NHL at the Halfway Mark: Central Division
NHL at the Halfway Mark: Central Division
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 29, 2020
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 29, 2020
Game recaps, the Penguins re-sign Marcus Pettersson, Hall-of-Famer Ed Belfour arrested in Kentucky, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines
NHL.COM: David Perron scored in regulation and the deciding goal in the shootout as the St. Louis Blues edged the Calgary Flames 5-4. Alex Pietrangelo and Zach Sanford each had two points. Blues forward Sammy Blais returned to action for the first time since suffering a wrist injury on Nov. 19, but winger Oskar Sundqvist left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury. Sean Monahan scored twice for the Flames.
David Perron’s shootout goal gave the St. Louis Blues a 5-4 win over the Calgary Flames (Photo via NHL Images).
Three goals in the third period lifted the Ottawa Senators to a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Tyler Ennis and Mike Reilly each had a goal and an assist. Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark left the game in the third period with an apparent knee injury. Sabres captain Jack Eichel tallied his career-best 29th goal of the season.
TRIBLIVE.COM: The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed defenseman Marcus Pettersson to a five-year contract extension worth an annual average value of $4.025 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in 2018, the 23-year-old Pettersson has established himself among the Penguins’ top-four defensemen. Should he continue to improve, this contract will be a most economical signing by Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford.
Pettersson’s contract means the Penguins have over $62.7 million invested in 12 players for 2020-21. Their notable remaining free agents include goalies Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry, defenseman Justin Schultz, and forwards Alex Galchenyuk, Dominik Kahun and Jared McCann.
TSN: Hall-of-Fame goaltender Ed Belfour was arrested on Tuesday morning in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on mischief and intoxication charges.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is Belfour’s third brush with the law related to alcohol-fueled incidents. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in October 2000 and was charged with disorderly intoxication in April 2007.
WINNIPEG SUN: True North Sports and Entertainment, owners of the Winnipeg Jets and the MTS Centre, announced they’ll be implementing a plan to reduce prices on popular concession items such as beer, soda, bottled water, pizza, and popcorn. Over $9 million in venue improvements have been planned for this summer. Ticket prices will rise by 2.1 percent for 2020-21, the lowest increase in six years.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The bloom seems to be off the rose a little for the Jets in Winnipeg. Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press pointed out the club’s eight-year sellout streak ended in October. There have been several games announced as sellouts where there were empty seats.
McIntyre also indicated ticket-sharing partnerships have fallen apart due to rising costs and lack of interest, while the waiting list for tickets has shrunk. He acknowledged part of the problem is the Jets are on pace for their worst home record since the franchise moved to Winnipeg in 2011.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: The Golden Knights hired Steve Spott as an assistant coach.
NHL at the Halfway Mark: Pacific Division
NHL at the Halfway Mark: Pacific Division
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 28, 2020
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 28, 2020
Milestone nights for Patrick Marleau and Rasmus Sandin, injury updates and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.
NHL.COM: Patrick Marleau scored two goals as the San Jose Sharks doubled up the Anaheim Ducks 4-2. Marleau passed Guy Lafleur and moved into a tie with Mike Modano for 25th on the all-time goals list with 561. While Marleau has 1,185 career points, he also became the first player to reach 1,100 points as a member of the Sharks. He’s their franchise leader with 1,101.
Patrick Marleau sits 25th on the NHL’s all-time goal list (Photo via NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Marleau is one of just two active players (Washington’s Alex Ovechkin being the other) sitting among the NHL’s top-50 all-time goal scorers. That’s a testament to his consistency and durability over his long career.
Toronto Maple Leafs rookie defenseman Rasmus Sandin tallied his first career NHL goal in a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators. He also collected an assist while teammates William Nylander and Zach Hyman each had a goal and an assist. It was a costly victory as winger Kasperi Kapanen left the game with an injured arm. X-rays were negative and he’ll be reevaluated today.
The Washington Capitals rode a 31-save performance by Braden Holtby to a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Jakub Vrana and Tom Wilson each had a goal and an assist. The Capitals played without captain Alex Ovechkin, who served a one-game suspension for skipping the 2020 NHL All-Star Game. Canadiens forward Dale Weise played his 500th career NHL game.
Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn scored twice, including the winner in overtime, as his club edged the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2. Lightning captain Steven Stamkos also tallied two goals as teammate Andrei Vasilevskiy’s winning streak ended at 10 games. Stars forward Roope Hintz left the game with an upper-body injury and Andrew Cogliano was sidelined by a lower-body injury.
The Vancouver Canucks picked up their ninth straight home win by downing the St. Louis Blues 3-1. J.T. Miller scored two goals and Chris Tanev collected two assists as the Canucks opened a three-point lead atop the Pacific Division.
Shootout goals by Nikita Gusev and Jack Hughes carried the New Jersey Devils to a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Ottawa goaltender Marcus Hogberg kicked out 50 shots to carry his club into the shootout frame.
NHL Injury Outlook: The Second Bye Week
NHL Injury Outlook: The Second Bye Week
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 27, 2020
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 27, 2020
The NHL community mourns the death of former NBA star Kobe Bryant, plus the latest on Jeff Skinner, Anthony Duclair and more in today’s morning coffee headlines.
THE SCORE: The NHL community took to social media yesterday mourning the death of former NBA star Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, in a helicopter crash in California. Wayne Gretzky, Alex Ovechkin, Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Brodeur, P.K. Subban, and Mitch Marner were among those expressing their condolences to Bryant’s family on Twitter yesterday.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is among a number of people in the NHL community mourning the sudden death of former NBA star Kobe Bryant (Photo via NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: My sympathies to Bryant’s family, friends, and former teammates.
Marner and Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Frederik Andersen voiced their support for the establishment of a viable professional women’s hockey league. “A lot of those players are great players, and to see them not in a league right now is disappointing,” Marner said. “I really hope they get a league back up and running.”
Ottawa Senators winger and All-Star representative Anthony Duclair hopes to stay in Ottawa and help the rebuilding club. “When the change is gonna happen, when Ottawa’s gonna become a contender, I want to be part of that,” Duclair added. “So I’m working as hard as I can.” Duclair is a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration rights, but there have been no contract talks thus far with Senators management.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Duclair rejuvenated his sagging NHL career with the Senators. General manager Pierre Dorion’s focus is on his unrestricted free agents, like center Jean-Gabriel Pageau. I daresay contract talks with Duclair will commence at some point following the end of the regular season. Given how well he’s played since coming to Ottawa last season, I expect they’ll try to keep him.
WGR 550: Buffalo Sabres winger Jeff Skinner returned to practice yesterday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury on Dec. 27. He could be in the lineup when the Sabres face the Senators on Tuesday.
STLTODAY.COM: Blues defenseman Colton Parayko will return to action tonight after missing seven games with an upper-body injury. Winger Sammy Blais (wrist injury) could also be back. The Blues also placed winger Troy Brouwer on waivers yesterday.
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: The Anaheim Ducks recalled forward Troy Terry from his AHL conditioning stint.
NEW YORK POST: The Rangers have loaned forward Lias Andersson to Swedish club HV71. Andersson had left the Rangers’ AHL affiliate last month and requested a trade, but there appears to be a thaw in the relationship between the 21-year-old forward and Rangers’ management.