NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 21, 2024
The Sabres’ winless skid continues as Maple Leafs goalie Matt Murray returns to action after a long absence, the Rangers down the Stars, Patrik Laine gets another power-play goal, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: The Buffalo Sabres’ winless skid reached 12 games (0-9-3) as they dropped a 6-3 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Oft-injured goaltender Matt Murray made 24 saves for the win in his first NHL game since April 2, 2023, William Nylander had a goal and two assists, and John Tavares collected two assists to reach 600 for his career. JJ Peterka, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson each had a goal and an assist for the Sabres.
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray (NHL Images)
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Change must come for the Sabres. It’s too late to save their season but they cannot continue beyond 2024-25 with the current management and roster. It is painful watching this once proud franchise remain a laughingstock for 14 seasons with no end in sight.
Sabres fans don’t have to worry about franchise relocation under owner Terry Pegula. That’s the only good thing I can say about this team. The rest is neverending mismanagement, a revolving door of coaches, and former players who blossom into winners elsewhere.
Turning to the Maple Leafs, Murray was the night’s feel-good story with his triumphant return after battling injuries that threatened to end his career. He’ll likely only be in the lineup until Anthony Stolarz returns from knee surgery in late January but it was still a solid performance on his part.
Meanwhile, Leafs head coach Craig Berube said team captain Auston Matthews is still fighting through the upper-body injury that sidelined him for nine games earlier this season. Matthews scored his 11th goal of the season against the Sabres. Berube said the club is working with their captain to take measures to ensure they manage his condition properly, including having him skip their morning skate on Friday.
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin stopped 41 shots as his club snapped a three-game losing skid by beating the Dallas Stars 3-1. Vincent Trocheck had a goal and an assist while the Rangers successfully killed off eight penalties. Roope Hintz tallied for the Stars.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The win moves the Rangers (33 points) within three points of the Ottawa Senators for the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth. The Stars have dropped five of their last eight contests.
Rangers winger Artemi Panarin collected an assist as he returned to action after missing two games with an upper-body injury. Blueshirts call-up Matt Rempe received a major penalty and game misconduct for boarding Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who was shaken up but returned to the game.
Montreal Canadiens winger Patrik Laine struck again on the power play with the game-winner in a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Emil Heineman and Jake Evans each had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens. Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen collected two assists while teammate Cam Talbot made 29 saves as he returned to action after missing two games with a lower-body injury.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Laine has seven goals (all on the power play) and eight points in as many games since returning from a knee sprain.
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists to double up the Anaheim Ducks 4-2. Cale Makar and Valeri Nichushkin each had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who’ve won seven of their last 10 games. Leo Carlsson and Alex Killorn scored for the Ducks.
The Washington Capitals (46 points) regained first place in the Eastern Conference with a 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Charlie Lindgren got the win with 24 saves, including a windmill glove save on Hurricanes forward Tyson Jost that brought Washington fans to their feet. Aliaksei Protas, Jakub Vrana and Connor McMichael scored for the Capitals while Seth Jarvis replied for the Hurricanes.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Capital captain Alex Ovechkin (fractured fibula) shed his non-contact jersey in practice yesterday in another sign that he’ll soon be ready to return to action sometime following the upcoming holiday break. Teammate Lars Eller remains sidelined by illness and won’t play in their remaining games before the holiday break.
An overtime goal by Aleksander Barkov lifted the Florida Panthers over the St. Louis Blues 2-1. Barkov also set up Uvis Balinskis’ first NHL goal to tie the game 1-1 in the second period. Oskar Sundqvist scored for the Blues as they’ve dropped three in a row (0-2-1).
The Utah Hockey Club extended their points streak to seven games (6-0-1) with a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Dylan Guenther tallied twice for Utah as teammate Karel Vejmelka turned aside 28 shots. Mats Zuccarello scored for the Wild as they’ve lost three straight contests.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Wild defenseman Brock Faber played in this game, showing no ill effects from being struck in the throat by a shot during Wednesday’s game against the Panthers. As for Utah (37 points), they moved within one point of the Vancouver Canucks for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.
HEADLINES
THE HOCKEY NEWS: The New York Islanders activated winger Anthony Duclair (lower body) off long-term injury reserve ahead of Saturday’s game against the Maple Leafs.
DAILY FACEOFF: The Chicago Blackhawks placed center Craig Smith (back) on injured reserve.
RG.ORG: Nikolai Kovalenko admitted he was surprised by the trade that sent him from the Colorado Avalanche to the San Jose Sharks. He was part of a deal in which the centerpiece was the Sharks sending goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to the Avalanche for goalie Alexandar Georgiev.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kovalenko’s adjusting well to the move. He has five points in as many games with the Sharks after netting eight in 28 games with the Avalanche.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley will miss the next two games with an undisclosed injury after blocking a shot in Wednesday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.
THE SCORE: Speaking of the Jets, Scott Stinson points out attendance remains a problem in Winnipeg the club’s red-hot start to the season. Their average attendance this season is a little under 14,000 after 15 home games, playing to just over 90 percent capacity, which is only better than seven other clubs.
Stinson cited a report indicating the Jets season-ticket base increased to just over 10,000 from last season’s low of 9,500. Still, it remains well below the 13,000 the league and team ownership believe is necessary to keep the team sustainable.
Low corporate support (20 percent of season ticket sales compared to the average of 50 percent for other clubs) is seen as one factor. Stinson suggests another could be Jets fans taking a wait-and-see approach to the club’s performance after several seasons without much playoff success.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The local economy could factor in those struggling season ticket sales. Ticket prices have risen to where they’re out of reach for some Jets supporters.
Winnipeg is a hockey town and loves the Jets but if the season ticket issue persists it could one day threaten the team’s future in its present location.
Oh man. What if Arizona got its dookie together and built a stadium and the jets once again moved there?!?! That would be nuts.
Hey Chrisms, Re; AZ….
I don’t see Arizona getting a team back there any time soon,,,, 10-20 yrs
The place was a constant embarisment to the NHL
if it was not for the canadain fans it wold have been empty more night that full,
its just NOT a Hockey Market, you ould put 20yeams intron of that place that would better….
Hockey Arenas should have a Very Minimum +18,001 seats to make it work? and of course a good fan base..⁉️
What’s happening in Winnipeg gives a solid reason why Quebec city keeps being ignored when the league gets serious about expansion.
Exactly. When cost-of-living issues arise – a situation much of North America finds itself in these days, including the large metro areas – small-market teams suffer the most, simply because that portion of their metro population who are a) even interested in the sport and b) still capable of affording the cost of attendance, is considerably smaller.
On a % basis Winnipeg – with a metro population of 834,678 – averages 14,045 per game in an arena that accommodates just 15,294 – or 90.9 % capacity. Ottawa, with a metro population of 1,488,307, averages 17,580 in an arena that holds 20,000 – or 91.5%.
Quebec City has a metro population barely above that of Winnipeg’s (839,311) so, in difficult financial times they’d be suffering at the gate as well.
I was about to call BS on attendance being a problem for a Quebec city franchise. But the Nordiques drew an average of 14,397. Only Winnipeg, San Jose and Utah currently average less. So Paul and you, George, have a point.
Beyond attendance, there is the issue of corporate support (same as the Jets), and what few like to point out: the language issue. I’m not trying to nettle anyone, but it’s a factor.
The biggest factor is the NHL’s desire to saturate the US market with franchises, thereby to increase tv market. Which is why the NHL at 32 franchises, with two more than the NBA and MLB, are considering expanding to be the sport with the most pro franchises. They only have 25 in the US.
That Winnipeg average attendance % should read 92%
And the Ottawa % should read 88%. Sheesh
Now I see a list, compiled by the Hockey News, that shows Ottawa’s capacity at 18,652, and not 20,000 as shown elsewhere, and Winnipeg at 15,321 – up a tick -so that would put Ottawa;s average attendance at 94% and Winnipeg’s at 92%
Be nice to see a definitive list approved by the NHL
https://thehockeynews.com/news/ranking-nhl-arenas-smallest-to-largest-by-capacity
So Jets attendance is a problem but watching Sabres, Ducks, Sharks and Penguins games it looks like 50% of the lower bowl seats are empty… As a Jets 2.0 season ticket holder since day 1, who goes to 30+ games per year, I can confirm some seats are empty, the vast majority being in the last rows of the upper bowl.
Brock, that’s likely due to the fact that the arenas in cities you mentioned are all larger than the Jets’ arena. I think every team listed in your post is also averaging higher per game attendance than the Jets. Looks are one thing, the numbers don’t really lie. Wanna keep your team? Get to a game now and again.
The Winnepeg organization has done a great job building that team! They have signed players that are critical to their success! The GM has made great trades even though he has been in a tough situation with players wanting to leave!The Jets would thrive in a U S city that would support a winning team!
Maybe the Jets move to Buffalo hearing they are looking for an NHL team lol. I do think Buffalo gets a win tonight not sure why but streak needs to end at some point.
Not a fan of Buffalo but can’t not but look at this wreck
It will be a shame but I don’t know if I would feel any sorrow for Winnepeg fan if they lost the team. Go to a freakin’ game. Take an example from (haha, not a traditional hockey market) Columbus. There has not been a bigger example of loveable losers hockey in the last 25 years, and they are pulling 17,000 average per game, or 94% capacity. That’s also going up against the jaggernaut that is Ohio State football all fall.
According to this site Winnipeg – solely on a % basis – does better at the gate than does Columbus
https://www.hockey-reference.com/friv/attendance.cgi
% doesn’t pay the bills, paid butts in seats pays the bills.
While on a percentage basis Winnepeg eeks out a lead over Cbus, shouldn’t they? #1 in the League in points vs. #24? Traditional hockey market vs. non-traditional?
You can’t put butts in seats that aren’t there … at least in a part of an arena where you can actually see the ice,
Winnipeg has the smallest arena in the league (now that the Coyotes are in Utah looking for a nickname) combined with being the smallest market in the league by a wide margin.
All things considered … and I stress “all things considered” … they are doing pretty well at the gate, both from an actual attendance aspect and on a % basis.
The Sabres continue to provide reasons they need to make changes. The lack of changes being made is consequential. Necessary changes include firing general manager Kevyn Adams and assistant coach Marty Wilford, promoting Jason Karmons to Interem General Manager, seeking a Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations, and being active in the trade market.
I do not know what conversations NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Sabres owner Terry Pegula may have had about the team in recent years. Disrespecting the game and the league would be interesting conversations.