NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 11, 2024
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 11, 2024
Nathan MacKinnon extending his points streak plus the latest on Connor Bedard, Corey Perry, Cutter Gauthier and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon tied a franchise record for the longest season-opening home points streak in a 3-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. MacKinnon collected an assist to extend his streak to 23 games, tying Hall-of-Famer Joe Sakic. Valeri Nichushkin scored twice and Alexandar Georgiev had a 25-save shutout for the 27-12-3 Avalanche, who sit third in the overall standings with 57 points. Jiri Patera stopped 32 shots for the Golden Knights (23-13-5) as they sit second in the Pacific Division with 51 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson missed this game with an undisclosed injury. Teammate Miles Wood was sidelined by an illness. Meanwhile, Golden Knights forward William Carrier is listed as week-to-week following surgery for an upper-body injury.
The Dallas Stars thumped the Minnesota Wild 7-2. Esa Lindell had three assists while Mason Marchment and Nils Lundkvist each had two points for the Stars (24-11-5) as they sit third in the Central Division with 53 points. Matt Boldy had a goal and an assist while Jesper Wallstedt made 27 saves in his NHL debut for the 17-19-4 Wild.
A shootout goal by Sean Couturier gave the Philadelphia Flyers a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Owen Tippett and Morgan Frost scored in regulation as the Flyers overcame a 2-0 deficit while Jamie Drysdale picked up an assist in his first game with his new club. Cayden Primeau stopped 37 shots for the 17-17-6 Canadiens while the Flyers (21-14-6) sit third in the Metropolitan Division with 48 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flyers dominated most of this game but Primeau stole a point for the Canadiens in this contest.
HEADLINES
NBC SPORTS CHICAGO: The Blackhawks announced rookie star Connor Bedard underwent surgery to repair a fractured jaw. He’ll be sidelined for six to eight weeks. The 18-year-old center suffered the injury on Jan. 5 after being checked by New Jersey Devils defenseman Brendan Smith.
SPORTSNET: Corey Perry is cleared to sign with a new NHL team after meeting this week with league commissioner Gary Bettman. The 38-year-old winger’s contract was terminated by the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 30 for engaging in what the club called unacceptable conduct that violated the team’s workplace rules and his standard player contract.
Perry subsequently issued an apology, adding he was seeking treatment for his struggle with alcohol. He’s now an unrestricted free agent.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It didn’t take long for speculation to arise over which club Perry might sign with. Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now believes five or six clubs could be in the mix with Stauffer suggesting the Oilers should be looking into it.
Perry remains well-respected around the league. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he signs with a new club before the March 8 trade deadline, making him eligible to play in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.
NHL.COM: Prospect winger Cutter Gauthier declined to go into details as to why didn’t want to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers. His decision forced his trade earlier this week to the Anaheim Ducks.
Gauthier told the Ducks podcast “Light The Lamp” on Wednesday that the decision was a personal matter between himself, his family and his agent. He also addressed rumors claiming former Flyers center Kevin Hayes influenced his decision. “I would like to specifically say that he had zero, zero conflict with anything that had to do with the trade…(Hayes) had nothing to do with the situation at hand. “
As for his plans going forward, Gauthier intends to focus the remainder of his sophomore season with Boston College, who have a good shot at winning the Beanpot tournament and the NCAA championship. After that, he intends to sign an entry-level contract with the Ducks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Gauthier’s within his rights to keep his reasons for spurning the Flyers a private matter. Nevertheless, it will only serve to stoke a rumor mill that’s been churning furiously over why he made that decision.
Speaking of Hayes, Flyers head coach John Tortorella went off on the reporter who claimed the Blues center was involved in Gauthier’s choice.
“It just pisses me off that you guys throw that around and affect someone’s life”, said Tortorella. The Flyers bench boss acknowledged that he and Hayes had a problem regarding his playing time last season. Nevertheless, Tortorella praised him as “a good man” and called the reporter’s story “bullshit”.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: Oilers captain Connor McDavid wasn’t pleased with a review of an offside call that wiped out teammate Zach Hyman’s goal during the club’s 2-1 win on Tuesday over the Chicago Blackhawks. “If it takes 15 minutes to determine whether it’s offside or not, it probably doesn’t matter,” he said following the game.
The officials shut the game down for over six minutes reviewing the play from different angles before deciding that Leon Draisaitl’s skate blade might’ve been a centimetre offside and that he held the puck a fraction of a second too long.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The offside reviews, like the goal reviews, are taking way too long to reach conclusions. The league must do something to address this. I understand they want to ensure they’re reviewing every angle closely. However, they’re sometimes reaching their decisions long after the fans have seen it for themselves on the arena jumbotron.
THE BUFFALO NEWS: The Sabres are awaiting word about Jeff Skinner as he underwent a series of tests for an upper-body injury.
TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs recalled Ilya Samsonov from their AHL affiliate but will continue to assess the struggling goaltender closely.
OTTAWA SUN: Forward Shane Pinto can now practice with his Senators teammates. He has only five games remaining in his 41-game suspension for violating the league’s sports-wagering rules.
MONTREAL HOCKEY NOW: The Ducks claimed defenseman Gustav Lindstrom off waivers from the Canadiens.
TORONTO SUN: The NHL Players Association officially unveiled a new in-house education program called “Line Change”, which instructs players in training each other in identifying potential mental health issues. Twenty players, including Calgary Flames captain Mikael Backlund, have already taken part in the three-hour session.
Keith Pelley is expected to be announced as the president and chief executive of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts and the MLS club Toronto FC. Pelley is a former president of Rogers Media and of Bell Media’s TSN.