NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 15, 2025
Oilers star Leon Draisaitl reaches 100 points, the Jets take sole possession of first overall, the Golden Knights re-sign Adin Hill, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl scored twice in a 2-1 overtime victory over the New York Islanders. Draisaitl became the second player this season to reach 100 points and is one goal away from becoming the first this season to score 50 goals. Bo Horvat replied for the Islanders, who got a 33-save performance from Ilya Sorokin.
Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Draisaitl sits two points behind league leader Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche in the point races. The Oilers vaulted one point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings into second place in the Pacific Division with 80 points. With 66 points, the Islanders are four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth.
Speaking of Nathan MacKinnon, he was held scoreless as his Colorado Avalanche doubled up the Calgary Flames 4-2. Parker Kelly tallied twice and Scott Wedgewood stopped 22 shots for the Avalanche, who sit third in the Central Division with 83 points. Blake Coleman and Jonathan Huberdeau replied for the Flames, who cling to the final Western Conference wild-card spot with 71 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flames have dropped six of their last eight games. They are tied in points with the Vancouver Canucks but hold that wild card with 24 regulation wins. Flames captain Mikael Backlund missed this game as he’s week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Winnipeg Jets winger Kyle Connor scored two goals and Mark Scheifele collected three assists in a 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars. The Jets regained sole possession of first place in the overall standings with 96 points. Mason Marchment scored for the Stars, who sit 10 points behind the Jets in second place in the Central Division.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jets defenseman Neal Pionk missed this game as he’s week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
The Carolina Hurricanes held off the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 to pick up their sixth straight win. Jack Roslovic had a goal and an assist and Frederik Andersen made 24 saves for the Hurricanes, who are second in the Metropolitan Division with 84 points. Alex DeBrincat and Michael Rasmussen scored for the Wings, who’ve lost seven of their last eight games to sit two points out of the final Eastern wild card with 68 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Just like this point last year, the Red Wings are slumping at the wrong time. With five other clubs jockeying for that final wild card, they’re in danger of extending their franchise-record playoff drought to nine years.
Seattle Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen scored two goals and collected an assist in a 4-2 victory over the Utah Hockey Club. Kaapo Kakko snapped a 2-2 tie and Philipp Grubauer turned aside 23 shots for the win. Nick Schmaltz and Kevin Stenlund scored for Utah (69 points), who remain two points behind the Flames in the Western wild-card race.
The Anaheim Ducks nipped the Nashville Predators 2-1. Lukas Dostal got the win with a 28-save performance while Troy Terry and Alex Killorn scored for the Ducks (65 points), who are six points out of the final Western wild card. Jakub Vrana replied for the Predators.
HEADLINES
VEGAS HOCKEY NOW: The Golden Knights signed goaltender Adin Hill to a six-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $6.25 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hill has established himself as the Golden Knights’ starting goalie. He has a record of 24-11-4 with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.
RG.ORG: James Murphy reports Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney met with his team’s veteran core twice during this season, warning them that changes would be coming to the roster if things didn’t change on the ice. Three of those players (Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle and Brandon Carlo) were shipped out by the March 7 trade deadline.
DAILY FACEOFF: Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is unavailable for personal reasons. They recalled Jet Greaves from their AHL affiliate in Cleveland.
OTTAWA SUN: Senators captain Brady Tkachuk is expected to be in the lineup for Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tkachuk missed the final minutes of the Senators’ 6-3 win over the Bruins on Thursday due to a hip issue.
THE BUFFALO NEWS: Sabres forward Josh Norris is dealing with an undisclosed injury unrelated to his surgically-repaired shoulder. Acquired from the Senators last Friday, he has a goal and an assist in three games with the Sabres.
Sweeney warning his players didn t work out for the team! Why? Because Sweeney brought in those players and after firing 3 coaches the reality hit that it was his personnel decisions!I Don t trust him to draft the right pieces!His draft history is awful! After his most recent trades he has 6 picks in the first 2 rounds of the 25,26 drafts! Those decisions will be the deciding factor in Boston being a retool or a rebuild!
Some interesting positional battles looming in the West. In the Central, while the Jets have both that Division and 1st overall in the West locked up with that win over Dallas, the Stars, with a 3-point lead over Colorado for 2nd, also have 2 games in hand on the Avalanche, who are more in danger of dropping to the first WC spot as they lead Minnesota by just 4, with the Wild holding a game in hand on them.
In the Pacific, with 17 to go Vegas holds a 5 point lead on sputtering Edmonton who are more in danger of dropping to 3rd as their lead over L.A. is 1 point … and the Kings hold 2 in hand.
That 2nd WC spot will likely go to the last night of the regular season, with the Flames and Canucks tied at 71 points each with identical records, and right behind them are the Blues and Utah with 69 points each, although the Flames and Canucks have 17 left and St. Louis and Utah 16 each.
The Eastern battles are no less compelling, with games today/tonight maybe – hopefully – clearing things up to some degree when completed:
Tampa at Boston – Ottawa at Toronto, Florida at Montreal and NY Rangers at Columbus.
GeorgeO ,huge night in the East! Is Tkachuk hurt?Hoping for CBJ over the Rangers!
Tkachuk is in tonight, Sr. In the game the other night against Boston he just tweeked that hip ding suffering in the goalpost crash during the 4 Nations and with the team up 5-3 with 6 minutes left, the coach decided not to chance aggravating it further and left him on the bench.
Hey George
Re,Buffalo and the Edmonton Oilers
If Leon had not scored 48 to 49 goals the oilers would not be in a playoff race
They are gonna have problems scoring in the playoffs for sure this year
I think next year you’re gonna see we trade out Evander Kane and this cap hit ot
5.25M and trade out Victor Averson and his 4 million cap
Hit of $4.M
What’s the total savings of 9.25 million
That gives the oilers aboat 28 million in cap to spend
I can see them going after Sam Bennett for 8 to 8.5M
To play with his buddy Conor
A tough goal to who is better than Kane
Leaves them about $19.+M
To spend on a Bouchard extension $6–6.5M range
Then They can move Nuge to third line centre👍🏿
I’m hearing Lots of t’s charter about Buffalo moving out?
J.J PETERKA
But it’s a BAD move a young 23 year old with 51 points and 61 games No way I move him out…
Thoughts
❓❓
williew, my only thought on those moves is that, while they may be obviously beneficial from a cap perspective where Edmonton is concerned, they don’t make much sense to anyone else.
Kane turns 34 in August and hasn’t played one minute so far this season, so that, combined with the fact he costs $5,125,000 off the cap for one more year would have any GM with any sense saying “no thank you.”
Nor is Arvidsson much better at $4 mil for one more year. He’s a slight 5’8″ 185 lb LW who turns 34 next month and in 51gp has 8g 12a 20 pts.
With upwards of 40 UFAs potentially hitting the market, not to mention almost as many RFAs up for re-negotiation and some of whom may – and probably will – be allowed to walk, why would any team offer up any sort of asset for two players like that when they could likely find better options from those two sources, or even through trade for other better players.
And on top of all that, so many teams are up tight against their own caps and so will need to move some of their own roster to facilitate their own needed improvements, that any potential market is virtually non-existent.
As for Buffalo, absolutely nothing they do will come as a surprise to me. I’m still pinching myself over the fact they relinquished Cozens for Norris.
Oilers are a one line hockey team with iffy goaltending. Even with this win, that has not changed. Mind you to have Picard aid in the winning goal is Oilers logic.
Yesterday Spector posted Stan’s on going legal problem. My regular site has not said a word.
Huh?
I am going to assume your Huh was directed at me. If I am wrong, I am sorry.
The Oilers are NOT the same team that made it to the 7th game of the Stanley Cup finals, for a myraid of reasons. If we make the playoffs, we will lose in the 1st round.
My regular posting site I cannot name because if I do I will be deleted. If you do some detective work………Read the other posts, I am not the only opinion.
Alan: I will not prevent you from commenting because you post on another hockey site.
I. Uh. Maybe I’m a bit hung over from date night but I remain confused. You’re not the only opinion?
yeah there are a host of opinions as to what is wrong with the Oil and a host of opinions of how to fix it. Standard fandom.
My opinion is we are hooped. After our exit we need to make wholesale changes. The nuclear option has failed. That has to go. We keep Drai and rebuild from the ground up. That starts with an NHL goaltender. I would take Sorokin in a minute. I could go on and on and on by will leave it at that.
As to your hangover, I learned the hard way as most of us do. Stop drinking.
Pshaw. What do you think I am some kinda square?
Wonder what went wrong with the wings rebuild. They are going to have to retool this rebuild or suffer Buffalo’s fate.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the usual timeline for a rebuilding team be by year 6-8 they should be knocking on if not in the playoffs and by year10, be a perennial playoff bound team?
Both stalled teams in my opinion can very quickly turn things around since they both have good assets to do it. The question will always be how.
Ron, this March 11 article by Anthony Di Marco sums up Detroit’s ongoing one-step-forward, two-steps-back season – again:
https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/what-exactly-is-detroit-red-wings-yzerplan-steve-yzerman-nhl-trade-deadline-2025
Why on Earth Yzerman figured the only move he’d need to make at the trade deadline was to bring in another goalie pretty much sums up their struggles to end their playoff drought – now headed to 9 straight (I hadn’t realized they haven’t made the playoffs since moving into their new arena!).
Hopefully, Ottawa can end THEIR drought at 7 … and at least Staios did make some significant moves towards that end at the deadline.
George, one more thing.
There are posters here who make engaging and thought provoking comments, but I have to doff my fedora to you. The consistent amount of thought and effort you put into this site is impressive.
Well, thanks for that LJ. What I try to do is remain basically pragmatic and logical when commenting on rumoured, completed and suggested deals – including those involving the team I follow closest – and to shy away from engaging in my own inner wishful-thinking thoughts. And believe me – lol – I have run some of those through my mind where Ottawa is concerned, but I keep those to myself if I think they have as much chance of happening as the proverbial snowball in Hades!
Funny how a GM can have such different results in different locations.
When Yzerman was with the Bolts he stole McDonagh and JT Miller from the Rangers and bamboozled the Habs getting Sergachev for Drouin.
His draft picks included Stamkos, Hedman and Kucherov.
Pretty darn good.
Ironically he left just as the Bolts won their Cups.
LJ,
Possibly because Julien BriseBois was behind it all. He was there during Yzerman’s tenure and has had continued success after him.
Very good point!
Indeed. Blue ribbon to HF30 for today.