NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 18, 2021

by | Nov 18, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 18, 2021

​The Blackhawks win their fourth straight, the Canucks woes continue, plus the latest injury updates and supplemental discipline in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The Chicago Blackhawks remain undefeated under interim coach Derek King, doubling up the Seattle Kraken 4-2 for their fourth straight win. Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat each had a goal and an assist while Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves to hold off a late rally by the Kraken.

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Blackhawks (5-9-2) still have a ways to go if they hope to climb out of the early-season hole they dug for themselves. Another lengthy losing skid could undo their progress and damage their postseason hopes. Nevertheless, there’s no question they’re a different team under King. They’re also getting better goaltending from Fleury and backup Kevin Lankinen, which has been crucial to their recent improvement.

Caleb Jones made his season debut after being sidelined by a wrist injury, joining Seth Jones as the fifth set of brothers to play for the Blackhawks simultaneously in the franchise’s history. The others were Bobby and Dennis Hull, Doug and Max Bentley, Brent and Rich Sutter as well as Steve and Jeff Larmer.

Three unanswered third-period goals by Nazem Kadri, Cale Makar and Gabriel Landeskog rallied the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, handing the latter their fifth straight loss. Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen each had a goal and two assists for the Avs, who tallied all but one of their four goals on the power play.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canucks’ league-worst penalty kill was once again their undoing. Team owner Francesco Aquilini will reportedly remain patient with this club following a meeting on Tuesday with general manager Jim Benning, but a few more losses like this one will test his patience.

Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov kicked out 34 shots to blank the Los Angeles Kings 2-0, snapping the latter’s eight-game points streak. Two late goals by Garnet Hathaway gave the Capitals the win.

HEADLINES

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov is listed as week-to-week following a knee-on-knee collision with New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield on Tuesday. Head coach Andrew Brunette said Barkov won’t require surgery.

NEW YORK POST: Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock will be sidelined four-to-six weeks with a lower-body injury.

MONTREAL GAZETTE: Canadiens winger Brendan Gallagher was fined $2,500.00 by the NHL department of player safety for sucker-punching New York Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow on Tuesday. Head coach Dominique Ducharme said forward Mathieu Perreault will require a second surgery on his injured eye, pushing back his return date by a couple of weeks.

NHL.COM: Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund was fined $5,000.00 for cross-checking Philadelphia Flyers winger Travis Konecny on Tuesday.

CBS SPORTS: Vegas Golden Knights forward Michael Amadio entered COVID protocol on Wednesday.

TSN: Speaking of the Golden Knights, they claimed forward Adam Brooks off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens.

NBC SPORTS CHICAGO: The Blackhawks hired Rob Cookson as an assistant coach and elevated Marc Crawford to associate coach.

THE DENVER POST: Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews was saddened by the flooding that has devastated his hometown of Abbotsford, B.C. “People literally rescuing livestock from drowning is quite sad to see,” said Toews. “It’s a resilient community and I know the people will bounce back and figure it out. But it’s pretty unfortunate and sad to see some of these videos.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Daily Hive News has a list of links and information if you want to help British Columbia residents affected by this week’s flooding.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 31, 2021

by | Oct 31, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 31, 2021

​Recaps of Saturday’s action, commissioner Gary Bettman speaks with Kyle Beach, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: A shootout goal by Charlie Coyle gave the Boston Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers, snapping the latter’s season-opening eight-game win streak. Coyle also opened the scoring. Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy tied the game with a third-period power-play goal and teammate Taylor Hall collected his 600th career point. Anthony Duclair and Aleksander Barkov tallied for the Panthers, who played without Sam Bennett as he is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog (NHL Images).

The Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1 as captain Gabriel Landeskog led the way with two goals and two assists. Nathan MacKinnon, Erik Johnson and JT Compher each had two points. The Wild have dropped three of their last four contests. Following the game, MacKinnon called on the league to take action against the Wild’s Brandon Duhaime for a dangerous hit on Avs defenseman Bowen Byram.

Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 20 saves to pick up his third shutout in his last four starts to blank the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0. Sean Monahan, Elias Lindholm and Rasmus Andersson each collected two points. The Flames extend their record to 6-1-1.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares had a goal and two assists to lead his club over the Detroit Red Wings 5-4. Leafs goalie Petr Mrazek made 27 saves after missing six games with a groin injury. Jake Muzzin and Alexander Kerfoot each had a goal and an assist for the Leafs. Filip Zadina and Joe Veleno also each had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings.

Connor McDavid collected an assist to extend his season-opening points streak to seven games as the Edmonton Oilers held off the Vancouver Canucks 2-1. Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins collected his league-leading 10th assist. Warren Foegele and Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers while the Canucks’ Brock Boeser netted his club’s only goal.

The New Jersey Devils spoiled the season debut of Sidney Crosby by doubling up the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. Jesper Bratt snapped a 2-2 tie with a penalty shot late in the third period and teammate Andreas Johnsson netted two goals. Crosby returned to the lineup following offseason wrist surgery.

Timo Meier scored in overtime as the depleted San Jose Sharks nipped the Winnipeg Jets 2-1. Seven Sharks players (including Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic) and head coach Bob Boughner missed the game after testing positive for COVID-19.

Shootout goals by Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi lifted the Nashville Predators over the New York Islanders 3-2. Predators goalie Juuse Saros made 34 saves while Tanner Jeannot tallied twice.

The Los Angeles Kings snapped a six-game winless skid with a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Alex Iafallo scored twice and collected an assist. The hapless Habs are now 2-7-0 on the season. Following the game, they held a 20-minute players-only meeting followed by a visit by general manager Marc Bergevin.

Torey Krug scored the only goal as the St. Louis Blues nipped the Chicago Blackhawks 1-0. Jordan Binnington kicked out 25 shots for the shutout while Blackhawks goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 36 saves. The Blackhawks are off to a franchise-worst 0-7-2 start.

HEADLINES

TSN: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke with Kyle Beach yesterday about how the league can better protect its players after Beach came forward last week saying he was sexually assaulted by the Chicago Blackhawks former video coach in 2010. Bettman offered his sincere regrets to Beach and offered the league’s help with psychological services for him and his family.

NHLPA director Donald Fehr also met with Beach yesterday in a separate conference call. They covered the league’s substance abuse and behavioral health program, which didn’t follow up when Beach reported what happened. The NHLPA executive board is meeting on Monday to discuss what happened to Beach.

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: The Blue Jackets will soon face a decision with Cole Sillinger. The promising young forward has already played seven games, leaving the Jackets two more games to decide if they’ll keep him for the remainder of the season or return him to junior. Doing the latter means the first season of his entry-level contract will be deferred to next season.

TSN: The Vegas Golden Knights claimed Michael Amadio off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

THE TENNESSEAN: Long-time Nashville Predators broadcaster Terry Crisp announced he will retire after this season. The former NHL player and coach spent 16 seasons as an in-game analyst before moving to pregame and postgame shows.