NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 17, 2025

by | Jan 17, 2025 | News, NHL | 31 comments

Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Mitch Marner and Victor Hedman reach notable offensive milestones. Read on for the details and much more from a busy Thursday in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

NHL.COM: Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored the only goal in a 1-0 overtime victory over the Ottawa Senators. Goaltender Logan Thompson made 25 saves for his second straight shutout victory as the Capitals picked up their third straight win to take over first place in the overall standings with 65 points. Leevi Merilainen stopped 26 shots for the Senators (48 points) as their three-game win streak ended, leaving them one point behind the Boston Bruins for the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ovechkin has 874 NHL regular-season goals, leaving him 21 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894. Merilainen became the 179th NHL goalie that Ovechkin has scored against, breaking Jaromir Jagr’s record of 178. Meanwhile, Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot missed this game as he’s day-to-day after taking a puck to the face during Tuesday’s 2-0 win over the New York Islanders.

The Edmonton Oilers overcame a 3-0 deficit with four unanswered goals to nip the Colorado Avalanche 4-3. Oilers captain Connor McDavid tied the game with his 20th goal of the season and Evan Bouchard tallied the game-winner as the Oilers moved into a tie with the first-place Vegas Golden Knights (61 points) in the Pacific Division. Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals for the Avalanche.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid became the sixth player in Oilers history to reach the 20-goal plateau nine times, joining Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri, Mark Messier (10 times), Leon Draisaitl and Wayne Gretzky (nine times). The Oilers sit second in the Pacific because the Golden Knights hold a game in hand.

Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard returned to the lineup after missing three games with an upper-body injury.

An overtime goal by William Nylander lifted the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Auston Matthews tallied twice and Mitch Marner had two assists for the Leafs, who sit first in the Atlantic Division with 58 points. Nico Hischier scored two goals and Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist for the Devils to extend their points streak to four games (1-0-3).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Marner became the fastest player to reach 700 points in Leafs history, reaching that milestone in 622 games, breaking Darryl Sittler’s record of 666. Leafs center John Tavares missed this game as he’s week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Jake McCabe had two assists in his return from a four-game absence with an upper-body injury.

The Tampa Bay Lightning got a shootout goal from Jake Guentzel to down the Anaheim Ducks 4-3. Guentzel also scored in regulation while netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 34 shots for the Lightning. Troy Terry scored the tying goal in the third period and Lukas Dostal made 32 saves as the Ducks have one win in their last six contests (1-3-2).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman collected an assist to become the first player in franchise history to reach the 600-assist milestone. Lighting blueliner Erik Cernak left this game in the first period with an undisclosed injury.

Winnipeg Jets blueliner Dylan DeMelo scored with 27 seconds remaining in the third period to beat the Seattle Kraken 2-1. Mark Scheifele tied the game with his 27th goal of the season as the Jets are tied with the league-leading Capitals with 65 points. Matty Beniers scored for the Kraken, who’ve won twice in their last eight games (2-5-1).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: DeMelo was playing in his 600th NHL regular-season game. The Capitals hold first over the Jets with a game in hand.

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski collected an assist to extend his home points streak to 18 games in a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks. James van Riemsdyk scored twice as the Blue Jackets (50 points) have won six straight and vaulted over the Boston Bruins in the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Tyler Toffoli replied for the Sharks, who’ve dropped four of their last five contests.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Considering everything the Blue Jackets have endured since last year (management and coaching changes, trading Patrik Laine, the sudden death of Johnny Gaudreau, and injuries to Boone Jenner, Erik Gudbranson and Sean Monahan), their surge into a playoff berth has been impressive. Even general manager Don Waddell is surprised by their performance in recent weeks.

The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Dallas Stars 3-1 to extend their points streak to six games (5-0-1). Jakub Dobes made 32 stops to pick up their fourth straight win in as many starts while Juraj Slafkovsky, Alex Newhook and Joel Armia scored for the Canadiens (48 points) as they also sit one point out of the final Eastern wild-card spot. Jason Robertson scored for Dallas, who sit third in the Central Division with 57 points. The Stars played without Roope Hintz, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Stars also unveiled their Quarter-Century Team on Thursday.

The First Team comprises forwards Mike Modano, Jamie Benn and Jere Lehtinen, defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Sergei Zubov, and goaltender Marty Turco. The Second Team comprised forwards Joe Pavelski, Tyler Seguin and Brenden Morrow, defensemen John Klingberg and Esa Lindell, and goaltender Ed Belfour.

Detroit Red Wings goalie Cam Talbot kicked out 41 shots (including 23 in the third period) in a 5-2 upset of the Florida Panthers. Dylan Larkin tallied twice and collected an assist while Lucas Raymond had two helpers as the Red Wings sit three points out of the final Eastern wild-card berth with 46 points. Anton Lundell and Evan Rodrigues scored for the Panthers, who pulled goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in the second period after he gave up four goals on 15 shots.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov received a notable honor from his home country of Finland. It was announced that the Finnish Association of Sports Journalists named Barkov its Sportsman of the Year for 2024, making him the first hockey player to receive that award.

The Los Angeles Kings thumped the Vancouver Canucks 5-1. Alex Turcotte scored twice and set up another as the Kings took over third place in the Pacific Division with 55 points, ending a two-game losing skid. Filip Hronek scored for the Canucks, who have two wins in their last 10 games (2-5-3).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet wasn’t pleased with the performance of center J.T. Miller. “He’s struggling. He’s caught in between,” he said in his postgame interview. “You know, it seems like every time he’s on the ice, something bad happens.” Miller’s been the subject of trade rumors amid reports of a rift with center Elias Pettersson.

Three unanswered third-period goals by Reilly Smith, Chris Kreider and Artemin Panarin gave the New York Rangers a 5-3 victory over the Utah Hockey Club. Panarin finished with two goals as the Rangers extended their points streak to six games (4-0-2) to sit four points behind the Bruins for the final Eastern wild-card spot. Matias Maccelli tallied twice for Utah, extending their losing skid to three games.

St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn scored twice and Dylan Holloway picked up two assists to douse the Calgary Flames 4-1. The Blues swept the two-game series and are 7-3-0 in their last 10. Yegor Sherangovich replied for the Flames, who hold a one-point lead over the Blues and Canucks for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.

The Philadelphia Flyers held off the New York Islanders 5-3. Sean Couturier had a goal and an assist while Travis Konecny had three assists for the Flyers, extending their points streak to four games (3-0-1) and sitting within three points of the final Eastern wild-card spot. Islanders captain Anders Lee scored his 20th of the season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Flyers center Ryan Poehling left this game in the first period with an upper-body injury following a hard hit from Islanders winger Maxim Tsyplakov.

Nashville Predators winger Filip Forsberg scored his 300th NHL regular-season goal in a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Forsberg also extended his goal streak to four games while teammate Steven Stamkos scored the winner in the shootout. Connor Bedard scored and Tyler Bertuzzi had two assists for the Blackhawks.







31 Comments

  1. As encouraged as I am with the overall play, in recent weeks, of the Ottawa Senators (that 1-0 OT loss to the high-flying Capitals last night was one of the best games I’ve seen anywhere so far this season – and if you’re going to be beat it’s fitting that the goal would come from the player soon to be the greatest goal scorer in NHL history), the other team that has really piqued my interest is Columbus – 8-2-0 over their past 10 and winners of 6 straight. They now hold down the # 1 WC slot in the East and are just 5 b/o Carolina (same # of games played) and 8 back of NJ for 2nd in the Metropolitan, and with 2 games in hand.

    AND they have a player – Werenski – a D-man who not only leads the team in points, but now has to be considered seriously for the Norris AND the Hart!

    Their 156 goals scored exceed those of Toronto (140), Florida (150), NJ (146) and Carolina (149). On the other hand, their 154 goals against are more than each of the teams just mentioned by as many as 34! So, it’s fairly easy to see the area they’ll likely attempt to shore up heading to Trade Deadline Day. And with a boatload of draft picks and some decent prospects in the system they wouldn’t need to include any key roster player in a deal.

    https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets/latest-news/the-blue-jackets-are-loaded-up-on-draft-picks-for-the-next-few-years

    Meanwhile, the pack behind them in the WC hunt is packed tighter than a can of sardines, ranging from Boston (49 pts in 46gp) right down to Buffalo in last place (39 pts in 44 gp), with the hottest over their respective past 10 being Montreal (8-1-1), Detroit (8-2-0), Buffalo (6-3-1) and NYR (5-3-2).

    • Hey Colorado.

      Mikko Rantenen.

      To the Senators.
      For: Levvi Merilainen, Anton Forsberg (contract dump), Anton Forsberg, Ridley Greig, Tyler Boucher and a 2nd round pick.

      If contract negotiations were going well. He’d be signed already.

      • So the biggest missing piece for Ottawa for YEARS has been goaltending and now we FINALLY have the makings of a great tandem in Ullmark and Merilainen and you want to trade one of those away?

        Also…Greig is turning into a more solid two way man than Pinto so why would be part with him after signing him for a 4 extension??

        Very hard no to this thanks.

  2. George O Boston s season could come down to the games with Ottawa on 1/19-1/23!We will know about Neeley s soft sell around that time!

    • SR,

      Not sure why Boston’s GM Sweeny does not do a trade to address the lack of Scoring on the 1st & 2nd line’s, they need a top 6 LW
      if they do a Package like A 21 yr old RW, Fabian Lysell, is a Top Prospect and maybe a Morgan Geekie @ $2.M and a 1st or 2nd pick depending Who the trade for…❓

      • Williew,agree 100% about a trade! Problem is their prospect pool is awful and they can t afford to keep giving up draft picks! They really have to think about trading roster players like Coyle,Zacha and Carlo!

    • Sr, Ottawa’s chances could also be affected either way by the same 2 games. Those are 4-pointers 4 days apart.

      • SR,

        the only one i would not trade out of the 3
        is big 2nd pairing RD Carlo, he has 2.5 more years at $4.1M…
        out of the 9 d/men are 6 are LD.. and only 3 are RD….the Right d are Very Hard to come by at present

        If they cant re-sign UFA, Brad Marchand he would be my first guy to trade….

        1st would be Marchand

        2nd would be Coyle a in 1.5 years he is a UFA

        3rd would be Zacha but is only 27 yrs old and has 2.5 years left i would hold on to him…

        So Coyle & Marchant & a good pick or Prospect
        for a scoring LW….❓

  3. Pretty cool to see Sens, Habs, Wings and CBJ all making runs at the same time trying to work their way into the playoffs.

    The hockey gods should bring the CBJ home as the sentimental favourites given all the adversity they have faced.

    Detroit with 8 and Ottawa with 7 consecutive would be feel good stories for the league too.

    Obviously I want the Habs to be in but I can’t be greedy and this year was seen as the next step to becoming a playoff team.

    Second half of the season is exciting to see the changing of the guard.

    • Habfan30,I wouldn t hold on to that timeline! They are right in there with everyone else! Don t sell them short!

      • Going 8-1-1 in the past 10 wasn’t accomplished by knocking off mostly bottom-dwellers. In fact, the only one of that nature – and their only regulation-time loss – was the 4-2 setback at the hands of Chicago. The SO loss came in a -2-1 contest with Dallas.

        The 8 wins were 4-0 over Florida; 5-2 over Tampa; 3-2 over Vegas; 2-1 over Colorado; 5-4 in OT over Vancouver; 3-2 in OT over Nashville; 5-3 over Utah; and 3-1 over Dallas, indicating they can beat you in both high- and low-scoring games.

        They’re for real.

  4. Re; last wild cards spot in the west
    Canucks, Blues and Pred’s

    Canucks dont get a couple of Trades sorted out
    to address the Big Elephant in the Room…
    They need A Good d/man could be a separate trade
    Or big one…?? with Both coming back with the 2nd pairing centre and maybe othere piece’s if Not
    they drop thing out the Playoff Race by early to mid Feb,…❓

    The Preds can continue to push by end of the 1st week of Feb, the Preds have a team that can be in 8th spot more. i think they hold of on trading till
    1st week of March.
    Flames & Utah will be OUT, The blues will be at 9th spot chasing 8th it till the end, depending what they add….
    Blues may look for a trade, 2 of the 9 d/men out, Leddy & Torey Krug out since Oct is on LTI Could see them both being moved as the have a bunch of LD&RD ready to try the big team….However they are still going through the Re-tool.

  5. Terrible effort by the Avalanche. Oilers had there way with them despite a 3 goal lead that means nothing unless you bring the effort for a full 60. Discouraging for Avalanche fans. Urgency not there until like IDK 5-6 minutes left in the game? Embarrassing. Not a top team even with that awesome speed/skill if they don’t do what it takes to close the deal!! Squandered big chance to gain ground and left points on the table. No excuses. Tired of hearing about injuries!!

    • I was a bit surprised by how that game went last night too T. Boy. Not because I don’t think the Oil are a better overall team than the Avs, I think they are, and the last 2 months nobody has been better than them.

      It was the 2nd game of a back to back, and 3rd in last 4 nights, all with travel. Add in they fall behind 3-0 in the first 12 minutes. Kinda felt like a scheduled loss that we see often in the NHL.

      Skinner found his game, and a should have been tired Oilers, took it to the Avs. Who are a very good team in their own right.

      Oilers just seem better this year, or at least lately they have.

      I know I am biased because I live in Edmonton, but hard to find a team that is better than them in the league. Need to stay healthy of course, but should be the betting favorites as of right now.

      Welcome a different take, but I can’t think of a better one.

      • I have a lot of respect for the oilers. They made a believer out of me in SC Finals. I already recognized they were good but despite that, to me the concern is not how good they are but the patterns/ or habits of the Avalanche that contributes to the way they lose games. There’s something about the way they lack how to respond to adversity or success. IDK . I know these 2 are high powered offense but man when you have a 3 goal lead and don’t get it done, leaves you feeling a little salty. Definitely concerning but hey supposedly they are ” not firing. On all cylinders” as bednar states. He knows so I give him benefit of the doubt. To me they appear too lackadaisical with fundamentals like outworking the other team/ or executing simple plays and instead complicate stuff. But I am not the coach so what do I know. Never been the same without Landeskog as well as Nichushkin but they have enough speed/ talent to do some major damage. Onto the next. I don’t see it unless they crank it up in the discipline department?

      • Not having those 2 guys is huge Tommy boy. Take 2 guys out of Edmonton’s top 6 and it would cause a problem as well.

        If the Avs get healthy, even just getting Nichushkin back, maybe add a sturdy D-man at the TDL, and they have a legit shot at getting out of the Central. They seem to have their tending sorted out, will see if it lasts.

        But ya, to your point, need to get back to a consistent structure and commitment to defend. They score enough, but give up too many goals.

    • tommy boy, It seems most of us pick our favourite team when we’re around the age of 11 … and then let them frustrate the Hell out of us for most of the rest of out lives

  6. I have never been more okay with a loss than I was last night against Washington. The team played well and held the league’s number one team to only one goal. Leevi continues to impress… I think Forsberg better be prepared to play elsewhere come March and Sogaard should probably get comfortable in Belleville…

    • Unless Ullmark remains out until March – I hope not – lonh before then Forsberg will either be playing in Belleville with Sogaard – if he doesn’t get picked up on waivers when Ullmark does return – or with a team ready to take a chance on him at a cap cost of $2.5 mil

      • Yup, I was referring to “by March” as in any time between now and the TDL

        If he’s not playing backup somewhere else, yes he will be in Belleville.

      • It was nice to see Amadio back in the bottom 6 mix (with Perron hopefully not far behind), and call-ups Highmore, Matinpalo and Sebrango filling in flawlessly for Gregor, Chabot, Hamonic and Bernard-Docker.

        When it came to the 3 on 3 OT I got this uneasy feeling that they’d better pay close attention to Ovechkin

      • @george it sure was nice to see Highmore playing really solid.

        Also feeling like Kleven is rounding out too.

        That said… I worry about the prospect pool down in Belleville. Dorion really compromised a lot of that for…well…nothing….

      • George the way the goalie situation is these days I wouldn`t bet a plugged nickel that Forsberg would make it through waivers. Just look at the juggling Toronto`s been doing just to avoid putting Matt Murray on waivers. Even at 2.75 million I can see 3 or 4 teams putting in a claim. A lot of teams want that experienced 3rd goalie come playoff time

      • True, theSaint … but we have to keep in mind that, over the past 2 1/2 seasons the best of their pool developed under Dorion are up with the Senators and form part of a solid 12-man core: Stutzle (23), Tkachuk (25), Norris (25), Batherson (26), Pinto (24), Greig (22), Sanderson (22), Chabot (the “old man” of the group at 27), Kleven (23), Bernard-Docker (24), Merilainen (22).

        The “elder statesmen” still have varying degrees of time left, led by Giroux (37) and Perron (36 and who I think could be a factor over the 2nd half), Jensen (34), Hamonic (34), Cousins (31) and Ullmark (31).

        The “supporting cast” – including those who have become “first call-ups” and who have held their own when called upon – are all fairly young as well: Amadio (28), Gregor (26), Gaudette (28), Ostapchuk (21), Highmore (28), Sebrango (23), Matinpalo (26), Reinhart (24), and those in the system still viewed with some level of “make-it” expectation include Halliday (22), Boucher (22), Donovan (20), Yakemchuk (19), Guenette (23).

        All this to say, while the cupboard is currently pretty lean when it comes to legitimate depth, what they have now – with the odd trade tweak here and there – should suffice while their scouts get busy re-stocking through the draft and trade targets (picks, prospects, roster players) over the next 2 to 3 seasons.

  7. Yeah, that possibility crossed my mind Yogi, the position being in such a state of flux around the league. And he is a UFA at season’s end, so it wouldn’t represent a huge gamble on some team’s part – especially one with a large chunk of cap space.

    Added to what he has now, it would also create a cap reserve for Staios in the range of $3.5 mil in time for Trade Deadline Day.

    • Yes, I think this will be a big reason to move him sooner than later. Waiver wire seems far more likely than a trade. Anton has been streaky this year when played, but could be a good plug for a playoff team just in case.

      Also good point on the players you mentioned above, I suppose I just recall the days when we were DESPERATE for some young guys to get a chance because they were wiling away their years in the minors, but now there are only a few I genuinely want to see move up as most of the best have already graduated as you pointed out.

      I think this is why Andlauer and Staios feel particularly stung by the loss of this or next year’s first round pick.

      • Yeah, that was a cheap shot by the league.

  8. Klingberg is an Oiler.

    • I don’t know if i like the Oilers Klingberg signing….? would Not be my pick at All….
      Now Nures has to play defencive d/man 100% of the time.🤔

      The Oil are trying to Trade Jeff skinner out he has a N.T.C. at $3.M for 1 year and has not worked out in the Oilers top 6……..

      • Oilers (or any team for that matter) signing Klinger at $1 M (annual) pro-rated; take zero risk.

        He fails; bury him

        All contracts (when a player is sent down) have the lesser of (1) actual Cap hit or (2) $1.15 M burried

        That said, even though several in media say he signed for $1M (annual) pro-rated; Puckpedia has him down as a base annual Salary of $1M, and $350 K in signing bonus . That should be a cap hit of $1.35 M; but Puckpedia has cap hit as $1.74 M??

        Very strange

        IF (still TBD) the cap hit is $1.74; $1.15 can be burried; leaving less than $600 K (and that’s annual; we have less than 1/2 year left) Cap exposed

        That would make it very low risk

        They (Oilers) will still have Kane’s LTIR space to make other deals

        Good move by Oil

        Re last night’s game

        Very exciting and fast paced. But what else could be expected for a game that had the world’s 2 best hockey players joining 3 other top 10 (in the world) players including probably the world’s best D-Man (some will argue Hughes; I’d give nod to Makar).

        I was not disappointed

        Gee that Jack Michaels puts his entire diaphragm into his play-by-play!

      • 8787, the signing bonus is prorated s well, hence the $1.74 AAV.

        Jack Michaels is great, I can see him getting a national gig, either in Canada or the US one day.