NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 12, 2025
A four-goal performance by Predators forward Steven Stamkos, Canadiens rookie goalie Jacob Fowler wins his NHL debut, four-point performances by the Bruins’ David Pastrnak and the Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, and more in today’s Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Steven Stamkos had his second career four-goal NHL game as the Nashville Predators thumped the St. Louis Blues 7-2. Luke Evangelista collected three assists as the 12-14-4 Predators have won six of their last eight games. Winger Hugh McGing scored his first NHL goal as the Blues fell to 11-14-7.
Nashville Predators forward Steven Stamkos (NHL Images)
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stamkos is now six goals away from reaching 600 regular-season goals in his NHL career.
Montreal Canadiens rookie goaltender Jacob Fowler stopped 36 shots to win his first NHL game in a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Cole Caufield netted his 17th goal of the season while Lane Hutson and Juraj Slafkovsky each had two assists for the Canadiens (16-11-3). Bryan Rust and Erik Karlsson replied for the 14-8-7 Penguins, who are 0-1-2 in their last three games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Fowler became the first Florida-born goaltender in NHL history. He’s also the fourth goaltender in Canadiens history to make his NHL debut against the Penguins, joining Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy, and Carey Price.
Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak tallied twice and collected two assists to defeat the Winnipeg Jets 6-3. Morgan Geekie had three assists for the Bruins, who extended their win streak to four games and improved to 19-13-0. Morgan Barron, Alex Iafallo, and Gabriel Vilardi scored for the struggling Jets (14-15-1) as they’ve lost three straight contests.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy collected an assist as he returned to action after missing 11 games due to a facial fracture.
The Tampa Bay Lightning pounded the New Jersey Devils 8-4. Nikita Kucherov had four assists while Jake Guentzel and Oliver Bjorkstrand each had three points for the Lightning (18-11-2), who reclaimed first place in the Atlantic Division with 38 points. Goalie Jacob Markstrom was replaced by Jake Allen after giving up three goals on seven shots as the Devils (17-13-1) have lost six of their last seven games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lightning captain Victor Hedman was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. Dave Randorf reports it’s the same injury that sidelined him for 12 games earlier this season. He will see a specialist for a second opinion, and it will be a couple of days before they know how long he’ll be sidelined.
Devils forward Timo Meier missed this game as he took a personal leave to attend to a family health matter.
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi turned aside 22 shots to win his eighth straight start in a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals. Seth Jarvis scored the winning goal in the shootout, while Nikolaj Ehlers and Logan Stankoven each had a goal and an assist for the 19-9-2 Hurricanes, who moved past the Capitals into first place in the Metropolitan Division with 40 points. Connor McMichael and Rasmus Sandin each had two points for the Capitals (18-9-4).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bussi became the first goaltender in NHL history to win 10 of the first 11 games of his career. Meanwhile, the Capitals announced that sidelined rookie forward Ryan Leonard will miss three to four weeks with a shoulder injury.
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist in a 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers. The league-leading Avalanche (22-2-7, 51 points) picked up its 10th straight home win. Noah Gregor and Mackie Samoskevich replied for the 15-13-2 Panthers as their three-game win streak ended.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: MacKinnon leads all scorers with 25 goals and 53 points. Avalanche rookie forward Gavin Brindley had a goal and an assist as he returned from a 10-game absence due to a lower-body injury.
The Vegas Golden Knights got an overtime goal from captain Mark Stone to nip the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2. Stone finished with two goals while linemate Jack Eichel had two assists for the 15-6-9 Golden Knights, who took over first place in the Pacific Division with 39 points. Trevor Zegras and Noah Juulsen scored for the Flyers (16-9-4).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Golden Knights opted not to play Carter Hart against this former club, pointing out that he was coming off back-to-back starts.
New York Islanders captain Anders Lee had two goals and two assists to lead his club over the Anaheim Ducks by a score of 5-2. Simon Holmstrom had a goal and two assists for the Islanders, who have won five of their last six games and improved to 18-11-3. Troy Terry had a goal and an assist for the Ducks (19-11-1).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Islanders center Bo Horvat is listed as day-to-day after leaving this game in the second period with an injured left leg.
The Minnesota Wild defeated the Dallas Stars 5-2, snapping the latter’s 11-game points streak. Matt Boldy had a goal and two assists, and Marcus Johansson tallied two goals for the 17-9-5 Wild. Miro Heiskanen had a goal and an assist for the Stars (21-6-5).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stars center Roope Hintz left this game late in the third period with an injured foot. Earlier in the day, the Wild placed winger Mats Zuccarello and defenseman Jake Middleton on injured reserve.
Edmonton Oilers winger Zach Hyman tallied a hat trick in a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Connor McDavid picked up four assists for the 14-11-6 Oilers. Simon Edvidsson replied for the Red Wings (17-12-3) as their six-game points streak ended.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Earlier in the day, the Oilers placed forwards Jack Roslovic and Connor Clattenburg on injured reserve, and moved defenseman Jake Walman on long-term injury reserve.
Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle scored two goals in a 6-3 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Drake Batherson, Michael Amadio, and Dylan Cozens each had three points for the Senators (14-12-4) as they ended a three-game losing skid. Jet Greaves replaced Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins after giving up three goals on five shots as his club slipped to 13-12-6.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Senators center Lars Eller left this game with a lower-body injury. This was his second game back from an undisclosed injury.
An overtime goal by Alexander Wennberg lifted the San Jose Sharks over the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2. Wennberg finished with three points, and John Klingberg tied the game late in the third for the Sharks, who improved to 15-14-3. William Nylander had two assists for the Maple Leafs (14-11-5).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson left this game in the third period after injuring his left leg. He will be reevaluated on Friday. Before the game, the Leafs announced that sidelined blueliner Brandon Carlo (lower-body injury) underwent surgery and will be out for a month.
The Buffalo Sabres held off the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 3-2. Tage Thompson had a goal and an assist for the Sabres (13-14-4) as they picked up their first regulation road win since Apr. 1. Kiefer Sherwood and Max Sasson scored for the 11-17-3 Canucks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, the Sabres placed goaltender Colten Ellis on injured reserve.
DAILY FACEOFF: Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley is expected to miss at least eight weeks with a lower-body injury.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: That’s a significant blow for the struggling Mammoth. He leads them with 14 goals and is fourth in points with 23.
Owen, I agree with your post yesterday re Kaliyiev. It doesn’t really matter when Ottawa brings him up .. at any point he’d have to clear waivers to be sent back down. So, the alternative being they never call him up … which is ridiculous … or get him up when he’s at the top of his game. Which he is right now (24gp 15g 10a 25 pts). It’s not like they don’t have players struggling to score at the wing positions.
Competition is what it’s all about. If he shows that he can’t play the good two-way game at his current level against NHL players, even with decent ice time, then send him back. If he’s claimed, so be it. They will never know unless they try. With Eller out – again – and Pinto not ready yet to return (they were damned lucky to get that win in Columbus – the 6-3 score isn’t indicative of the play) , they’ll likely bring Halliday back up to play 4th line C. He’s played well with Kaliyiev in Belleville – put them together on that 4th line with Cousins and see what transpires.
With Yakemchuk, I’d wait until he demonstrates – consistently – that he’s ready from both a defensive responsibility and backwards skating ability necessary for D at the NHL level.
In Major Junior his size and offensive abilities, including a booming shot from the point and deadly forehand and back-hand wrist shots in close, against opposition that 90% of will never make the pros at any level, made his awkward backwards skating and pivots in tight areas, poor defensive reads and gap control less visible … but that won’t be the case in the NHL. Or the AHL.
He won’t be the first very good Major Junior D who needs extensive AHL “seasoning” – something that annually distinguishes them from their counterparts drafted out of the U.S. college system where a LOT more time is spent learning in practice than in games (Major Junior not only plays almost as many games as does the NHL, but it’s not uncommon to see teams play 3 games back-to-back-to-back!)