NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 12, 2023

by | Nov 12, 2023

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 12, 2023

Hat-trick performances by the Oilers’ Zach Hyman and the Blues’ Brayden Schenn and Pavel Buchnevich highlight the recaps of Saturday’s action in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

NHL.COM: A natural hat trick in the first period by Zach Hyman carried the Edmonton Oilers over the Seattle Kraken 4-1 to snap their four-game losing skid. Stuart Skinner made 17 saves for the 3-9-1 Oilers while Jaden Schwartz replied for the 5-7-3 Kraken.

Edmonton Oilers winger Zach Hyman (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Oilers superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were held scoreless in this contest. Kraken netminder Philipp Grubauer got the hook after giving up four goals on 17 shots.

Speaking of hat tricks, Brayden Schenn and Pavel Buchnevich each tallied three goals as the St. Louis Blues crushed the Colorado Avalanche 8-2. Robert Thomas collected four assists while Jordan Binnington stopped 36 shots as the Blues improved to 7-5-1. Mikko Rantanen and Jack Johnson replied for the Avalanche as they slipped to 8-5-0.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avalanche were without forward Artturi Lehkonen as he’ll be sidelined for weeks with an upper-body injury suffered on Thursday against the Kraken.

Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander scored to extend his season-opening points streak to 15 games in a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi each picked up two assists while Ilya Samsonov turned aside 31 shots as they improved their record to 8-5-2. J.T. Miller and Pius Suter scored for the 10-3-1 Canucks.

An overtime goal by Kaiden Guhle lifted the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins, ending a 10-team losing streak against the Bruins. Brendan Gallagher and Nick Suzuki also scored for the 7-5-2 Canadiens. Pavel Zacha and Brad Marchand scored for the 11-1-2 Bruins, who remain on top of the Eastern Conference with 24 points.

The Carolina Hurricanes got a 22-save shutout performance from Pyotr Kochetkov to blank the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0. Sebastian Aho and Brent Burns each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes as they rose to 9-6-0 in the standings. Nikita Kucherov missed this game due to illness as his club dropped to 6-5-4 in his absence.

Speaking of 4-0 shutouts, the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Buffalo Sabres by the same score as Tristan Jarry returned to action by kicking out 35 shots after missing one game with a facial injury. Erik Karlsson scored twice while Evgeni Malkin and Ryan Graves each had two points for the Penguins (7-6-0) as they picked up their fourth straight win. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 36 stops for the 7-7-1 Sabres.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Sabres also returned forward Matthew Savoie to his WHL club in Wenatchee after he made his NHL debut on Friday against the Minnesota Wild.

Arizona Coyotes forwards Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley each picked up three points as their club overcame two 2-goal deficits to beat the Nashville Predators 7-5. Michael Carcone scored twice for the Coyotes, who boosted their record to 7-6-1. Filip Forsberg scored twice and collected an assist for the 5-9-0 Predators.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Coyotes played without center Jack McBain, who is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

Alex Ovechkin scored twice as his Washington Capital (7-4-2) rolled to a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders (5-5-3), handing the latter their third straight loss. Call-up goalie Hunter Shepard turned in a 37-save performance for the Capitals. Alexander Romanov got the Islanders’ only goal.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Islanders fans aren’t pleased with their club’s performance this season, calling for head coach Lane Lambert to be fired during this game. Earlier in the week, they were chanting for general manager Lou Lamoriello to lose his job. Meanwhile, the Capitals placed sidelined defenseman Martin Fehervary (foot) on injured reserve.

The Detroit Red Wings held off the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4, handing the latter their fourth straight defeat. Jake Walman scored what proved to be the game-winner while Jeff Petry and Christian Fischer each had two assists for the 8-5-2 Red Wings. Patrik Laine scored in his first game back with the Blue Jackets (4-7-3) since suffering a concussion on Oct. 20.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: To make room for Laine’s return, the Jackets assigned defenseman David Jiricek to their AHL affiliate in Cleveland.

Dallas Stars goaltender Scott Wedgewood made 31 saves while Wyatt Johnston had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets. Cole Perfetti and Brenden Dillon tallied for the Jets (7-5-2) while the Stars (9-3-1) sit atop the Central Division with 19 points.

The Ottawa Senators ended a five-game losing skid on home ice by dousing the Calgary Flames 4-1. Joonas Korpisalo made 24 saves while Drake Batherson had a goal and an assist for the 6-7-0 Senators. Blake Coleman replied for the Flames as they fell to 4-8-2.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The trade request made by Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov remains a hot topic among the pundits. I’ll have more in the Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup.

Former Los Angeles Kings netminder Cal Petersen made 35 saves to help the Philadelphia Flyers defeat his old team by a score of 4-2. Morgan Frost scored twice as the Flyers improved to 7-7-1 on the season. Carl Grundstrom and Adrian Kempe replied for the 8-3-3 Kings.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Earlier in the day, the Kings reclaimed forward Samuel Fagemo off waivers from the Predators.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 3, 2023

by | Oct 3, 2023

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 3, 2023

The Ducks finally re-sign Trevor Zegras, notable injury and waiver updates, and recaps of Monday’s preseason action in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

HEADLINES

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: The contract standoff between the Anaheim Ducks and center Trevor Zegras ended Monday with an agreement on a three-year contract worth an average annual value of $5.75 million.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The dollars were the sticking point in negotiations resulting in Zegras missing nearly two weeks of training camp and preseason play. It was reported the Ducks offered between $3 million and $4 million annually.

Anaheim Ducks center Trevor Zegras (NHL Images).

Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek ended up paying more but it’s still a team-friendly amount. This deal also sets an artificial cap ceiling for Verbeek to wield when he goes into contract talks with promising youngsters such as Mason McTavish and Leo Carlsson.

As The Athletic’s Eric Stephens and Pierre LeBrun observed, this contract gives Zegras a runway to elevate his game and establish himself as a true franchise player for the Ducks. If he does, he’ll be poised to command a much more lucrative deal as he’ll have arbitration rights when this contract expires in 2026.

Verbeek’s next order of business is signing restricted free agent Jamie Drysdale. With Zegras under contract, perhaps a new deal for the 21-year-old defenseman will be announced before the end of this week.

THE MERCURY NEWS: San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn said Logan Couture (lower-body injury) is improving but he remains questionable for the club’s season opener next week. The 34-year-old center isn’t expected to resume skating until the end of this week at the earliest.

NEW YORK POST: Rangers center Filip Chytil remains sidelined with an upper-body injury. He remains day-to-day but head coach Peter Laviolette isn’t sure if Chytil will be ready for their season opener.

TSN: Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Conor Timmins is listed as week-to-week with a “significant lower-body injury”, according to head coach Sheldon Keefe.

NHL.COM: Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said defenseman Josh Manson (oblique) is expected to be ready for opening night. However, goaltender Pavel Francouz remains sidelined and won’t be in the lineup for the start of the season.

PRESEASON GAMES RECAP

NHL.COM: Ottawa Senators goaltender Joonas Korpisalo turned in a 40-save performance to shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, NS.

New Jersey Devils winger Jesper Bratt tallied a hat trick and collected an assist as his club held off the New York Islanders 6-5. Mathew Barzal had two goals and an assist for the Islanders.

The Philadelphia Flyers picked up a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins. Flyers winger Cam Atkinson picked up his first goal of the preseason.

St. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug got an assist in his first game of this preseason in a 5-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jackets goalie Jet Greaves turned aside 36 shots for the win.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Krug was returning from a foot injury suffered before the start of training camp.

The Montreal Canadiens overcame a 4-2 deficit to nip the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4. Josh Anderson sent the game into overtime where Nick Suzuki netted the game winner. John Tavares scored twice for the Leafs.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canadiens forwards Joel Armia and Alex Newhook and defenseman Gustav Lindstrom all missed this game with upper-body injuries. They’re listed as day-to-day.

Calgary Flames forward Matt Coronato scored the winning goal and picked up two assists in a 5-4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. David Gustafsson tallied twice for the Jets.

Connor McDavid scored the go-ahead goal and Xavier Bourgault tallied twice as the Edmonton Oilers downed the Seattle Kraken 4-1. Former Oiler Kailer Yamamoto replied for the Kraken.

IN OTHER NEWS…

PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: The Penguins claimed forward Jansen Harkins off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets.

DAILY FACEOFF: The Nashville Predators claimed forward Samuel Fagemo off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings.

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Victor Mete, Florida Panthers blueliner Lucas Carlsson and Arizona Coyotes forward Jan Jenik were the notables among 29 players placed on waivers on Monday.

THE SCORE: The Senators placed defensemen Jacob Bernard-Docker and Jacob Larsson along with forwards Egor Sokolov and Matthew Highmore on waivers. Bernard-Docker was chosen 26th overall by the Senators in the 2018 draft.

MLIVE.COM: The Detroit Red Wings could start the season with three goaltenders to avoid the risk of losing Alex Lyon to waivers. Ville Husso and free-agent signing James Reimer are expected to be the Wings’ goalie tandem.