NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 27, 2026
Mattias Ekholm scored his first hat trick as the Oilers set a league record, the Rangers traded Carson Soucy, the three stars of the week, and much more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF MONDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: Edmonton Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm tallied his first NHL hat trick in a 7-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Leon Draisaitl collected four assists while Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman each had a goal and an assist for the 27-19-8 Oilers. Ducks forward Mikael Granlund also netted a hat trick as his club dropped to 28-22-3, and their seven-game win streak ended.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was a record-setting performance for the Oilers, becoming the first team in league history to have defensemen score hat tricks in consecutive games, with Evan Bouchard scoring three goals in a six-point performance in the Oilers’ previous game.
Those three-goal performances by Ekholm and Granlund bring the number of hat tricks scored in January to 27, matching the third-most in a single month (December 1981) in league history. The record is 29, set in December 1985.
Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak (NHL Images)
The New York Rangers nipped the Boston Bruins 4-3 on an overtime goal by Matthew Robertson. Will Cuylle, J.T. Miller, and Will Borgen also scored for the 22-25-6 Rangers, snapping a three-game losing skid. David Pastrnak collected three assists to reach the 900-point plateau, and Elias Linholm netted two goals for the Bruins (30-20-3).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Pastrnak is the sixth player in Bruins history to record 900 points, joining Raymond Bourque (1,506), Johnny Bucyk (1,339), Patrice Bergeron (1,040), Phil Esposito (1,012), and Brad Marchand (976).
Before this game, the Rangers held defenseman Carson Soucy out of the lineup. They subsequently announced they had traded Soucy to the New York Islanders in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick.
Soucy, 31, is in the final season of his three-year contract with an AAV of $3.25 million and is eligible for unrestricted free-agent status this summer. He’s a short-term fix for the Islanders’ blueline with Alexander Romanov on long-term injury reserve, and Ryan Pulock sidelined with an upper-body injury.
As for the Rangers, the Soucy trade is expected to be the first of what could be several moves this season by the retooling franchise before the March 6 trade deadline.
Speaking of the Islanders, they got a 21-save shutout from Ilya Sorokin to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0. Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored twice, and Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist for the Islanders, who improved to 28-19-5. Samuel Ersson turned aside 19 of 23 shots for the Flyers (24-18-9).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flyers activated defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who had been sidelined since Jan. 14 with an upper-body injury.
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy turned in a 28-shot shutout in a 2-0 victory over the Utah Mammoth. Darren Raddysh and Anthony Cirelli scored for the Lightning (33-14-4), who regained first place in the Eastern Conference with 70 points. Karel Vejmelka stopped 27 shots for the 27-21-4 Mammoth as their five-game win streak ended.
The game between the Los Angeles Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets at Columbus’ Nationwide Arena was postponed due to inclement weather. It has been rescheduled for March 9.
HEADLINES
NHL.COM: Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov, Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov, and Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal are the league’s three stars for the week ending Jan. 25, 2026.
TSN: Marc-Andre Fleury said a couple of NHL teams have contacted him about coming out of retirement, but the 41-year-old goaltender and future Hall of Famer has no plans to return to action. He still hangs out with his former club, the Minnesota Wild, and has skated with them in several practices, but his next role could be working in their front office.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Fleury has until the March 6 trade deadline to sign an NHL contract if he intends to unretire. Even then, it would likely take several weeks of intense training for him to return to game shape.
Fleury said there were several reasons why he’ll remain retired. One of them is probably the wear and tear of his 21 NHL seasons on his aging body. He alluded to a sore hip during his one-period appearance in a preseason game with the Pittsburgh Penguins in September as he brought his NHL career full circle.
RG.ORG: DJ Siddiqi reports Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito believes the health of the players his club is sending to the Olympics next month will be a factor in their attempt to win a third-straight Stanley Cup.
The defending champion Panthers have been battered by injuries, leaving them four points out of the final wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference as of Jan. 27. Managing fatigue, ice time, and emotional drain, as well as avoiding further injuries, will be crucial to their playoff hopes.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Panthers are sending eight players to the Olympics, including core players Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Brad Marchand, and Anton Lundell.
PUCKPEDIA: Speaking of the Olympics, the trade and assignment regulations for the NHL’s break period (Feb. 4-22) have been revealed. No trades will be permitted during that period.
TORONTO SUN: The league has fined Maple Leafs winger William Nylander $5,000.00 for flipping off a TSN camera during Sunday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. Nylander made the gesture while watching the game in the press box with several other sidelined teammates.
THE PROVINCE: The Canucks placed winger Brock Boeser and defenseman Zeev Buium on injured reserve.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Penguins winger Bryan Rust faces a hearing on Tuesday with the league’s department of player safety regarding his high hit on Boeser during Sunday’s game between the two clubs.
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson is out until the end of next month’s Olympic break with a lower-body injury.
Ray, further to our exchange yesterday re Ottawa’s chances at a playoff spot, this morning in the Ottawa Sun, Callum Fraser has an article titled “Is The Ottawa Senators’ Season Already Lost?” where he writes, in part,
“Yes, the Senators’ league-worst .866 save percentage has crippled them this season, but good teams can outscore their deficiencies. Of the 12 teams with a SV% below .890 this season, six of them own a playoff spot. Vegas’ .877 SV% is masked by its 3.33 goals per game (sixth). The Montreal Canadiens’ .878 SV% is masked by their 3.37 G/GP (fifth). The Edmonton Oilers’ .882 SV% is masked by their 3.38 G/GP (third).
If there’s hope, you’ll find it in Ottawa’s defensive play. Underlying numbers like goals expected are the only reason the fancy stats websites still haven’t declared the Senators’ season dead.
Despite being second last in the East, Money Puck has Ottawa’s post-season odds at 21.3% (13.7% higher than the Toronto Maple Leafs). The Athletic‘s Dom Luszczyszyn’s model has the team’s chances at 19%.
Five games remain for the Sens before the Olympic break (Feb. 6-24) and each one, at least for fans, will feel season-defining leading into puck drop.
Sunday was the first time Ottawa defeated a team in a playoff spot since Dec. 21 (6-2 win vs. Boston).”
We’ll soon see 🙂
I hope they get in George, just not at the expense of Boston, unless I flip back to my early season – I want the Bruins to draft in the top 10 this year. Please don’t trade one of your first rd picks!
None of the teams from the last WC spot to where the Sens are, are all that IMO. Ullmark gives then a rally point, and I think that matters too.
I’m a believer in the fancy stats George, because NHL teams are believers. Theirs are just way better and more detailed than a place like Natural Stat Trick. Plus the results speak for themselves.
I think the cup winner in each of the last 6 years was top 5 in expected goals for and top 5 in expected goals against, at 5 v 5. I think both teams in the finals fit that category, not just the winner. I don’t think the Oil were top 5 in goals exp goals against last year as they started slow AGAIN. The odd outlier, but pretty darn consistent representation of the best teams.
My B’s are at the other end, they’re winning despite the #’s. High shooting %. Although of late they have played much better.
As per the Leafs, I saw an interesting headline on Sportsnet titled – Can Treliving keep his job of the Leafs become sellers? Personally I hope they do, as the B’s have their 1st, which is top 5 protected. Here’s hoping for #6!
I have no idea what the bubble teams in the East do at the TDL. Should be interesting.
Yeah, Ray, things are SO tight with the Eastern bubble teams that a slight boost in performance due to an astute trade could result in the necessary adjustment.
Where Ottawa is concerned, any such improvement would need to show itself in improved play both at home and on the road.
Right now, their % pace on the season so far is .529 and at home it’s only marginally better at .539, while for away games it’s marginally lower at .519.
I think the first week or 2 after the break will also be stressful for Ottawa fans. As a hockey fan (and Wings fan) I hope Ottawa makes the playoffs better and faces Detroit. It’s turning into a nice rivalry and would make for some fun viewing.
Detroit-Ottawa has become almost as riveting as Montreal-Ottawa, Ed. The so-called Battle Of Ontario has withered.