NHL Injury Outlook: Hertl tops list of February Hurts
NHL Injury Outlook: Hertl tops list of February Hurts
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 3, 2020
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 3, 2020
Game recaps plus updates on Aleksandar Barkov, Quinn Hughes, Filip Zadina, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.
NHL.COM: Matt Murray made 29 saves as the Pittsburgh Penguins held off the Washington Capitals 4-3. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin’s goal-scoring streak ended at five games while teammate Lars Eller scored two goals. The Penguins (71 points) move to within four points of the first-place Capitals in the Metropolitan Division.
A three-point effort by Pierre-Luc Dubois carried the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens (Photo via NHL Images).
Pierre-Luc Dubois extended his points streak to eight games with two goals and an assist in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens. The struggling Habs (55 points) remain eight points out of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Jackets (65 points) sit third in the Metropolitan Division.
Shootout goals by Teuvo Teravainen and Justin Williams gave the Carolina Hurricanes a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Carolina winger Andrei Svechnikov tallied his 20th goal of the season. Elias Pettersson scored twice for the Canucks as their five-game winning streak came to an end. The Hurricanes (63 points) hold the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth.
SPORTSNET: Results from an MRI on the knee of Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov came back “all good”. He was injured during Saturday’s game against the Canadiens. Barkov is questionable for tonight’s tilt with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Panthers need a healthy Barkov if they hope to clinch a playoff berth.
VANCOUVER SUN: Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (39 points) moved ahead of Colorado Avalanche blueliner Cale Makar in the NHL rookie scoring race.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Until recently, Makar appeared a lock to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as this season’s rookie of the year. Hughes, however, has made this a two-horse race.
MLIVE.COM: Andreas Athanasiou is set to return to the Detroit Red Wings lineup after a 13-game absence with a lower-body injury. Rookie winger Filip Zadina, however, will be sidelined two-to-three weeks with a lower-body injury.
TWINCITIES.COM: The Minnesota Wild placed defenseman Nick Seeler on waivers.
TSN: The Blue Jackets signed forward Nathan Gerbe to a two-year, two-way contract extension. Cap Friendly indicates he’ll receive $750K at the NHL level.
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 2, 2020
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 2, 2020
Game recaps, stars and rookie of the month for January, and much more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.
NHL.COM: Connor McDavid scored twice and Leon Draisaitl picked up four assists as the Edmonton Oilers thumped the Calgary Flames 8-3. Draisaitl (83 points) sits four ahead of McDavid as the league’s points leader. A fight between Flames goalie Cam Talbot and Oilers netminder Mike Smith was the highlight of a line brawl late in the second period.
Edmonton Oilers winger Leon Draisaitl widened his league in the NHL scoring race during an 8-3 win over the Calgary Flames (Photo via NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Battle of Alberta is always more fun when both clubs are battling for postseason spots. The next game between these two clubs is April 4. Hopefully, that will be a playoff preview.
Torey Krug’s four-point performance (two goals and two assists) led the Boston Bruins to a 6-1 drubbing of the Minnesota Wild. Winger David Pastrnak tallied his league-leading 38th goal of the season as the Bruins (74 points) moved within a point of the league-leading Washington Capitals.
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price made 29 saves to shut out the Florida Panthers 4-0. With 47 career shutouts, Price moved past Ken Dryden into third place among the club’s all-time leaders. Jeff Petry assisted on all four goals. It was a costly defeat for the Panthers. They slipped out of a playoff spot (61 points) and center Aleksander Barkov left the game with a lower-body injury. An update on his status is expected on Sunday.
Tampa Bay Lightning backup Curtis McElhinney turned in a 30-save shutout to down the San Jose Sharks 3-0. Steven Stamkos scored and chipped in an assist. Before the game, the Sharks honored Marc-Edouard Vlasic for becoming the second player and first defenseman in franchise history to reach 1,000 career games.
The Vancouver Canucks picked up their fifth straight win by edging the New York Islanders 4-3 in overtime. Quinn Hughes scored twice, including the game-winner. Isles center Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist. The Canucks (64 points) hold a two-point lead over the Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific Division.
New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist picked up his first shutout in two years by blanking the Detroit Red Wings 1-0. Mika Zibanejad tallied the only goal. Rangers winger Chris Kreider left the game in the second period after a collision with Zibanejad, but coach David Quinn said he didn’t suffer a concussion and felt better following the game.
Jack Roslovic scored twice and collected an assist as the Winnipeg Jets ended a five-game losing skid with 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck kicked out 38 shots. Winnipeg (56 points) sit three points out of a Western Conference wild-card spot. Earlier in the day, the Jets learned center Mathieu Perreault will miss at least two weeks with an upper-body injury. Blues forward Alexander Steen played in his 1,000th career game in the city where he was born and raised.
The Toronto Maple Leafs nipped the Ottawa Senators 2-1 on an overtime goal by Mitch Marner. With the win, the Leafs (63 points) climbed back into a playoff berth, sitting third in the Atlantic Division.
Joe Pavelski’s overtime goal gave the Dallas Stars a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. Before the game, the Devils held a ceremony honoring their 2000 Stanley Cup championship team. Petr Sykora, who was injured during the Cup-winning game, finally got his opportunity to skate a lap with the trophy.
Two-goal performances by Kevin Hayes and Joel Farabee powered the Philadelphia Flyers over the Colorado Avalanche 6-3, handing the latter their first defeat in four games. Flyers center Sean Couturier picked up three assists.
Shootout goals by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane gave the Chicago Blackhawks a 3-2 win over the slumping Arizona Coyotes. Kane extended his points streak to 12 games with assists on two goals by Brandon Saad. With 56 points, the Blackhawks sit three behind the Coyotes for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Vegas Golden Knights netminder Marc-Andre Fleury turned aside 19 shots in a 3-0 shutout of the Nashville Predators. With the win, the Golden Knights (61 points) moved into third place in the Pacific Division.
Jack Eichel’s overtime goal lifted the Buffalo Sabres to a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, snapping the latter’s six-game winning streak. The Sabres sit 10 points out of a wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.
Ryan Miller made a season-high 46 saves to backstop the Anaheim Ducks over the Los Angeles Kings 3-1.
Washington captain Alex Ovechkin, Edmonton winger Leon Draisaitl, and Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy are the NHL’s three stars for January 2020. Chicago winger Dominik Kubalik was named rookie of the month.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: The Golden Knights will end their affiliation with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves at the end of this season.
NHL All-Star Duclair Leaving Senators With A Difficult Decision As Trade Deadline Approaches
NHL All-Star Duclair Leaving Senators With A Difficult Decision As Trade Deadline Approaches
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 1, 2020
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 1, 2020
Alex Ovechkin moves past Mark Messier among the all-time goal scorers, Andrei Vasilevskiy gets a milestone victory, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.
NHL.COM: Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin continued his march toward 700 career goals, scoring twice in a 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators. With 695 goals, Ovechkin moved past Mark Messier into sole possession of eighth overall among the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorers. Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot had a goal and an assist. With 75 points, the Capitals maintain a three-point lead over the Boston Bruins for top spot in the Eastern Conference and the overall standings.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin moved into eighth place on the NHL’s all-time goal-scorers list (Photo via NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ovechkin has passed five Hall-of-Fame goal scorers (Messier, Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux, Teemu Selanne, and Luc Robitaille) this season. He’s 13 goals behind Mike Gartner (708), who sits seventh on the list.
Three-point performances by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin carried the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Crosby tallied the winner in overtime after the Flyers overcame a 3-1 deficit to force the extra period.
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves for his 150th career win in a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Nikita Kucherov and Anthony Cirellia each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning. Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf picked up two assists.
Tuukka Rask returned from injury with a 37-save performance as the Boston Bruins edged the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in a close-checking, fight-filled contest. Jake DeBrusk snapped a 1-1 tie with a power-play goal in the third period. The Bruins (72 points) hold a five-point lead over the Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Edmonton Oilers winger Leon Draisaitl scored twice to extend his points streak to 10 games in 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins collected two assists. With the win, the Oilers (60 points) moved into second place in the Pacific Division.
A power-play goal by Alex Tuch late in the third period allowed the Vegas Golden Knights to edge the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3. Jonathan Marchessault and Paul Stastny each had a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights (59 points), who hold a one-point lead over the Arizona Coyotes for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen also each had a goal and an assist.
Mika Zibanejad had a goal and two assists as the New York Rangers doubled up the Detroit Red Wings 4-2. Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin each collected two points. Wings forward Robby Fabbri had a goal and an assist. The Rangers (52 points) are nine points out of an Eastern Conference wild-card berth.
THE SCORE: Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving dismissed talk suggesting defenseman Mark Giordano deliberately attempted to injure Oilers captain Connor McDavid on Wednesday. Giordano and McDavid collided in the neutral zone in the second period, appearing to clip the Oilers star with his hip. McDavid was incensed, but he and Oilers coach Dave Tippett downplayed the incident.
THE DETROIT NEWS: Red Wings center Valtteri Filppula will play in his 1,000th career NHL game tonight against the Rangers.
THE BUFFALO NEWS/SPORTSNET: With the Buffalo Sabres poised to miss the playoffs for the ninth straight year, their fans are growing increasingly upset over the club’s lack of progress.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Sabres’ ongoing mediocrity is bad enough, but there’s now a growing perception among their fans that their support of the franchise is being taken for granted by ownership. The club has sunk to 24th overall in attendance, there are calls for a protest rally among Sabres fans, while some are taking to the airwaves and social media to vent their anger and frustration over the club’s ongoing lack of direction, the state of the arena, and the treatment of Sabres alumni. It’ll be interesting to see how team owners Terry and Kim Pegula handle this situation.
NHL Weekend Bets – Habs Slim Favorites in Super Bowl Weekend Matchups
NHL Weekend Bets – Habs Slim Favorites in Super Bowl Weekend Matchups