NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 26, 2025
The Avalanche and Hurricanes play their first games since the blockbuster trade involving Mikko Rantanen, the Senators reveal their Quarter-Century Team, and more from a busy Saturday in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall were held scoreless in their debuts with the Carolina Hurricanes as they dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime to the New York Islanders. Brock Nelson tallied the winning goal as the Isles overcame a 2-0 deficit. Jack Roslovic and Sebastian Aho scored for the Hurricanes, who remain second in the Metropolitan Division with 64 points. The Islanders (49 points) have won four straight and sit six points out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: In case you missed it, Rantanan and Hall were traded to the Hurricanes on Friday evening in a three-team deal involving the Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks. Islanders goaltender Marcus Hogberg left this game in the third period with an upper-body injury while teammate Ryan Pulock (upper body) departed in the first period.
Meanwhile, former Hurricanes Martin Necas and Jack Drury didn’t fare any better in their debuts with the Colorado Avalanche as they fell 3-1 to the Boston Bruins. Morgan Geekie scored two goals while David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists for the Bruins, who moved into third place in the Atlantic Division with 56 points. Artturi Lekhonen replied for the Avalanche (58 points) as they hold the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Necas and Drury were shipped from the Hurricanes to the Avalanche in the Rantanen trade. Colorado general manager Chris MacFarland acknowledged the move was a tough business decision. He wanted to re-sign Rantanen and improve his roster depth but couldn’t do both, so he chose the latter.
Rantanen’s departure saddened Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon. “I never thought in a million years he’d leave. So yeah, it just sucks,” he said, calling Rantanen a great friend and teammate. “I’m gonna miss him”.
Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (NHL Images).
Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the third period to lift his club over the Buffalo Sabres 3-2. Stuart Skinner stopped 39 shots as the Oilers took over first place in the Pacific Division with 65 points. Alex Tuch and Jiri Kulich scored for the Sabres, who’ve dropped four of their last five games.
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko scored in overtime to lift his club to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski scored to extend his home points streak to 19 games as his club holds the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot with 55 points. Kevin Fiala had two assists and Quinton Byfield scored the tying goal for the Kings, who sit third in the Pacific Division with 58 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Sidelined Blue Jackets center Sean Monahan will miss an additional six to eight weeks as he suffered a setback in his recovery from a wrist injury.
The Seattle Kraken got a 28-save performance from goaltender Joey Daccord in a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jared McCann and Chandler Stephenson each collected two assists as the Kraken got their third win in their last four contests. Sidney Crosby tallied for the Penguins, who’ve lost three of their last four and sit seven points out of the final Eastern wild-card berth.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Penguins forwards Evgeni Malkin and Matt Nieto left this game with injuries. There was no postgame update on their conditions.
An overtime goal by Jack Hughes lifted the New Jersey Devils over the Montreal Canadiens 4-3. Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Jake Allen made 29 saves against his former club. Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes kicked out 40 shots while Nick Suzuki had a goal and two assists for the Canadiens (53 points), who sit two points out of the final Eastern wild-card spot. The Devils (62 points) moved within two points of the second-place Hurricanes in the Metro Division.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was a costly victory for the Devils as captain Nico Hischier left the game in the third period after receiving an unpenalized cross-check to the mid-section from Suzuki in the previous period.
The Ottawa Senators nipped the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1. Shane Pinto broke a 1-1 tie midway through the third period while Anton Forsberg made 28 saves for the win, moving the Senators (54 points) within one point of the final Eastern wild card position. Bobby McMann scored for the Leafs (62 points), who’ve dropped two in a row but remain in first place in the Atlantic Division.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, the Leafs placed forward Connor Dewar (upper body) on injured reserve and called up Nikita Grebenkin. They placed sidelined netminder Anthony Stolarz on long-term injury reserve (LTIR) to clear cap space for Grebenkin.
Meanwhile, Senators forward Nick Cousins is expected to miss some time after a knee-on-knee collision with Leafs rookie Jacob Quillan in the first period. His teammate, Nick Jensen, missed this game as he’s listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Detroit Red Wings goalie Cam Talbot made 28 saves for his 33rd career shutout in a 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Marco Kasper and Michael Rasmussen were the goal scorers as the Red Wings (51 points) are four points out of the final Eastern wild card spot. Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 29 shots for the Lightning (55 points), who’ve lost three of their last four and dropped into the first Eastern wild-card berth.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Lightning and Blue Jackets are tied in points but the Bolts have more wins (26 to 24) and hold two games in hand over the Jackets.
The Dallas Stars got a 33-save shutout from Casey DeSmith to blank the St. Louis Blues 2-0. Evgenii Dadonov and Esa Lindell scored as the Stars picked up their third win in their last four games and sit second in the Central Division with 63 points. Blues goalie Jordan Binnington made 17 saves as his club sits five points out of the final Western wild card with 50 points.
Calgary Flames winger Andrei Kuzmenko tallied twice and added an assist in a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Wild, handing the latter their fifth defeat in their last six contests. The Flames hold the final Western wild card with 55 points. Marco Rossi had three assists for the Wild as they cling to third place in the Central Division with 60 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Flames defenseman Kevin Bahl left this game after being boarded by Wild forward Jakub Lauko. There was no postgame update on his status.
Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes scored both goals in his club’s 2-1 win over the league-leading Washington Capitals. Kevin Lankinen stopped 32 shots for the Canucks (52 points) for their third win in their last 11 games (3-6-2) as they sit three points behind the Flames. Pierre-Luc Dubois replied for the Capitals as their 12-game points streak ended (9-0-3).
The Anaheim Ducks beat the Nashville Predators 5-2. Mason McTavish scored twice while Trevor Zegras had a goal and an assist for the Ducks. Gustav Nyquist and Ryan O’Reilly tallied for the Predators as their five-game win streak ended.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson left this game following the first period with an upper-body injury.
Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad had a goal and an assist in his return from injury as his club cruised to a 7-2 win over the San Jose Sharks. Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and two assists as the Panthers (61 points) sit one point behind the Atlantic Division-leading Maple Leafs. Cody Ceci and Will Smith tallied for the Sharks, who’ve lost six straight games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, the Sharks placed forward Ty Dellandrea (upper body) on injured reserve.
IN OTHER NEWS…
NHL.COM: The Ottawa Senators unveiled their Quarter-Century Team on Saturday.
Forwards Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, defensemen Erik Karlsson and Wade Redden, and goaltender Craig Anderson comprised the First Team.
The Second Team featured forwards Marian Hossa, Mark Stone and Brady Tkachuk, defensemen Zdeno Chara and Chris Phillips, and goaltender Patrick Lalime.
NEW YORK POST: The Rangers signed defenseman Will Borgen to a five-year, $20.5 million contract extension. Borgen, 28, was acquired from the Seattle Kraken last month in exchange for winger Kaapo Kakko. The average annual value of his new deal is $4.1 million.
Tight races are good for the game, you say? Well, as of this morning, between 3rd place (Boston – 56 pts) and second-last in the Atlantic Division (7th place Detroit – 51pts) there is just 5 points of separation – and the Red Wings hold 2 games in hand. In between, Ottawa (54 pts) and Montreal (53 pts) and just 2 and 3 points back, also hold 2 in hand on the Bruins, whole Tampa, sitting in 4th place and just 1 back of Boston, have 3 in hand!
Over in the Metropolitan, the 3rd-place team (New Jersey) holds a bit more comfortable lead of 7 points over those behind them, but Columbus (7 points back) does have a game in hand, while the resurgent Rangers, although 10 back of Jersey, have 3 in hand. And all the rest – Philadelphia, NYI and Pittsburgh – are, statistically at least, still very much in the Wild Card picture.
That can only bode well for attendance for just about every team in the Conference but Buffalo.
Out West, the Conference and Divisions are somewhat less competitive in that regard although, in the Central, 4th place Colorado, with 58 points in 50gp, does sit just 2 back of 3rd place Minnesota and 3 behind 2nd place Dallas, both of whom, however, hold a game in hand on the Avalanche. After that, it drops to 10 points out for St. Louis, who have also played 50 games, and 11 out for Utah, who hold 1 in hand on the Wild. Much the same in the Pacific where 3rd place Los Angeles hold a 3 point lead over Calgary (and 1 game in hand) and 6 over Vancouver (with 2 in hand).
The rest (Nashville, Anaheim, Seattle, San Jose and Chicago) have jockeying for a good draft pick position as their main “motivation” the rest of the way., with only the Blues and Utah having any outside chance of catching Calgary (55 points in 47gp) for the 2nd WC slot.
Interesting trade over the weekend! Hope we see more of these! Colorado GM has intestinal fortitude to make that trade! I hope other GM S jump into the fray! Going to take some time for new players to develop new relationships! Necas -3 in his debut in Boston! OUCH!
You got that right George. The cap building the parity Bettman was hoping for and it is great for the game. Way less meaningless games
When it comes to the Senators, the recent chatter here in Ottawa usually begins … and ends … with “what the Hell happened to the offense?” When this season began that was easily the least of their worries, borne out over the first month when they ranked as the 3rd-highest-scoring team with a per-game goals average of 4.2 and shots on goal average of 32 per, led by Stutzle, Tkachuk, Norris, Sanderson, Giroux and Batherson. And except for a minor reduction through November, heading into December they were still in the top third in the entire league in that regard.
Then came the start of a string of roster-crippling injuries joining off-season recruit Dave Perron who, to all intents and purposes, had not been able to contribute much of anything due to games missed through a combination of family concerns and injury. Then down went # 1 goalie Ullmark, along with bottom 6 key Fs Amadio and Gregor, then RD-men Hamonic and Bernard-Docker, and most recently, RD Jensen and top C Norris.But, almost incongruously, as the offense dried up to the point where, by late December and on into January, they had fallen to the bottom of the league in goals-per-game (something like 1.9 per) with the shots-per-game not much better, their overall D tightened up just as dramatically as all players – including their top scorers – seemingly put in the extra two-way efforts required by Green’s system … as well as to cover for rookies thrust into regular action – like D-man Kleven moving up to top 4 work, D-men Matinpalo and Sebrango getting in nightly action, Fs Ostapchuk, Highmore and Reinhardt (himself currently injured) seeing regular work, and goalie Merilainen playing some outstanding games. And, ironically, therein may lie the root of their offensive dip as they try and figure out a reasonable balance of approach!
From this vantage point it would appear their best bet is to continue to try and hang in with the crowd bunched up around the WC slots until all the injured make it back … helped to that end by the 4 Nations crap coming up shortly. Simply because they don’t appear to be in a position to get in on significant trade action that would bring in a top offensive type (or two) without seriously weakening themselves somewhere else.
A bit intriguing is the recent signing by the Belleville Senators of 35 y/o veteran C Sam Gagner on a p.t.o. basis.
If he shows any sign of having something left in the tank he could interest parent club Ottawa as a 4th line C which, in turn, could have a domino effect upwards at that position, opening a trade possibility. But that;s just my speculation at this early stage.
Gutsy move by the Colorado GM on the Rantanen trade!I hope other GMS now have the intestinal fortitude to get involved also!Will take time for players traded to build new relationships with teammates!Necas,-3 in Boston debut yesterday! OUCH!
Heh, when did Boston get Necas Sr?
Just joking. I know you were indicating -3 in his debut against Boston
Im not sure how teams will be able to stop Colorado 3 on 3 in OT with Makar, Necas and MacKinnon on the ice. Might want to just take your chance in a shoot out. I think it was Washington that used that strategy against Carolina once. Carolina is really bad in shootouts so in that case it made a lot of sense.
Makar, MacKinnon and Rantanen were not as good?
Hi, folks!
Some of you have wondered why an occasional post of yours ends up being under moderation before being posted.
Nine times out of ten, it’s because you misspelled your name or your e-mail address.
Please ensure your info is correct before posting.
Cheers!
Nice to know I’m not alone in that regard – lol. I’m blaming mine on a faded-letters/numbers keyboard
What a brutal, careless loss of at least 1 point by the Rangers this afternoon!! And good on Colorado for taking advantage.
It’s nice to have one go your way @ waning seconds of the game. Seen the Avalanche give them away a lot. Nice to have it will take it!! The Avalanche deserved to win that game but tried to give it away @ times!