NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 20, 2026
The Blue Jackets ride an 11-game points streak into a playoff berth, Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov is challenging for the scoring title, Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews undergoes knee surgery, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF THURSDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: The Columbus Blue Jackets extended their points streak to 11 games (7-0-4) and moved into third place in the Metropolitan Division with a 6-3 victory over the New York Rangers. Adam Fantilli scored two goals while Zach Werenski collected three assists for the 36-21-11 Blue Jackets (83 points). Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere each had a goal and an assist for the Rangers (28-33-8), who have dropped three straight games.
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski (NHL Images)
Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk scored with 13 seconds left in the third period to nip the New York Islanders 3-2. Shane Pinto and Warren Foegele also scored for the 35-24-9 Senators (79 points), who are five points out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth. Matthew Schaefer and Brayden Schenn tallied for the Islanders (39-25-5), who dropped one point behind the Blue Jackets, and out of a playoff berth with 83 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Schaefer became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to score 50 points in a season. With 21 goals, he’s two shy of tying Brian Leetch for the most goals by a rookie blueliner.
Speaking of the Islanders, their AHL affiliate will move from Bridgeport, Conn., to Hamilton, Ontario in 2026-27.
Tampa Bay Lightning forwards Nikita Kucherov and Anthony Cirelli each had a goal and two assists in a 6-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Darren Raddysh and Brandon Hagel each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning (42-21-4), who hold second place in the Atlantic Division with 88 points. Marco Rossi collected two assists for the 21-39-8 Canucks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kucherov’s three-point performance moved him within one point of Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the scoring title. McDavid has 115 points while Kucherov has 114. The Lightning winger won the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s scoring champion in each of the last two seasons. He also won the award in 2018-19. Kucherov hopes to join McDavid, Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux, Phil Esposito, Jaromir Jagr, and Stan Mikita as the only players to win the Art Ross Trophy four times.
Speaking of McDavid, he and his Oilers were blanked 4-0 by the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky turned in a 21-save shutout while Cole Reinhardt, A.J. Greer, Anton Lundell, and Carter Verhaeghe scored for the 34-31-3 Panthers. Connor Ingram stopped 19 of 23 shots for the Oilers (34-27-9, 77 points), who are one point behind the first-place Anaheim Ducks in the Pacific Division.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, the Oilers placed Leon Draisaitl (lower body) on long-term injury reserve and recalled forward Roby Jarventie from their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
Buffalo Sabres goalie Alex Lyon made 23 saves to shut out the San Jose Sharks 5-0. Sam Carrick tallied twice, and Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and an assist for the 43-20-6 Sabres, who have won 11 of their last 12 games to sit in first place in the Atlantic Division with 92 points. Alex Nedeljkovic gave up five goals on 16 shots as the Sharks (32-29-6, 70 points) dropped their third straight game. They are two points out of the final Western Conference wild-card spot.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Sabres are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes, but the latter holds the conference lead with a game in hand.
Speaking of shutouts, Utah Mammoth netminder Karel Vejmelka turned aside 28 shots in a 4-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Clayton Keller scored two goals for the Mammoth (36-27-6), who hold the first Western wild card with 78 points. Adin Hill got the hook after giving up three goals on his first three shots as the Golden Knights (31-24-14) sit third in the Pacific Division with 76 points.
Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat scored the winning goal and collected two assists in a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, handing the latter their third loss in their last four games. John Gibson made 32 saves for the 38-23-8 Red Wings, who hold the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth with 84 points. Juraj Slafkovsky scored his 25th goal of the season for the Canadiens (37-21-10) as they cling to third place in the Atlantic Division with 84 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Red Wings center Andrew Copp also scored as he returned to action following a three-game absence with a lower-body injury. Canadiens winger Josh Anderson missed this game as he’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
The Boston Bruins thumped the Winnipeg Jets 6-1. David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist to extend his points streak to eight games while Pavel Zacha, Viktor Arvidsson, and Lukas Reichel also had a goal and an assist each for the Bruins (38-23-8), who hold the first Eastern wild card with 84 points. Jonathan Toews scored for the 28-29-11 Jets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canadiens hold third place in the Atlantic over the Bruins and Red Wings because they have a game in hand. However, they could soon find themselves outside the playoff picture if they continue to stumble.
A shootout goal by Trevor Zegras gave the Philadelphia Flyers a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Noah Cates and Matvei Michkov each had two points for the 33-23-12 Flyers. Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist for the Kings (28-24-16), who picked up a point to move one point ahead of the Seattle Kraken into the final Western wild card with 72 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flyers got the win without Sean Couturier, Luke Glendening, and Denver Barkey, who were sidelined by injuries.
Speaking of the Kraken, they dropped a 3-1 decision to the Nashville Predators. Filip Forsberg had a goal and two assists while Justus Annunen kicked out 26 shots for the Predators (31-28-9), who are one point behind the Kings in the race for that Western wild-card berth. Frederick Gaudreau replied for the 31-28-9 Kraken, who’ve lost six of their last eight games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Predators starting goalie Juuse Saros missed this game as he’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
The Chicago Blackhawks upset the Minnesota Wild 2-1. Spencer Knight made 28 saves while Ilya Mikheyev and Connor Bedard scored for the 26-30-12 Blackhawks. Nico Sturm tallied for the Wild (39-19-12), who hold third place in the Central Division with 90 points, but have lost four of their last five contests.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov missed this game with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
HEADLINES
TORONTO SUN: Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews underwent a successful repair surgery for his torn left MCL. His recovery time is 12 weeks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Matthews was injured last week by a deliberate knee-on-knee hit by Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas, who received a five-game suspension for his actions. While Matthews’ season is over, Gudas could return to action as early as next Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks. The punishment really doesn’t fit the crime, does it?
HOCKEY 24/7: Frank Seravalli reports sources indicate the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery will be held on May 5.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The league hasn’t officially confirmed this, but it would be in line with last year’s lottery, which was also held on May 5. The New York Islanders won that lottery, going on to select Matthew Schaefer with the first-overall pick during the draft the following month.
DAILY FACEOFF: Ryan Johansen announced his retirement after a 13-season NHL career with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators, and the Colorado Avalanche from 2011-12 to 2023-24.
Johansen had 202 goals and 376 assists for 578 points in 905 regular-season games. He also had 19 goals and 35 assists for 54 points in 67 playoff games.
Sheesh! The way things are shaping up, and given the narrow gaps between teams both East and West in and around the WC slots, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that not one Canada-based makes the playoffs.
The last time that occurred was the 2015-16 season and that was only the second time in NHL history that it happened, with the only other occurrence being in 1970 when there were just 2 in the league – the Habs and Leafs.
If it happens again there will be much gnashing of teeth, bordering on the hysterical.
And Gary will be having wet dreams!
Could spark, dare I say it, riots in the streets!!!!!!🫤
Now you’re being silly…
Don’t think it would ever go quite THAT far Johnny Z … but playoff viewership in the Great White North would drop like the proverbial rock in step with the (hopefully) improving Spring weather.
George that is one perspective, I on the other hand see the Jets rising to be a legitimate threat to make the playoffs being now just 4 points out.
Actually, 1Oilerfan, the Jets are 5 b/o the current last WC spot, held by L.A., both with 14 games left.But the Jets would need to pass 4 teams – San Jose, Nashville, Seattle and L.A., and I doubt all will cooperate by going into lengthy losing streaks.
Then there are those damned 3-pointers that are sure to raise their ugly heads along the way. Nor did getting hammered in Beantown last night help. Now they go into Pittsburgh, followed by possibly a bit of a break in NY against the Rangers – although they are firmly in he spoiler role lately – then home to Vegas before a home-and-away set with Colorado.
I wish them luck … and they’re gonna need it.
Ottawa is in much the same boat as the Jets.
4 b/o Columbus and NYI and 5 b/o Detroit & Boston, although with a game in hand on both the Red Wings and Bruins. They’d need to climb over 3 … and right there with them virtually in points is Philadelphia with 78 – one back.
That game tomorrow at home against the Leafs is crucial … they must win that and it won’t be easy since the Leafs have been playing very well in a spoiler role since Matthews went down. And, as usual, they’ll have a large part of the crowd behind them.
“If it happens again there will be much gnashing of teeth, bordering on the hysterical.”
I doubt it, George. The Canucks and Flames have been out of it for months so their fans long ago accepted their fates. Most Oilers fans acknowledged poor management decisions by the Oilers have put them into their current position. There will be disappointment in Ottawa and Montreal if those two promising teams miss the postseason after qualifying last year. In Montreal, it’ll be accepted more as growing pains. The Maple Leafs and Jets drop-off will be more concerning in those cities considering where they were a year ago. The latter stands a better chance of a bounce-back performance than the former.
Actually, I wasn’t thinking about the fans when I wrote that, but rather team ownership.
Ah, I see. That makes more sense. Probably more gnashing of teeth in Edmonton and Toronto, maybe Vancouver.
That’s for sure. If you look at the largest one-year drop in points in the record book, that currently belongs to Philadelphia who, from 2005-06 to 2006-07, fell 45 points.
The next largest include 40 by Detroit from 1969-70 to 1970-71, 38 by Chicago and San Jose (1952-53 to 1953-54 and 2018-19 to 2019-20 respectively), and 37 by Winnipeg and Detroit (1984-85 to 1985-86 and 1995-96 to 1996-97 respectively.
Threatening to move somewhere within that group when looking at their point totals last season and where they are today, are the Jets (116 – 67), Leafs (108 – 70), Calgary (96 – 61) and Vancouver (90 – 50).
I would bet a significant amount of $$ that if the Oil missed the playoffs, heads will roll.
I would go all the way up to Jackson as he started this snowball rolling down the hill.
Did it ever happened that both Stanley Cup finalists missed the playoffs the following year?
2007
Edmonton and Carolina missed the playoffs.
2006 SCF Edmonton v Carolina won by Carolina
George O,Ithought the playoff race in the east would come down to the last game. Now it looks like the last period. Montreal was the only one to blink last night.Ottawa,Boston,Detroit,and Columbus all won. Surprise to see Tkaczuk fighting Anders Lee,who doesn’t seem to be a fighter.When Zadorov challenged him last year,he walked away!
Ya Sr, teams chasing a spot in the East keep winning, teams in the Pacific keep playing like they’re already in.
Big opportunity last night for the Oil against a Panther squad that is out of it, beat up, and on the road. Plus they beat you in the SCF last year. Should be motivated.
Lay an egg.
Oilers can win the division if they play well, so can Vegas and ANA, and it doesn’t seem like any of them can put it together long enough to take it.
Strange. Maybe they’re just not good enough.
Heh Sr, … let’s see … who’s better off with both Tkachuk and Zadorov off for 5 minutes?
Advantage – Boston. Rest assured, Tkachuk didn’t “walk away” from Zadorov because he’s afraid of him, he simply ignored the chirps from someone who was obviously playing to the fact he was mic’d up for that game.
As for last night, yeah, it was a “challenge” by Tkachuk designed to get the juices stirring, and Lee, known as a hard-nosed leader, answered the call willingly. As it turned out, it was more in the nature of a “rassling” match and quickly broke up when both fell to the ice. 5 minutes for both – about the same re advantage of one team over the other.
Following the game at the media scrum Tkachuk admitted that getting the team stirred up was his motive and he also expressed his admiration for Anders Lee. I doubt there’s any lingering “hatred” between the two. Like Shakespeare’s play it was Much Ado About Nothing.
And that 1970 miss by the Habs and Leafs needs to be preceded by an asterisk.
Montreal finished that season with 92 points in the Eastern Conference, putting them in 5th place in the 6-team Est and out of the playoffs. Even though that was 6 points better than 1st-place St. Louis in the Western Conference, and a full 34 better than Oakland, who got in out West by finishing in 4th place!
Hell, even the Leafs and their bottom-dwelling 71 points in the East had a better record than the 3rd to 4th place teams in the West (2. Pittsburgh – 64; 3. Minnesota – 60; and 4. Oakland – 58.
That embarrassment galvanized the league into eventually making playoff structure changes. Much like what’s shaping up today vis-a-vis the Pacific Division and teams that won’t make it in the Eastern Conference. The underlying reasons – like travel – aside, it’s not a good look.
This stupid scheduling by the NHL with primary preference given to the Olympics is taking it’s toll on all teams and playoff circumstances where teams don’t get time to practice or heal from injuries? Instead, we got this compressed schedule that may have more to do with who makes the final playoff spot or 1st overall…..
Hear is hoping both Ottawa and Montreal make the playoffs. Two teams that are entertaining to watch as opposed to Boston, NJ or Washington. Glad for Buffalo and Columbus . Care less about Detroit although I think what Steve Y is trying to accomplish is good and the right way
Pittsburgh to me is incredible. I didn’t see that coming . Edmonton, I am surprised they are teetering on not making it
Just some hockey thoughts
They have to deal with the compressed schedule and it does make a difference. I don’t to piss on the Olympics but the real people that get hurt are the paying fans. Not cheap to go and when it turns into 3 or 4 home games a week the family of 4 can’t afford all the games. Most people don’t have an endless pit of money.
Fred: good point I wasn’t even thinking of that. Olympics are great and everything but more interested in SC Playoffs. It has a ripple effect on everything.
I was originally hoping the bruins would finish low and grab two good picks. I hope Hagens can help push this team into the playoffs maybe Reichel can help as well. Nothing like the playoffs to get the creative juices flowing.