NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 21, 2025
Recapping Monday’s games, Oilers captain Connor McDavid suspended, the Avalanche reveal their Quarter-Century Team, the three stars of the week, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF MONDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist to lead his club to a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, ending the latter’s nine-game home win streak and handing them their fourth loss in their last five games. Kevin Hayes and Anthony Beauvillier also had a goal and an assist each for the Penguins (48 points), who sit four points out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth. Adrian Kempe tallied his 23rd goal of the season for the Kings, who sit third in the Pacific Division with 55 points.

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Kings honored firefighters and first responders during a pregame ceremony in their first game in their downtown arena since wildfires devastated large parts of Los Angeles.
Crosby reached a notable milestone, reaching the 50-point plateau for the 18th time in his NHL career. The Penguins got the win without winger Rickard Rakell, who returned to Pittsburgh for family reasons.
The Utah Hockey Club upset the Winnipeg Jets 5-2. Barrett Hayton had a goal and two assists as his club picked and Logan Cooley scored to extend his goal streak to four games as Utah picked up their second straight win. Nino Niederreiter and Dylan DeMelo replied for the Jets (65 points), who’ve lost two straight and remain two points behind the league-leading Washington Capitals.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jets head coach Scott Arniel wasn’t happy with his club’s performance, calling the loss their most embarrassing game of the season. Utah forward Clayton Keller took a puck to the face during the second period but returned before the end of the frame after receiving several stitches. “That’s a hockey player, eh?,” said Utah coach Andre Tourigny.
An overtime goal by Sebastian Aho gave the Carolina Hurricanes a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Frederik Andersen made 23 saves in his first game since Oct. 26 when he suffered a knee injury requiring surgery on Nov. 22. Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek kicked out 44 shots.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This game was also Andersen’s 500th in the NHL. Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal reached a significant milestone as this was his 1,300th NHL regular-season game. Staal scored to reach 700 regular-season points.
The St. Louis Blues blew 3-1 and 4-2 leads before defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 5-4 on a shootout goal by Brayden Schenn. Jordan Binnington stopped 28 shots and Jordan Kyrou collected two assists for the Blues (50 points), who moved within one point of the final Western Conference wild-card spot. Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore collected four assists as his club dropped their fourth straight game.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Golden Knights cling to first place in the Pacific Division with 62 points. Following this game, head coach Bruce Cassidy singled out goaltenders Adin Hill and Ilya Samsonov. “We need better play out of the goaltending position right now,” said Cassidy.
Toronto Maple Leafs forwards Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies each collected three points in a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Leafs captain Auston Matthews scored to extend his goal streak to four games as his club picked up their third straight win and sit in first place in the Atlantic Division with 62 points. Nick Paul tallied twice for the Lightning, who sit third in the Atlantic Division with 53 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Marner surpassed Hall-of-Famer Borje Salming for the most multi-assist games in franchise history with 123. Leafs winger Max Pacioretty missed this contest with an upper-body injury
The New York Islanders got two goals from Bo Horvat to down the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1, snapping the latter’s seven-game points streak (6-0-1). Mathew Barzal had two assists for the Islanders. Kent Johnson replied for the Blue Jackets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson left this game early in the third period with an injury to his right leg following a hit from Blue Jackets center Cole Sillinger. There was no post-game update on his status.
Boston Bruins center Charlie Coyle tallied twice in a 6-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Coyle finished with three points while David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Elias Lindholm each had a goal and an assist for the Bruins. Will Smith scored and collected an assist for the Sharks, who have lost three straight games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The win vaulted the Bruins (52 points) one point ahead of the Blue Jackets into the final Eastern wild-card berth. The Ottawa Senators also have 52 points but hold the first wild-card spot with two games in hand over the Bruins.
Third-period goals by Yakov Trenin and Brock Faber lifted the Minnesota Wild over the Colorado Avalanche 3-1. Marc-Andre Fleury turned aside 26 shots as the Wild snapped their three-game losing skid. Nathan MacKinnon replied for the Avalanche.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Wild sit second in the Central Division with 60 points while the Avalanche hold the first Western wild-card spot with 57 points.
Seattle Kraken forward Jared McCann had a goal and two assists in a 6-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Chandler Stephenson and Adam Larsson each had a goal and an assist as the Kraken picked up their fourth win in their last six games. Tage Thompson and Jason Zucker each had a goal and an assist for the Sabres, who’ve dropped three of their last four games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jiri Kulich returned to the Sabres lineup after missing the last two weeks with a lower-body injury.
HEADLINES
NHL.COM: Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid received a three-game suspension for cross-checking Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland on Saturday.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid’s cross-check resulted from Garland pinning him to the ice for over 10 seconds late in the third period with no call from the on-ice officials. I don’t believe this suspension is justified.
However, McDavid should’ve received a suspension for his sneaky elbow to the head of Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Johansson on Jan. 15, which went unpunished by the officials and the league. Johansson remains on injured reserve.
Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers received a three-game suspension for cross-checking Oilers blueliner Evan Bouchard. The incident occurred in the scrum following McDavid’s cross-check on Garland.
The Colorado Avalanche unveiled their Quarter-Century Team on Monday.
Goaltender Patrick Roy, defensemen Adam Foote and Cale Makar, and forwards Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Nathan MacKinnon comprised the First Team.
The Second Team featured forwards Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog and Milan Hejduk, defensemen Rob Blake and Erik Johnson, and goaltender Semyon Varlamov.
Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson, Nashville Predators winger Filip Forsberg, and Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak are the league’s three stars for the week ending Jan. 19, 2025.
MONTREAL GAZETTE: Former NHL winger Marcel Bonin recently passed away at age 93. Bonin played 454 goals with the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens from 1952-53 to 1961-62, tallying 97 goals and 175 assists for 272 points. He also had 25 points in 50 playoff games, winning a Stanley Cup with Detroit (1954-55) and three more with the Canadiens between 1957-58 and 1959-60.
NHL.COM: Former NHL coach Tom McVie passed away at the age of 89. McVie was a long-time minor-league player from 1956-57 to 1973-74. He coached the Washington Capitals from 1975-76 to 1978-79, the Winnipeg Jets from the 1979 WHA playoffs through 1980-81, and the New Jersey Devils from 1990-91 to 1991-92.
McVie was an assistant coach with the Boston Bruins from 1992-93 to 1994-95. He spent the past 30 years as a Bruins ambassador.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to the families and friends of Bonin and McVie.
Following yesterday’s games we sit this morning with anywhere from 3 (L.A.) to 8 (N.J, Pittsburgh, S.J.) games into the second half, with the hottest teams over their past 10 being Washington (7-0-3), Edmonton (8-2-0), Montreal & Columbus (7-2-1) and Dallas, Detroit and Toronto (7-3-0). Bringing up the rear in that regard are San Jose (3-7-0), New Jersey (2-5-3), Chicago, Anaheim & Vancouver (3-5-2) and Pittsburgh (3-4-3).
For the most part over the 12 years since the 2013 advent of the Wild Card system of playoff ranking, and in normal 82-games seasons, only teams on the plus side of goal differentials have qualified. For example, in 2021-22 the team with the lowest differential East and West was Washington at +30, while in 2022-23 the lowest was Florida at +17. Last season, in the East, we saw an aberration when the NYI got in in 3rd place in their Division with a -17 while Washington qualified in the first WC slot with a glaring -37! Out West, the two lowest were the WC teams with Nashville at +21 and Vegas at +22. This season, both East and West, we could see upwards of 3 minus teams make the playoffs.
In the East, each of Washington (+50), Tampa (+37), New Jersey (+23) and Carolina (+23) should finish well on the + side barring a complete collapse, while Toronto (+15) and Florida (+11), with their firepower, should at least remain about where they are now, and probably a bit higher. After that is where the minus possibilities start to become evident. The current first WC holder, Ottawa, is on the cusp at +5 while Boston, this morning in the 2nd WC slot, is there with a -20. But lately, thanks to the fierce competition in the East, those two positions change almost every morning when we look at the standings following the games of the previous day, and from the # 9 position to # 16 every team is sporting a minus of some sort: Columbus -1; Montreal -13; NYR -8; Philadelphia -15; Pittsburgh -32; Detroit -19; NYI -14 and Buffalo -17.
On the West, those that will undoubtedly finish high on the plus side include Winnipeg (+49), Dallas (+33), Vegas (+28), Edmonton (+25) and Los Angeles (+19), while closer to the cusp, but still likely playoff teams, are Minnesota (+6) and Colorado, currently the # 1 WC team, (+10). Among those still theoretically in the playoff race, the closest to becoming plus teams are St. Louis (-5), Utah (-7), Calgary (currently holding the 2nd WC spot at -12), Seattle (-11) and Vancouver (currently 1 point back of Calgary at -14). The rest really have no hope of either making the playoffs OR turning their minus differentials around: Nashville (-24), Anaheim (-34), Chicago (-38) and San Jose (-50).
GeorgeO,you should find a job in analytics for the league! Interesting stats,I find myself scoreboard watching every night watching the contested Eastern Conference teams fighting for the playoffs! I wish the NHL would move up their trade deadline!Lots of teams looking at possibly buyers and sellers! Wonder which team will make a trade to add energy to their playoff runs? Teams that don’t t look to qualify have many intriguing options for sale!
Very true Sr and those with lots of cap space – like Columbus – could be among the busiest.
As for moving the trade deadline up, I think a lot of teams will complete deals well in advance of that anyway as more and more follow the lead of GMs like Lamoriello. Why wait for Spring? Do it now.
And you can bet a lot of teams in action on any given night will be scoreboard watching in earnest from here on in.
Tonight, for example, with the Senators in NY to play the Rangers, a win by the latter puts them 2 points back of Boston for the 2nd WC spot, while a win by Ottawa – and if Montreal tops Tampa, not only do they move into the 2nd WC spot, but the Senators take over 3rd in Atlantic! Another key game in that regard had Detroit and Philadelphia going head to head.
Goal differential is one of those stats that is intellectually appealing but needs to be taken with a huge grain of salt since there are many factors to take into account, such as:
Is it static during the year.
Do a few blowouts skew the numbers
Do back to back skew the numbers.
Has their been a change in personnel recently, eg goalie.
Have coaches re-jigged systems
With that being said, I appreciate the work in finding, compiling and posting thr results that are definitely food for thought.
Wow. What a 1st team line up for col.
That was my initial reaction too.
George O… in regards to back to backs…. is there a stat somewhere that shows what team plays the most games against the 2nd half of a back to back…
for example, the Stars play the Canes tonight and the Canes played last night….I feel that Stars get a lot of these for some reason… be it there own back to back or someone else’s 2nd half.
The second team goalie is interesting. It seems they only picked players who played in Colorado and not before their move from QC. I would have picked Jocelyn Thibault (1993-95) over Semyon Varlamov.
Now I know that it was only for 2 seasons (1989-91) and it was late in his career, but come on! No Guy Lafleur!?
I believe it’s because the ones you name are outside the quarter century (25 years)
Yup. 2000 on.
Quarter Century LOL
Sorry, for some reason I was thinking half century. LOL
My bad.
Varlomov endured some brutal Avalanche teams, he should be 2nd team. Saved their bacon many times!!!
https://www.reddit.com/r/nhl/comments/1dtvvx3/list_of_how_many_sets_of_back_to_back_games_each/?rdt=41642
Starsfan, other than the above link which shows the wide dis[parity in schedule back-to-backs, I’m not aware of any that show your example … although it would be interesting to know.
Certainly, no one can deny that Winnipeg, with the fewest at 8, enjoys a huge advantage compared to most other teams where it ranges from 10 to 16.
Since the link doesn’t list it in those terms I’ve broken it down here
10 – Boston, St. Louis, Vancouver
11 – Calgary, Dallas, Detroit
12 – Chicago, Colorado, Columbus, Minnesota, NYI, New Jersey, San Jose, Seattle, Tampa, Utah
13 – Anaheim, Buffalo, Philadelphia. Vegas, Washington
14 – Edmonton, Florida, Los Angeles, NYT, Nashville, Ottawa, Pittsburgh
15 – Montreal
16 – Carolina, Toronto
thanks for the insight… you’re on top of it as always… but that is definitely something I’d like to see also… it definitely gives a rested team somewhat of an advantage…..I would think
I just found this on Daily Faceoff.
It breaks down each teams schedule by B2Bs, against teams playing the second game of a B2B,
longest road trip, miles the team puts on this season, and more.
The Ducks and Blue Jackets get the most games against teams playing their second game of a B2B with 18.
https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2024-25-nhl-schedule-analysis-how-each-team-stacks-up
Good stuff Kevjam. Many thanks.
2 things George. How many of those back to back involve travel and how many of those back to back end up being 3 games in 4 nights + travel. When teams like Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto play games like that, they end up spending a lot of time in airports, with little or no time to practise because of NHL rules. Berube made a comment a couple of days ago about Toronto having it`s first real practise in almost a month. So yeah that becomes an advantage for teams like Winnipeg. The western teams may have long road trips but they usually come with days off in between which allows practises. Whereas eastern teams may not have those 6 or 7 game road trips but end up spending more time in airports, which eliminate practise days. NHL teams can`t hold a practise on travel days, just a morning skate (optional)
Good points, Yogi … forgot about those NHL practice rules.
Of course ottawa has 14. The league’s ugly little Canadian step daughter. Who, more often than not, doesn’t get a dance partner on Hockey Day in Canada. This year was no different as the Sens played the Bruins. Oh…for some wonderful scheduling reasons the Sens only host the Leafs once. Admittedly I don’t attend those blue team invasion games but they’re still entertaining on TV. Guess the NHL hates rival games or something.
What gets me is the apologists countering with “well, it will balance out over the following seasons when those with the fewest back-to-backs this season will play more and vice-versa.
Well …. yeaaahh. But that doesn’t help those with 14 to 16 THIS season. Is it impossible to come up with a schedule that at least reduces the range of disparity to something like 2 or 3 at the most rather than 5 to 8?
It never balances out George, eastern based teams always play more back to back games than the western teams. The east may have shorter trips but they still spend more time in the airports than the west. For me the stressful part of traveling is in the time spent in the airport, not on the plane. The bottom line is the western based teams spend a lot more time sleeping in their own beds than the eastern teams. And your right fewer back to backs allow some players to play more often
Tonight’s key Matchups! TB at Montreal, Ottawa at NYR , Detroit at Philly, Buffalo at Vancouver ,For Trading Conversation!
I’ve been wondering why the NHL blacks out Amazon games on the NHL Centre Ice package. The reason people pay for that is to get every game regardless which broadcast it comes from. It’s a greasy greasy move.
The schedule is the schedule. Every team gets back to backs and plays teams on the second of a back to back. It is not always even.
Teams in the east don’t have the intense travel schedules that west teams have. ie – Winnipeg played in 11 different cities in a row (one was in winnipeg) in about 25 days. As per CBA travel day rules the team was not able to hold a single practice in that time.
Columbus has had two men die in the past 3-4 years, injuries hit randomly. Adversity is different for every team. When viewed in long term overall the schedule makers do a good job and are not the reason some teams are struggling because good teams find a way to win enough.
Well, we’ll agree to disagree on that one 2.0.
Where Winnipeg is concerned, for example, with just 8 back-to-backs means Hellebuyck can play more games reasonably fresh, as opposed to the top goalies of the teams playing 13 to 16. Just such an advantage can make a difference in a tight points race.
I’m surprised Lyle thinks the McDavid suspension isn’t justified. My view is that both the McDavid and Myers suspensions are reasonable in the circumstances. The league needs to crack down on dangerous plays like these (both of which were intentional).
Yeah, Garland was holding McDavid and could well have been penalized. It was pretty blatant, but it wasn’t dangerous or suspension-worthy. But McDavid was fully extricated from that and retaliated.
@ 8787
I think Seth Jones of the Chicago Blackhawks would make sense for the Penguins.
– He is only 30
– He is signed for 5 more years which when that contract ends he will be 35 still 2 years younger than Letang is now.
– He is big, strong, and a good overall d-man.
– He eats minutes plays top 2 top 4 minutes.
– He can help the youngsters Owen Pickering and next year Harrison Brunicke grow and develop.
– Letang and Karlsson will be gone in a couple year..Letang maybe even this years rumors heating up again….him to Montreal.
– The cap will be over $100 million in 2 years and $9.5 million or $7.5 million if Chicago retains something it isn’t as big of a deal
– If Chicago retains even just like $2 million that helps.
Your top three could be Owen Pickering, Harrison Brunicke and Seth Jones.