NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 12, 2022

A milestone night for the Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin and the Capitals’ John Carlson, an update on the Oiler’s Evander Kane and the Blue Jackets’ blueline suffers a major blow. Details and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin scored his 450th career NHL goal in a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Brock McGinn and Jake Guentzel tallied in the third period for the Penguins, who improved to 6-6-2. Zach Aston-Reese and William Nylander replied for the 7-5-3 Maple Leafs.

Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Former Maple Leafs star and Hall-of-Famer Borje Salming received an emotional standing ovation from Toronto fans during a pregame ceremony honoring this year’s Hockey Hall of Fame inductees. Salming, who is battling ALS (Lou Gerhig’s disease), was assisted by his former teammate and fellow Hall-of-Famer Darryl Sittler as he waved to the crowd to acknowledge the cheers.

Salming was one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history and a trailblazer for European players. I don’t know about the rest of you, but seeing a tearful Sittler helping Salming wave to the fans left me choked up too.

The Washington Capitals got two goals from Sonny Milano to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1. John Carlson picked up an assist to become the first defenseman in Capitals history to reach 600 career points and sits fifth on their all-time points list. The Capitals improved to 7-7-2 while the Lightning sit at 7-6-1.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette missed this game after being diagnosed with COVID-19. He is expected to miss Sunday’s rematch with the Lightning.

Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury kicked out 28 shots to shut out the Seattle Kraken 1-0. Mats Zuccarello scored for the Wild (7-6-1) while the Kraken sit at 8-5-2.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before the game, the Kraken placed sidelined goaltender Philipp Grubauer (lower body) on long-term injured reserve.

The San Jose Sharks held off the Dallas Stars 5-4 to improve their record to 4-9-3. The Sharks got two-point performances from Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Alexander Barabanov. Jamie Benn scored two goals for the 8-5-1 Stars.

HEADLINES

EDMONTON JOURNAL: Oilers winger Evander Kane was in good spirits as he spoke with the media on Friday for the first time since suffering a gruesome injury to his left wrist on Tuesday.

Kane’s wrist was sliced down to the bone when Tampa Bay Lightning forward Pat Maroon accidentally skated over it. He was rushed to a hospital and underwent surgery. “I was really lucky that they were able to reattach everything,” said Kane, who will be sidelined for up to four months. “I’m thankful that I’m going to be able to make a full recovery.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Best wishes to Kane in his recovery.

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski is out for the season after suffering a separated shoulder and a torn labrum during Thursday’s 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Another Jackets defenseman, Nick Blankenburg, suffered a fractured ankle and a high ankle sprain and will miss six-to-eight weeks.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is terrible news for a Blue Jackets squad struggling to overcome a poor start to this season. Losing their best defenseman in Werenski could spell the end of their playoff hopes.

TSN: The Carolina Hurricanes placed goaltender Frederik Andersen on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury retroactive to Nov. 6.

COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: Avalanche forward Darren Helm underwent abductor surgery last week and was placed on long-term injured reserve.

NHL.COM: The NHL and NHL Players Association released a joint statement indicating the World Cup of Hockey will not be played in February 2024. “Unfortunately, in the current environment, it is not feasible to hold the World Cup of Hockey at that time.” They hope to stage the tournament in February 2025.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: “Current environment”, in this case, is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.