Penguins captain Sidney Crosby reaches another points milestone, Oilers captain Connor McDavid continues his points streak, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

RECAPPING SATURDAY’S GAMES

NHL.COM: Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby moved into sixth place on the NHL’s all-time points list during a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Crosby scored two goals to pass Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne into sixth place with 1,772 regular-season points.

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (NHL Images).

Tommy Novak also scored twice, and Evgeni Malkin had three assists for the Penguins (6-9-2) as they snapped a seven-game road losing skid. Corey Perry and Alex Laferriere replied for the 5-8-2 Kings.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Crosby needs 27 points to pass Ron Francis (1,798) for fifth place on the all-time points list.

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid had three assists to extend his season-opening points streak to 18 games as his club doubled up the Vancouver Canucks 4-2. Leon Draisaitl scored twice and collected an assist for the 12-3-3 Oilers, who hold first place in the Pacific Division with 27 points. Max Sasson and Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks (3-15-1), who sit last in the overall standings with seven points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid is on pace for a 219-point season, which would break Wayne Gretzky’s single-season points record of 215. It remains to be seen if he can maintain this pace over the course of a long 84-game schedule, but he’s currently putting up points at a pace not seen since Gretzky’s heyday.

Earlier in the day, the Oilers activated winger Zach Hyman and goaltender Devon Levi off injured reserve. They played in this contest, with Levi stopping 20 shots for the win.

The Carolina Hurricanes crushed the Chicago Blackhawks 9-2. Jordan Martinook and Andrei Svechnikov each scored twice, Sebastian Aho had a goal and two assists, and Alexander Nikishin had a goal and an assist in his season debut for the league-leading Hurricanes (14-3-2, 30 points). Roman Kantserov and Connor Bedard scored for the floundering Blackhawks (4-13-1) as their losing streak reached four games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Hurricanes head to Finland for their two-game NHL Global Series with the Seattle Kraken. Meanwhile, Blackhawks defenseman Bowen Byram has missed nine games with an upper-body injury. His agent told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that his client is seeing “a certain specialist,” but he didn’t elaborate about his condition.

Montreal Canadiens rookie goaltender Jacob Fowler made 26 saves to extend his points streak to nine games (8-0-1) in a 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Alex Newhook scored two goals for the 11-3-3 Canadiens, who extended their points streak to 10 games (8-0-2). William Nylander and Gavin McKenna replied for the 8-8-2 Maple Leafs.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Following the game, Fowler said he’s been in touch with former Canadiens goalie Carey Price, who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday. “It means the world,” Fowler said when asked about his relationship with Price. Earlier this year, Price complimented Fowler, saying his style of play reminded him of his younger self.

Fowler was also part of a weird incident during the second period when someone threw a fake green apple at him. “It was literally thrown right at me, so I was slamming my stick pretty hard to get the ref’s attention,” he said. Referee TJ Luxmore picked up the apple and showed it to Fowler following a stoppage of play.

Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly left this game during the first period with a lower-body injury. He’ll be reevaluated on Sunday. Canadiens winger Josh Anderson missed this game for personal reasons.

The Washington Capitals nipped the Florida Panthers by a score of 4-3. Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois each had a goal and an assist, and Logan Thompson made 27 saves for the 9-6-0 Capitals. Brady Tkachuk tallied twice and Matthew Tkachuk had three assists for the Panthers (9-6-2).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Capitals winger Tom Wilson was ejected for boarding Panthers defenseman Sandis Vilmanis midway through the first period. That could earn him a call from the league’s department of player safety given his suspension history. Panthers center Anton Lundell missed this game as he’s day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

An overtime goal by Nikita Kucherov lifted the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild. Jake Guentzel scored twice and assisted on another goal for the 11-3-3 Lightning as they picked up their third straight win. Maxim Shabanov scored two goals for the Wild (12-3-4) as they lead the Central Division with 28 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Wild forward Michael McCarron left in the third period with an undisclosed injury. This game also saw the return of Marcus and Nick Folign to the Wild’s lineup after they missed several games with injuries.

Nashville Predators forward Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist in a 3-1 victory against the St. Louis Blues. Roman Josi had two assists and Juuse Saros made 25 saves for the 8-4-5 Predators as they’ve won five straight games. Jimmy Snuggerud scored for the Blues as they dropped to 7-8-2.

New York Rangers goaltender Joonas Korpisalo turned aside 25 shots in his season debut to beat the Seattle Kraken 4-3. The Rangers took a 4-0 lead on goals by Gabriel Perreault, Tye Kartye, Jaroslav Chmelar, and Pavel Dorofeyev, but the Kraken made it interesting with third-period goals by Kaapo Kakko, Jordan Eberle and Vince Dunn. The Rangers (10-7-1) have won three straight games, while the Kraken (9-6-1) head to Finland to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the two-game NHL Global Series.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Korpisalo had missed a month with a foot infection. The Rangers placed goalie James Reimer on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.

The Ottawa Senators got a 4-2 win over the Utah Mammoth as Nick Cousins snapped a 2-2 tie in the third period. Shane Pinto and Michael Amadio each had a goal and an assist, and goaltender Samuel Ersson kicked out 30 shots for the 11-6-1 Senators. Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist for the 10-7-1 Mammoth.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, the Mammoth placed defenseman Nate Schmidt (upper body) on injured reserve.

An overtime goal by Jack Hughes gave the New Jersey Devils a 5-4 win against the New York Islanders. Hughes and Luke Evangelista each finished the game with a goal and an assist as the Devils (12-5-0) collected their fourth straight win. Ilya Sorokin made 45 saves for the Islanders (7-6-3).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This contest also featured a wild fight between Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer and Devils blueliner Luke Hughes.

Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley had a goal and two assists to defeat the San Jose Sharks 4-3. Roope Hintz had a goal and an assists for the 10-5-2 Stars. Macklin Celebrini had three assists for the Sharks (7-11-1) as their losing skid reached five games.

The Colorado Avalanche blanked the Detroit Red Wings 4-0. Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves for the shutout, Martin Necas scored twice and collected two assists, while Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon each had a goal and two assists for the Avalanche (10-6-2). Daniil Tarasov stopped 25 shots for the Red Wings (7-8-3) as their losing skid reached three games.

IN OTHER NEWS…

NHL.COM: The 2026 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees received their rings on Saturday. They included former players Patrice Bergeron, Carey Price, Pekka Rinnie, Keith Tkachuk, and Cindy Curley, and builder Brian Burke.

They will be officially inducted into the Hall during a ceremony on Monday evening.

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Bruins rookie forward James Hagens has been placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed ailment. Head coach Marco Sturm said Hagens will be out for several weeks.

SPORTSNET: The IIHF issued a statement indicating they disagree with the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reinstate Russia and Belarus to international hockey competitions, but they intend to take steps regarding possible implementation. That will include opening discussions with all affected Member National Associations, including the Russian Ice Hockey Federation.

The IIHF has opposed Russia’s immediate reinstatement, citing security, logistical, and competitive concerns. Several European hockey federations have said their teams would refuse to play Russia, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Russian players wouldn’t be allowed to participate at next month’s World Junior Championship in Edmonton and Red Deer.