NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 14, 2025
Notable milestones for Connor McDavid, Connor Bedard and Flames rookie Rory Kerins, the Flyers reveal their Quarter-Century team, the three stars of the week are announced, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF MONDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid celebrated his 28th birthday by scoring the game’s only goal in a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Stuart Skinner turned in a 30-save shutout as the Oilers collected their sixth win in their last seven games, sitting in second place in the Pacific Division with 57 points. Darcy Kuemper stopped 29 shots for the Kings, who remain four points behind the Oilers in third place in the division.
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid tied Glenn Anderson for the most game-winning goals (72) in franchise history.
Chicago Blackhawks sophomore center Connor Bedard scored to reach his 100th NHL point but his club fell 5-2 to the Calgary Flames. Calgary rookie Rory Kerins collected two assists in the first period, becoming the fifth rookie in Flames history with multiple assists in his NHL debut. Jakob Pelletier scored twice and set up another as the Flames won three straight, vaulting over the Vancouver Canucks into the final Western Conference wild-card spot with 49 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Blackhawks remain mired at the bottom of the NHL standings. Bedard expressed his frustration again as the losses kept mounting.
“It’s been hard. It’s been a lot of games to lose. It weighs on you,” Bedard said following the game. “Yeah, I mean, just keep trying to find a way, trying to get better every day. But it’s hard.”
Bedard wants to win and help the Blackhawks return to their glory days. The Blackhawks brought in veteran players to take pressure off him and his young teammates as they develop their game. However, management must do more to alleviate that burden. Being in contention to win the draft lottery every year is not the best path forward.
Flames forward Martin Pospisil received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for boarding Blackhawks winger Taylor Hall midway through the second period.
The Philadelphia Flyers got two goals from Noah Cates to upset the Florida Panthers 4-2. Cates snapped a 3-3 tie midway through the third period as the Flyers overcame a 3-1 deficit. Sam Reinhart scored twice for the Panthers to move into second place in the league goalscoring race with 27.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flyers unveiled their Quarter-Century Team on Monday.
The First Team comprises forwards Claude Giroux, Simon Gagne, and Mike Richards, defensemen Eric Desjardins and Kimmo Timonen, and goaltender Roman Cechmanek. The Second Team comprises forwards Sean Couturier, Jakub Voracek and Daniel Briere, defensemen Chris Pronger and Ivan Provorov, and goalie Brian Boucher.
HEADLINES
NHL.COM: Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, Jordan Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes, and right wing Patrick Kane of the Detroit Red Wings are the league’s three stars for the week ending Jan. 12, 2025.
COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar denied recent reports claiming team captain Gabriel Landeskog’s comeback attempt was hampered by swelling in his surgically repaired knee. The Avs also reactivated goaltender Scott Wedgewood off injured reserve.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Landeskog’s last NHL game was Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. He’s undergone two knee surgeries since then and is working on resuming his NHL career.
OTTAWA SUN: Senators owner Michael Andlauer completed the sale of the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs to Edmonton Oilers winger Zach Hyman and his family. Andlauer is focusing solely on the Senators. It’s believed he received $20 million for the Bulldogs.
THE PROVINCE: Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek has returned from his AHL conditioning stint. He’s a game-day decision for tonight’s contest against the Winnipeg Jets. The Canucks placed defenseman Erik Brannstrom on waivers.
TSN: The Columbus Blue Jackets signed forward Zach Aston-Reese to a one-year extension worth $775K.
Last night L.A. became the last team to reach the 41-game half-way point with their 1-0 loss in Edmonton. For anyone curious as to how all 32 teams stacked up at mid-way, I’ll lead off here with the Eastern Conference, followed immediately by the Western Conference to keep the posts as short as possible, showing the Division and WC Standings after 41 gp.
Atlantic
Toronto 26 13 2 54 .639 129 113 +16
Florida 24 15 2 50 .610 136 127 + 9
Tampa 23 15 3 49 .598 151 113 +38
Metropolitan
Washington 27 10 4 58 .707 150 198 +41
New Jersey 24 14 3 51 .622 132 104 +28
Carolina 24 15 2 50 .610 137 117 +20
Wild Card
Boston 20 17 4 44 .537 107 126 -19
Ottawa 20 18 3 43 .524 119 118 +1
Montreal 20 18 3 43 .524 125 138 -13
Columbus 18 17 6 42 .512 141 148 -7
Detroit 19 18 4 42 .512 115 131 -16
Pittsburgh 17 17 7 41 .510 125 152 -27
NYR 19 20 2 40 .488 120 130 -10
Philadelphia 17 19 5 39 .476 125 147 -22
NYI 16 18 7 39 .476 112 128 -16
Buffalo 15 21 5 35 .427 126 149 -14
Here is the Western Conference:
Central
Winnipeg 27 12 2 56 .683 147 104 +43
Minnesota 26 11 4 56 .683 127 111 +16
Dallas 27 13 1 55 .671 134 101 +33
Pacific
Vegas 28 10 3 59 .720 143 111 +32
Edm 25 13 3 53 .646 135 114 +21
L.A. 24 12 5 53 .646 121 100 +21
Wild Card
Colorado 25 15 1 51 .622 146 131 +9
Calgary 20 14 7 47 .573 110 123 -13
Vancouver 18 13 10 46 .561 121 139 -9
Utah HC 18 16 7 43 .524 116 123 -7
St. Louis 19 18 4 42 .512 114 123 -9
Anaheim 17 19 5 39 .476 105 127 -22
Seattle 17 21 3 37 .451 118 130 -12
Nashville 13 21 7 33 .402 100 128 -28
San Jose 12 23 6 30 .366 107 147 -40
Chicago 14 25 2 30 .366 105 138 -33
Extrapolating to 82 games;
86 points in East gets in playoffs; 94 in West
Of course that’s a straight mathematical projection and we all know that trades happen; weakest teams get weaker; and bubble teams effectively (overall) should do better in the second half; so WC cut-off, in theory, should end up higher
But…. Who knows?
If bubble teams from now on effectively split wins between them; with most in regulation; then maybe 86 gets them in
For 86 for Pens; from now onward they’d need to play 568 hockey
88 points , they’d need to play 595
90…. 622
92….649
without positive changes- plural (and soon)….Pens…. “No soup for you”
Good points 8787. I gather. when looking at Pittsburgh’s chances of reaching 88 – 90 & 92 pts you are looking at from where they sit today.
Looking at it from the point of what they’d need from their record at the half-way mark, it’s slightly different, and so to put it in perspective of their chances vis-a-vis the teams with which they are in a dog fight with, here’s the way it would stack up – and it’s important to keep in mind that a needed increase of .100 over the current pace is fairly significant:
Boston – 41-game pace .537
88 – same pace
90 – .561 or +.024
92 – .585 or +048
Ottawa & Montreal – 41-game pace .524
88 – .549 or +.025
90 – .573 or +.049
92 – .598 or +.074
Columbus & Detroit – 41-game pace .512
88 – .561 or +.049
90 – .585 or +.073
92 – .610 or +.098
Pittsburgh – 41-game pace .510
88 – .573 or +.063
90 – .598 or +.088
92 – .622 or +.112
NYR – 41-game pace .488
88 – .585 or +.097
90 – .610 or +.122
92 – .622 or +.146
Philadelphia & NYI – 41-game pace .476
88 – .598 or +.122
90 – .622 or +.146
92 – .646 or +.170
Buffalo – 41 game pace .427
88 – .646 or +.219
90 – .671 or +.244
92 – .695 or +268
For anyone wondering which is the best team in terms of home and away records after 41 games played, the following posts show the league ranked by points % due to the differing numbers in games played, ranging from a low of 17 (L.A. & St. Louis) to a high of 24 (Toronto) for the home records, and a low of 17 (Toronto) to a high of 24 (Los Angeles & St. Louis) for the road records
Here are The Homers
1. L.A. 17gp 14 2 1 .853
2. Vegas 22gp 17-5-0 .773
3. Car 20gp 15-5-0 .750
4. Wpg 20gp 14-4-2 .750
5. Dallas 22gp 16 5 1 .750
6. Wash 21gp 14-4-3 .738
7. Tor 24gp 17-7-0 .708
8. Clmb 21gp 13-5-3 .691
9. Tampa 20gp 13-6-1 .675
10. Cgy 23gp 14 6 3 .674
11. Edm 22gp 14-7-1 .659
12. Bost 20gp 12-6-2 .650
13. N.J. 21gp 12-6-3 .643
14. Fla 21gp 12-7-2 .619
15. Mtl 20gp 11 7 2 .600
16. Pitt 20gp 11-7-2 .600
17. Col 21gp 12-8-1 .595
18. Ott 18gp 10-7-1 .583
19. Minn 20gp 11-8-1 .575
20. Nash 18gp 8-7-3 .528
21. Det 23gp 11 10 2 .522
22. St. L. 17gp 8-8-1 .500
23. Sea 22gp 9-10-3 .477
24. Vanc 21gp 7 8 6 .476
25. Anah 22gp 9-11-2 .455
26, Buff 21gp 8-10-3 .452
27, NYR 20gp 9-9-2 .450
28. Chic 20gp 9-11-0 .450
29. Pha 19gp 8-10-1 .447
30. NYI 18gp 7-9-2 .444
31. Utah 18gp 6 8 4 .444
32. SJ 20gp 7-12-1 .375
Here are the Road Warriors
1. Minn 21gp 15-3-3 .786
2. Wash 20gp 13-6-1 .675
3. Vegas 19gp 11 5 3 .658
4. Col 20gp 13-7-0 .650
5. Vanc 20gp 11 5 4 .650
6. Edm 19gp 11-6-2 .632
7. Fla 20gp 12-7-1 .625
8. Wpg 21gp 13-8-0 .619
9. Tor 17gp 9-6-2 .588
10. Utah 23gp 12 8 3 .587
11. Dallas 19gp 11-8-0 .579
12. N.J. 20gp 11-9-0 .550
13. Tampa 21gp 10 9 2 .524
14. St. L 24gp 11-10-3 .521
15. L.A. 24gp 10 10 4 .500
16. Pha 22gp 9-9-4 .500
17. NYI 23gp 9-9-5 .500
18. Det 18gp 8 8 2 .500
19. Ana 19gp 8-8-3 .500
20. Ott 23gp 10-11-2 .478
21. NYR 21gp 10-11-0 .476
22. Car 21gp 9-10-2 .476
23. Mtl 21gp 9 11 1 .452
24. Cgy 18gp 6-8-4 .444
25. Bost 21gp 8-11-2 .429
26. Sea 19gp 8-11-0 .421
27. Pitt 21gp 6-10-5 .405
28. Buff 20gp 7-11-2 .400
29. S.J. 21gp 5-11-5 .357
30. Clmb 20gp 5-12-3.325
31. Nash 23gp 5-14-4 .304
32. Chic 21gp 5-14-2 .286
Aside from the amazing road record of the Wild, what stands out for me is the disparity between home records for these teams, almost all of whom are in dog fights for the playoffs, and their road performances which show significant drop-offs:
Columbus, Pittsburgh, Boston, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa and, although they are in a solid position due to their home record, Carolina.
The reverse is true for Vancouver, Utah, NYI and Philadelphia – better on the road than at home!
MN had a long stretch of road games to start the season, then would come home for a game, maybe two and back on the road. I think for the players when they get home all their normal day lives plays a part and they aren’t as focused.
I just wanted to thank George for the research. I appreciate the effort.
The first team to make a good hockey trade to separate themselves from the pack will be in on the wildcard in the East!No one can stand Pat and afford to have even a little losing streak!All eyes are on Boston,CBJ,Ottawa,Det,Mont.Pitt.,Philly,NyR,NYI,and even Buffalo!All teams have weaknesses that need to be addressed!
Where Ottawa is concerned, most of their weaknesses will be addressed by the trade deadline through the return of the walking wounded.
Goaltending – Ullmark will be back long before then – he’s skating now on his own and will soon join the team workouts
Defense: Hamonic and Bernard-Docker will both be back by then and, in the meantime, if Staios does make a deal it will be for a good depth 5-7 D.
Bottom 6 F: Amadio and Perron have been skating with the team in non-contact jerseys and will soon join the main workouts – Gregor and Reinhardt COULD be back by the deadline
Fully agree Sr
I do believe that needed fixes by Pens exceed most of that list of teams
Unfortunately our “fixer” has lost (and lost badly) almost every trade he’s made for Pens
Some teams like Sens just may get by with a proverbial “tweak” or “tweaks” as compared to a “fix” or “fixes”
You’re very welcome, Whalercane. Glad somebody saw some merit in the posts. I just do it in the interest of sparking conversation.
I watched the Flames Hawks game and while I feel for Beddard that’s what happens when a rebuild brings in mercenaries and doesn’t have a culture.
Brings in mercenaries and doesn’t have a culture? What are you talking about?
As for Bedard’s complaining:
A team gets the # 1 pick because they are at or near the bottom of the standings. One player doesn’t turn a bottom dweller around. I can understand Tkachuk in Ottawa expressing frustration after 7 years of missing the playoffs. I have little sympathy for Bedard complaining after being in the league less than two years. He’s got 12 goals so far this year. Score more and complain less.
Bedard at 19 yo, IS doing his part with 12 goals, 27 ASSISTS, for 39 pts in 41 games.
But, yes, he does need a little patience with the team. But after next year he will be off his ELC and has a big decision to make, and the Hawks will have to be willing to appease him even more!
There will be no big decision to make. Bedard will be staying with the Hawks for at least several years to come. Even if he signs an offer sheet there’s no way the Hawks won’t match.
With numbers Comrie has been putting up this season it will be tough to get Hellebuyck his rest.
Saying that the team that makes a good hockey trade to separate from the pack will be the wild card is projection.
Detroit’s change of brought change ad a resurgence, remains to be seen if it’s the common bump or real change.
Habs picking up Carrier and the arrival pf Dobes in net coincide with the recent run.
Ottawa will be getting some players back and Ullmark and Hamonic will make a big difference.
CBJ will be getting Monahan back that fills the present hole at centre.
In other words some teams arewell positioned without needing a trade.
Please stay, George. I look forward to reading your posts. I’m sure most others do as well.