NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 1, 2026
Check out the recaps from a busy Saturday night of action in the NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: The league-leading Colorado Avalanche defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1. Cale Makar scored two goals while Martin Necas and Nathan MacKinnon each collected two assists for the 39-10-9 Avalanche, who sit first in the overall standings with 89 points. Connor Bedard replied for the 22-28-9 Blackhawks.
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (NHL Images)
An overtime goal by Jason Robertson lifted the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators. Robertson and Wyatt Johnston each had a goal and an assist for the Stars, who extended their win streak to eight games. Michael Bunting and Steven Stamkos tallied for the Predators 27-24-8 (62 points), who are three points out of the final Western Conference wild-card spot.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Predators defenseman Adam Wilsby left this game with a lower-body injury.
Carolina Hurricanes winger Taylor Hall and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere each had a goal and two assists in a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Frederik Andersen made 27 saves for the Hurricanes (38-15-6), who picked up their fifth straight win and sit in first place in the Eastern Conference with 82 points. Simon Edvinsson and Patrick Kane scored for the 34-20-5 Red Wings (74 points), who slipped into the first wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.
The Buffalo Sabres got two goals from Josh Norris to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2. Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and two assists, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 36 shots for the 35-19-6 Sabres, who sit second in the Atlantic Division with 76 points. Victor Hedman had a goal and an assist, while goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was pulled after giving up five goals on 14 shots for Tampa Bay’s first regulation loss since Dec. 18. The Lightning sit in first place in the Atlantic with 80 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Sabres forward Zach Benson was activated off injured reserve after missing the last four games with an upper-body injury.
Montreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield tallied twice, and captain Nick Suzuki had a goal and two assists in a 6-2 win over the Washington Capitals. Jakub Dobes turned aside 27 shots for the 33-17-9 Canadiens, who moved into third place in the Atlantic Division with 75 points. Washington captain Alex Ovechkin netted both goals as the Capitals (31-24-7, 69 points), who sit two points behind the Boston Bruins for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
Speaking of the Bruins, their points streak ended at eight games as they dropped a 3-1 decision to the Philadelphia Flyers. Travis Konecny and Jamie Drysdale each had a goal and an assist for the Flyers (27-21-11). Charlie McAvoy scored for the 33-21-5 Bruins.
The New York Rangers overcame a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Vincent Trocheck scored the winning goal, and Igor Shesterkin kicked out 31 shots for the 23-29-7 Rangers, who sit last in the Eastern Conference with 53 points. Anthony Mantha and Ryan Shea scored for the Penguins (30-15-13), who sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 73 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Penguins center Evgeni Malkin is reportedly upset over the lack of progress in his contract extension talks with general manager Kyle Dubas. It was reported that negotiations would be put on hold until the offseason, but Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now reports that Dubas intends to meet with Malkin this week.
New York Islanders winger Simon Holmstrom’s overtime goal lifted his club to a 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Scott Mayfield and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each had a goal and an assist for the 34-21-5 Islanders, extending their win streak to four games to sit third in the Metropolitan Division with 73 points. Zach Werenski had two assists for the 29-21-8 Blue Jackets (66 points), who are five points out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth.
The Ottawa Senators defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2. Dylan Cozens scored twice and picked up an assist, and Drake Batherson netted two goals for the Senators (29-22-8), who are also five points out of the final Eastern wild-card spot. Morgan Rielly and William Nylander scored for the 27-24-0 Maple Leafs, who have dropped three straight games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: If Leafs management had any lingering doubts about becoming sellers before Friday’s trade deadline, this game likely quelled them.
A two-goal performance by Jordan Eberle powered the Seattle Kraken over the Vancouver Canucks 5-1. Eberle also had an assist, while Chandler Stephenson had a goal and two assists for the 28-22-9 Kraken, who hold the final Western Conference wild-card spot with 65 points. Liam Ohgren scored for the 18-34-7 Canucks, who sit last in the overall standings with 43 points.
The San Jose Sharks defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-4. Shakir Mukhamadullin snapped a 4-4 tie in the third period, and Michael Misa had a goal and an assist for the 28-25-4 Sharks (60 points), who sit five points out of the final Western Conference wild-card berth. Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard each had three points for the Oilers (29-24-8), who sit third in the Pacific Division with 66 points.
Los Angeles Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg made 29 saves to shut out the Calgary Flames 2-0. Alex Laferriere and Adrian Kempe scored for the Kings (24-21-14), who are three points behind the Kraken. Dustin Wolf stopped 35 shots for the 24-28-6 Flames.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kings forward Andrei Kuzmenko missed this game and is considered week-to-week following meniscus surgery.
The New Jersey Devils snapped a five-game losing skid with a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Timo Meier, Dougie Hamilton, and Nico Hischier scored for the Devils, who improved to 29-29-2. Pavel Buchnevich replied for the 21-29-9 Blues.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Devils defenseman Luke Hughes returned to action for the first time since suffering a separated shoulder on Jan. 19. The Blues played without defenseman Colton Parayko and center Robert Thomas, but they could be available for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Wild.
Looks like the sellers are getting ready for Friday’s deadline. NYR and Toronto at the top of the list. Carlo looking at another yard sale for Toronto after Boston last year. Wonder which teams could be both buyers and sellers.
The Leafs need to be looking for a new GM after reviewing what this guy has done in such a short period of time. The team looks like it has already given up.
Stolly and McMann for Owen Tippet
Who is “Stolly?” I’m guessing Stolarz. But if that’s his nickname, unless you’re bosom buddies why not use his right name?
The Wings need to have an infusion of new blood, or I am afraid they may be headed into their annual March Melt-down!
I didn’t get to see that 1st period of last night’s Ottawa-Toronto game as I was visiting my wife, but I must say – fully expecting to see a Leafs team charged up to shake off those embarrassing back-to-back losses in Florida – I was startled when I saw the stats between periods.
Although the game was tied 1-1, Ottawa had out-shot Toronto 16-2 and that was the main focus of the Hockey-Night-In-Canada crew who kept pointing to the fact – in some disbelief – that the Leafs had gone a full 17 minutes without registering a shot. That aspect tightened up over the last 2 periods, but the Leafs were still out-shot 24-21 and out-scored 4-1, fo a final tally of 40-23 and 5-2 game score.
Huge difference from the Senator’s last game against the Leafs – also in Toronto – on Dec 27 when Toronto hammered them 7-5, chasing Ullmark with 4 goals on 14 shots … and into an extended leave of absence that began their spiral down the standings.
Back at the start of the season I posted that the Leafs were going to find it difficult … in what I expected to be a tight Eastern Conference … to make up for Marner’s lost 100 points. But still figured they had enough talent over the line-up, including in goal, to be somewhere in the top 8 mix, especially if the players brought in like Maccelli, Roy, Joshua etc., could collectively contribute at least something close to those lost 100 points.
Not even close. And with the exception of McMann … who is now inexplicably rumored to be trade bait … none of the veterans like Matthews, Nylander, Tavares and Knies have been able to increase their offense even slightly to help make up the difference. Not helped by a brutal D and some inconsistent goaltending.
That sort of overall collapse can’t be totally laid at the feet of coaching.