NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 17, 2026
Four-point performances by the Predators’ Ryan O’Reilly and the Hurricanes’ Nikolaj Ehlers, the Rangers announce their intention to retool their roster, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPPING FRIDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: Nashville Predators center Ryan O’Reilly tallied a hat trick and collected an assist in a 7-3 upset of the Colorado Avalanche. Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi each had three points as the Predators picked up their third straight win and improved to 23-20-4. Brock Nelson scored two goals for the Avalanche (33-5-8), who remain atop the overall standings with 74 points.
Nashville Predators center Ryan O’Reilly (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was the Avalanche’s first regulation loss on home ice this season.
Carolina Hurricanes winger Nikolaj Ehlers had a hat trick plus an assist as his club crushed the Florida Panthers 9-1. Taylor Hall tallied twice, and Mark Jankowski had a goal and two assists for the Hurricanes (29-15-4), who sit in first place in the Metropolitan Division with 62 points. Uvis Balinskis replied for the 24-19-3 Panthers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, the Panthers signed Balinskis to a two-year contract extension with an average annual value of $875,000.
A shootout goal by Jordan Kyrou lifted the St. Louis Blues to a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, snapping the latter’s 11-game win streak. Joel Hofer stopped 32 shots while Jake Neighbours and Nick Bjugstad gave the Blues a 2-0 lead before the Lightning rallied on goals by Nikita Kucherov and Oliver Bjorkstrand. The Blues (19-21-8) picked up their second consecutive win, while the Lightning (29-13-4) clings to first place in the Eastern Conference with 62 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Lightning hold first place in the East because they have two games in hand over the Hurricanes. Earlier in the day, the Lightning placed center Brayden Point on injured reserve.
The Detroit Red Wings doubled up the San Jose Sharks 4-2. Lucas Raymond had three assists, and Marco Kasper had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings (29-16-4), who are tied with the Lightning and Hurricanes with 62 points. Will Smith and Nick Leddy scored for the 24-20-3 Sharks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was Smith’s first game since being sidelined for 13 games by an upper-body injury. Earlier in the day, the Sharks traded minor-league defenseman Kyle Masters to the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2027 fifth-round pick to make room for Michael Misa’s entry-level contract.
Anaheim Ducks rookie winger Beckett Sennecke had two assists in regulation, and Mason McTavish tallied the winning goal in the shootout to nip the Los Angeles Kings 3-2. Joel Armia had a goal and an assist for the 19-16-12 Kings, while the Ducks improved to 23-21-3.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before the game, the Ducks announced that center Leo Carlsson will be sidelined three to five weeks with a thigh injury. They also placed winger Troy Terry (upper body) on injured reserve.
HEADLINES
NEW YORK POST: Rangers general manager Chris Drury released a letter to the team’s fans on Friday promising to retool the club’s struggling roster. This comes less than eight years after former GM Jeff Gorton penned a similar letter to the club’s followers.
Drury acknowledged the fans’ disappointment over the Rangers’ difficulties since last season, when they missed the playoffs after winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2024. He promised to retool around the team’s core players and prospects, targeting players with “tenacity, skill, speed, and a winning pedigree,” putting the focus on young players and prospects, while freeing up cap space for flexibility going forward.
The Rangers GM also indicated that the club could be parting ways with players “that have brought us and our fans great moments over the years.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The letter prompted speculation over which players will be moved. The most obvious is Artemi Panarin, who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July. Management has already informed the 34-year-old center that they won’t be offering him a contract extension. I’ll have more about this situation in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
DAILY FACEOFF: Toronto Maple Leafs winger William Nylander is considered doubtful for Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. He exited Thursday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights with a lower-body injury.
THE MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE: The Minnesota Wild placed Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, Jonas Brodin, and Zach Bogosian on injured reserve.
NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA: Flyers starting goaltender Dan Vladar is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. He won’t be suiting up for Saturday’s game against the Rangers.
THE MONTREAL GAZETTE: The Canadiens have returned goaltender Jacob Fowler and forward Owen Beck to their AHL affiliate in Laval.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Fowler did a good job in difficult circumstances for the Canadiens, providing much-needed stability between the pipes when the regular goalie tandem of Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobes was struggling. Given Montembeault’s improvement, Fowler will resume his development in Laval.
Jimmy Murphy reported, “Hearing through some source who said the Bruins were out on Andersson because of no extension, that Andersson changed his mind and he, the Bruins, and Flames, are ‘on the same page now.'”
Make-it-up-Murphy??? or does it happen?
With anywhere from 5 to 8 games into the 2nd half, the tightly packed East looks as though it’s going to take close to 96 points to secure a WC spot. Which is where the West has been on average over the past 3 seasons, while in the East the average has been 91.
The table below shows the current Eastern standings:
Games Played – Points Earned – % Pace – Potential Points Remaining – Final Points At Same % Pace
1. Tampa 46 62 .674 72 111
2. Carolina 48 62 .646 68 106
3. Detroit 49 62 .633 66 104
4. Montreal 48 59 .615 68 101
5. Buffalo 46 56 .609 72 100
6. NY Isles 47 57 .606 70 99
7. Boston 48 56 .583 68 96
8. Pittsburgh 46 54 .587 72 96
9. Toronto 47 54 .574 70 94
10. Wash’ton 48 54 .563 68 92
11. Philad. 46 52 .565 72 92
12. Florida 46 51 .554 72 91
13. New Jers. 47 50 .532 70 87
14. Ottawa 46 49 .533 72 87
15. Colum. 47 49 .521 70 86
16. NYR 48 46 .479 68 79
As you can see, the race for positions 7 and 8 will go right down to the wire – unless there is some deviation for teams in their % pace – both up and down. For example, Boston and Pittsburgh are projected to get the 1st and 2nd WC spots with 96 pts each playing at their current .583 and .587 paces.
Should both drop just a few % points over the remaining games – say to .550 – Pittsburgh would end with 94 and Boston 93. Meanwhile, if Toronto, Washington and Philadelphia raised theirs to .585, they’d come in at Toronto 95, and Washington & Philadelphia at 94 each, leading to all sorts of tie-breaker applications.
For current lower-placed teams, the task is onerous. Ottawa, for example, would need to raise their % pace to .605 just to get to 93 points, which wouldn’t cut it. They’d need to play closer to .640 the rest of the way to get to 95 – and even then it might not be sufficient.
Florida’s quest for 3-peat could be in danger, especially after that whacking last night.
Currently at a % pace (.554) that would see them finish 5 points short of a WC spot at 91 pts, and with a possible 72 points left in their schedule, would need to raise their pace to .625 just to get to a projected WC spot. In order to get to a more comfortable 100 pts, they’d need to play .681 the rest of the way.
Heh. Can’t even type my own name correctly!
Jorgj Oh. ? 🤔
LOL. No, not quite that bad Johnny Z. In the post dealing with Florida it went in as Georgef.O or something like that, and immediately said “under review” or something to that effect .
I don’t understand the need from the Rangers, for a letter to the fans to “announce” a rebuild. What teams do this?…Heck, teams don’t even say why a player is out for game… Is it really that important to state the obvious one you trade your highest paid player?
I think it shows a bit of respect for the fanbase to formally declare one’s team to be a seller. And, no, I don’t see it as an apology, but just that the current make-up of the team is not working out and some painful adjustments are needed.
Looking at the Western Conference, where 6 teams are playing below .500 with over half the schedule gone, it would appear that 89/90 points will get a WC slot this season, barring some monumental leaps forward over the remaining game. 7 teams, from Edmonton down to Anaheim, look to be in a dogfight for positions 5 to 8.
Again, the table below shows the current Western standings and projections:
Games Played – Points Earned – % Pace – Potential Points Remaining – Final Points At Same % Pace
1. Colorado 46 74 .804 72 132
2. Dallas 48 63 .656 68 112
3. Minnesota 48 61 .635 68 111
4. Vegas 46 58 .630 72 103
5. Edmonton 48 54 .563 68 92
6. Seattle 46 51 .554 72 91
7. Utah 48 52 .542 68 89
8. San Jose 47 51 .543 70 89
9. Nashville 47 50 .532 70 87
10. Los Ang. 47 50 .532 70 87
11. Anaheim 47 49 .521 70 86
12. St. Louis 48 46 .479 68 79
13. Chicago 47 45 .479 70 79
14. Calgary 47 44 .468 70 77
15. Winnipeg 46 43 .467 72 77
16. Vanc 47 37 .394 70 65
5 teams below .500 – not 6
As for Canada-based team hopes for a Stanley Cup this season, the only seemingly sure things are Montreal and Edmonton.
Calgary, Winnipeg and Vancouver are lost causes with little to no chance of raising their % pace over the rest of their schedules to the required close to .700 pace.
Ottawa is not much better off as they’d need to get up to around .675-.680. Not likely. Toronto only needs to raise their pace by .016 in order to grab a WC slot.