The Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon and the Canadiens’ Cole Caufield tie for the goal-scoring lead, the Ducks and Bruins extend their win streaks to six games, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines

RECAPS OF SATURDAY’S GAMES

NHL.COM: Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and two assists while Cale Makar, Parker Kelly, and Jack Drury each tallied twice to thump the Edmonton Oilers 9-1. MacKinnon extended his points streak to eight games as the Avalanche (9-1-5) sits atop the overall standings with 23 points. Connor McDavid replied for the 6-6-3 Oilers, who’ve lost three straight games.

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: MacKinnon leads all NHL scorers with 23 points and is tied for first with 12 goals. As for the Oilers, this was a humiliating defeat at every level, raising further questions about their viability as a Stanley Cup contender.

Montreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield scored twice in a 6-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth, extending their points streak to six games (4-0-2) as they sit atop the Atlantic Division with 22 points (10-3-2). Oliver Kapanen and Alex Newhook each had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens. Kailer Yamamoto and Lawson Crouse scored for the 9-6-0 Mammoth, who’ve dropped four of their last five games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Caufield’s 12 goals tied him with MacKinnon for the league goal-scoring lead.

The Anaheim Ducks picked up their sixth straight win by nipping the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 on an overtime goal by Jacob Trouba. Leo Carlsson scored two goals and set up another as the 10-3-1 Ducks (21 points) opened a three-point lead over the 7-3-4 Golden Knights for first place in the Pacific Division. Pavel Dorofeyev and Kaeden Korczak scored as Vegas overcame a 3-1 deficit in the third period to force overtime.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Ducks are looking like they’re for real this season. Meanwhile, Golden Knights center William Karlsson left this game in the first period with a lower-body injury.

Boston Bruins forward Morgan Geekie had a goal and an assist as his club extended its win streak to six games with a 5-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jeremy Swayman made 30 saves for the Bruins (10-7-0), who sit second to the Canadiens in the Atlantic Division with 20 points. Nick Robertson, Matias Maccelli, and John Tavares replied for the 8-6-1 Maple Leafs.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Bruins were sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference before their win streak began. Before this game, they placed Elias Lindholm (lower body) on injured reserve. They also played without defenseman Charlie McAvoy and center Casey Mittelstadt. McAvoy was away attending to a personal matter, while Mittelstadt was sidelined by a lower-body injury.

Meanwhile, Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz was pulled from this game in the second period after giving up four goals on 19 shots. Leafs forward Scott Laughton departed with an upper-body injury in the second period.

The San Jose Sharks won their third straight game by downing the Florida Panthers 3-1. Yaroslav Askarov kicked out 38 shots, Macklin Celebrini tallied his 10th goal of the season, and Will Smith collected two assists for the 7-6-3 Sharks. Brad Marchand extended his goal streak to four games for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who are 7-7-1 on the season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The injury-ravaged Panthers lost another player for a significant period as forward Jonah Gadjovich will miss the next three months as he undergoes surgery for an upper-body injury. They’re already missing Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Dmitry Kulikov, and Tomas Nosek.

Sharks winger William Eklund (lower body) was moved to injured reserve.

New Jersey Devils goalie Jake Allen turned aside 33 shots and Jesper Bratt scored in the shootout for a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Arseny Gritsyuk also scored for the 11-4-0 Devils, who sit in first place in the Eastern Conference with 22 points. Ryan Graves replied for the 9-4-3 Penguins.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton missed this contest as he’s expected to miss a week with a lower-body injury.

The Ottawa Senators got two goals from Tim Stutzle, including the winner in overtime, to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2. Michael Amadio also scored for the 7-5-3 Senators. Matvei Michkov and Jamie Drysdale tallied for the Flyers (8-5-2).

Dallas Stars forwards Adam Erne and Sam Steel scored 47 seconds apart in the third period to lift their club to a 5-4 win over the Nashville Predators. Miro Heiskanen, Wyatt Johntson, and Mavrik Bourque each had two points for the Stars (8-4-3). Ryan O’Reilly and Nick Blakenburg each had two points for the 5-8-4 Predators, who have lost four straight.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel scored for the sixth time in seven games as his club beat the Washington Capitals 3-2. Hagel and Jake Guentzel each had a goal and an assist, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves for the 8-5-2 Lightning, who’ve won seven of their last eight contests. Brandon Duhaime and John Carlson replied for the 7-7-1 Capitals, who’ve lost six of their last seven.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh left this game after the first period with an undisclosed injury. The Bolts were also playing without center Anthony Cirelli, who is recovering from an upper-body injury suffered against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.

The New York Islanders got a 33-save performance from Ilya Sorokin to shut out the New York Rangers 5-0, leaving the latter winless at home thus far this season (0-6-1). Bo Horvat tallied twice and Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Jonathan Drouin each had a goal and two assists for the 7-6-2 Islanders. Igor Shesterkin gave up four goals on 25 shots for the Rangers, who dropped to 7-7-2.

Carolina Hurricanes forwards Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi each had a goal and an assist in a 6-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch each had a goal and an assist for the 5-6-4 Sabres, who’ve lost three straight games. The Hurricanes picked up their third straight win and improved to 10-4-0.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Earlier in the day, the Hurricanes claimed goaltender Cayden Primeau off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs. They also placed defenseman Jalen Chatfield (upper body) on injured reserve.

An overtime goal by Shane Wright gave the Seattle Kraken a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues. Eeli Tolvanen had a goal and two assists for the Kraken as they improved to 7-3-4. Dylan Holloway, Dalibor Dvorsky, and Jordan Kyrou scored for the 5-8-3 Blues.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord missed this game as he stayed in Seattle to receive treatment for an upper-body injury. They also activated defenseman Ryker Evans off injured reserve for this game. He made his season debut after being sidelined with an upper-body injury suffered during preseason play.

Vancouver Canucks winger Brock Boeser’s third-period goal lifted his club over the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3. Kevin Lankinen made 29 saves as the Canucks improved to 8-8-0. Kirill Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov each had three points for the Blue Jackets (7-7-0), who have lost three straight games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for boarding Canucks defenseman Elias Pettersson.

IN OTHER NEWS…

CALGARY SUN: Flames rookie defenseman Zayne Parekh is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Los Angeles Kings winger Warren Foegele will return to action during Sunday’s game against the Penguins. He’s been sidelined for two weeks with an upper-body injury.

DAILY FACEOFF: Former NHL center and general manager Mel Bridgman passed away on Saturday at age 70.

Selected first overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft, Bridgman spent 14 seasons as a player from 1975-76 to 1988-89 with the Flyers, Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils, Detroit Red Wings, and Vancouver Canucks. He captained the Flyers from 1979-80 to 1980-81, and the Devils from 1984-85 to 1986-87. Bridgman had 252 goals and 449 assists for 701 points in 977 regular-season games, and 67 points in 125 playoff contests.

After his playing career, Bridgman was named the first general manager of the Ottawa Senators in 1991, a role he held until 1993. He was inducted into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Bridgman’s family, friends, and former teammates.