NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 9, 2025
Nathan MacKinnon is the first player to reach 100 points this season, Wyatt Johnston inks a contract extension with the Stars, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon scored twice to become the first player to reach 100 points this season in a 7-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Valeri Nichushkin had a hat trick and collected an assist while Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle each picked up an assist in their debuts with the Avalanche since the trade deadline. Mitch Marner and John Tavares each scored twice, and Auston Matthews had three assists for the Maple Leafs.
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This game was a close, high-scoring affair until Colorado broke it open with four unanswered goals in the third period, including two empty-netters. The Avalanche sits third in the Central Division with 78 points, while the Leafs remain in second place in the Atlantic Division with 79 points.
The Edmonton Oilers ran up a 5-1 lead and held on to nip the Dallas Stars 5-4. Zach Hyman scored two goals and set up another and Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist for the Oilers, who sit second in the Pacific Division with 78 points. Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his first game since coming to Dallas at the trade deadline. The Stars sit second in the Central Division with 84 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before the game, the Stars announced Wyatt Johnston had signed a five-year contract extension. The average annual value is $8.4 million. Johnston, 21, has blossomed into a valuable core player for the Stars. With 60 points in 63 games, he’s poised to exceed the career-high of last season’s 65-point sophomore performance.
Stars forward Roope Hintz left this game after being struck in the face by a puck. Head coach Peter DeBoer said Hintz was receiving tests at a local hospital. They’re hopeful that he avoided serious injury.
An overtime goal by Brady Tkachuk lifted the Ottawa Senators to a 4-3 win over the New York Rangers. Tkachuk finished the game with two goals, while trade-deadline acquisition Dylan Cozens collected an assist and a game-high nine hits. Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist for the Rangers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Cozens made a positive impression in his debut with the Senators following his acquisition at the trade deadline. The Senators vaulted into the first Eastern Conference wild-card berth with 69 points, while the Rangers sit just outside the final wild card with 68 points.
Goaltender Vitek Vanecek had a 21-save shutout to blank the Buffalo Sabres 4-0. A.J. Greer, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell and Sam Bennett scored for the Panthers, who’ve won six straight games and hold first place in the Atlantic Division with 83 points. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 32 shots for the Sabres.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was Vanecek’s debut with the Panthers following his acquisition from the San Jose Sharks last week.
Boston Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman had a 26-save shutout to upset the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0. Cole Koepke tallied twice for the Bruins (66 points) as they kept their playoff hopes alive in the Eastern Conference, sitting two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final Eastern Conference wild card. The Lightning (78 points) remain one point behind the second-place Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman was a late scratch with a lower-body injury. He’s considered day-to-day.
Calgary Flames rookie goalie Dustin Wolf turned aside 26 shots for his third shutout of the season in a 1-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Joel Farabee scored for the Flames (70 points), who moved ahead of the Vancouver Canucks into the final Western Conference wild-card spot. Jakub Dobes made 23 saves for the Canadiens (66 points), who are two points out of the final Eastern Conference wild card.
The Los Angeles Kings beat the St. Louis Blues 2-1 on an overtime goal by Quinton Byfield. Anze Kopitar also scored for the Kings, who snapped a 0-3-2 winless skid. They sit third in the Pacific Division with 73 points. Nick Leddy replied for the Blues (69 points) as they sit one point behind the Flames.
New York Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau had a goal and two assists as his club doubled up the San Jose Sharks 4-2. Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves for the Islanders (65 points), who’ve won four of their last five games to sit three points out of the final Eastern wild-card spot. Macklin Celebrini collected assists on both Sharks goals.
The Seattle Kraken downed the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1. Philipp Grubauer made 23 saves for his first win since Dec. 30, while Matty Beniers had a goal and an assist for the Kraken. Owen Tippett scored for the Flyers as they dropped their third straight game.
Nashville Predators winger Steven Stamkos tallied a hat trick, including the game-winner in overtime, to down the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2. Alex Vlasic and Ilya Mikheyev replied for the Blackhawks.
That was an important win for the Senators in more ways than one. Down 3-1 with less than 10 minutes to go in the 3rd, and Shesterkyn having one of his dominant nights, frustrating the Hell out of the shooters (the final tally against him was 37), Greig made it 3-2 half-way through the 3rd with his 10th on a nice pass from Cozens, and with less than 3 to go Amadio ties it from Perron.
Then Tkachuk, playing in his 500th career game, wins it in just over 30 seconds into OT with his 2nd of the game.
The physicality of Cozens and his 9 hits, along with Batherson’s 7 hits, was an important factor throughout and when they next play they’ll be able to add the aggressive style of Zetterlund to the mix.
I just hope Ullmark will soon start to pull his game together.
Swayman certainly did with that SO and that revamped Boston line-up looked like they are not about to go quietly into the night.
And speaking of dominating goalies, both Dobes and Wolf put on shows in that 1-0 Calgary win at home over the Habs.
COZENS was 4 sure a nice pickup , NO QUESTION ..
I think u will see him come into his own in Ottawa ..
Cozens and Tkachuks spirited play will be eventful for many years to come for Ottawa fans
I was hoping all long to see Cozens in Toronto , and compliment Matthews, I guess it was just wishful thinking
Over the course of the season I have frequently concentrated on team goal differentials – maybe to a fault (lol) – as a telling stat as to which teams are the most logical to make, and then go deep into the playoffs. And judging by this article published a few seasons back I see that I’m not alone there
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/what-goal-differential-can-tell-us-about-nhl-standings-and-playoff-hopes/
As of this morning these are the stand-out teams, each locks to make the playoffs with differentials of +40 and up: Winnipeg +78; Washington +63; Tampa +55; Dallas +52; Florida + 41; Vegas +40.
Grouped below them, and at the moment either established within the playoff structure, or at least still within reasonable striking distance, are: Carolina +27; New Jersey +26; Colorado +26; Edmonton +19; Toronto +15; Los Angeles +8; Columbus +2; NYR +2; Ottawa -1; Minnesota -4; St. Louis -7; Utah -8; NYI -12; Vancouver -16; Calgary -18; Detroit -21; Montreal -22; Boston -28.
With anywhere from 17 to 21 games left in the schedule it will be interesting to see which teams have made roster changes that will ultimately improve those differentials and get them into the dance.
Got to see the Oil/Stars tilt.
Great one!
Another WCF like that would be very entertaining.
Wallman looked very good for Oil.
He did a spectacular 100’ saucer that flew nicely over a defenders stick to Hyman for a nice breakaway goal.
Star of the broadcast has to go to Elliotte Friedman when he punnily quipped about the goal, referring to it as “the Walman to Hyman Passover goal”.
Elliotte, your getting punny in your old age! Are you vying to take Ron’s job?
I guess the Stars defense parted like he Red Sea on that goal. Thankfully they didn’t drown like the Egyptian armies.
Nice one Howard!
GeorgeO huge win last night for your Sens,especially over the Rangers! The Cozens/ Norris trade will be good for both teams! Boston looks to be a spoiler the rest of the year! How do you figure last nights win over Tampa with a no – name lineup! Figure Boston to use all the draft picks they received to use in trades,since Sweeney does not want a rebuild but a retool! What can you tell me about the kid Minten that came over from Toronto!
Not a whole lot on Minten, Sr. At least from my vantage point. Perhaps some who follow the Leafs closely can give you some insight.
He’s a big kid, 6′ 2″ 200 lbs and a left-shot C who had some decent – if not eye-opening – stats in Major Junior in the WHL.
He was taken in Round 2 38th overall in the 2022 draft, and if you go solely by those taken at that spot from 2012 to 2020, the odds are not in his favour of becoming an impactful player.
3 taken there have never appeared in an NHL game – and all 3 were C/W – while the 4 that have played in excess of 100 games are all D and best described as journeymen types.
Then again, maybe Minten will be an exception. Time will tell.
Minten is a 20 year old version of Scott Laughton, maybe a little more scoring ability. So he fits the Boston mould quite nicely
Not a bad style to emulate. Solid, two-way Fs and with some scoring touch can (and have had) long, solid careers.
The Senators don’t play today, but they will be scoreboard-watching for sure.
Right now they hold the 1st WC spot with 62gp and a 32 25 5 69pts record.
The 2 teams immediately behind them – Columbus and NYR – are both just 1 point back, and go head-to-head at MSG
Columbus 62gp 30 24 8 68 pts
NYR 63gp 31 26 6 68 pts
From a purely selfish standpoint, the best bet for Ottawa would be a NYR regulation win. That would put them 1 pt up on Ottawa, but with the Senators then holding 2 games in hand.
The worst-case scenario for Ottawa would be a 3-pointer outcome, putting one of them a point up and the other tied with them.
And don’t forget about the Islanders who play today in Anaheim. After 62gp they have a record of 29 26 7 65 pts and a win for them brings them to within 2 of Ottawa. 1 b/o of whoever loses between Columbus and NYR and just 3 b/o of the winner.
Out West, Minnesota – 63gp 36 23 4 76 pts – are 2 b/o Central Division 3rd place holder Colorado with a game in hand. That is made up tonight when the Wild host Pittsburgh, but while a win there ties them with Colorado in pts, the avalanche remain in 3rd due to one more win.
So the only real playoff-spot race is for the 2nd WC slot, currently held by Calgary with 63gp 30 23 10 70 pts. Of the teams bunched behind them, only the Canucks play today at home against Dallas and a win would put them ahead of the Flames by 1 pt.
Looks like positional Musical Chairs East and West right to the end.
And the thing to remember is that the WC teams will have been playing virtual “playoff hockey” for over a month when the 1st rounds begin, which could be problematic for the top teams facing them in some cases.
Bit of a rough start for Laughton and Carlo last night. Carlo started to look more comfortable as the game went on and Laughton will find his way. Not easy to fly a couple thousand miles, arriving late in the evening and playing a late afternoon game, with no practise time to help get settled in. It also didn`t help that the no show version of the Leafs showed up to greet them. Marner crying in the post game interview shows that reality has hit him, that he might of priced himself out of Toronto. Don`t blame Toronto for asking him to waive, have to try to get something for Marner if you know he`s not resigning. Maybe the shock of not returning might lower his demands if he wants to stay, if not Bennett and Ehlers would look good if they hit the market on the 1st
@ Yogi
I am not sure what to think of Marner
Marner was all gung ho to remain a Leaf , now it seems uncertain
The offer for Rantanen was strong , there was talk about offering McMann along with those picks
I have to review what Colorado gave up for Brock Nelson ., He looked really strong last night , more in line to take Toronto over the top .., Lamorello still has a beef with Toronto..
Ken it was Knies not McMann who was mentioned. There`s no way Treliving could make that kind of a deal for Nelson, needed Carlo more. The lack of cap space was the final blow, they would`ve had to involve a 3rd team to get Nelson, which would`ve upped the price and Toronto probably would`ve wanted an extension in place too. Tre said he wanted players with term and it`s not hard to understand why. With no 1st`s for a while they don`t have to replace Laughton or Carlo right away. So to find more help Toronto will have to rely on Free agency more for the next few years to fill any holes. There was a rumour a few weeks ago where it said Marner was going to test free agency, aah just a rumour, but Tre asking Marner to waive means there might be some truth to that rumour. Marner had tears in his eyes post game, reality of him not returning has finally sunk in.
Looking at the 10 hottest teams in the league over their past 10 (.e., playing at a .650 pace and up), you see – more or less – who you expect to see in such a list …. with 2 exceptions included and 3 not there:
Florida 8 – 2 – 0 16pts .800
Tampa 8 – 2 -0 16pts .800
St. Louis 8 – 2 – 0 16pts .800
Winnipeg 7 – 2 – 1 15pts .750
Dallas 7 – 2 – 1 15pts .750
Colorado 7 – 3 – 0 14pts .700
Vegas 7 – 3 – 0 14pts .700
Washington 6 – 3 – 1 13pts .650
Toronto 6 – 3 – 1 13pts .650
Utah 6 – 3 – 1 13pts .650
The 2 exceptions you might not expect to see included with the other 8 offensive power-houses are, of course, St. Louis and Utah, but if both can maintain that pace they could well be among the playoff teams.
The 3 that aren’t there and, instead, are sputtering among the bubble-teams and pretenders, are Edmonton (down among the worst 11 over the past 10 each) and Carolina & Minnesota (among the next group of 11 chugging along at a .500 to .600 pace):
Vancouver 6 – 4 – 0 12pts .600
Nashville 6 – 4 – 0 12pts .600
NY Rangers 5 – 3 – 2 12pts .600
Montreal 5 – 4 – 1 11pts .550
Los Angeles 4 – 3 – 3 11pts .550
Calgary 4 – 3 – 3 11pts .550
Anaheim 5 – 4 – 1 11pts .550
Carolina 5 – 5 – 0 10pts .500
NY Islanders 5 – 5 – 0 10pts .500
Minnesota 5 – 5 – 0 10pts .500
Philadelphia 4 – 4 – 2 10pts .500
6 teams among the worst over the past 10, and who need to pick up their paces if they wish to be among the 16 play off teams, are Edmonton, New Jersey, Ottawa, Detroit, Columbus and Boston who, with their recent wholesale – and significant – roster clearances appears to have more or less given up on this season (although, judging by that 4-0 win over Tampa, the players may have other ideas!):
Ottawa 4 – 5 – 1 9pts .450
Seattle 4 – 5 – 1 9pts .450
Columbus 4 – 5 – 1 9pts .450
Chicago 3 – 4 – 3 9pts .450
New Jersey 4 – 6 – 0 8pts .400
Edmonton 4 – 6 – 0 8pts .400
Buffalo 3 – 6 – 1 – 7pts .350
Detroit 3 – 6 – 1 – 7pts .350
San Jose 2 – 5 – 3 7pts .350
Boston 2 – 6 – 2 6pts .300
Pittsburgh 2 – 7 – 1 5pts .250
George O, always appreciate your research and dedication to hockey. You have intelligent, thoughtful takes and I look forward to your posts every day. Thanks for your efforts.
Glad you see some value in them Snold 49.