NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 8, 2026
Milestone games for Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov and Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey, the Sabres extend their win streak to six games, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Nikita Kucherov collected four assists to reach the 100-point mark for the sixth time in his career as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2. Corey Perry scored in his first game back with the Lightning (39-18-4) since being acquired from the Los Angeles Kings on Friday. Matias Maccelli and Nick Robertson replied for the 27-26-11 Maple Leafs, who are 0-5-2 in their last seven games. The Lightning hold first place in the Atlantic Division with 82 points.
Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kucherov is the third player to reach the 100-point plateau this season, sitting behind Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (106 points) and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (103). The Lightning played without defenseman Emil Lilleberg, who suffered a facial fracture during practice on Wednesday. He’s expected to miss two weeks.
The Buffalo Sabres kept pace with the Lightning with a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators. Tage Thompson scored to extend his points streak to 10 games, and Alex Lyon stopped 23 shots for the 38-19-6 Sabres (80 points), who have won six straight games. Zachary L’Heureux and Matthew Wood replied for the Predators (28-27-8), who have lost four of their last five and remain three points out of the final Western Conference wild-card spot with 64 points.
New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes tallied a hat trick and collected an assist to lead his club to their fourth straight win with a 6-3 victory over the New York Rangers. Jesper Bratt had a goal and two assists for the 32-29-2 Devils. Will Borgen, Vladislav Gavrikov, and Will Cuylle replied for the Rangers (24-30-8).
An overtime goal by Josh Morrissey lifted the Winnipeg Jets over the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 3-2. Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists for the 26-26-10 Jets, who are five points out of the final wild-card berth in the Western Conference with 62 points. Linus Karlsson had a goal and an assist for the Canucks (19-36-9).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was Morrissey’s first game since getting injured during the Olympics. It was a memorable return as he moved past Dustin Byfuglien for the most points by a defenseman for this version of the Jets with 417 points.
The Montreal Canadiens nipped the Los Angeles Kings 4-3. Juraj Slafkovsky scored twice and had an assist, Nick Suzuki had a goal and two assists, and Jakub Dobes kicked out 36 shots for the Canadiens (34-18-10), who moved into third place in the Atlantic Division with 78 points. Anze Kopitar, Scott Laughton, and Alex Laferriere scored for the 25-23-14 Kings (64 points), who also sit three points behind the Seattle Kraken for the final Western wild-card spot.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Laughton’s goal was his first for the Kings since being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.
Speaking of the Kraken, they dropped a 7-4 decision to the Ottawa Senators. Shane Pinto had a goal and two assists, and Warren Foegele scored his first goal since being acquired from the Kings for the 31-22-9 Senators (71 points), who are four points behind the Boston Bruins for the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth. Jordan Eberle collected two assists for the 29-24-9 Kraken (67 points).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson left this game in the second period with an upper-body injury. There was no postgame update on his status. Kraken winger Jaden Schwartz departed in the first period after being accidentally cut on his face by the skate of Senators forward Nick Cousins. He was reportedly still being evaluated following the game.
As for the Bruins (35-22-5), they downed the Washington Capitals 3-1. Pavel Zacha, Viktor Arvidsson, and Elias Lindholm scored, and David Pastrnak collected two assists as they hold that final Eastern wild-card spot with 75 points. Aliaksei Protas replied for the Capitals (31-26-7).
An overtime goal by Bo Horvat gave the New York Islanders a 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks. Ilya Sorokin stopped 30 shots, and Tony DeAngelo also scored for the 36-23-5 Islanders, who hold second place in the Metropolitan Division with 77 points. Macklin Celebrini tallied his 32nd goal of the season, and Yaroslav Askarov made 32 saves for the Sharks (30-25-6), who sit one point behind the Kraken with 66 points
The Philadelphia Flyers upset the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on a shootout goal by Trevor Zegras. Alex Bump scored his first goal in his NHL debut for the 29-22-11 Flyers. Rickard Rakell had a goal and an assist for the Penguins (31-17-14), who sit third in the Metropolitan Division with 76 points.
Calgary Flames forward Joel Farabee had two goals and an assist in a 5-4 upset of the Carolina Hurricanes. Ryan Strome had a goal and an assist in his first game with the Flames (25-30-7) since his acquisition from the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Seth Jarvis had a goal and two assists for the 40-17-6 Hurricanes, who sit in first place in the Eastern Conference with 82 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Flames defenseman Zach Whitecloud left this game in the first period with an upper-body injury.
Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley tallied twice, including the winner in overtime, to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4. Karel Vejmelka stopped 27 shots to become the first goaltender to reach 30 wins this season as the Mammoth (34-25-4) has won three straight and holds the first Western Conference wild-card berth with 72 points. Damon Severson, Mathieu Olivier, Adam Fantilli, and Mason Marchment each had a goal and an assist for the 32-21-9 Blue Jackets, who sit two points behind the Bruins for the final Eastern wild-card spot.
IN OTHER NEWS…
MLIVE.COM: Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Stars center Roope Hintz is expected to miss some extended time after injuring his left leg during Friday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche.
NHL.COM: Former Chicago Blackhawks forward and broadcaster Troy Murray passed away from cancer on Saturday at the age of 63.
Murray played 15 seasons in the NHL from 1981-82 to 1995-96, spending 12 of those seasons with the Blackhawks. In 915 regular-season games with the Blackhawks, Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, and Colorado Avalanche, Murray had 230 goals and 354 assists for 584 points, as well as 43 points in 113 playoff contests. He won the Selke Trophy with the Blackhawks in 1985-86, and the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 1995-96.
After retiring, Murray became the Blackhawks’ radio analyst for over two decades.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Murray’s family, friends, former teammates, and the Blackhawks organization.
That injury to Sanderson came when taken down awkwardly by sometimes overly aggressive Montour and looks to be a shoulder injury.
His loss for any serious time would put a major ding in their playoff hopes.
More injuries yesterday,Hintz,Larkin,Whitecloud,Sanderson, depth will be the key ingredient in this condensed stretch drive.Teams that avoid injuries will survive. Will test the next man’s up cry!
Yeah … and where Ottawa is concerned – indeed, on the majority of teams – there’s simply NO depth that can adequately replace a Sanderson.
If he’s out for any length of time they’ll likely go with Chabot – Jenson as the top pair, with Kleven – Zub forming the 2nd unit, and Matinpalo – Spence forming the 3rd unit. The 7th swing man will likely be either veteran Dennis Gilbert or 21 y/o Jorian Donovan, who’s been having a good season in Belleville.
Montipalo is listed as injured. You know anything about that, George. Sens playing so well lately, hopefully they can come together and ride out the storm.
Yeah – apparently he was another to get a ding of some sort at the Olympics and hasn’t been in the line-up since returning – although skating at practices. Nothing definitive yet on Sanderson.
Apparently the flames didn’t get the memo about tanking for McKenna.
Heh H … that would be some obvious tanking to drop below Vancouver … the only team in the league playing at a sub-.400 pace. They project to finish with around 60 points and dead last, which would give them an 18.5% chance at winning the McKenna lottery.
But Calgary, NYR, Chicago and St. Louis could each finish with anywhere from 72 to 76 points, and depending upon what spot they land in from 28th to 31st, would still have decent odds ranging from 8.5% to 13.5%.
No other team is anywhere close to “cracking” the bottom 5.
Here’s how the bottom 10 currently stack up showing position, points so far, potential points left in their schedules, current % pace and Past 10 records:
Fla 23rd 65pts 38 points left .516 3-7-0
Tor 24th 65pts 38 points left .508 3-5-2
L.A. 25th 64pts 40 points left .516 3-6-1
Nash 26th 63pts 38 points left .508 4-4-2
Wpg 27th 62pts 40 points left .500 5-2-3
St.L 28th 57pts 40 points left .460 5-5-0
Cgy 29th 57pts 40 points left .460 4-5-2
Chi 30th 56pts 40 points left .452 2-6-2
NYR 31st 56pts 40 points left .452 3-5-2
Van 32nd 46pts 38 points left .365 2-5-3
I don’t get the tank for McKenna talk, I know that I’m frequently on an island but am I really the only one here who was disappointed by this kid’s game?
He definitely is talented but his game has big holes and he isn’t dominating at all, he is not a generational talent to consider tanking for.
No one’s catching Van, but I kinda think they’d take Stenberg over Gavin.
Tank is a bit harsh but the flames have finally openly committed to a rebuild. I do think McKenna is a prime piece to build around.
Hard to pass on Mckenna because of his elite skill, he will put up points in the NHL. But by most accounts Stenberg is the better player right now. Also probably the safer pick with a higher floor. Plus plays a premium position. So I can see either one going first.
Verhoff is a darn good prospect as well. Big RHD with his wheels and skill have big value in the NHL. Top 3 picks are all really good this year.
Lots of good players in the top 10, here’s hoping the Leafs finish in the 6- 8 range.
Conroy has stockpiled a ton of picks in the next few drafts. Done a good job so far, hard part is still coming a couple years down the road.
Think of it as a pedestal, not an island.
George, a few days ago you asked if anyone had insights on a team’s disparate home/road records. In the Bruins case, they’re something like 21-5-3 when scoring first. My unproven assumption is many of those first goals occur at home. Where as giving up the first goal on the road may often be insurmountable for them. Just a thought.
Thanks AK bender. As plausible a factor as anything else. Just before posting this response to yours, I tried the Google AI query and got this:
“The consensus reasoning for the Boston Bruins’ polar opposite, Jekyll-and-Hyde home/away record in the 2025-26 season centers on a combination of extreme reliance on the TD Garden environment, a lack of consistent top-tier offensive talent, and a, at times, fragile defensive structure away from home.
Through early March 2026, the Bruins have boasted a dominant 23-8-1 record at home while struggling significantly on the road with an 11-14-4 record.
Key reasons for this discrepancy include:
Familiarity and Energy (TD Garden Edge): The Bruins heavily feed off the atmosphere at TD Garden, resulting in a “boost” in play. They have been described as playing more confident, structured hockey in front of their home crowd.
Lack of Offensive Depth/Road Fragility: The team relies heavily on top-tier players like David Pastrnak and a strong power play to win games. When playing away, this lack of depth is exposed, leading to a team that struggles to generate offense and sometimes appears “disinterested” or lacks the will to fight back when trailing.
“Hard-Nosed” Identity Struggles: Under Coach Marco Sturm, the team is trying to build a hard-nosed, physical identity. This style often works well at home but has resulted in a lack of speed and consistency on the road.
Goaltending Inconsistency: While Jeremy Swayman is the primary goalie, the team’s overall goaltending and defensive structure have been inconsistent, with 5-on-5 play and high-danger chance management faltering more on the road.
Turnover Management: The team has shown a tendency to play passive defensive hockey, especially away from home, which leads to high-danger chances against them.
As of early March 2026, the Bruins are viewed as a team that is overachieving at home but whose flaws—specifically a lack of high-end scoring depth and poor road performance—make them vulnerable in the league standings.”
Al;though not singled out explicitly in the above, the inference seems to point to an inability to effectively counter the loss of “last change” in road games.
What do you think of that synopsis of views above.
Despite being told by pundits home ice advantage is less relevant than in the past, I’m less convinced the comforts of home can be so easily dismissed for some teams. Along with the rigors of travel in this seasons condensed schedule.
Their hard-nosed play is also a factor. They do lead the league in penalty minutes by a wide margin. Can’t cite the home/road splits of that however.
Goalie inconsistency is real. Despite a stellar gsa%, Swayman has 9 games allowing
5 or more goals. And you’re familiar with Korpisalo’s struggles.
Lastly, last change could be a deciding factor as well. Probably why Pastrnak and Geekie have been split up. Marco Sturm’s attempt to counter the home teams checking line.
In short, seems to be multiple plausible explanations. Some shared with other troubled teams, some not, each according to their own strengths and weaknesses.
Doesn’t seem as tho we reached a definitive answer
Yeah, AK bender, equally as hard to understand as the NY Rangers situation … the exact opposite conundrum with a pathetic 6-19-5 home record at MSG but a winning record on the road of 16-15-2!
Go figure.