NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 2, 2025
Recaps of Saturday’s games, the three stars and rookie of the month for January are unveiled, the Sharks trade Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci to the Dallas Stars, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPPING SATURDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak tallied a hat trick and collected an assist in a 6-3 victory over the New York Rangers. Brad Marchand, Matthew Poitras and Pavel Zacha each collected two points for the Bruins (58 points), who sit behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth. J.T. Miller scored twice in his first game with the Rangers since they reacquired him from the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.
Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The loss leaves the Rangers (52 points) six points behind the Lightning. Blueshirts forward Jimmy Vesey was a healthy scratch for the ninth straight game. He recently lamented that his situation left him feeling he had “no role or purpose” with the team but head coach Peter Laviolette insists he remains an important part of the roster.
Meanwhile, the Lightning dropped a 3-2 decision to the New York Islanders. Tony DeAngelo scored in overtime and Adam Boqvist netted his first goal with the Isles since being claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers. Jake Guentzel and Nikita Kucherov replied for the Lightning (58 points), who cling to the final Eastern wild-card spot with three games in hand over the Bruins. The Islanders (55 points) have won seven straight and are three points back of the Bolts.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Islanders are on a tear despite being walloped by injuries. They announced on Saturday that goaltender Semyon Varlamov remains sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body injury. He joined goalie Marcus Hogberg and defensemen Ryan Pulock, Noah Dobson and Mike Reilly on injured reserve.
Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice collected his 900th NHL win as his club beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1. Sam Reinhart had a goal and two assists while Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe each picked up two points for the Panthers (65 points), who hold a one-point lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs for first place in the Atlantic Division. Blackhawks forward Logan Slaggert opened the scoring just seven seconds into the game, setting a franchise record for the fastest game-opening goal.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Maurice becomes the fourth coach in league history to reach the 900-win milestone. Meanwhile, Barkov joined Jari Kurri and Teemu Selanne as the third Finnish player to record 200 multi-point games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy returned to action after missing 13 games with a groin injury.
The Winnipeg Jets got an overtime goal from Josh Morrissey to nip the Washington Capitals 5-4, giving the Jets 77 points and a two-point lead over the Capitals for first place in the overall standings. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin tallied his 877th NHL regular-season goal. Morrisey finished the night with two goals while Cole Perfetti and Dylan Samberg each had a goal and an assist for the Jets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ovechkin is 18 goals from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894.
Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson had a goal and three assists while goalie Leevi Merilainen made 16 saves in a 6-0 shutout of the Minnesota Wild. Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson each had a goal and two assists for the Senators, who picked up their fourth straight win and sit third in the Atlantic Division with 60 points. The Wild’s three-game win streak ended as they remain third in the Central Division with 66 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Wild forward Ryan Hartman received a match penalty for intent to injure Stutzle following a face-off draw when he pushed Stutzle’s head into the ice. The Senators center received treatment for cuts above his left eye and finished the game.
The Toronto Maple Leafs scored three first-period goals and Mitch Marner tallied what proved to be the game-winner in the third as they held off the Edmonton Oilers 4-3. Marner and teammate Auston Matthews each had two points while Joseph Woll kicked out 45 shots for the win. Evan Bouchard and Brett Kulak each had two points for the Oilers, who remain in second place in the Pacific Division with 68 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm missed this game due to illness. Leafs blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson left this contest after the second period with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. Meanwhile, Leafs rearguard Jani Hakanpaa ended his comeback bid for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off as he continues to deal with a lingering knee injury.
Los Angeles Kings winger Kevin Fiala scored twice in a 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Phillip Danault and Quinton Byfield each picked up two points for the Kings, who sit third in the Pacific Division with 60 points. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Eric Robinson scored for the Hurricanes as their seven-game points streak ended, leaving them second in the Metropolitan Division with 68 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Hurricanes’ Brent Burns collected an assist to become the 13th defenseman in league history to reach the 900-point milestone. He’s the only active blueliner on that list. Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov missed this game with an upper-body injury.
The Detroit Red Wings picked up their fifth straight win by dousing the Calgary Flames 3-1. Cam Talbot turned aside 33 shots while Dylan Larkin, Simon Edvinsson and Andrew Copp tallied for the Red Wings (57 points), leaving them one point out of the final Eastern wild card. Nazem Kadri scored for the Flames, who’ve lost three of their last four contests and cling to the final Western Conference wild-card berth with 57 points.
Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 25 shots for his first shutout of the season in a 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators. Sidney Crosby extended his goal streak to four games, Philip Tomasino scored against his former club for the first time and Bryan Rust netted his 20th of the season. The Predators have dropped four straight.
HEADLINES
NHL.COM: Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak, Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson and Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski were the league’s three stars for January 2025. Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf was named Rookie of the Month.
The Dallas Stars acquired center Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a first-round pick and a conditional third-rounder in the 2025 NHL Draft.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Granlund and Ceci are slated to become unrestricted free agents on July 1. Granlund was reportedly interested in signing an extension with the rebuilding Sharks, but general manager Mike Grier opted to move the pair to stockpile draft picks, giving his club two first-rounders this year.
Dallas made this move to bolster their roster for a potential Stanley Cup run this season. Granlund has 45 points in 52 games, putting him on pace to reach 60 points for the second straight year. Ceci is an experienced right-shot defenseman who’ll provide depth on the right side of the Stars blueline.
The Stars put center Tyler Seguin and defenseman Nils Lundkvist on long-term injury reserve to free up cap space to acquire Granlund and Ceci. Seguin underwent hip surgery in December and could return to action during the playoffs, when salary-cap constraints no longer apply. Lundkvist is done for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
THE PROVINCE: Vancouver Canucks GM Patrick Allvin met with the media on Saturday to explain why his club traded J.T. Miller to the Rangers on Friday. He felt he had no choice but to move the 31-year-old center for his own well-being and the sake of the club’s culture, which had been upset by a rift between Miller and Elias Pettersson.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Miller got off to a great start in his first game back with the Rangers by scoring two goals. All eyes in Vancouver will be on whether Pettersson regains his scoring touch after struggling through the first half of this season.
DAILY FACEOFF: Speaking of the Canucks, they placed winger Philip Di Giuseppe on waivers.
That move by Hartman was disgusting by any standard. He should receive at least 5 games.
What kind of a moron does that, especially with his team down 3-0 but with a full period left in the game and time to get back in it?
The response by the Senators was fitting – 3 pp goals.
Right on, George, the guy should get nailed by the league. What a gutless move!
Agreed. Jamie Benn ended Dylan Larkin’s season a few years back with a similar face off transgression – no penalty in the game and no league imposed penalties. This is why enforcers still exist and why the league continues to be looked at as a joke.
DTzak, if they allowed the true “enforcer” to exist (along the lines of Rob Ray, McGrattan, John Fergusaon etc.), and got rid the idiotic “instigator rule,” pure goons like Hartman and others who resort to cheap shots (none of THEM fit the label of “enforcer”) would soon disappear from the game.
I hope they saved a few goals for their next 4 games before the 4 Nations 2-week break.
Last night, at home, Pittsburgh got the Dr. Jekyl version of the Predators in their SO win over a team that has gone 6-17-4 .296 % pace on the road, whereas the Senators get the home Mr. Hyde version (.563 in Nashville) tomorrow night in the first of yet another back-to-back, with a trip to Tampa the following night. They then remain in Tampa and plat the Lightning again 2 days later before finishing up in Miami on Feb 8.
That quirk must be related to having an early-season game in Tampa postponed due to one of those fall storms.
They have to hope Ullmark gets into at least one of those games before the break because things are so tight in the East that, if they were to lose 3 of the 4, say, they could drop 4 or 5 positions!
George O,I think your Sens are sitting in a good spot,and waiting forLU to come back!He might be better working out for the 4 nations tourney than having a 2 week break! How do you read the Norris trade rumors! Have read him going to Vancouver for Peterson or even Chytil!Looks like Boston is laying their hopes on the return of Lindholm! Not so sure that will be enough to make the playoffs! Did anyone confront Hartman after his hit on Stutzle?
The confrontation came in the form of 3 goals in the space of 3 minutes. Much better than having one of your players sitting in the box for 5 minutes after a half-assed punch throwing waltz-me-around-again-Matilda with a useless twit like that.
And you have to stop watching those idiotic blogs that dream up asinine trade “rumours” that would have Norris +Sanderson going to Vancouver for cream-puff Pettersson.
Besides, we’re still waiting to hear why he went to the dressing room in the dying minutes of last night’s game. If he was injured in some way, it doesn’t look like it was related to his shoulder problems as he was limping slightly. Hopefully just a stinger!
Re Ullmark – you’re probably right on there … given his situation and time missed to date, it’s likely more beneficial if he plays in the tournament in order to be in top game shape when the schedule resumes.
Sr, I see where Ottawa just officially reactivated Ullmark from LTIR and reassigned Merilainen to Belleville. With just 4 games to go before the 4 Nations break, and Ullmark and Forsberg able to handle the goal on that span, with Ullmark also likely playing for Sweden in the tournament, it’s far better for Merilainen to keep busy in Belleville for the next 3 weeks.
Great to see a shutout V for us . We’re still not going to make the playoffs , but good to see.
Also saw Oilers/Leafs tilt. Oilers completely dominated but Woll literally put up a wall.
Leafs also seemed to get away with a few calls including s clear hook on the goal that was called back (it was offside, but Oilers should have had a PP)
BTW, I think Phil is lying. He says 6 more weeks of winter but we’re supposed to go up to 57 tomorrow with possible rain. Maybe he meant 6 more weeks of victories for us? 🤣
It was a foregone conclusion that Edmonton would come out with a vengeance after just having been beaten at home by a red-hot Detroit team. But Woll stood his ground.
And getting Knies and Tavares back made a huge difference in the Leafs offensive game.
And why dwell on “shoulda-been” calls? What difference does it make after the fact? Those kind of situations with the benefit of slow-motion clips happen consistently throughout a 32-team 82-game schedule and complaining about them ultimately resolves nothing.
These were not slow motion hooking misses
It’s another set of late-in-the-game deliberate “misses” where refs are afraid to be deemed causes of the game results
Consistency in calls (throughout game, throughout season and playoffs, regardless of location) is all the players want.
Not all refs are afraid to call it equally 1st minute 1st game of the season vs double OT game 7 of the finals
But MOST refs are not calling it the same
Last night with Oilers literally dancing around Leafs in the third; at a minimum 2 hooking and 2 interference were not called
It’s not from my innate despising of Leafs; but more felling sorry for Oilers
I get all that. Hell, I’ve been witnessing that stuff for over 7 decades! Nothing has changed and I long ago just shrugged it off as something that happens in an imperfect existence.
It adds nothing to any discussion because there’s not a blessed thing we can do about it. It happens in baseball, football, basketball. soccer. It is what it is and pointing out missed calls and complaining about it is a colossal waste of time.
Agree missed calls are in every sport
Completely disagree that there is anywhere near the inconsistency in the NHL reffing as with other sports
There are laughable phantom dives in soccer called for yellow or red cards. There are “wide” or “narrow” strike zones called by some umps. There are missed and wrongfully called pass interferences in the NFL.
All sports will have some refereeing questionable calls/non-calls
My stance is that there is no major sport as rife with infraction missed/called inconsistencies as in the NHL Not even close.
Let’s not get started on DOPS
I realize nothing can be done (by raising the issue) for THAT game or THAT series affected by gross inconsistencies .
But, enough people speaking out has to have some impact down the road.
We’re finally going to be rid of a commissioner that only takes council from his own reflection.
The next commissioner has to listen to concerns raised.
The Oilers are of no concern to me. I’m a Pens (and Pirates and Steelers) fan.
It is just sad to see that game in and game out inconsistencies in reffing.
The debacle of a couple of weeks ago where two players are ejected and both receive multiple game suspensions (AND “all other players on the ice get a 2 minute minor) was completely all on the blatant miss calls by McCauley/Lee throughout the game.
McCauley is one of the best in the league; and he completely lost his footing in that game
The refereeing in hockey will always look worse than the other leagues, simply because hockey is the fastest sport. Football soccer baseball basketball are slow motion sports compared to hockey. Hockey is the hardest sport to ref because of the speed of it and yet the refs/linesmen are the lowest paid and need the greatest amount of skill to do their job properly. Paying them a better wage will attract better skilled candidates, but it`ll never be easy to be a ref in hockey compared to other sports
Disagree. Football is just as fast. But the nfl employs an army of officials each game to try to keep up. As opposed to the 4 on the ice in an nhl game.
NFL isn’t as fast.
The fastest NHL guys hit 30 MPH.
The NFL fastest guy hit 23 MPH. (Hill)
The other big difference is the most obvious, hockey players carry sticks.
More officials would be great, but not much room for more.
But you might be onto something chrisms, let the Linesman call penalties too?? And for sure pay them more.
McDavid is first in the league, for the 5th straight year, and usually is at or or near the top in penalties drawn for that reason. He doesn’t dive.
This year he was 47th. That was after the game he crosschecked Garland in the face after more non calls against him.
First of all 8787, your “stance” may be that “there is no major sport as rife with infraction missed/called inconsistencies as in the NHL” only holds water if you claim to watch each of those sports as closely as you claim to do for hockey.
NO sport – not even football Chrisms – is as consistently fast as hockey. Having played both (and basketball) competitively, I can attest to that. Football is sporadically fast on certain types of plays (as is basketball), but there’s a lot more time in both where you stand around with your thumb up your bum than in hockey.
But regardless, my point is, despite all the training in the world and no matter how much they’re paid to officiate, there will ALWAYS be the human-error factor, and as Yogi points out, that is increased exponentially by the sheer speed of the game.
And I seriously doubt that is going to change despite how many complain. It has certainly made no significant impact in the 70-odd years I’ve been following the game.
I just live with it comforted by the thought that, somewhere along the way, it all evens out.
I respectfully disagree about the speed portion. When the ball is snapped there is 22 bodies going from zero to apparently 23 in a second. I do concede it comes in spurts where hockey often comes in much longer segments. Hockey has a lot of drag time in there as well. Passing around the perimeter etc. maybe linesmen should be able to call penalties.
Here’s some good articles on the subject of officiating complaints and one acknowledging that hockey is the consensus fastest team sport
https://sirc.ca/articles/norefnogame-the-mental-health-costs-of-referee-abuse-in-sports/
https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/learned-complaining-nhl-officiating-time-fine-sore-losers-115517840.html
https://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/2015/01/22/referee-complaints-a-part-of-the-game-or-pulling-the-game-apart/
https://blog.sponsor.me/10-fastest-sports-in-the-world/
Here’s another on the fastest team sport
https://www.gettyimages.ca/visualgps/creative-trends/culture/picturing-the-worlds-fastest-team-sport-ice-hockey
Heh chrisms, I don’t know what football you’re watching, but when the ball is snapped the only ones travelling with any speed is the running back on a hand-off or the receivers on a passing play – and maybe the QB on a keeper … but the rest are grunting trying to either get to the QB or blocking them from doing so, and seldom if ever at any appreciable speed.
But read the links I post. And then find me one where anyone claims football – or any other team sport for that matter – to be as consistently as sustained fast as hockey.
That’s some dedication George. 😂. I’m not gonna beat that. Maybe I need to rephrase my argument from fastest team sport for refs to call to the busiest? But I will rebut the part about the backs and receivers being the only ones moving fast with this
https://a57.foxsports.com/statics.foxsports.com/www.foxsports.com/content/uploads/2020/02/640/427/95b84c0b-TroyPolamaluSack.gif?ve=1&tl=1
Yeah, but that’s ONE guy on a blitz – not 22 – and as I say, the rest were grunting and shoving along the line, while any intended receivers – and their defenders – were enjoying a brief sprint somewhere downfield.
A NHL game can go 5+ minutes without a whistle. That means refs, linesmen are in constant motion, not only having to watch the players are doing, they have to keep out of the players way, avoid getting hit by a frozen puck with almost no protection from it. Remember there`s no sidelines for them to use to avoid contact and they get to do this while on skates and having to keep up with the players. No other sport has refs that even comes close to what a NHL ref does and the linesmen for an added bonus get to jump in and try to break up fights/scrums
Re; Senators & Oilers Games last night…
6-0 victory over th Wild Saturday night, completing a perfect 4-0-0 run at Tire Centre.
Young 22 yr old Leevi Merilainen picked up his third shutout of the season stopping All 16 shots.
An impressive showings in 12 games so far
this year.. going
12, GA, GA 1.99 SV% 9,25….⁉️
Big night for local St albert boy Jake Sanderson,
four-point night with a goal & 3 Ass,
George,
can the Sen’s send goaltender L.U. down ton the AHL farm team to get some conditioning in for a week before he comes back to the NHL….❓
The Oilers
Oiler were Sleeping at the Wheel again last night..Leafs out played them the first 2 periods….
Oil played Great in the 3rd period, Stu Skinner need a couple of night’s off….not looking sharpe at all…
😳
williew – Ullmark could get into one or two of the games left before the 4 Nations break, and as Sr mentioned … and I agree … rather than have him sit around during the 2-week break, let him play in the tournament and get back into top game form for when the schedule resumes.
Sure, he could aggravate his back issues doing that … but he could do that playing anywhere, including a stint in the AHL.
Let’s not forget that the team got to their current spot in 3rd place in the Atlantic, just 5 pts back of first-place Florida – and with a game in hand – with Merilainen and Forsberg handling the load over the 16 games without Ullmark.
Ya the Oilers seemed to turn it up at an opportune time with the Leafs down to only 5 D men left losing OEL after the first period.
The Oilers D looks much worse without Ekholm out. Some depth or upgrade wouldn’t hurt. I wouldn’t be upset seeing these two face-off seven more times.
The Oilers seem to be a little lax at starting time! A shake up is needed in the goaltending duo.
Goaltending had little to do with the Oilers 1st period, try giveaways. Toronto used this approach in the 3rd. I thought McCabe had been traded to the Oilers during the 2nd intermission, he gave the puck away so many times