NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 22, 2025
The Predators stage the first four-goal comeback win in franchise history, the Canucks reveal their Quarter-Century Team, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPPING TUESDAY’S NHL GAMES
NHL.COM: The Nashville Predators scored six unanswered goals to overcome a 5-1 deficit and defeat the San Jose Sharks 7-5, marking their first four-goal comeback win in franchise history.

Nashville Predators winger Jonathan Marchessault (NHL Images).
Jonathan Marchessault led the way with a goal and three assists while Filip Forsberg collected three points, extending his goal streak to six games as the Predators picked up their fourth straight victory. Sharks center Macklin Celebrini had a goal and an assist to surpass Patrick Marleau for the most points by an 18-year-old in franchise history.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Predators removed forward Cole Smith off injured reserve for this game. He’d missed the last 11 contests with a lower-body injury.
Montreal Canadiens center Jakes Evans scored with 2:15 remaining in the third period to nip the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2. Sam Montembeault stopped 33 shots for the win while Patrik Laine collected two assists for the Canadiens (52 points) as they moved into the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth, one point behind the Lightning for third place in the Atlantic Division. Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov extended his goal streak to 10 games with his 22nd of the season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson collected an assist to tie Shayne Gostisbehere for the longest assist streak by a rookie defenseman (nine games) in NHL history. The 20-year-old blueliner leads all freshmen this season with 39 points in 47 games.
The Canadiens have the same number of points as the Boston Bruins but the Habs have one more win (24) and a game in hand. Meanwhile, the Lightning have lost seven of their eight road games.
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves in a 5-0 shutout of the Ottawa Senators. Alexis Lafreniere had a goal and an assist as the Rangers extended their points streak to nine games (6-0-3). The Rangers (50 points) sit two points behind the Canadiens while the Senators cling to the first Eastern wild-card spot (52 points).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Shesterkin also got into the middle of a scrum with Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk following a collision in his crease. Senators center Josh Norris left this game in the first period for precautionary reasons after falling and hitting his chin on the ice. Before this game, the Senators announced forward Zack MacEwen was taking a leave of absence for personal reasons from their minor-league affiliate in Belleville.
The Philadelphia Flyers (50 points) are two points out of the final Eastern wild-card berth following a 2-1 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Rasmus Ristolainen scored the winning goal while Samuel Ersson turned aside 27 shots as the Flyers extended their point streak to six games (5-0-1). Ben Chiarot replied for the Red Wings as they’ve dropped four of their last five games (1-3-1).
Washington Capitals center Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal and an assist to beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2. Tom Wilson netted his 20th of the season as the Capitals stretched their points streak to 11 games (8-0-3), opening a four-point lead over the Winnipeg Jets for first place in the overall standings with 69 points. Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl scored his league-leading 34th goal of the season as the Oilers dropped their second straight game, sitting second in the Pacific Division with 61 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Oilers played without captain Connor McDavid as he’s serving a three-game suspension. They announced they won’t appeal the decision. The club also stated that it would be at least a week before newly signed defenseman John Klingberg plays his first game.
The Florida Panthers got a goal and an assist from Carter Verhaeghe in a 5-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks, handing the latter their seventh loss in their last eight games. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 shots as the Panthers picked up their third win in their last four contests, sitting second in the Atlantic Division with 59 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Anaheim forward Trevor Zegras returned to action after missing 22 games with a knee injury. The Ducks announced forward Brock McGinn underwent season-ending knee surgery last week while forward Isac Lundestrom is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Carolina Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi tallied twice to beat the Dallas Stars 2-1, giving his club their third straight win. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 22 shots and Martin Necas collected two assists for the Hurricanes, who sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 61 points. Thomas Harley replied for the Stars, who’ve dropped three of their last four games and remain in third place in the Central Division with 59 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stars center Roope Hintz returned to action after missing three games with an upper-body injury.
The Buffalo Sabres got a goal and two assists from Jiri Kulich in a 3-2 comeback win over the Vancouver Canucks. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen kicked out 31 shots as the Sabres ended a two-game losing skid. Phillip Di Giuseppe and Elias Pettersson replied for the Canucks (50 points), who have one win in their last four games and remain one point out of the final Western Conference wild-card berth.
IN OTHER NEWS…
NHL.COM: The Canucks unveiled their Quarter-Century Team on Tuesday.
The First Team comprises forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin and Markus Naslund, defensemen Quinn Hughes and Alexander Edler, and goaltender Roberto Luongo.
The Second Team features forwards J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Ryan Kesler, defensemen Kevin Bieksa and Mattias Ohlund, and goaltender Thatcher Demko.
RG.ORG: Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov is settling in Boston and becoming more comfortable in his role as a more defensive-oriented blueliner. He admits he enjoyed his short stint with the Canucks last season, calling it “the coolest six months of my career”, praising the team and its fans.
WINNIPEG SUN: The Jets are staying mum on the status of captain Adam Lowry. The 31-year-old forward suffered an undisclosed injury during Monday’s loss to the Utah Hockey Club.
DAILY FACEOFF: Vegas Golden Knights winger Cole Schwindt is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
SPORTSNET: The Utah Hockey Club reportedly had several trademark applications denied as they continue to search for a permanent name. The name “Utah Yetis” was rejected to avoid confusion with the cooler brand Yeti. The names “Utah Blizzard” and “Utah Venom” were denied for similar reasons.
Broadway has seen many flops over the years, but few have come anywhere near the stinker left behind by Ottawa last night. Brutal “effort.” Even Rempe scored a goal! And what’s alarming for Ottawa fans is the sudden goal-scoring drought – led by team captain Brady Tkachuk – that’s been plaguing the team for the past month and a bit, during which they’ve been shut out, I think, 4 times to the point where they have sunk almost to the bottom of the list of 11 teams vying for those two WC spots (which, with apologies to Tampa fans, now includes the Lightning):
Goals Scored – Most To Least
Tampa 46gp – 167
Columbus 47gp – 157
Philadelphia 48gp – 148
Pittsburgh 49gp – 148
Montreal 47gp – 145
Buffalo 47gp – 145
NYR 47gp – 139
Boston 48gp – 133
Detroit 47gp – 132
Ottawa 47gp – 132
NYI 46gp – 123
And that’s ironic since, right from the start of this season, most pundits were saying the Senators would have “no problem scoring goals” but that keeping it out of their own net would be the main concern if anything happened to Ullmark. Well, something did, in addition to losing 2 RD for extended periods and 2 of their better bottom 6 checkers, and yet their absence doesn’t bear out in the list of the same teams in terms of goals allowed:
Goals Allowed – Lowest to Highest
Tampa 46gp – 131
Ottawa 47gp – 132
NYI 46gp – 138
NYR 47gp – 142
Detroit 47gp – 152
Boston 48gp – 153
Montreal 47gp – 157
Columbus 47gp – 158
Buffalo 47gp – 161
Philadelphia 48gp – 162
Pittsburgh 49gp – 180
George they played like they were waiting to get to the Boston game Thursday night!
Sr, that’s quite conceivably how it will work out – but in the end it’ll come down to who Green chooses to start – Merilainen or Forsberg – and which one of their Jekyll & Hyde performance personalities emerges.
I didn’t necessarily think they’d win in NY last night – the Rangers are coming out of their long funk with a vengeance – but what I did not expect to see was the confused, directional-less running around like a headless chicken. That is unacceptable.
Ottawa clearly jees another top 6 forward. Gaudette isn’t a top 6 player. Though he has done well for himself this year.
Jeff Noel,join the crowd,everyone needs a top 6 forward! In Boston we need a whole line!
I still think Dave Perron can be that in the second half – and with an edge. He’s only appeared in 9 games this season due to family issues and then injury, but he has been skating now for at least a week and should be in the line-up soon.
In fact, it’s just been announced that he’s expected to be in the line-up tomorrow in Boston.
Early projection has him playing RW on the 3rd line with Greig at LW and Ostapchuk centering.
Gaudette has been dropped to 4th line C between LW Highmore and RW Amadio, while Tkachuk – Pinto – Giroux will form the 2nd line, and Cousins moved up to LW on the 1st line with Stutzle and Batherson.
Utah Gospel Choir!!!
Utah beehive
Utah – Brainwashed
Utah – Magic Underwear’s
Utah – Maroni’s
Utah – Funeral Potatoes
Utah – Pligs…(for polygamists)…and the cheerleaders could be the sister wives)
Utah – mow-ins…(Mountian’s… they don’t pronounce T’s there)
Utah – we all related
I could go on…I lived there for 11 years…(that I’ll never get back)… but I’m dangerously close to getting into offensive territory…. can you tell i have PTSD from living there?
Can’t ever comment re living there.
However, we’ve taken our kids a few times to Utah to experience the breathtaking landscape, scenery and National Parks (Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, Capitol Reef) and National monuments (Rainbow Bridge, Dinosaur, Timpanogos Caves).
We’ve stayed a few times in Moab and a few times in Kanab. Both beautiful.
Can’t they name it with something acknowledging the beauty of the land
So you guys made me google what is Utah known for.
How about the Utah Firing Squad.
Kinda works, and it is how they execute folks when they deserve capital punishment, including Gary Gilmore who I think pushed to be executed for his sentence.
They could use “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes” as part of the logo. Thrown in some guns, all kind of things you could do.
Don’t forget Skinwalker Ranch!
Out West, with the exception of the two sub-.400 teams (Chicago and San Jose), both definitely out of the running for a WC spot, there are 11 teams involved, and that includes Dallas, Minnesota and L.A. in the Central and Pacific Divisions since they have teams that – although probably unlikely – could conceivably pass them at some point in the second half, dropping them down into the WC race.
Goals Scored Most To Least
Colorado 48gp – 160
Dallas 47gp – 149
Seattle 48gp – 143
Minnesota 47gp – 140
St. Louis 48gp – 138
Utah 46gp – 132
Vancouver 46gp – 131
Los Angeles 44gp – 129
Nashville 46gp – 122
Calgary 45gp – 120
Anaheim 47gp – 113
Goals Allowed Lowest To Highest
Los Angeles 44gp – 110
Dallas 47gp – 117
Calgary 45gp – 132
Minnesota 47gp – 134
Utah 46gp – 139
St. Louis 48gp – 143
Nashville 46gp – 144
Vancouver 46gp – 146
Colorado 48gp – 150
Anaheim 4gp – 150
Seattle 48gp – 154
Laine has become such a threat that in the last few games teams on the pk dedicate a man to cover him. Life is much easier for the rest of the guys and Laine still puts it in or gets the assist.
Quite the turnaround for the Habs who are becoming a goal scoring team again after a decade plus relying on Price to keep games close
What I still hope to see is both the Habs and Senators in the playoffs – one in perhaps the 3rd spot in the Atlantic, and the other in a WC spot.
Sure. But how about we also make room for Columbus this year? I’d be good with letting Tampa slide out.
George,
That would be Great for both Canadian teams ….👍🏿
The Sen’s
Hopefully the Sen’s get Starting goaltender LU
Back ASAP….
That would great help👍🏿
The Hab’s young 20 yr old Rookie LD-man Lane Hudson has been playing Great, with 39 points,
So has there young back goaltender 23 yr old Jakub Dobes has also been a Huge Surprise 👍🏿
I can see Ottawa, Montreal and Columbus making it. Say, Montreal catching 3rd in the Atlantic and Columbus – Ottawa grabbing the 2 WC slots. At the expense of Tampa, Boston and the NYI from last season’s playoff group.
But if they do, it will have to come down to the last 2 or 3 games of the season for all concerned – except maybe the Islanders who have a huge gap to make up and so many teams in front of them. Certainly the NYR, Detroit and Philadelphia will have something to say about it.
Makes for an exciting finish.
I will go with Tampa in the 3 spot in Atlantic with OTT in 1st WC.
Rags, BOS and CLB neck and neck for 2WC, with Rags getting in because they have a better tender.
I knew they’d try for the lazy and boring Yeti name. Glad to hear the TM was rejected!
Just retain Utah Hockey Club. It’s unique to hockey with the closest any team has come before being Le Club De Hockey Canadien