NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 20, 2026
Recapping Saturday’s preseason action plus the latest on Senators goalie Linus Ullmark, Rangers winger Pavel Dorofeyev, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
PRESEASON GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in split-squad action in their preseason openers on Saturday.
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson (NHL Images).
Cole Caufield scored in overtime and Lane Hutson had a goal and two assists to nip the Maple Leafs 4-3 in Montreal, while Phillip Danault tallied twice for a 4-1 victory in Toronto. In the latter contest, Darren Raddysh scored in his preseason debut with the Maple Leafs, while Leafs rookie Gavin McKenna was held scoreless in his first NHL preseason contest.
Edmonton Oilers superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each had a goal and an assist to down the Winnipeg Jets 5-2. Evan Bouchard collected four assists for the Oilers.
The Minnesota Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on an overtime goal by Tyler Pitlick.
Vegas Golden Knights prospect Jackson Hallum scored twice to double up the Los Angeles Kings 4-2.
The Seattle Kraken beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2. Prospect center Jake O’Brien scored and added an assist for the Kraken.
The Dallas Stars defeated the St. Louis Blues 2-1 on a goal by minor-league center Jack Becker.
HEADLINES
OTTAWA SUN: Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark is refreshed, confident, and looking forward to his season after enduring a difficult 2025-26 campaign.
Ullmark struggled through the first half of last season and took a leave of absence for mental health reasons. He returned to backstop the Senators into the playoffs.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Inconsistent goaltending nearly derailed the Senators last season until Ullmark returned to form in the second half. A more consistent effort on his part could push the Senators higher in the standings this season.
NEW YORK POST: Pavel Dorofeyev is looking forward to starting this season with the Rangers. They acquired the 25-year-old scoring winger from the Vegas Golden Knights last June and signed a seven-year, $77-million contract.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Dorofeyev is coming off two seasons with 35 or more goals. He’s expected to play a significant role on their first line and on the power play. How he adjusts to playing for an Original Six club in one of hockey’s biggest markets will be a factor in determining whether the Rangers will be a playoff contender.
DAILY FACEOFF: The Anaheim Ducks signed center Tim Washe to a four-year contract extension that comes with an average annual value of $2.25 million.
Washe, 25, had two goals and five points in 39 games with the Ducks last season. He’s in the final year of his entry-level contract.
Ozzy and Oasiz Wiesblatt took sibling rivalry to another level when the two Nashville Predators youngsters got into a tussle during an intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday. Neither brother was injured during the scrap.
Both are battling for jobs with the Predators. Ozzy has 45 NHL games on his resume while Oasiz spent last season with the Preds’ AHL affiliate in Milwaukee.
CBS SPORTS: San Jose Sharks winger Adam Gaudette is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
NESN: The Boston Bruins announced team executive Alex Gimenez’s death on Friday.
Gimenez spent more than a decade with MLB’s Boston Red Sox. He recently joined the Bruins as Director of Hockey Operations, Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was a newly created position within the organization.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Gimenez’s family, friends, and the Bruins’ organization.
Here’s hoping we can get a full season from Ullmark along the lines of his 4-game series against Carolina when he posted .932 save % along with a 2.03 ga average, and that Ersson can provide steady, consistent back-up.
George O watched Ullmark in Boston and he was excellent most of the time. Not sure how much I would totally put on that since the Bruins always play with good defensive structure! Hope he plays well! Good person!
Not reading too much into a preseason game, but the Oilers looked a lot more ready and played with more drive than I recall recently during preseason games. I am talking about the tempo of the play, the back checking, solid play by all not the score or scoresheets. Leon skating hard to get back. The team playing physical…those type of things.
Past time the stars seemed content to just slowly amp up until the season started. Maybe its trying to find favor under babcock, maybe its the new preseason format, maybe they just “on” but a very good showing all in all.
Lots of cheers when Formenton scored 😉 and he looked good. I am doubling down he starts on the roster as an Oiler. Not sure what they do with a healthy roster but that is not for me to sort out.
And Jarry looked really good.
All that said…it is what it is…but a good kickoff to the preseason to my eyes
My hypothetical trade is BOO BOO Bouchard
going from Edmonton along with Jarry to
Winnipeg for Helly.
This would give Winnipeg Stuart Skinner and Tristam
Jarry in net. OMG!!!. Winnipeg would be fighting with
Vancouver for last place. Nobody wants to winter
in Winnipeg because they have no airport
Curious to see what the Panthers will look like this year, coming off a down season. They are the team to watch this year. The East will be tougher again this year.
Carlson in TB will be a pivotal player as well. Hockey is back!