NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 4, 2026
A five-point game for Oilers center Leon Draisaitl, Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov sets a franchise goals record, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Leon Draisaitl scored twice and collected three assists as the Edmonton Oilers nipped the Ottawa Senators 5-4 on an overtime goal by Evan Bouchard. Connor McDavid had two assists to record his eighth 70-assist season as the Oilers (30-24-8) hold third place in the Pacific Division with 68 points. Drake Batherson tallied two goals for the Senators (29-22-9).
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (NHL Images)
SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid tied Mario Lemieux for the second-most 70-assist seasons. Wayne Gretzky holds the record with 16 seasons. McDavid sits first in this season’s scoring race with 105 points.
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar had a goal and two assists in a 5-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Parker Kelly scored twice, and Nathan MacKinnon collected an assist to become the second player to reach 100 points this season. Cutter Gauthier replied for the Ducks (33-24-3), who sit second in the Pacific Division with 69 points. The league-leading Avalanche (91 points) improved to 41-10-9.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avalanche played without forward Artturi Lehkonen, who is sidelined week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov scored to set the franchise record of 220 goals in a 5-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Matt Boldy had three assists for the 36-16-10 Wild, who sit third in the Central Division with 82 points. Nikita Kucherov scored for the Lightning (38-17-4), who sit first in the Atlantic Division with 80 points, but have lost three straight games.
The Dallas Stars collected their 10th straight win as they thumped the Calgary Flames 6-1. Matt Duchene had four assists, and Sam Steel scored two goals and an assist for the 38-14-9 Stars, who sit second in the Western Conference with 85 points. Morgan Frost replied for the 24-29-7 Flames.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stars center Roope Hintz missed this game as he’s on injured reserve with an illness.
San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini scored his 30th goal of the season and collected three assists in a 7-5 win over the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens overcame a 5-2 deficit to tie the game. However, Kiefer Sherwood tallied the winning goal with 3:26 remaining in the third period for the 30-25-4 Sharks (64 points), who sit three points behind the Seattle Kraken for the final Western Conference wild-card berth. Mike Matheson had three assists, and Alex Newhook tallied twice for the Canadiens (33-18-9), who hold the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot with 75 points.
Unanswered third-period goals by Sean Monahan and Charlie Coyle lifted the Columbus Blue Jackets over the Nashville Predators by a score of 3-2. The Blue Jackets improved to 31-21-8 (70 points), sitting three points behind the Boston Bruins for the final Eastern wild-card berth. Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly scored for the Predators (27-26-8), sitting five points out of the final Western wild-card with 62 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: O’Reilly left the game in the third period after being accidentally struck in the left eye by Coyle’s stick during a faceoff. Following the game, the Predators released a statement indicating that O’Reilly will be ok. He is returning with the team to Nashville, where the club’s medical team will evaluate him.
The Predators were also busy in the trade market before this game. They shipped forward Michael McCarron to the Minnesota Wild for a 2028 second-round pick, and forward Cole Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights for a 2028 third-round pick and minor-league defenseman Cristoffer Sedoff.
Moving those two pending UFA depth players shouldn’t adversely affect the Predators’ efforts to secure a playoff berth. However, that could change if they ship out more significant UFA-eligible players such as Erik Haula, Michael Bunting, and Nick Blankenburg.
Speaking of the Golden Knights, they dropped a 3-2 decision to the Buffalo Sabres, who picked up their fourth straight win. Jason Zucker, Owen Power, and Tage Thompson scored for the 36-19-6 Sabres, who are two points behind the Atlantic Division-leading Lightning with 78 points. Ivan Barbashev and Pavel Dorofeyev replied for the Golden Knights (28-19-14), who cling to first place in the Pacific Division with 70 points.
The Boston Bruins got a 34-save performance from Jeremy Swayman to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1. Marat Khusnutdinov and Casey Mittelstadt scored for the Bruins (34-21-5), who hold the final Eastern wild-card berth with 73 points. Erik Karlsson scored for the 31-16-13 Penguins, who sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 75 points.
Utah Mammoth winger Dylan Guenther had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals. Clayton Keller picked up two assists for the 32-25-4 Mammoth, who hold the first Western wild-card spot with 68 points. Pierre-Luc Dubois and Ryan Leonard scored for the Capitals (31-25-7, 69 points), who are four points behind the Bruins.
New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist as his club tamed the Florida Panthers 5-1. Jack Hughes and Connor Brown each had two assists for the Devils (30-29-2). Anton Lundell replied for the 30-28-3 Panthers, who are ten points behind the Bruins.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As the Panthers’ hopes for a third straight Stanley Cup run fade, management could end up becoming sellers by Friday’s trade deadline.
An overtime goal by Mark Scheifele lifted the Winnipeg Jets to a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Cole Perfetti tied the game for the Jets (24-26-10) with 39 seconds remaining in regulation time. Teuvo Teravainen and Ryan Greene scored for the 23-28-10 Blackhawks.
IN OTHER NEWS…
TSN: The New York Rangers placed captain J.T. Miller (upper body) on injured reserve. It is unrelated to the one he suffered earlier in this season.
The Vancouver Canucks placed goaltender Thatcher Demko (hip surgery) on long-term injury reserve, and placed defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph (upper body) on IR.
CALGARY SUN: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed Calgary and Edmonton have submitted bids to host the 2028 World Cup of Hockey. They’re among several NHL cities to bid to host the international tournament.
An announcement is expected within the next two weeks. A European city is expected to host round-robin games, before the tournament shifts back to North America to the host city or cities.
Bettman also doesn’t see the league staging an outdoor game at Lake Louise in Banff National Park in Alberta, citing logistical and economic issues.
Bruins … if rumors are true I don’t understand the Infatuation with Garland to the Bruins … he’s almost 30 years old .. a very small player who don’t really score much .. it’s a pass for me and B’s need to think bigger and better they gave the pieces to get a need if they choose to
Watching Boston after the break is bringingup some concerns. Tha 2 games that they won at home,their goalies stole the game. There loss in Philly they scored only 1 goal. Pasternak has 22 goals in 55 games. Their middle 6 forwards have kept them afloat. Thay gave up 3 clear breakaways last night. Is all of this sustainable as they hold onto the last WC playoff spot?
I’m thinking the Jackets catch and pass us.
Ya B’s got a bit lucky last night Sr, but they didn’t get rolled and got good tending and defended the fort pretty good.
I’ve been questioning how sustainable this is on and off all year. When I think the inevitable slide is coming they play well for a while a reel off some wins. I thought they would struggle to find enough goals, and until recently that hasn’t been true. Hopefully not them coming back to the mean down the stretch, but it could be.
I sure as heck don’t know, but they have some teams breathing down their necks now and playing well. So Swayman will need to stay hot.
Agree SOP wake up the Blue Jackets!
Ray, of the 13 teams with 200 or more goals scored to this point. the Bruins rank favourably on that aspect of the game (averages of goals-per-game based on gp to date):
Colorado 3.8; Montreal, Tampa, Edmonton 3.6; Dallas, Carolina 3.5; Minnesota, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Ottawa and Boston 3.4; Vegas 3.3; Anaheim 3.2.
Scoring goals is clearly not a problem with any of them – and that based upon a pretty decent sampling.
The two categories where they need to shore up when looking at the 16 teams East and West currently holding down a playoff spot, are their averages of goals-against per game and road records, where they are 1 of 3 in play off positions with a losing record away: Anaheim 13-15-2; Boston 11-13-4 and Utah 14-15-2.
In terms of average goals against per game in the playoff grouping, Anaheim gives up 3.5, Edmonton 3.4, Montreal 3.3, Vegas 3.2 and Boston 3.1. Tightening up in both categories should be the focus of each.
Last night’s 3rd period collapse, blowing a 4-2 lead and then a loss in OT thanks to a stupid penalty pretty much encapulates far too many of the Senators’ games this season to be categorized as anything but a collective tendency towards self-destructive brain farts.
Ahh well, as I posted yesterday they need at least 3 of the 4 points available to them in Alberta to remain close enough to the WC possibility. There’s 1. Now they HAVE to win in Calgary tomorrow night if some of them want to avoid being trade bait on Friday.
Yeah. Wondering if it’s a strategy by the coaches. It was obvious that they were only sending one man in to forecheck. How many times do you have to lose games late after having a lead to figure out that’s a losing strategy. Just keep playing the way that got you the lead. When the sens play their forecheck game, not many teams can hang with them. Insane that McDavid played half the game though. Wondering if that might hurt Oilers if they go deep in the playoffs when your running your stud horse like that night in night out.
Just. Boneheaded mistakes. Sitting back in the third when they’d played their game and mostly controlled play against the Oil. Brady is still in the same quicksand that Jensen is in. So WHY…WHY would you put him on in a 3 on 3 with the fastest player in the world. Oh and their super speeding offensive defenseman OH…and another top five player in the world who’s also pretty fast.
Brady wouldn’t have seen the ice until maybe the second or third wave of OT. Ya sure he won the draw but….that’s coaching.
Absolutely right. And the part that is the most inexplicable is that – either the coaching staff doesn’t see the merit in regularly running videos of the collapses to drive home the lesson of what NOT to do in similar situations – themselves included – or, if they do, this collection is mostly too dense to grasp the message.
Well I give my take with an EDM bias vs OTT one. First take is they could have called another 3 penalties against McDavid last night, but that’s par for the course for him.
Welcome to playing the Oilers!
I didn’t think OTT controlled the play in the first 40, and data matches the eye test. Pretty even with Oil having more chances, and giving up the 5 alarm ones again with D zone breakdowns. Again. Oil had the edge overall after 40 and in slot chances, but OTT had the best ones and earned the lead.
Same old Oil, play too loose, make mistakes, fall behind, get desperate, take over the game and dominate the 3rd trying to come back. Rinse repeat.
They said on the broadcast last night that this was the 4th 6 on 5 goal in their last 6 home games. Meaning they are trailing late more often than not and managing to find a goal with the tender out. Doesn’t seem sustainable until they fix their team defense and stop needing comebacks IMO.
You’re 100% right George, huge decision for Staois this week, and big game against CGY, which I think they win. They’re struggling right now.
As you guys know I have been beating the OTT drum for a while on here, just not sure I spend assets for anything without term. If I was them I do nothing but plug a hole or two.
CLB has been on fire which complicates things for the Sens, as have the Isles which I didn’t have on my bingo card. My Bruins seem to be playing the worst of the 4 teams that are fighting for WC spots. But they have a lead. But I don’t think they’re the team OTT will struggle to catch to get in.
Would like to see DeMelo back in Ottawa , maybe Jensen and a 26 3rd?
Jets can flip RD Jensen to a playoff bound team for another pick.
As much as Jensen brought to the Senators last year and was a big reason why Chabot stabilized he never fully recovered from his hip procedure and looks a step behind.
Fergy22, Owen and I bandied that possibility about yesterday, and while on the surface it might appear to be a positive move, I’ll repeat a bit of my take for what it’s worth:
“Demelo has 2 years to run after this at $4.9 mil per off the cap, and when that expires he’ll be approaching his 35th B-day. He also has a 10-team no trade list, and after being shunted off to Winnipeg just before trade deadline day in 2020 for a 3rd round pick, Ottawa could well be on that list.
And even assuming they’re not on his list and the Jets are willing to deal him, I have no clue what they would want in return (and I’ll add in here – I’m sure it wouldn’t include taking back Nick Jensen).
,,, if Cheveldayov thinks his team is capable of a Boston-like turnaround with some tinkering, and Demelo being a RD, he is one guy he probably would want to keep around – unless he’s blown away by a trade offer. Which I don’t see Demelo (eliciting).”
George , M-NTC aside , Jensen would be include to offset some of the cap hit. He is a bottom 6 IMO so Jets could flip him for a 4th or 5th. Once DeMelo’s contract ends one would hope that either Yakemchuk or Hensler should be ready to slot in to top 4.
They have a steep hill to climb to make the playoffs and they need a lot of help from other teams. I would not be making any significant moves until the off season.
I agree with you 100% there, Fergy22. No move Staios could make now is going to enable them to climb over 3 teams – who would ALL need to go into the tank simultaneously – to get to 8th.
Re-assess both the roster AND the game by game approach that allows far too many first-goal-of-a-game to the opposition, and results in way too many 3rd period collapses AND early OT goals not to be traced to fundamental mistakes in game/line-up approaches.
And then do what is necessary to at least try to correct those flaws over the summer.
The Habs/Sharks game exposed the weaknesses and hole that need to be plugged to get into the playoffs or do anything of substance if they make it.
The team is young, fast, skilled and resilient with a never say die attitude that can score goals.
A D that plays man on man, good gap, sticks in lanes, forcing perimeter shooting is a system that works more often than not.
However, an opponent that lives in the crease, runs the goalie, forces scrums and in the d-zone is liberal with the stick just eats the Habs up.
There was a sequence in which Kirby Dach was given 5 cross-checks while leaving the zone and he just looked back and kept absorbing. No call, no retribution, nothing.
I lost count of how many times Gaudette ran the goalie, no call, no retribution.
Xhekaj has to dress, a RD with bite has to be signed and a bottom 6 forward who checks hard, drops the mitts and has some dog in him should be a priority.
No need for the high price skilled trade bait guys, the Habs are full of them, players who have bite are needed.
Wow you have to give props for Grier and the job he’s done so far. The Sharks are going to be a great team that will be fun to watch. Last nights game was two rebuilding teams that are slightly different in timing but both in the second stage with the sharks catching up to the Habs stage. Really impressive.
I thought so too, Ron. Fast and skilled, not just Cellebrini.
Yes Grier has done a good job for sure and agree not just Cellibrini.
But that kid has changed that team, he is an elite player.
So good job by Grier, but Cellibrini was lucky and has sped up this rebuild. A guy like him doesn’t come around every year, and to have him available when you suck enough to pick first, is lucky. Heck all of us on the site would have taken him first.
Interesting take, HF30, and yes – provided the RHD is for the bottom 6. And yes, Xhejak has to dress, as he will be needed in the playoffs I gave up at 5 -2, frustrated by how sloppy the Habs were. Maybe Struble is being showcased?
Other thoughts:
Is there a better young player than Cellebrini in the game today? He’s come back from the Olympics with a justifiable boost in confidence.
Give Marty a cattle prod and have him zap Slavkovski for every no look, rink wide, free pizza pass he makes. He’s come back from the Olympics with an unjustified boost in confidence.
Maybe the Habs do need BInnington for the rest of the year. Hard to evaluate Dobes from a game where his teammates were so sloppy, but he would be an upgrade. Flip a coin as to who sits in the press box, Dobes or Monty.
LJ, HF30. I can see where a big RD and a big bodied bottom 6 forward who plays heavy would improve the team (again, not sure why we signed Texier, who doesn’t play heavy). Not sure what assets you would have to give up to acquire these players. For the sake of the argument, let’s assume we acquire these 2 players and it costs you two 2nd round picks. I still don’t see how that is going to improve our goaltending which IMO is their most pressing need. These 2 players will likely play around 15 minutes each game given that they are bottom 6 players. Montreal is not 2 bottom 6 players away from winning the cup or from making a serious run this year so what ever assets you give up will be a waste, especially if it is a rental. Montreal will go as far as their goaltending will take them. I understand the argument is that their are no suitable goalies available at this time. So wait until the off season to address it, or if you think Fowler is the answer then you have to be patient and don’t throw away assets in the meantime. As far as Xhekaj is concerned, you have to talk to MSL. If he is not going to use him then you have to trade him. He can’t be a healthy scratch or play less than 10 minutes a game and be effective.
Habsman67
Habs have a surplus of LD and are short on RD
3 options for 3D
LD Struble and Texier for RD Schneider
or
LD Guhle for RD Schneider.
or
3rd round pick for RD Brayden Pachal
Options for big bodied F
Laine for LAK Brian Foegele
or
Laine for LAK Samuel Helenius
or
Laine + 3rd round pick for Dallas Radek Faksa
HF30, other than the Guhle trade proposal I don’t object to what you are proposing especially since you are getting rid of unwanted/unused roster pieces (the other team may have something to say, however). But none of those players play net. Let me ask you this- do you think Montreal can win round(s) with sub .900 save percentage? I don’t think they can so your additions while they may be helpful to a degree still won’t move the needle unless we have better goaltending.
Habsma67,
First my rationale.
LAK have a terrible powerplay so trading a 4th liner for Laine is decent.
Dallas has some injuries to high end scoring, so Laine and a 3rd for an injured Faksa is sensible.
D-rationale
Guhle and Schneider are very similar players in size, type of player, Guhle is a LD and Schneider is a RD.
They need a LD and we need a RD.
As for goaltending, for all the complaints about Montembeault and Dobes you’ll be surprised to see that there are only 26 goalie who are better than.900 and those below include
Bobrovsky
Oettinger
Wolf
Kuemper
Saros
Markstrom
Binnington
So I’m not concerned about the position, I think we’re spoiled in Montreal with about 15 yrs of Carey Price.
hf30,I see that missing link in Montreal also. But they are not the only group that could use some sandpaper,Detroit comes to mind also as well as Buffalo.Hearing rumblings of Xhekaj to Calgary?
habfan30
How about reuniting the Schenn brothers in MTL?
Luke is a gritty, RHD with skills as you’ve described.
Younger brother Brayden is a, gritty, defensively responsible player that can play C or W.
MTL definitely has the assets to pull it off.
Daryl: Luke works only because he has this year on his contract. Brayden does not because is is now 34 and has a 6.5 cap hit for the next two years after this. Not a fit for the Habs profile.
Habsman67: I share your concern about the goaltending: Which is the real Dobes, the one who had save %s of .931 and . 947 or the one with .778 and.833 over the last 4 games. I think the Habs will keep him and find out, and make any decisions next year based on what they see.
HF30: I simply do not understand your apparent lack of enthusiasm for Guhle, particularly as a straight up for Schneider. But as much as I am not in a position to make declarations: I guarantee the Habs won’t make that trade. I have pronounced doubts about whether they would trade him period. The fact that those covering the Habs are saying they expect them to be quiet should indicate to you that they are not as concerned about acquiring a RHD as you think they should be.
We have two days to find out who is correct.
LJ,
My reasoning is that Schneider and Guhle are like peas in a pod except one is a natural LD the other RD.
Schneider’s numbers dipped this year on account of replacing Adam Fox for a good piece of the season on the top pairing.
He’s now playing 2nd pairing on the LD.
Guhle gets caught in the numbers game and frequently plays RD
Same draft year, both in 1st round, Schneider has played 346 games, Guhle 189 gams.
Why would NYR agree- cost controlled LD earning $5.5m for next 5 yrs.
Why would Habs agree- some cap saving this year and room to negotiate an RFA deal with a more experienced player of the same age earning $2.2m
Yeah, but I don’t agree that Schneider is equal to Guhle.
The fact that a trade as you suggest doesn’t happen doesn’t make me right. Who knows what if any talks between the Habs and Rags have take place?
I’ll climb down a bit and repeat any trade has to be evaluated on acquisition costs (no I am not just parroting Basu of the Athletic who is saying the same thing).
But it is difficult for me to envision getting talent equivalent for Guhle when RHDs are harder to come by. A trade would mean the Habs give up more, for less. Not a recipe for success.
Lyle, wasn’t McCarron traded to the Wild?
Yes, he was. I’ve amended it accordingly. Cheers.
No problem between this site, your regular job, the trade deadline madness and a regular life I’m sure you would like more time with very understandable there’s an occasional miscue. Appreciate everything you do on a daily basis.