NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 29, 2025
Hat-trick performances by Sabres forwards Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka and Stars forward Wyatt Johnston, the Lightning unveiled their Quarter-Century Team, Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov to undergo surgery, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: Buffalo Sabres forwards Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka each scored three goals and collected an assist to thump the Boston Bruins 7-2. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves for the Sabres, who picked up just their third win in their last eight games. Bruins winger David Pastrnak collected an assist to extend his points streak to eight games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Bruins cling to the first Eastern Conference wild-card berth with 56 points.
Dallas Stars forward Wyatt Johnston (NHL Images).
Dallas Stars winger Wyatt Johnston scored in overtime to complete a natural hat trick in a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. Roope Hintz had three assists as the Stars picked up their third straight win, sitting second in the Central Division with 65 points. Golden Knights forward Tomas Hertl scored to extend his points streak to 10 games as his club sits second in the Pacific Division with 67 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen left the game in the third period after Golden Knights captain Mark Stone fell into Heiskanen’s left knee in an awkward collision. The Stars defenseman had to be helped from the ice. There was no postgame update about his condition.
The Winnipeg Jets defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. Kyle Connor tallied twice and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 24 shots for the Jets, who sit atop the Western Conference with 73 points. Juraj Slafkovsky replied for the Canadiens (53 points), who are 0-2-1 in their last three contests and remain two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle left this game early in the third period when he injured his right leg following an awkward fall into the boards. He will be reevaluated on Wednesday.
Speaking of the Lightning, they suffered a 4-1 upset at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks. Arvid Soderblom kicked out 34 shots, Seth Jones collected two assists and Connor Bedard scored for the Blackhawks. Brayden Point scored the Lightning’s only goal as they cling to the final Eastern wild card with 55 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Lightning had to use emergency backup goalie Kyle Konin to back up Jonas Johansson as starter Andrei Vasilevskiy was sidelined due to illness.
Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson turned aside 32 shots in a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas scored for the Capitals, who hold first place in the overall standings with 73 points. Blake Coleman tallied for the Flames as they cling to the final Western Conference wild-card berth with 55 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Thompson is 15-1-2 in his last eighteen starts while the Capitals have won seven of their last eight contests.
Carolina Hurricanes netminder Frederik Andersen made 22 saves for his first shutout of the season to blank the New York Rangers 4-0. Andrei Svechnikov scored two goals and collected an assist for the Hurricanes, who sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 66 points. Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves as his club remains three points out of the final Eastern wild-card spot with 52 points.
The New York Islanders picked up their fifth straight win by defeating the Colorado Avalanche 5-2. Ilya Sorokin stopped 30 shots while Simon Holmstrom scored two goals and collected an assist for the Isles (51 points). Artturi Lehkonen and Jack Drury scored for the Avalanche, who are 1-3-1 in their last five and sit in the first Western wild card with 60 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Islanders’ hot streak moves them within four points of the final Eastern wild-card berth.
Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish collected two points for the third straight game in a 6-4 win over the Seattle Kraken. The Ducks have won three straight while the Kraken have dropped three of their last four games.
HEADLINES
NHL.COM: The Tampa Bay Lightning announced their Quarter-Century Team on Tuesday.
Forwards Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis and Nikita Kucherov, defensemen Victor Hedman and Dan Boyle, and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy comprised the First Team.
The Second Team featured forwards Brayden Point, Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier, defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Kubina, and goalie Ben Bishop.
TSN: Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov requires surgery to address a nagging lower-body issue. He is expected to miss at least four weeks.
DAILY FACEOFF: The Wild placed defenseman Jonas Brodin (lower body) on long-term injury reserve.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Wild are also without forward Marcus Johansson as he’s still dealing with post-concussion symptoms. Losing Kaprizov and Brodin could put their playoff hopes in jeopardy.
STLTODAY.COM: The Blues placed veteran winger Brandon Saad on waivers. He’ll be sent to their AHL affiliate in Springfield if he clears.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Saad may have played his final game for the Blues. He’s struggled to score this season and it’s rumored he’s been on the trade block for weeks.
Saad’s contract has one year left and an average annual value of $4.5 million. It has a full no-trade clause which reverts to a 12-team no-trade list on July 1. If he clears waivers, the Blues could buy out his final season in June if they don’t find suitable trade options.
THE ATHLETIC: Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton revealed his recent three-game absence was due to the sudden and unexpected death of his father-in-law.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Laughton and his family.
Not sure that Armstrong has EVER bought out a contract!?
Surprised that Saad couldn’t at least get a 4th round pick in a trade! I’m betting on a return to the Blackhawks.
IP
It’s been said many times that “defense and goaltending win games,” and that old adage is certainly front and center when you look at the top 10 teams this morning in terms of goals allowed per games played:
Washington – 50gp 119ga – 2.4
Winnipeg – 52gp 125ga – 2.4
Los Angeles – 47gp 119ga – 2.5
Dallas – 50gp 123ga – 2.5
New Jersey – 52gp 133ga – 2.6
Edmonton – 50gp 135ga – 2.7
Ottawa – 50gp 136ga – 2.7
Carolina – 51gp 140ga 2.7
Vegas – 51gp 143ga – 2.8
Tampa – 49gp 140ga – 2.9
At the other end
San Jose – 53gp 196ga – 3.7
Pittsburgh – 52gp 191ga – .3.7
Chicago – 50gp 171ga – 3.4
Buffalo – 50gp 171ga – 3.4
Montreal – 50gp 169ga – 3.4
Columbus – 50gp 168ga – 3.4
Philadelphia – 51gp 173ga – 3.4
Seattle – 52gp 168ga – 3.2
Boston – 52gp 166ga – 3.2
Colorado = 52gp 165ga – 3.2
In case anyone is wondering where the other teams stand in that regard – somewhere in the middle
Toronto – 50gp 144ga – 2.9
Minnesota – 50gp 145ga – 2.9
NYI – 48gp 141ga – 2.9
Florida – 51gp 152ga – 3.0
St. Louis – 51gp 154ga – 3.0
Utah – 49gp 147ga – 3.0
Calgary – 48gp 143ga – 3.0
NYR – 49gp 148ga – 3.0
Detroit – 50gp 156ga – 3.1
Anaheim – 49gp 153ga – 3.1
Vancouver – 49gp 155ga – 3.2
Nashville – 48gp 154ga – 3.2
The Leafs got good news this morning with the return of Stolarz from IR
RE: Tampa Quarter Century team…
Bishop over the Bulin Wall? Seriously?
Thought exactly the same….
Tough night for Eastern Conference teams vying for the playoffs!Boston,Montreal,TB,NYR,all lose! Only winner wasNYI!Bostonblowout aided by an AHL defensive corps! Carlo,Mcavoy,Lindholm all DNP!
Perfect night for Ottawa, Sr – 🙂
Now, if the Wild can beat the Leafs tonight and the Kings top the Panthers, that’ll even be better – especially if Ottawa knocks off Washington tomorrow – not asking for much – LOL
Hey!!!!! Toronto already does their part to help Ottawa. They change their name to the Noshows it seems everytime they play Ottawa. Mind you Minny has injures, so one never knows which team Toronto will field tonight
GeorgeO I wonder if teams will look to add or just stay stagnant!The Bruins are in a transitional stage! Problem is they are in a flock of teams that are just like them!What do you think about the teams in the East?
Sr, any time you get one division of 8 teams in a 32-team league with the top 7 separated by just 9 points and all 7 above .500 after 50-odd games played, you know it’s going to be a real dog-fight from here to the end. That’s why I would expect to see all 7 in the Atlantic involved in deals of one sort or another between now and deadline day.
The Metropolitan is quite different. Washington looks to be uncatchable, and likely won’t be involved in any significant deals, while Carolina and New Jersey, who could be flip-flopping between 2nd and 3rd down the stretch, might get into the action to shore up any internal perceived weaknesses, although it’s hard to pin-point any from this vantage point. But in Carolina’s case, not only do they have the question of UFA Rantanen to deal with, they have 10 other pending UFAs (Forward Taylor Hall, Jack Roslovic, Jesper Fast, Eric Robertson, Juha Jaaska, and Tyson Jose, along with D-men Dmitry Orlov, Brent Burns and Riley Stillman, and goalie Frederik Andersen (but no RFAs). Clearly, if they retain Rantanen at anything near what he’s supposed to be seeking, they won’t be able to re-sign all those other UFAs. So do they simply look at some as rentals and go with them the rest of the way, thereby losing the ones they don’t re-up to free agency with no return, or do they move some?
New Jersey’s not quite in as deep in terms of coming UFAs, but they do have 7 – forwards Thomas Tatar, Nathan Bastian, Curtis Lazar and Justin Dowling, D-man Jonathan Kovasevic and goalie Jake Allen. Same conundrum though. Plus they have a pending RFA in D-man Luke Hughes.
The 4 to 7 teams, also all above .500, are, theoretically anyway, still in the hunt for a WC slot, but really, the only ones with a reasonable chance are Columbus, the NYR, Philadelphia and the NYI (currently one of the hottest teams in the league at 7-3-1 in their past 10. Pittsburgh, the only one currently under .500, should accept their fate and start selling. All the others could be both buyers and sellers the way it’s shaping up.
Yogi, heh, ya … was just some wishful-thinking. Getting Stolarz back should help the Leafs considerably.
And Minnesota is REALLY going to miss Kaprizov over the next month.
After last nights win Carolina has a 14-4-3 record in the Metro. They only have 5 Metro games left and 2 are with Washington.
Cory Stillman’s son Riley played his first NHL game for the Hurricanes last night. He wears his dad’s number 61. Riley got on the stat sheet early with a fighting major. He’s a better fighter than his dad:)
Jackson Blake has been Carolina’s biggest surprise this year. He wasn’t expected to compete for a roster spot until next year and now he is playing on the first line with Aho & Rantanen.
Jarvis scored his team leading 19th goal against the Rangers. Several of his goals this year have been scored while playing on the Staal shutdown line.