NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 6, 2026
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby reaches another scoring milestone, the Canadiens clinch a playoff spot, the Islanders replace Patrick Roy as head coach with Peter DeBoer, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF SUNDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists to defeat the Florida Panthers 5-2. Rickard Rakell tallied twice to extend his goal streak to five games for the 40-22-16 Penguins, who sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 96 points. Cole Schwindt and Carter Verhaeghe replied for the 37-37-3 Panthers.
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Crosby became the first player in NHL history to record 21 consecutive point-per-game seasons. Meanwhile, Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner missed this game with an upper-body injury.
The New Jersey Devils blanked the Montreal Canadiens 3-0, snapping the latter’s eight-game win streak. Jacob Markstrom turned in an 18-save shutout while Timo Meier, Cody Glass, and Connor Brown scored for the Devils (40-34-8). Jacob Fowler stopped 17 of 19 shots for the 45-22-10 Canadiens, who sit third in the Atlantic Division with 100 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Despite the loss, the Canadiens clinched a playoff berth because the Detroit Red Wings lost to the Minnesota Wild earlier in the day. Speaking of which…
Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov tallied a hat trick to lead his club to a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit stormed back from a 4-1 deficit to tie the game on a goal by Patrick Kane, but Kaprizov scored the winner on the power play with Kane in the penalty box. The Wild (44-21-12) sit third overall in the Western Conference with 100 points, two behind the second-place Dallas Stars. This loss leaves the 40-29-8 Red Wings (88 points) sitting two points out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Wild defenseman Zach Bogosian missed this game with a lower-body injury.
The Ottawa Senators maintained their hold on that final Eastern wild card by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3. Team captain Brady Tkachuk tallied twice while Tim Stutzle, Shane Pinto, and Dylan Cozens each had a goal and an assist for the 40-27-10 Senators (90 points). Jackson Blake collected two assists for the Hurricanes (49-22-6), who hold first place in the Eastern Conference with 104 points.
Philadelphia Flyers rookie Porter Martone’s first NHL goal came in overtime to lift his club to a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins. Christian Dvorak scored in regulation, and Dan Vladar stopped 18 shots for the Flyers (39-26-12), who moved into third place in the Metropolitan Division with 90 points. Pavel Zacha scored for the 43-26-9 Bruins (95 points), who hold a five-point lead over the Senators for the first Eastern wild-card spot.
The St. Louis Blues upset the Colorado Avalanche 3-2. Robert Thomas netted his first NHL hat trick while Jimmy Snuggerud collected three assists for the 33-31-12 Blues (78 points), who sit three points behind the Nashville Predators for the final Western Conference wild-card spot. Brent Burns had a goal and an assist for the 50-16-10 Avalanche, who hold first place in the overall standings with 110 points.
New York Rangers winger Will Cuylle scored his first NHL hat trick in an 8-1 drubbing of the Washington Capitals. Mika Zibanejad had three assists while Adam Fox scored and set up two others for the 33-36-9 Rangers. Connor McMichael replied for the Capitals (39-30-9), who are three points behind the Senators for that final Eastern wild card.
ISLANDERS FIRE ROY AS HEAD COACH, REPLACE HIM WITH DEBOER
NEW YORK POST: The Islanders fired head coach Patrick Roy on Sunday, replacing him with Peter DeBoer. This move came as the Isles struggle to clinch a playoff berth with only a handful of games remaining in the regular season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ethan Sears of the New York Post blames Roy for the Islanders’ recent struggles. While acknowledging management’s recent acquisitions of Brayden Schenn, Carson Soucy, and Ondrej Palat haven’t worked as intended, Sears believes that Roy “lost buy-in from the players,” pointing to his lineup tinkering, the disastrous power play, and the decline in their defensive play, putting the club in danger of missing the playoffs.
Roy has two years left on his contract. He has a record of 97-78-22 over nearly three seasons with the Islanders.
The Islanders reportedly signed DoBoer to a four-year contract. They will be the sixth NHL team he’s coached after stints with the Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights, and Dallas Stars since 2008-09. He guided the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012 and the Sharks to the Cup Final in 2016. DeBoer also coached the Stars to three straight Western Conference Finals from 2023 to 2025.
A little bit of panic move by Isles. They are in the thick of it. Definitely not a coach issue. Though Roy can rub people the wrong way I don’t see them making the playoffs IMHO
I think they jumped to grab a superior coach that soon would be unavailable.
That’s what I heard…..less about the poor timing more about getting DeBoer before someone else does
Glad the bs picked up the extra point. Concerned with their lack of goals. I think Hagens might put a little spark under butts. Maybe some of his creativity and speed might make a difference. Very worried the b’s might lose Dipietro unless he’s given a chance as well.
Actually, John, the Bruins aren’t doing bad in terms of average goals scored per game, ranking among the top 12 in the league. It’s their defensive structure that needs some sort of bolstering in comparison:
Top Average Goals Per Game
3.8 Colorado;
3.7 Tam;
3.6 Car, Pitt
3.5 Buff, Mtl
3.4 Dal, Ott, Edm
3.3 Minn, Bos, Ana, Utah
3.2 Vegas, Wash
3.1 Clmb, S.J., Tor
3.0 Pha, Fla, Nash
Averaging Less Than 3
2.9 NYI, Det, NYR
2.8 N.J., Wpg, Sea
2.7 L.A., St.L
2.6 Cgy, Chic, Vanc
Top Fewest Goals Per Game Allowed
2.6 Col
2.7 Dal
2.8 Tam
2.9 Minn, NYI, Utah
Averaging 3 And Up Goals Allowed Per Game
3.0 Car, Buff, Pha, Det, N.J.
3.1 Mtl, Bos, Ott, Clmb, Wash, Vegas, L.A., St.L, Wpg, NYR
3.2 Pitt, Sea, Cgy
3.3 Edm, Nash, Chic,
3.4 Fla
3.5 Ana
3.6 S.J., Tor
3.9 Vanc
JA
They need to re unite
Lindholm and Geekie back to 1st line. To get Geekie on the score sheet again Plus Pasta is currently doing all the offensive work on 1st line As for Dipietro. The back up job will be his for the taking If he proves able Korpi will be traded or bought out or even waivers
Hagens not lighting it up in Ahl so he is not ready to be the difference maker for bruins this year Not worth burning a year of his entry level. Let him grow with Ahl playoffs
I would think korpi is tradable for a mid round pick. Bruins could hold a bit of salary too.
Agree Chrisms, hold a $1m for a couple years and you can move him. He is as close to an average tender as you will find. Maybe just below, but his sv% is just above average, but he faces easier opponents. Seems streaky.
He played well yesterday.
If the B’s believe in Dipietro, then they should make the move. If they don’t, then don’t, you risk losing him. Which might happen, and might not.
The Providence Bruins are very good at keeping goals against down. So is that because of Dipietro, or is Dipietro because they defend so well?
I sure as heck don’t know, but Providence has been good at defending for a while, and developing tenders at the same time. So both things are likely true to some extent. He’s a little on the small side as far as NHL tenders go these days.