single game point against Kraken (on Thursday)
That outcome at least has some benefit (siler lining??) resulting in Pens with 4.2 % (instead of 3.2%) chance of picking 3rd (instead of 4th); and dropping to 95.8% (instead of 96.8 % chance) of handing Sharks 13th-15th (instead of 14th-16th) pick
Some consolation anyway
Path forward for Pens in the hopes of keeping Crosby:
A. Reierdon MUST be fired
B. Karlsson (50% retained) must be moved (Accari moved in sane deal) to gain something (ANY mid 20’s NHLer who is bigger , stronger, grittier player; AND gain coveted Cap space
C.All UFAs signed must be 28 or younger; at least 6’ 1” and 205; must have grit , guts, hockey IQ
D. No more heavily one sided trade losses (cite: Guentzel, Karlsson, etc)
I do NOT want Crosby to leave; but I wouldn’t blame him.
It’s insane to move Karlsson with 50 retained. Utter madness! Carter gone. Big improvement. The defense man that you retain some salary to move if you have to is graves.
And Jarry. Got to sign Ned and try to move him. I’d normally say he’d be immovable… but it’s a weird goalie market this year.
Hi Chrisms
Can’t disagree on this more
See stats layout and rationale below to Willi re Jarry/Ned
Pens can only lose in a trade Jarry/re-up Ned scenario
People just see the Pens recent streak but don’t really look at what Jarry and Ned actually did. Ned’s numbers not great during streak; and Jarry was ousted for 3 games that had high scores with almost all goals impossible stops (multiple bounces, weird deflections, full screens, etc)
See full details below
Best move is to keep Jarry, bring up Boomy, let someone else overpay for Ned; save Cap (Ned vs Bloomy) and Assets (selling low on any Jarry trade)
Re Karllsson. Transparency , was not a fan of the acquisition (knew any team getting him would seriously overpay after last year’s performance, and Dubas certainly did overpay). I certainly didn’t like the trade nor the fact that Dubas allowed Grier to only retain $1.5 M in Cap, when he (Grier) publicly admitted that he would retain up to 30% (and remember , what is publicly said is not the ceiling )
Add to that Karlsson’s offensive play is but 55% of last year’s and his defensive game has been very very bad of late….he was on the ice for 7 goals (completely at fault for5) in two recent critical games (v Wings and Bruins) where Pens w/o that brutal Karlsson effort in both games would have won both games (and in reg); and would be in playoffs right now
Karlsson is untradeable at $10 M Cap; but IS tradeable with retention
Retaining 50%, and Accairi (well overpaid) can be included; and Pens could get a top mid 20’s 9 winger and a bottom pairing RD (mid/late 20’s) and save a minimum of $3 M (could be up to $5 M) in valuableCap space
Actual cash $’s are not relevant as owners are rich
Penguins, (regardless of a full rebuild or re-tool) must move out some grey beards, and bring in youth with size/strength/grit and
Must NOT sign any UFAs or trade for any players that are older than 28; lighter than 205; shorter than 6’1”
Pens will go for it again next year for better or worse. Sully has no confidence in Jarry… for good reason. He can’t seem to play hockey in the spring. You don’t retain that much on a player unless it’s the final year of their deal. That’s an atrocious idea. Carter smith graves Jarry out… our current d in. Get a 1b for ned. Bulk up bottom 6.
And fire rierden.
I think Karlsson is still a very good player. Maybe not what the Pens needed, but still a good player.
Not $10M good, but a deal at 50% retained.
Paying $5M a year to someone not to play for you isn’t a good idea, especially when you don’t have anyone to replace him. Not sure how that makes you a better team, unless your gonna tear it down.
Cap space is great in theory, but you need good players to win.
8787/Pengy,
Your Pens are Done,
its Re-build time for the Old -Slow Pen’s now,
They are going no where for the next 6-7 years
You have 4 teams that will be way better next year
NJ,
Ottawa,
Montreal,
Buffalo
The Pen’s have Nothing coming from the farm.
For the 2024 Draft No 1st, 3rd, or 5th picks❗️
The Pens have 9 roster spots to fill, 5-UFA &
4- RFA with only 12.7M in Cap Space and there Best goaltender The Back up 28 yr old
Alex Nedeljkovic is also an UFA….😩
I’ve been hearing Buffalo will be better next year for a decade.
10 top 10 first round picks since 2013, 15 first round pics overall in that same span.
How is this team NOT winning?
If only they had an Eichel / Reinhart?
This team is a disaster.
Again
NOT Pengy
Agree that rebuild is necessary; but Crosby shouldn’t (wouldn’t) stay for a true rebuild
Re ‘24 draft; as at right now they have a first. Once the two lottery balls drop; Pens will either have a 3rd overall (Win lottery, zero game points for Pens tonight; Wild win or get to OT tomorrow) or 4th overall (Pens win tonight or Wild loses tomorrow ); OR Sharks get 13th-15th overall pick. I’m hoping for one of the first two
Re “ The Pen’s have Nothing coming from the farm.”
I wouldn’t say nothing. “Little” or “Not much” coming from farm more in line with reality
Sabres, Sens, Habs, Devils better than Pens next year…. Without serious rosterchanges…I fully concur
Re Their “best” goaltender being Nedjelkovic.
Here we disagree wholeheartedly. Stats are almost identical. Both have 2.91 GAA; one is .903 the other .904 in Save percentages. Both have had runs and down periods
Jarry has 6 shutouts; Nedjelkovic 1
Nedjelkovic has done well down this stretch but has seriously benefited from much much better play by the defence, plus great overall offensive support
Prior to the Nashville game, Nedjelkovic’s previous 9 games…. 8 (eight) of 9 at .88 save percentage or less.
4 of those 9 were .83 or less
Don’t take my word for it; view NHL.com game logs/stats for those games
Why did Jarry lose “starter” moniker to Nedjelkovic over theses last 3 or so weeks… because of 3 games vs Rangers, Devils , Stars … March 16, 19, 22 where 15 goals went behind him. What it doesn’t show is that 12 of those were literally impossible to stop (multiple bounces, deflections, full screens, etc etc). Watch those goals and you will see what I mean
Nedjelkovic’s 5 starts before this run where the skaters in front of him started to work…. .85 .84, .78, .89, .84
Nedjelkovic will be 29 as a UFA. Recency bias is no reason to re-up, overpay and with term (Dubas guilty on this before, Pens can I’ll afford to do again)
Recency bias (Jarry sitting [IMHO wrong move] for these last 3 weeks) will also plummet any Jarry trade value
Setting aside my bias/subjectivity:
Pens have two goalies with (call it) identical save percentages and GAAs; but Jarry has 6-1 shutout advantage
But because of recency bias; Pens would lose in a trade and lose in a re-up of Nedjelkovic (let another team overpay him)
You can’t keep both
Smart move is keep Jarry, bring up Bloomy; save the increase in cap, use that space, Carter’s space, and trade another one or two older (Preferably Karllson and Accairi) for more space; to replace with younger, bigger, grittier players
Now pragmatically , if you are doing true true rebuild; you have a private convo with Crosby, retain 50% (note he is only getting $3M in Sal) and move him to Colorado for a very nice return
Regardless of any other moves; Reirdon needs to be immediately fired. Loaded talent on PP , and his PP system has them in 31st place!!!
When your entire season hangs in the balance of a call or non call made in a game not involving your team, in game 81… you got bigger issues!
Here is what The Hockey Writers say regarding Pittsburgh’s low ranking (27th) in the prospect pool.
“The Pittsburgh Penguins have been in a constant state of mortgaging the future for current success for the better part of the last decade as they tried to make the most of the primes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin’s careers (quite successfully I might add). As a result they have only used three of their last nine first round picks, and the prospect pool certainly reflects that willingness to move prospects and picks. ”
I don’t imagine we’ll see any of their “top 5” prospects (Brayden Yager, Samuel Poulin, Owen Pickering, Joel Blomqvist, Emil Pieniniemi) making an impact any time soon – if ever. And now it seems assured that Dubas has parlayed this year’s 1st round pick for a very expensive player ostensibly brought in for that elusive “one more kick at the can.”
Having said that, and drawing upon the old adage that “nobody’s perfect,” maybe some of the “writers” don’t know their butts from their elbows.
For Ottawa, now ranked dead last, someone has decided that their top 5 prospects are Jorian Donovan, Zack Ostapchuk, Tyler Boucher, Roby Jarventie, Tomas Hamara
and goes on to say “This might be lower than some would expect for the Senators to land, but come one, look at that list. Now, there’s no reason to panic, the reason their prospect pool looks so bare is simply because most of their best young players have graduated from this list and into the NHL full-time. If this were a ranking of the best young cores then the Senators would find themselves significantly higher on this list on the backs of players like Jake Sanderson, Ridley Greig and Tim Stutzle.
Jorian Donovan has looked good this year, as has Tomas Hamara, but nobody in Ottawa’s prospect pool projects to be more than a depth piece in the NHL. While this year hasn’t gone the way the Senators hoped, there have been plenty of off-ice issues contributing to the noise that will hopefully be much quieter next year.”
Not mentioned anywhere are D Tyler Kleven and Maxence Guenette, nor goalie Mads Sogaard each of whom I would bet, in the eyes of Ottawa management, rate miles ahead of Tyler Boucher, Zack Ostaphuk, and Robie Jarventi – for starters.
Perhaps some Pittsburgh fans in here can comment on the ones listed for their team.
Blomquist is projecting as a nhl goalie. A bonified starter? Time will tell. But super solid ahl year. And ahl goaltending is tough. The offensive skill isn’t nhl level but neither is the defensive skill in front of you. Poulin is about to be bust. Pickering has tracked well. Yager too early to tell. They got a ncaa forward who is a rising prospect. Meh. The way the pens played out the stretch tells me Dubas goes for it again this summer. So who knows if any of them are traded for now assets.
Re: “ The Buffalo Sabres fired head coach Don Granato on Tuesday. ”
Buffalo fired head coach; and Dubas couldn’t even fire assistant coach Reirdon (PP coach)
If Dubas had fired Reirdon as late as Feb; Pens would already be IN the playoffs
Not a happy day for Penguins and all Penguins’ fans
Growing up through a few Hab dynasties and more Stanley Cup wins than a fan deserves, it’s jarring to not be in the playoffs.
Players like Jean Beliveau and Henri Richard missing the playoffs once in their entire careers.
On the other hand it’s fun to see a rebuild in progress with management seemingly doing it right.
The Habs had a player step in for the last 2 games about whom there was a lot of talk but had me leery. A young kid, small, NCAA American full of hype about being a steal in the 2nd round.
It’s only 2 games, against the Red Wings, but Lane Hutson is the real deal, he does things on the ice that you just don’t see in the NHL.
His game was a seamless transition that quite frankly I haven’t seen in a Habs rookie. I’m usually very patient in assessing prospects wanting them to show consistency not flash in the pan.
Logan Mailloux played his first game and he looked pretty good, a decent prospect who should make it but, Lane Hutson, this kid will be something to watch for years.
I too have been sceptical about the hype or Hutson. Both because hype can be “I need something to write about”, and because I don’t care for small D. Until I saw him play.
It does come with a caveat that the kid has a lot to learn about the defensive side of the game. For all the flash, there were times when he was well out of position, and it cost a goal.
The other note of caution for Habs fans is that while they have an abundance of D, there is no exciting prospect at forward. None.
Without a couple of meaningful scoring forwards to add to the roster it will be another playoff miss next year. And there are several teams with lots of picks and cap space to compete with. The Coyotes have 7 picks in the first three rounds, two years in a row.
Supplemental thought: is Dach unlucky, or brittle? He’d go a long way in helping if he could stay in the line up.
Until how the Habs get some decent coaching on how to get the puck out of there own end, and can put together more than 2 passes before turning the puck over they will be a bottom team for more years to come.
Well after Boston defeated Florida in OT April 6th it left Florida with 4 home games.
I said Florida would go 4-0 at home and Boston would need to win 2 out of the final 4 to win the division.
Bruins went 1-3 and against Washington they had 4 shots in the first period an another 4 shots in the second. They finished with 16 shots.
Last night they had 3 shots in the first. Came out better in the second Ullmark let in two questionable goals and Ottawa goaltender played very strong.
Pastnak 1 pp goals in the last 17 games, Marchand 2 goals in around his last 20 games. Pastrnak no goals in his last 5 games, it’s the only time all season that he went more than 4 games without a goal.
If Boston doesn’t fix the PP and PK, it will unfortunately be a quick series.
I think Boston matches up better against Toronto then Tampa and by what i read Toronto fans and media rather play Boston than Tampa; maybe both fan bases got what they wanted.
I agree Caper, IMO both the Leafs and the Bruins would rather have this matchup. Likely because TB and Florida have been the best teams in the division for months.
The B’s haven’t played well for months either. They get out-chanced regularly and consistently against any decent teams. Your right if they don’t win the special teams battle, they won’t do well. I would add they need to have the better tender on the ice to win as well.
But hey, if you would have told me it would be Leafs Bruins in RD 1 to start the season, and we had home ice, I would have taken it in a heartbeat.
Go Bruins!
To me it seemed that Bruins were playing down just to ensure playing Leafs instead of Lightning; Leafs being an easier playoff matchup
My guess is that Bruins show a much stronger and dedicated force against the Leafs than they have shown these last few games
I never bet against my B’s 87Peng, but if I was strictly using my head vs my heart, I would take the Leafs in 6.
Ray / 8787
This will be a good match up.
Toronto has the advantage up front
Boston has the advantage on defense.
Goaltender I’m not as sold as others on Bruins but hopefully one of the two
Special teams… Boston better stay out of the box.
I expect a minimum of 6 games.
The best news for me is I have a streaming service and I can pick home or away announcers
No Craig Simpson for me!
Again Ray
Not Pengy
Ray/Caper
I do see glimpses of Leaf improvements; but still see Bruins taking series
Bruins in 6 or 7
This is a great chance for the Bruins to really help the Leafs by either beating them in 4 or 5 games or getting beat outright by the Leafs. I’m sure both scenarios will fan many hot takes. Looking forward to either a long run or a short one.
Here in Manitoba 3 17yr old male hockey players face charges of sexual assault for hazing, that took place in a hotel room while the team was playing in a tournament.
Hazing was a common place in all sports for decades, it’s unfortunate that this stupid tradition got passed on thru the generations.
With all the attention that this behavior and sexual assault in sports has received. Got to ask what the heck are you thinking! stop it’s no longer accepted and should’ve never been a tradition for any sport.
Personally i don’t get it. “Hey to be part of our team, we’re going to shave your n@Ts and shove something in your @ss.! Welcome to the team!
How about go play some pool or video games, a round of golf. So many other ways to welcome a rookie to your team, but for some strange reason nothing bond us together more than sexual assault.
Ya Caper, pretty flippin’ weird way to team build when you think about. Everybody played the jokes and you mess with guys, but there are lines not to cross. Don’t need to be a genius to figure out what those are.
They could just do what we had to do as rooks, carry the gear, clean the room, get out of my seat, etc. Basically you’re the servant for the first few weeks until you earn your stripes. I saw another guy get the heat rub put in his can, but that’s about the extent of it.
It was never spelled out when I played, but it was pretty clear even back when I was coaching, you do that crap and you’re done. Not benched, not suspended, done. Seemed get the message home loud and clear.
Carolina was able to rest Jordan Staal, Frederik Andersen, Brady Skjei, Jaccob Slavin, Jake Guentzel, Brett Pesce, Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and Seth Jarvis. Spencer Martin was the goalie allowing Kochetkov to have the night off as the back up. It was nice to get a look at some of the prospects. Bradly Nadeau and Jackson Blake played their first NHL game and Scott Morrow played his second NHL game.
Fast appeared to hit his head on the boards, hopefully he is not in concussion protocol again.
The Canes are as good a bet as any team to come out of the east. Plus Anderson has been great since he came back. They seem like they are due to take the next step.
Canes/Oiler final?