NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 4, 2025
Recaps of Monday’s games, the three stars of the week are revealed, plus the latest on Matthew Tkachuk, Gabriel Landeskog and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF MONDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: The Montreal Canadiens recovered from blowing a 3-0 lead with an overtime goal by Mike Matheson for a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki had a goal and three assists and Cole Caufield reached the 30-goal plateau for the first time. Alex Tuch, Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin replied for the Sabres.
Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canadiens (65 points) have won five straight games, sitting one point behind the Detroit Red Wings for the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth. Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson became the fastest rookie blueliner in franchise history to reach the 50-point plateau, accomplishing that feat in 63 games.
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin stopped 21 shots to shut out the New York Islanders 4-0. J.T. Miller, Artemi Panarin and Will Cuylle each had a goal and an assist for the Rangers (66 points), who sit behind the Red Wings in the wild-card race. Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin stopped 22 shots as his club remains five points behind the Wings.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Islanders center Brock Nelson became the fifth player in franchise history to reach the 900-game milestone, but he might not have many more games left with them. The 33-year-old center is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and there’s no indication a contract extension is imminent. Nelson could be moved by Friday’s trade deadline.
The Rangers held winger Reilly Smith out of the lineup for the second straight game for “roster management”, suggesting they’re attempting to trade him before the Friday deadline.
The Washington Capitals blew a 3-0 and 4-3 leads before defeating the Ottawa Senators 5-4 on a shootout goal by Dylan Strome. Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal and two assists while Tom Wilson and Connor McMichael each had a goal and an assist for the Capitals (86 points), moving within two points of the first-overall Winnipeg Jets. Shane Pinto scored twice and Jake Sanderson collected three assists for the Senators, who sit one point out of the final Eastern wild card.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Capitals signed goaltender Charlie Lindgren before this game to a three-year, $9 million contract extension. Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven missed this game with an undisclosed mid-body ailment and is expected to be sidelined for the foreseeable future.
Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov scored two second-period goals as his club held off the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1, ending the latter’s eight-game win streak. The win leaves the Panthers second in the Atlantic Division with 79 points. Brandon Hagel replied for the Lightning, who sit third in the division with 74 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk could miss the rest of the regular season with a lower-body injury. General manager Bill Zito said they hope the 27-year-old winger will return for the playoffs. Tkachuk was placed on long-term injury reserve on Sunday to enable the Panthers to call up goaltender Chris Driedger, giving them $8.7 million in additional cap space if they wish to add to their roster before Friday’s trade deadline.
The San Jose Sharks overcame a 2-0 deficit to upset the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on a shootout goal by Fabian Zetterlund. Jack Thompson and Tyler Toffoli scored for the Sharks to end an eight-game winless skid. John Tavares and Matthew Knies opened the scoring for the Leafs, who hold first place in the Atlantic Division with 79 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Toronto holds first place over Florida because they hold a game in hand. Leafs forward Calle Jarnkrok made his season debut after being sidelined by an injury in training camp, followed by groin/sports hernia surgery in November. Meanwhile, the Sharks placed defenseman Henry Thrun (undisclosed) on injured reserve.
Goaltender Spencer Knight kicked out 41 shots in his debut with the Chicago Blackhawks for a 5-1 upset over the Los Angeles Kings. Ryan Donato and Ilya Mikheyev each had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks. Anze Kopitar replied for the Kings, who sit third in the Pacific Division with 70 points but have dropped three straight games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Blackhawks acquired Knight on Saturday from the Panthers in the Seth Jones trade. Jones played over 22 minutes in his debut with the Panthers against the Lightning. The Blackhawks placed forward Philipp Kurashev on IR with an injured hand.
HEADLINES
NHL.COM: Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz, and Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki are the league’s three stars for the week ending March 2.
THE DENVER POST: Colorado Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland indicated his club doesn’t expect team captain Gabriel Landeskog to return to the lineup this regular season. The 32-year-old winger is attempting to return from knee surgeries that have sidelined him for the past two seasons. MacFarland said there’s a chance Landeskog could return in the 2025 playoffs.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A postseason return for Landeskog seems as likely as his return during the regular season.
DAILY FACEOFF: Jeff Marek reports the Dallas Stars are working on an eight-year contract extension with forward Wyatt Johnston. The 21-year-old forward is in the final season of his entry-level contract. Marek believes Johnston could see a raise to between $8 million and $8.5 million annually on his next deal.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Johnston has steadily grown into a reliable offensive star, tallying 41 points as a rookie in 2022-23 and 65 points as a sophomore in 2023-24. He has 55 points in 60 games this season, putting him on pace to exceed last season’s output.
TSN: The Utah Hockey Club signed defenseman Olli Maatta to a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $3.5 million. The 30-year-old Maatta was UFA-eligible on July 1.
THE ATHLETIC: Aaron Portzline reports the Columbus Blue Jackets are closing in on a contract extension with scrappy winger Mathieu Olivier. It’s believed to be a multi-year deal, likely four years or more.
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov could return this week after missing 39 games with a back injury.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: The Penguins recalled goalie Tristan Jarry from their AHL affiliate and placed defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph on injured reserve.
Interesting how changes can impact the team on the ice in ways not foreseen.
The Habs have righted the ship since going with a goaltending tandem of Montembeault and Dobes, similar numbers, similar styles, confident young guys who dig in after letting one in.
The confidence of the team is evident with these guys in the net and the team is tying Hughes hands a bit making him an unwilling seller now.
Suzuki is now tied with Crosby for 7th in points among centers. He is a true leader and plays a solid 200 foot game.
Hutson is the 11th quickest defenseman in history to 50 points. Second only to Makar in the cap era. Is also 4th in defenseman scoring this season.
Hughes has built a solid team that is coming together but is not close to being there yet. Big hole at #2 Center. Dach is obviously not the answer. I don’t see Beck or Kapanen as top 6 . Maybe Hage but he’s still a few years away.
Howard, Suzuki is tied for 8th with Crosby, a difference I wouldn’t trifle about – except that in looking at there stats, Suzuki is a +6 and Sid is -23!
habfan30, with Emil Heineman out of the lineup due to injury the Habs went 5-8-0. The 4th line, which had been effective most of the season struggled without him. Evan’s points/60min dropped from 1.88 to 0.37. The team’s underlying numbers also worsened, with shot control at 45% and expected goals at 37.8%.
Also contributing to the numbers were the inadequate and completely insufficient replacements for Emil, which resulted in more strain on the lineup.
Habs have won all their games since Emil has returned. (Again, lots of factors to consider: post-4-nations, debatable weaker competition, etc.).
You’re right on about Heinemin, I had pointed out before his injury that he was right up there with rookie goal scorers.
What’s promising is that in my opinion, Oliver Kapanen looked better but the Habs chose to give him another year in Europe.
He’ll be a Hab next year.
Everydayboots: Yes, you are correct that Heineman’s impact on the Habs play is disproportionate to his stats.
However, look at the effect of Dach’s absence, another player whose stats are not impactful – on the Habs play. Last night “Dach’s” line with Beck in his place, were a non presence.
The Habs are a proverbial house of cards. When their starting line up is intact they can roll 4 lines and the strength of their bottom 6 makes a difference.
When any of their first three lines is disrupted it causes a ripple effect and they struggle. Were it not for Suzuki’s great play the last 5 games the Habs would be well out of a playoff spot.
On the plus side for the Habs, Heineman, Hudson, Beck and Dobes have been a real bonus. Not often a team seems 4 rookies make such an impact on a team in the same year.
habfan30, as a non-partial observer, a few weeks back I posted that it would be foolish to count the Habs out of the playoff race. There was – to my observation anyway – this developing cohesion from the tenders on out that was making them a handful for any team they faced.
And now here we are in the East with anywhere from 19 games left to play (Pittsburgh) to 23 (Buffalo) and just 14 points separating the first WC holder (Columbus) from last place in the East.
Of course, none among Buffalo, Pittsburgh or Philadelphia have any realistic chance to get in with so many teams to climb over, and even Boston is in tough in that regard. But from Montreal up through Ottawa and the NYR, hang onto our hats!
George
With the injury situation in Boston the best plan of action is to sell what they can. That would include 63. They can resign as ufa and his trade would bring vest assets to Boston
MrBruin4, I agree … I think those types of deals will be at the forefront on Friday throughout the league.
The team needs a culture change!And not with just the players but the GM and President also!Must get younger and add talent!
Any questions about what the Isles have to do have pretty much been erased. They’re just not a playoff team. Palmieri is 34. Nelson will be turning 34 around the start of next season. It makes no sense for the Isles to sign them to long term contracts at this point. They’ve got to trade them for picks. Could probably get firsts for each of them.
Looks like Tkachuk will not play during the regular season. Seems that even the playoffs are not a certainty. He certainly should not have been dressed for the championship game. Between him, Theodore and McAvoy, there will be some grumbling from teams about these in season tournaments.
I think the Avalanche will have to start coming to terms with the possibility that Landeskog may have played his last game.
Howard, I say again, watch Rantanen. With Landeskog gone, all the Avs have to do is move Middlestad and they have cap space to bring Rantanen back.
Sad about Landeskog. Seems like it is not in the cards? IDK how he is going to assimilate into playoff hockey after not playing at all in almost 3yrs. Probably time to move on unless he is superman. More power to him but it’s hamstringing what the club can do ?
Maybe Landy makes an appearance on the 3rd or 4th line for 1 game in the playoffs like Stammer did when he was injured for the season. At least get in a farewell.
Wow that Capitals team is sneaky good. And BIG. And the goaltending…..and the cupboard of prospects apparently is rather stocked too. Amazing how they’ve been able to do that.
I hope Mathew Tkachuk recovers quickly from his Vegas Flu.