NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 29, 2026
Check out the recaps from a 15-game Saturday night in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: A hat-trick performance by Owen Tippett carried the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Tippett finished with four points, and Dan Vladar made 32 saves for the 35-24-12 Flyers (82 points), who are five points out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth. Patrick Kane and Moritz Seider each had two assists for the Red Wings (39-25-8), who are one point out of that wild card with 86 points.
Philadelphia Flyers winger Owen Tippett (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flyers have been hot of late, with a record of 7-1-1 in their last nine games.
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg had a goal and two assists as his club overcame a 2-0 deficit to double up the Ottawa Senators 4-2. Brandon Hagel and Charle-Edouard D’Astous each had a goal and an assist for the 45-21-6 Lightning, who sit in second place in the Atlantic Division with 96 points. Dylan Cozens and Jordan Spence scored for the Senators (38-25-10), who sit one point out of the final Eastern wild-card with 86 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lightning forwards Nikita Kucherov and Nick Paul missed this game due to illness.
Montreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield sniped his 45th goal of the season in a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. The Canadiens’ second line of Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen, and Alex Newhook each had a goal and an assist as the Habs (41-21-10) picked up their fourth straight win and sit third in the Atlantic Division with 91 points. Zachary L’Heureux scored for the 34-30-9 Predators, who cling to the final Western wild card with 77 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson collected an assist to become the third defenseman in NHL history to record multiple 60-assist seasons before the age of 23, joining Hall of Famers Paul Coffey (three seasons) and Bobby Orr (two seasons).
The Winnipeg Jets are getting closer to a Western Conference wild-card spot with a 4-2 upset of the league-leading Colorado Avalanche. Cole Perfetti snapped a 2-2 tie in the third period while Gabriel Vilardi had a goal and an assist for the 31-30-12 Jets (74 points), who moved within three points of the Predators. Brock Nelson and Parker Kelly replied for the 48-14-10 Avalanche (106 points).
A five-goal second period vaulted the New York Islanders over the Florida Panthers by a score of 5-2. Brayden Schenn had a goal and two assists for the Islanders (42-27-5) as they moved into second place in the Metropolitan Division with 89 points. Matthew Tkachuk scored both goals for the 35-34-3 Panthers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Panthers center Sam Bennett missed this game with an undisclosed injury.
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists as his club held off the Anaheim Ducks 4-2. Zach Hyman had a goal and an assist while Jack Roslovic tallied his 20th goal of the season for the 37-28-9 Oilers, who hold second place in the Pacific Division with 83 points. Beckett Sennecke and Cutter Gauthier tallied for the Ducks (41-28-4), who hold first place in that division with 86 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ducks winger Troy Terry returned to the lineup after missing one game with a lower-body injury. Teammates Radko Gudas and Pavel Mintyukov missed this contest with lower-body injuries.
Dallas Stars winger Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist after missing 15 games with a lower-body injury in a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mavrik Bourque scored twice and picked up an assist, and Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist for the Stars (44-18-11), who remain in second place in the overall standings with 99 points. Erik Karlsson had a goal and an assist for the 36-21-16 Penguins, who are clinging to third place in the Metropolitan Division with 88 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Penguins played without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as both are day-to-day with injuries.
Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak collected two assists to extend his points streak to 12 games to help his club beat the Minnesota Wild 6-3. Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm each tallied twice for the 41-24-8 Bruins, who hold the first Eastern wild-card berth with 90 points. Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman each had a goal and an assist for the Wild (41-21-12), who sit third in the Central Division with 94 points.
The Carolina Hurricanes scored five straight goals in a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. Nikolaj Ehlers and Shayne Gostisbehere each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes (46-20-6), who hold first place in the Eastern Conference with 98 points. Timo Meier and Evgenii Dadonov replied for the 37-33-2 Devils.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Gostisbehere returned from a nine-game absence with a lower-body injury.
San Jose Sharks rookie winger Igor Chernyshov scored twice (including the game-winner) for his first NHL multi-point game to nip the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2. Macklin Celebrini had a goal and an assist for the 33-31-7 Sharks (74 points), who snapped a six-game skid to sit four points out of the final Western wild card. Denton Mateychuk and Cole Sillinger scored while Elvis Merzlikins stopped 33 shots for the Blue Jackets (38-24-11), who slipped into the final Eastern wild card with 87 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blue Jackets forward Dmitri Voronkov left this game after the second period with an upper-body injury.
The Buffalo Sabres overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Seattle Kraken 3-2 on a shootout goal by Tage Thompson. Rasmus Dahlin scored his 100th career NHL regular-season goal while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen turned aside 32 shots for the 45-21-8 Sabres, who remain in first place in the Atlantic Division with 98 points. Chandler Stephenson and Bobby McMann each had a goal and an assist for the Kraken (32-29-11) as they sit two points out of the final Western wild card with 75 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Sabres rookie Noah Ostlund could be sidelined longer than expected with an upper-body injury. Meanwhile, Kraken center Shane Wright left this game in the first period with an undisclosed ailment.
Utah Mammoth forwards Alexander Kerfoot and Logan Cooley each tallied two goals to defeat the Los Angeles Kings 6-2. Mikhail Sergachev collected four assists as the Mammoth (37-30-6) remains in the first Western wild card with 80 points. Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe scored for the 29-25-18 Kings (76 points), who are one point out of the final Western wild-card berth.
The Washington Capitals blew a 3-0 lead but rallied from a 4-3 deficit for a 5-4 shootout victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. Dylan Strome scored the tying goal and the winner in the shootout for the 36-28-9 Capitals. Jack Eichel had a goal and two assists for the Golden Knights (32-26-16), who have lost six of their last seven games but remain third in the Pacific Division with 79 points.
St. Louis Blues winger Dylan Holloway had a goal and an assist in a 5-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jordan Kyrou and Jake Neighbours each had two assists for the 31-30-11 Blues (73 points), who sit four points out of the Western wild-card spot. Jake McCabe replied for the 31-30-13 Maple Leafs.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blues center Robert Thomas returned to action after missing one game with an upper-body injury.
The Calgary Flames pounded the Vancouver Canucks 7-3. Matt Coronato and Morgan Frost each had a goal and two assists for the 30-34-8 Flames. Center Elias Pettersson picked up two assists for the 21-42-8 Canucks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Flames defenseman Joel Hanley’s season is over as he suffered an undisclosed injury on Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks.
Vegas seems off since. Big Anderson trade. They don’t look like serious contenders this year
That, Mrbruin4, and maybe the first annoying tweaks of simply getting older kicking in on about a third of their roster.
On their next b’day,
turning 31 – Cole Smith & Theodore
turning 33 – Hertl, Sissons, Hutton
turning 34 – Stone, Saad, Karlsson
turning 35 – Reilly Smith
turning 36 – Dowd, McNabb
*turning 37 – Pietrangelo
*this guy may think otherwise, but if he ever does manage to play again, the Vatican will be investigating!
Vegas older team is shutting out the message of coach Cassidy. His shelf life is ending. 4 games under 500 in the pillow fight division as it s been labeled. No one crying for them. Wish it would happen to TB also after Kucherov injury and their cup runs.
Vegas older team is shutting out the message of coach Cassidy. His shelf life is ending. 4 games under 500 in the pillow fight division as it s been labeled. No one crying for them. Wish it would happen to TB also after Kucherov injury and their cup runs.
Sr, when you say “4 games under 500 in the pillow fight division ….” what part of Vegas’ record are you referring to?
Within that Division they are 10-5-5 – a .625 % pace. Overall, they are playing at a .541 pace, with a .554 at home and .527 on the road.
George O ,you’re absolutely right. Vision impaired. Sleep deprivation!
LOL. Been there … done that!
Damn. Was it you, Ray, who said a couple of weeks ago that you thought the Jets could claw their way back in? You could be right!
At the time, it looked daunting as they needed to climb over 4, but since then they’ve caught – and passed – San Jose, and now it’s down to 3 – the fumbling L.A. Kings, Seattle (3-5-2 in their past 10) and Nashville – now just 3 points away.
If they do make it to that last WC slot, I wouldn’t want to be the team that will face them in Round 1!
Time to call up murashov.
Or stay out of the penalty box.
Detroit has no urgency until it is too late to recover………March Meltdown continues……..😣
Johnny Z – A lifelong Red Wings fan, but it is time for them to move on from Yzerman/Draper and company. This team needs a complete roster teardown, and anyone over 26 years old should be fair game. Year 10 of excuses for collapsing, let the next rebuild commence.
Sounds too desperate now to tear it down and have a Buffalo type playoff drought. Many promising prospects are coming.
Stevie Y should have pulled the trigger on trading for a center. Falling in love with draft picks can turn on you. If Detroit doesn t make the playoffs could be interesting in Motown. Loyalty can be blinding.
That was one of the best wins of the yr. I don’t care what any of the negative people say Pastas a star in this league. He was on top of his game yesterday. I do feel Columbus will be a harder team to play because they are desperation mode and really need the win. Saw The providence game Sat. on tv Hagens looked good very fast covers his checks James was the third star of the game.
Solid performance for the Habs last night in Nashville. They’re playing a better all around game lately. After the debacle in California, allowing 16 GA in 3 games (and still managing 3 of 6 points) they came back with two solid games against the Leafs and Sens, only to then lose two home games to the Sharks and Ducks which should have been Ws. But since then they’ve won 5 of 6 while allowing only 11 GA not counting an ENG in Detroit. Solid goaltending has helped but they’ve tightened up defensively. Let’s hope it keeps up.
I don’t know if the Habs were that good or the Preds that bad but hearing the Ole Ole Ole in Nashville was a bit surprising.
It was a pretty one sided game which I didn’t expect considering how the Preds clawed themselves back into the hunt.
That Evangelista kid looks like a keeper, he was on the trade block last summer.
Zacha just keeps rolling along, only has 19pts more than the Habs 2C (who fans are very happy with) maybe they’d be happier with Zacha after all?
Glad bruins kept Zacha. Tge 2nd line has real chemistry for bruins. Hope they can find middle grd to keep Arvidson on 3 year deal if not let him go and open spot for one of their top prospects I am one of the few bruins fans that hopes Sweeney doesn’t burn a year of Hagens elc. And let’s him enjoy playoffs in AHL
With you on letting Hagens learn the pro game in Providence. Need every point we can get. Would be a waste to bring the kid up and have him sit in the press box when each remaining game is essentially a playoff game. The Bruins varsity will have very few opportunities to practice meaning Hagens would be limited in practice to him and 2 or 3 other guys taking shots on Korpisalo.
If you are going to keep banging on about the Habs acquiring a player under contract with another team, and who is having a career year, why not start a McDavid to the Habs meme. Each would be as realistic. After all, why wouldn’t the Bruins trade one of their best forwards to the Habs?
I’d trade Kapanen even up for Zacha. The Bruins wouldn’t. Yes I’d have loved for the Habs to have picked up Zacha but the Bruins get a vote too.
LJ,
Zacha was supposedly on the trading block last summer, some Hab fans were interested and said why, some Hab fans weren’t interested and said why.
Production was called into question, with some saying it’s too low and not worth the contract.
He appears to be having a career year in his 10th season, who saw that coming???
As tight as the race is, a 2c with 20 pts more might help a bit in the race.
Morning HF30. Would I be happier with Zacha after all?. At what cost? Do you think Boston would trade Zacha to Montreal (a long time hated rival) for our spare parts or do you think they would ask for a package that includes top prospects like Hage/Reinbacher and 1st round picks? For what it’s worth, Kapanen is making $4 million less and is 6 yrs younger than Zacha. It took Zacha 7 years to register his first 20+ goal season. I have no idea what Kapanen’s ceiling is. So yes, if Boston wanted to gift us Zacha, I would happily accept him. Just for s**ts and giggles, what do you think would be a fair trade for Boston to trade him to Montreal? Boston fans – what would you want on return for Zacha?
Habsman67:
You have, at the outset of your post captured the essence of this, IMO. HF30 and I have been going back and forth on this for a while – which is ok, that’s what this site is for. Different views are valuable, to a point.
I just don’t see the purpose in wishing for a trade that might have happened last July; that ship has sailed.
Am I saying I’d never trade Kapanen? No. But as you say, what is the acquisition cost for a 2C who in his rookie year has 22 goals so far in his rookie year, all the while being very responsible defensively?
It is plausible that the Habs think one more year of Danault, plus Suzuki and Evans will allow Hage to step in early, so that Kapanen brings a good RHD and a gritty top 6 forward. Which if you think about it speaks to the need for an upgrade at other than at center.
Habsman67,
You need some context, there were a number of names being tossed around for 2C last summer and Pavel Zacha looked like he was the least likely to be wanted.
The Bruins were in a rebuild or retool with very little trade capital, so Zacha (theoretically) could be had at a reasonable cost.
My suggestion at the time here, was something like Mailloux, JR Roy, 2nd round pick
Some other names got tossed around.
HF30. I remember quite vividly your posts from last summer, including your back and forth with LJ regarding Zacha so I don’t think I need any extra context. As I said in my previous post, your trade proposal is Zacha for our spare parts: Mailloux, who you have posted about on many occasions saying he is not an NHL defenceman, Roy who is not an NHL forward and a second round pick who, stastically speaking, has a low chance of becoming an NHL regular.
Hughes was Zacha’s agent before becoming Habs GM so I am sure he asked about his availability and was either told no or the asking was too high and Hughes moved on. Either way, it’s not happening.
I think Montreal’s offense is ok. Sure 20 more points wouldn’t hurt but better goaltending would have been more significant in the win-loss column. Look at our most recent success – it’s goaltending leading the way.
Actually, Habsman67, There are by my count only 5 teams who have scored more goals than the Habs as of this writing, and two of those teams have played two more games each.
So Zacha would bring 4 more goals right now than Kapanen — IF he were to have the season in Montreal that he is having in Boston. So HF30 is in the land of hope and speculation.
Hf30,I tried to trade Zacha to you and you wouldn t bite!
Sr,
Actually you and I pretty much agreed on the cost for Zacha , I don’t remember exactly but I think it was
Young roster player
Prospect
2nd round pick
We bandied a few names back and forth though you actually started us off.
With that loss in Tampa, the collars are getting tighter for Ottawa. For Sanderson that marked his 10th consecutive game missed, during which time the team has gone 7-2-1, scoring 35 while giving up 27, and with the past 3 also without Chabot – done for the regular season following wrist surgery.
Sanderson, however, has been skating in practice with the team on this mini road trip and apparently COULD possibility return for the Florida game on Tuesday.
They’re gonna need him! Right now they’re 1 point b/ Columbus for the 2nd WC slot – both with 9 games remaining. They’re also 2 b/o Pittsburgh and 3 behind NYI, on whom they have a game in hand, and 4 b/o Boston (both Boston and Pittsburgh also have 9 games left).
The Habs, with that win, have opened up a more comfortable gap. now with 92 points and still 10 games remaining.
Not planning the Cup route yet George. I’d say few of the teams still in the hunt feel comfortable about where they are in the standings.
Here is a tidbit in bruins. That I didn’t even realize. Pretty impressive Yet the east is still jammed up
the Bruins have actually been the second-best team in the entire league since the calendar turned to 2026. Their record in 2026 stands at 21-6-6, which is behind only the Buffalo Sabres, who are 25-7-4.
Mb4,problem is no one in the east is surrendering!
Mrbruin4, I don’t know what the records are “since the calendar turned to 2026 … but here are the league standings AFTER each team reached the 41 game half-way mark … which is roughly around that time (standings bawd upon % pace since there have been differing numbers in games played to this point):
1. Buf 23 6 4 50 129 89 +40 .758
2. Car 22 6 3 47 119 86 +33 .758
3. Bos 20 6 6 46 116 93 +23 .719
4. Tam 20 8 3 46 122 91 +31 .694
5. Clb 20 8 4 44 107 85 +22 .688
6. Mtl 19 8 4 42 118 94 +24 .677
7. Dal 19 9 4 42 108 88 +20 .656
8. Ana 20 11 1 41 106 104 +2 .641
9. Ott 18 9 5 41 108 90 +18 .641
10. NYI 20 12 1 41 100 92 +8 .621
11. Utah 19 11 3 41 109 118 -9 .621
12. Pitt 16 9 7 39 115 101 +14 .609
13. Wpg 16 9 7 39 91 95 -4 .609
14. Col 17 11 3 37 103 93 +10 .597
15. Min 17 11 5 39 113 108 +5 .591
16. St.L 16 12 3 35 80 84 -4 .565
17. Edm 17 13 3 37 121 113 +8 .561
18. Nas 15 12 5 35 100 125 -25 .547
19. Det 15 12 5 35 84 80 +4 .547
20. Was 16 13 4 36 99 123 -24 .546
21. Pha 14 12 5 33 85 100 -15 .532
22. SJ 13 13 4 30 88 107 -19 .500
23. NJ 15 16 0 30 86 99 -13 .484
24. Veg 14 15 4 32 104 105 -1 .484
25. L.A. 11 12 9 31 84 109 -25 .484
26. Cgy 13 15 4 30 78 104 -26 .469
27. Tor 12 15 6 30 93 122 -29 .455
28. Sea 12 15 4 28 91 104 -13 .452
29. Chic 11 15 6 28 74 107 -33 .438
30. Fla 13 18 0 26 86 111 -25 .419
31. NyR 10 18 4 24 102 121 -19 .375
32. Van 5 23 3 13 68 130 -62 .210
“based upon” (bawd ??? – lol) … pretty damned impressive for the Bruins despite all the doom and gloom from some quarters.
Note that 8 of the Top 10 over the second half are from the Eastern Conference, while of the bottom 10 (all sub-.500 so far) 6 are from the Western Conference – 5 of them in the Pacific Division.
That would seem to underscore the detrimental travel effect on those Pacific Division teams … either that or a combination of the need for some drastic roster adjustments.
The thing is, the travel “woes” were clearly not in effect when Pacific Division teams won 4 of the past 25 Stanley Cups. And before someone jumps on the fact 4 of 25 is not exactly much of a positive, they’ve been competitive in that regard when you look at where the Cup winners came from over the other 21: 5 each from the Metropolitan and Central and 6 from the Atlantic. Not a huge difference.
That’s 20 past Cups – not 25.