NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 23, 2024
The Avalanche and Oilers tie for the most wins in December, Sam Reinhart reaches a milestone for special-teams goals, Matt Rempe receives a lengthy suspension, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Colorado Avalanche forward Joel Kiviranta tallied a natural hat trick in a 5-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken. Cale Makar had a goal and two assists and Nathan MacKinnon had two assists for the Avalanche as they picked up their third straight win, Kappo Kakko scored his first goal as a member of the Kraken as they’ve lost five straight games.
Colorado Avalanche forward Joel Kiviranta (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avalanche have eight wins in December, tying them with the Edmonton Oilers for the most in this calendar month. MacKinnon sits first in the scoring race with 57 points, holding a five-point lead over Oilers center Leon Draisaitl.
Speaking of the Oilers, they got their eighth victory by defeating the Ottawa Senators 3-1, snapping the latter’s six-game win streak. Draisaitl collected an assist while Viktor Arvidsson, Zach Hyman and Adam Henrique scored for the Oilers. Nick Cousins replied for the Senators.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark left this game following the first period with an upper-body injury. Head coach Travis Green said Ullmark indicated his back had tightened up. Meanwhile, Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins missed this game due to illness.
The Florida Panthers got shorthanded goals by A.J. Greer and Eetu Luostarinen within 42 seconds in the second period to double up the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2. Panthers forward Sam Reinhart opened the scoring on the power play, tying Hall-of-Famer Dave Andreychuk for the fourth-most special team goals in a calendar year with 31. Nick Paul and Brayden Point scored for the Lightning.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Andreychuk is also the all-time leader for most special-team goals in a calendar year with 38, followed by Mario Lemieux (37) and Pat Lafontaine (33). The Panthers have won four straight games while the Lightning’s four-game win streak ended.
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 22 shots and collected two assists in a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers. William Carrier, Jack Roslovic, and Sebastian Aho scored for the Hurricanes. Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey scored his club’s only goal as they’ve lost four of their last five.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Rangers played without enforcer Matt Rempe. He received an eight-game suspension from the league’s department of player safety for boarding and elbowing Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen during Friday’s game between the two clubs.
The Washington Capitals (48 points) regained first place in the Eastern Conference standings by downing the Los Angeles Kings 3-1. Aliaksei Protas tallied twice and Pierre-Luc Dubois collected two assists against his former team. Kevin Fiala scored for the Kings.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Kings dropped into third place in the Pacific Division with 43 points.
A shootout goal by Mason McTavish lifted the Anaheim Ducks to a 5-4 win over the Utah Hockey Club. The Ducks overcame a 4-1 deficit to force overtime and the shootout. Robby Fabbri tallied two goals while Cutter Gauthier and Olen Zellweger each had two assists for the Ducks. Utah forward Clayton Keller had two goals and two assists.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A disappointing finish for Utah (38 points) as their four-game win streak ended. However, their points streak extended to eight games (6-0-2) as they sit within one point of the Calgary Flames for the final Western Conference wild-card berth.
The Senators were bound to lose one at some point, and it came on the second of back-to-backs for both teams, with the only differences being the Oilers Saturday game was in the afternoon and not the evening as with Ottawa, and the Senators needed a short flight later that night while the Oilers were at home. It was also the 3rd game in 4 nights for both teams and tat showed in the sometimes sloppy play by both sides.
Losing Ullmark after the 1st (hope he isn’t out long-term – at least they now have 6 days off) and forced to put rookie Merilainen in again didn’t help since that forced Ottawa to alter their game plan a bit.
But, in the end, as hot as the Senators have been over their past 10, the Oilers have been even hotter, with most of their recent games against top level teams, and they were full marks for the win. Tough team to beat when they’re on their game.
I agree George. I accept this loss for what it is. My oly concern is Ullmark. Hope it’s a quick heal and the days off now will help.
Especially since the first two games after the break is a back-to-back affair against two of the top teams in the West – Winnipeg and Minnesota on Dec 28 and 29, followed by another in Dallas on Jan 2 and Sr. Louis on Jan 3, before finishing the 9-game road trip in Detroit on Jan 7. Brutal. And without Ullmark, dicey.
This is a real test of what kind of team Ottawa has. On the road, things are going pretty good for them, Ullmark gets injured, how does the team respond now. A win/loss won`t be the big issue for them, it`ll be do they tighten up their defensive play and show patience going for scoring chances. Try to grind out a win or just play a normal game and hope for the best. Adapting their game would show signs they`re maturing. Hopefully Ullmark`s back and ready to play. Much like Toronto has to adjust when Matthews is out of the line up
And Stolarz, Yogi. He’s been the surprise addition this season for the most part in his starts.
I heard Oilers fans say that once the game got to 3-1 they coasted as they could tell the Sens had no push back. I completely agree. Almost like, unspoken both benches just kinda exhaled and went…”ya….we need a break”.
Quiet game. I think the time off will be good for Ullmark and Forsberg.
Good description. Hopefully, the time off will also result in the return to the line-up of both Zub and Perron.
Sanderson needs Zub’s mobility and the 3rd/4th lines can use Perron’s grit (not to mention better scoring ability).
There should be some kind of penalty for the team when a player gets a long (say 4+ games) for dangerous acts because the team knows what kind of player he is and isn’t curbing him. I don’t know what the penalty should be, but I’m tired of seeing younger players’ development end and productive players get injured because of loose cannon “enforcers” actually being low grade thugs.
I’ve always thought that the simplest solution is that the team plays short a player for as long as the suspended guy is out. So Rangers go with 19 for the next 8 games. Or even at a 1-for-2 proportion, so 19 players for 4 games. (that would allow 1-game suspensions without hurting team). Heck, I’m in the giving spirit, so I’d even let the Rangers pick which 4 games of the 8 the change would occur.
In effect, the suspended guy is in the penalty box the whole game.
That’s admittedly a tough sell, but that’s how I’d go.
If implemented, that garbage would stop immediately.
The Avalanche should have won that game 6-7 to 1. Instead, they let Seattle hang around where 1 casual lapse of their defensive play would have made it a tie game. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. I’m grateful for the W and happy for Kiviranta. He deserves it! But the Avalanche still need to be better defensively. That goal they gave up to McCann was horrendous and if it wasn’t for blackwood on bjorkstrand could have been a really bad outcome?
The bizarre part about Rempe is he doesn’t seem to play this dangerous game in the AHL? He has 22 pims in 18 games for Hartford.
He was actually having a good game (by Rempe standards) until the hit on Heiskanen. Drawing 3 penalties.
Honestly, I’m hoping NY does not qualify him this year. Some delusional Ranger fans seem to think he’s exactly what’s been missing!
22 NHL career games, 1 goal 1 assist, 4 Ejections, 12 games suspended. Games played to games suspended ration is telling.
I see a career ECHL player in his future.
Part of that delusion, Captain Obvious, is probably fed by the thought that his presence in the line-up puts fear into the opposition and so ultimately helps the Rangers in the win column – borne out in their minds by the fact that, over his 22 games played, they are 16 – 4 – 2 for 34 points (a .772 pace) with 80 goals scored and 56 against.
Coincidence?
The Arber Xhekaj affect. Put this big goof in the line up, pretend he has some kind of positive motivating effect for the rest of the team and cross your fingers he doesn’t do anything stupid. Tom Wilson has offensive upside, plays right on that edge and occasionally has done stupid stuff. Bfuglien’s hits were mostly clean for his size and he also contributed offensively. I feel the league is moving away from these types of players though.
Always good to know what you are talking about before you post a comment, Dark G.
Arber Xhekaj has never been suspended by the NHL. He plays regular minutes, averaging just over 15 minutes a game, and has earned a regular shift this year with steady, reliable play.
He’s a tough kid and won’t take crap from anyone but he’s not cheap: he has 43 penalty minutes in 30 games this year. I doubt there is a team in the league that wound’t want him.
Comparing him to Rempe is, to be restrained, off the mark.
It’s a bit unfair to compare young players to a vet that plays a similar style. Tom Wilson like others like him in playing on the edge, wasn’t a thing for them from the get-go. It took time for these types of players to learn the boundaries of what they can do and become an effective and productive player. Not saying all these players need time as most will not succeed but they need looks to see what’s actually there.
Ummm … have I missed something somewhere LJ? Where does Dark G say he was ever suspended by the NHL? He has been suspended twice so far in his hockey career, but both times that was in Major Junior I believe – one for delivering a slew foot and one for an “unsportsmanlike” gesture after a fight.
Dark G’s comment about Xhekaj is in reply to the Captain’s comments about Rempe. Who else could the comparison be about, George?
And we are talking about players’ suspensions or lack thereof in the NHL. Xhekaj is in his third year in the league. If he were a head hunter like Rempe he would have been suspended by now.
Let’s be fair about this now, shall we?
LOL…ok hab fan. Easy shooter.
a quick google search….
” He has twice been suspended in the AHL but has not been yet suspended in the NHL although he has received multiple fines. In closing, the NHL has decided to forgo punishing Arber Xhekaj for accidentally striking a referee”
Regular minutes. He’s barely played over a full season of hockey in three years. They bring him up whenever they have a stretch of games against teams that might cause trouble in Smurf Village.
He’s probably stuck a little better than Rempe owing to the fact that he’s a D man.
So much for my be fair comments, Dark G. And, apparently for my comment about knowing what you are talking about before you post.
Xhekaj hasn’t been “brought up” to play against other teams, he’s been in the league all year; as I said, 30 games so far. Unlike Rempe, who has played 5 games so far this year with an average of 6 minutes a game.
I don’t particularly care if you don’t like him, and I’m not his agent. I just think its reasonable to get ones facts straight instead of posting continual inaccuracies about a player.
Regular minutes. He’s barely played over a full season of hockey in three years. They bring him up whenever they have a stretch of games against teams that might cause trouble in Smurf Village.- Dark G
Pardon? Xhekaj was injured during those seasons. Where are the Canadiens bringing him up from? He’s only played 17 AHL games and that was last year. As LJ said, best to know what you are talking about before commenting.
The other thing he gets wrong is the smur fvillage comment: yes, Gally, Hudson and Caulfield are all small.
But a quick google check on teams’ average height and weight shows there is very little difference between NHL teams, with the Habs in the middle of the pack:
https://leftwinglock.com/teams/biometrics/
My abacus can’t calculate any more of his errors, it’s full now. And he’s boring me.
I’m not a Rempe fan by any means but others to shoulder the blame.
He’s filling a role that his coach wants, Laviolette must be demanding it.
He’s a big kid, his skating is pretty good for his size but he needs a coach who guides him properly. At this point he’s getting reputation penalties.
The idiot crowd in Montreal is upset that Xhekaj has been reined by St. Louis and forced to concentrate on his game and to his credit he has.
Rempe needs the same, proper coaching to use his physicality the right way, I don’t trust Laviolette.
I heard Lavioilette trying to defend him after the game too, but I lean more to blaming the player HF30. Coaches defend their guys to the press.
All he needs to learn is:
– don’t hit guys in the head (yes he’s tall, but so was Chara and so is Myers etc)
– Don’t run guys from distance and drill them into the boards. It’s a penalty, always has been.
Almost every coach wants the same thing from 4th line, and almost everybody seems able to figure it out, even the countless big guys playing that role. Be physical, bring energy, forecheck hard, keep the puck in their end to win the shift. Defend you mates if others take liberties.
Not talking Nuclear Fusion here.
RayB,
I didn’t see or hear the interview of Laviolette, I’ referring to his history of coaching/pushing dirty players
The kid has played 22 NHL games 95 PIM
114 games in the AHL 205min.
This year he played 18 AHL games, 22 PIM
Ultimately the player is responsible for his actionsbut it’s the coach who tells him what to do and sets the tempo for the team.
Kempe trained with George’s Laroque this off season!Don t think they were working on shoot outs or penalty shots! He needs the guy from CBJ to whack him again!
Haha, I think they were working on the “Michigan” Sr!
They had a clip on the local news here in Edmonton about Laroque’s kid, looks like he could be a player some day. 14, already big, can skate and handle the puck for a lanky bugger.
He was drafted into the dub by Seattle in the 4th round. The story listed him at 6’4″, 181 lbs at 14, so likely gonna get bigger.
George & Dark G
Great game last night between my to Favorite teams
Oilers abd Sen’s
Oil have been Rolling since Zach came back,
now the are rolling, Viktor Arvidsson played the best game as a Oiler this year arfercoming back from an injury…..
the Oil still need a 2nd pairing RD man to round them out, like a Connor Murphy from the hawks,
young Pinto has played very well over the past few games, so has Ridly Greg,
When Zub comes back the can send Travis Hamonic back to the box, home LU is ok…? back up tender
Leevi Merilainen getting peper with all these shots from the oil and the Five PP he faced…..
Both young local boys from St Albert played well, Rookie, Zack Ostapchuk & Jake Sanderson..👍
He wasn’t exactly peppered, williew. Both teams managed just 21 shots each over the entire game and, after he came in to start the 2nd, Merilainen faced just 14 over 2 periods.