NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 15, 2024
Oilers captain Connor McDavid reaches 1,000 points and Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy gets his 300th career win. Get the details on these stories and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid became the fourth-fastest and the fourth-youngest player to reach the 1,000-point plateau as his club during a 4-3 victory over the Nashville Predators. McDavid reached the milestone with a second-period goal and picked up an assist on Darnell Nurse’s overtime tally. Nurse finished the night with two goals and an assist. Michael McCarron and Cole Smith replied for the Predators, who’ve won twice in their last nine games (2-4-3).
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid joins Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Mike Bossy among the fastest to 1,000 points, doing so in 659 regular-season games. Gretzky did it in 424 games, Lemieux in 513 games, and Bossy in 656.
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy became the fastest netminder to reach 300 regular-season wins by defeating the league-leading Winnipeg Jets 4-1, snapping the latter’s seven-game win streak. Vasilevskiy turned aside 23 shots and Jake Guentzel scored two goals for the Lightning. Adam Lowry had the Jets’ only goal.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Vasilevsky got the win in his 490th NHL regular-season game, breaking the previous record (521) held by Hall-of-Famer Jacques Plante.
The Dallas Stars scored seven goals for the second straight game to crush the Boston Bruins 7-2. Evgenii Dadonov tallied twice while teammates Mason Marchment, Matt Duchene and rookie Oskar Back each had a goal and an assist. Charlie Coyle and David Pastrnak scored for the Bruins.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Back’s goal was his first in the NHL. The Stars’ previous seven-goal game was their 7-1 trouncing of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday.
New Jersey Devils winger Jesper Bratt tallied a hat trick in a 6-2 victory over the Florida Panthers to sweep their back-to-back series. Jack Hughes collected three assists and Stefan Noesen scored twice for the Devils, who’ve won seven of their last nine games. Panthers forward Sam Reinhart netted his league-leading 13th goal.
Minnesota Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson turned in a 19-save shutout to blank the Montreal Canadiens 3-0. Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi and Kirill Kaprizov were the goalscorers for the Wild, who’ve won six of their last eight contests. Canadiens netminder Sam Montembealt made 25 saves as the Canadiens dropped the seventh of their last eight games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kaprizov has 30 points in 16 games, breaking his previous franchise record of 30 points in 22 games. Minnesota forwards Mats Zuccarello and Joel Eriksson Ek left this game with lower-body injuries. Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin missed this game with an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
The New York Islanders extended their point streak to five games (3-0-2) with a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Islanders center Bo Horvat had two assists against his former club, Anders Lee had a goal and an assist and Semyon Varlamov turned aside 24 shots for the win. Canucks rookie Jonathan Lekkerimaki opened the scoring with his first NHL goal.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canucks forward Dakota Joshua made his season debut after missing the opening 14 games of the season recovering from treatment for testicular cancer.
New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad snapped a nine-game goalless drought as his club nipped the San Jose Sharks 3-2. Vincent Trocheck’s second-period goal was the game-winner and Artemi Panarin picked up an assist to extend his points streak to six games. Timothy Liljegren and Fabian Zetterlund replied for the Sharks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was a costly win for the Rangers as center Filip Chytil left the game following a collision with teammate K’Andre Miller in the second period. He’s listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury but there is concern given his concussion history. Meanwhile, the Sharks could loan rookie center Will Smith to Team USA for the 2025 World Junior Championship that begins next month.
An overtime goal by Rasmus Dahlin lifted the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Alex Tuch and Ryan McLeod each had a goal and an assist as the Sabres picked up their fourth win in their last five games. Brandon Saad scored twice for the Blues, who are winless in their last four games (0-3-1).
The Philadelphia Flyers overcame a 4-2 deficit to beat the Ottawa Senators 5-4 on an overtime goal by rookie Matvei Michkov. Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim had three points while Bobby Brink, Travis Konecny and Anthony Richard each had a goal and an assist. Josh Norris, Thomas Chabot and Ridly Greig each had two points for the Senators.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Flyers captain Sean Couturier and goaltender Samuel Ersson missed this game with lower-body injuries and are considered day-to-day.
Seattle Kraken Brandon Tanev extended his goal streak to three games in a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Matty Beniers and Jaden Schwartz also scored for the Kraken. Ryan Donato replied for the Blackhawks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Schwartz’s goal was the 200th of his NHL career. Kraken captain Jordan Eberle left the game early in the second period with a lower-body injury. There was no postgame update regarding his status. Meanwhile, Blackhawks defenseman Alec Martinez returned to action for the first time since being sidelined on Oct. 15 with a groin injury.
IN OTHER NEWS…
THE DENVER POST: Colorado Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin is expected to make his season debut on Friday against the Washington Capitals. He served a six-month suspension as part of Phase 3 of the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.
COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: Speaking of the Avalanche, they activated forwards Jonathan Drouin and Miles Wood off injured reserve.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avs also placed forward Chris Wagner on waivers.
DAILY FACEOFF: The NHL reports only 55 players are wearing neck guards despite no shortage of close calls. It’s been barely a year since former NHL player Adam Johnston died from a skate cut to his neck while playing in England last year.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Players tend to be reluctant to adopt new equipment when it’s done voluntarily. It took decades for NHL players to fully adopt goalie masks, helmets and visors.
TSN: Defenseman Matt Irwin announced his retirement after 11 NHL seasons with the San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins, Nashville Predators, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals. He played in 461 regular-season games between 2012-13 and 2022-23, tallying 25 goals and 68 assists for 93 points. Irwin also had four points in 47 playoff games.
A 4 – 2 lead in the 3rd … then give up 2 goals in 2 minutes and go on to lose in OT. At home. Against a struggling team behind them in the standings. After back to back wins against 2 teams in front of them – one of them a SO in their rink.
As I said the other day – I’ll hold my enthusiasm for the recent little splurge until they play Philadelphia – at home. I rest my long-stated case.
GEORGE,
you called that one with the Sen’s & flyers…..
1 point is better than 0…
However they have the same problem as the
Oilers cant lock it down in the final 10 minutes of the 3rd….❗️
That Young Russian kids Michkov is going to
be gold for Philly👌
George O how s this for an old style hockey trade Boston gives you Mcavoy and Pasternak for Tkaczuk and Sanderson!
Heh. Maybe in a fantasy league. Besides the fact I never engage in trade specifics (e.g. this guy for that guy), both Pastrnak and McAvoy have NMC and their total cap hit is $20,750,000. That’s about $4.500,000 more than Ottawa has in cap space.
And Tkachuk and Sanderson are two on the Senators who at least give full 60-minute effort every night.
The disturbing part of the Boston Bruins start and inconsistent play has their Defensemen! I know they are short of talent up front but their defensemen have been awful! Giving up7 goals last night and8 in a game last week is inexcusable!And without Lindholm for a good length of time they probably need to add a defensemen to their corps!I Don t think Sweeney and Neeley expected this when they signed Zadorov and Lindholm this off season!
No way were they expecting that on paper should be better than last year But the game is on the ice not paper The bruins have been very frustrating to watch. They really have 3 3rd lines as currently set up. Swayman been disappointing looks avg at best so far this yr D has not played as u it all year. Now Carlo injured too. I don’t believe the rumours of them looking to make big trade as all the players they would need to move have trade protection. And no cap space to boot
Boston PP 11.4% ranks 32nd
Boston pk 74.3% ranks 26th
Swayman ga 3.35 ranks 43rd
Swayman Sv% .888 ranks 38th
Some will Say Swayman numbers are effected by the poor play of the team and poor defensive structure.
Some would say Swayman last 2yrs benefitted from a strong defense and strong defensive system.
Maybe the true numbers are somewhere in between.
Boston can’t score on the PP and can’t kill on the PK, they need to fix this before the season starts to slip away.
Personally thought Boston was going to be goal scoring challenged but thought their defense and structure would keep them in the game.
Charlie McAvoy who is one of the highest paid defenseman in the league at $9,500,000 and gets #1 pp minutes is ranked 64th among defenseman in scoring with 3g 3a 6pts he has 1pp goal and 1 pp assist.
I would be taking McAvoy off the first PP unit and going with Mason Lohrei who shows more creativity with the puck.
Caper, like the Lohrei idea. It definitely can’t hurt to try it.
I agree with the whole post except that BOS was a good defensive team last year. A little below middle of the pack I would say.
Last year they won because of special teams and goaltending. At 5 on 5 they were below average. They got out chanced overall. The best teams own that stat, obviously. Especially the high danger #’s for and against.
This year they are actually worse at 5 on 5.
Just like you said, tending and special teams.
I agree MB4, I thought they would be better this year, other than tending of course.
Tuning out the coach? Not enough talent? Bad vibes in the room?
I dunno, but on the bright side they’re hanging around while not playing well. Time to get it turned around.
Go B’s!
Ray, last season for the team goal differential stat they were +43 at season’s end.
So far this season they rank within the bottom 8 league-wise when it comes to this stat (with last season’s full result in brackets):
Montreal -24 (-53)
Pittsburgh -22 (+4)
San Jose -21 (-150)
Boston -16 (+43)
St. Louis -16 (-11)
Nashville -15 (+21)
Philadelphia -13 (-26)
Anaheim -13 (-91)
A bit of encouragement: Just 2 teams – both in the East – made it to the playoffs with a minus differential – Washington -37 and NYI -17.
Out West, the lowest when it came to a team making the playoffs were Nashville at +21 and Vegas +22.
Adding to the weirdness so far this season, except for Vegas (+16), L.A. (+3) and Seattle (+1), the entire Pacific Division is sputtering along at various minus levels).
So, the Bruins aren’t the only team searching for balance.
Ya, I look at the goal differential too leading into the playoffs, it is the name of the game to score more than the team you are playing after all.
B’s have gotten blown out a couple times and with a small sample size early in the year, hurts that #.
But when they win, it generally isn’t by much, and have been getting spanked too often. Definitely not a positive sign.
They aren’t good enough to get by with sub par tending, like say the Oilers, so Swayman needs to get it going.
New big contract adds pressure to perform, he isn’t the first guy to struggle dealing with that. Hopefully he gets it turned around quickly, team needs it to happen.
Just thinking out loud, but, maybe Swayman is another example of a player that misses training camp having a poor start to the season
If so, he’s joining a long, long list.
Yep
The Adam Johnson injury was intentional.
Players probably don’t believe that players will do that to them.
It was allegedly intentional. The investigation is ongoing. https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/man-arrested-in-death-of-former-nhler-adam-johnson-re-bailed-by-police-in-u-k/
By the way, Clint Malarchuk and Richard Zednik are two NHL players who suffered gruesome neck injuries and would’ve died if not for the quick thinking of the team medical staff. Those were accidental. The danger is always there.
First off John, you have no idea if it was intentional or not.
Could there have been some bad blood between the 2 players, maybe. Them and 1,000’s of other players around the world and they don’t do that to each other. Bad blood happens every game.
He was obviously trying to hit him at high speed, but to think he could manipulate his body to achieve that, that fast, from that direction, without contact with the other player seems very hard to believe. Problem is the video is super grainy and not from a good angle.
Lace em up, head out onto the ice with your buds and give it a go. Check back in and let us know how it went.
Your right, and I did play the game for a very long time, and I don’t believe another player would intentionally try to cut another players throat. Unless he had a serious mental issue, and even then that something you would think his team would have seen by now. Couple that with how hard it would be to even do that, and I gotta go with unintentional.
Back at you though, why do you think he did it intentionally, you said it like it was a fact so are obviously very confident in that assessment.
Do tell.
While many Stars fans are praising the past two games as, “there’s the Stars we’ve been waiting for this season”. I am more inclined to say that they played two teams that are severely broken.
I like that the Stars are playing to their potential for the first time this season. And the defense looks very solid in these games, but just wait until Johnston, Robertson and Hintz actually get going. Dadonov and Marchment can not carry this team.
Was it an off night for the Jets? An exemplary game by Tampa?
Whether either, neither or both are true the way the game played out spotlighted the Jets weaknesses: they struggle in games vs heavy d presence and tight checking.
Comrie played rather than Hellebyck and he was good, I’m sure there was at least one he wanted a mulligan on.
The PP got a few looks but no grade A+ chances, the PK got beat – Tampa looked great and we were average.
The concerning part for me was that 5v5 we were all about the perimeter with nothing going on inside. No real screens, opportunities for tips, pucks finding lanes. I wont single out any of the players but none of our top 6 excel inside with traffic – Vallardi is the best of the group inside. It is no coincidence that it was Lowry who scored (his 3rd of the year) with 3rd line heavy play on a tip inside… not production we can depend on.
The style of game that was played is what we can expect in the playoffs. Tampa is still well constructed for the post season and sad for me to say – Winnipeg isn’t.
Wow Ottawa… grossly out shooting the Flyers but collapsing when it matters most. SMDH.
The game wasn’t televised (I was watching the Eagles beat the Commanders anyway…) but… was it as weird a game as the boxscore said? Was this the fault of Ullmark?
I got it on my Rogers package – channel 27 or 30 – can’t recall which
Let’s keep in mind that in Plante’s day, there was no overtime and certainly no shootout. Had there been, and with the dominant Habs teams he played for, Plante would have reached 300 much sooner.
They also played far fewer games per season as well.
Congrats to McDavid and Vazy