NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 23, 2022

by | Nov 23, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 23, 2022

Recaps of Wednesday’s games, the Leafs place Morgan Rielly on LTIR and the Stars’ Jason Robertson is on pace to match a franchise points record. Details and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The Buffalo Sabres snapped an eight-game losing skid by thumping the Montreal Canadiens 7-2. They jumped out to an early 3-0 lead within the first 2:13 and finished the night with Jeff Skinner scoring twice and adding three assists, Tage Thompson enjoying a four-point performance while Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch each collected three points. Cole Caufield and Sean Monahan replied for the Canadiens (9-9-1) while the Sabres improve to 8-11-0.

Buffalo Sabres winger Jeff Skinner (NHL Images).

New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider tallied two third-period goals to lead his club to a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin picked up the win with a 35-save performance to boost his club’s record to 10-6-4. Kevin Fiala had a goal and two assists for the 11-9-2 Kings.

HEADLINES

TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs placed defenseman Morgan Rielly on long-term injured reserve after he suffered a knee injury against the New York Islanders on Monday. He’ll be sidelined for at least 10 games and 24 days.

Rielly joins fellow blueliners Jake Muzzin (neck) and T.J. Brodie (strained oblique) on the sidelines. The Leafs have called up Victor Mete and Mac Hollowell.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Rielly’s absence is stoking trade speculation that began when Muzzin went down last month. I’ll have more in today’s Rumor Mill update.

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Jason Robertson can tie a Stars franchise record for the longest points streak (13) held by Dave Gagner when his club faces off on Wednesday against the Chicago Blackhawks. Robertson, 23, currently sits third among NHL scorers with 14 goals and 29 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Robertson and Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger are two of the brightest young stars in the league right now. The Stars are currently second overall in the Western Conference in part because of those youngsters but they aren’t getting the recognition they deserve. Hopefully, that changes as the season rolls on.

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Good news for the Blackhawks as defenseman Seth Jones is returning to the lineup after being sidelined for 10 games with a broken thumb.

PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: The Flyers provided an update on sidelined forwards Scott Laughton, Travis Konecny and Wade Allison. Laughton will miss approximately two weeks with a suspected head injury, Konecny is out 10-14 days with an injured right hand while Allison is out for two-to-three weeks with a hip pointer/strained oblique muscle.

Laughton, Konecny and Allison joined Ryan Ellis, Sean Couturier, James van Riemsdyk, Cam Atkinson and Bobby Brink on the sidelines.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s no wonder the Flyers have struggled in recent weeks.

SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: The Sharks have called up Aaron Dell as starting goaltender James Reimer is out with a lower-body injury. Forward Nico Sturm is also sidelined as he has an upper-body injury.

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Bruins forward Trent Frederic is listed as day-to-day with an apparent shoulder injury.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 26, 2021

by | Jun 26, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 26, 2021

The Lightning return to the Stanley Cup Final, the Cup Final schedule is released, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: The Tampa Bay Lightning are heading back to the Stanley Cup Final. The defending champions beat the New York Islanders 1-0 in Game 7 of their semifinal series. Yanni Gourde scored shorthanded in the second period while goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy turned in an 18-save shutout. Isles goalie Semyon Varlamov turned aside 30 shots.

Tampa Bay Lightning pose with Prince of Wales Trophy (NHL.com).

Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov and defenseman Erik Cernak returned from injuries for this contest. The Bolts also defied superstition for the second straight year by touching the Prince of Wales Trophy, traditionally awarded to the Eastern Conference champion.

The Lightning will face the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Lightning defeated the Islanders at their own game in this contest. They played a suffocating defense that stymied their opponent’s offense. The defending champions’ depth made the difference against a team that pushed them to the limit.

It was a disappointing finish for the Islanders. but they served notice that last year’s run to the Eastern Conference Final was no fluke. They could remain among next season’s Cup contenders depending on what moves management makes this summer. I’ll have more in today’s Rumor Mill update.

The NHL released the full schedule for the 2021 Stanley Cup Final between the Lightning and Canadiens. Game 1 begins on Monday in Tampa Bay. Game 2 will be on June 30. There will be a two-day break between Game 3 (July 2) and Game 4 (July 5). Game 7 if necessary will be on July 11.

TSN: A lawyer representing a former player who alleges he and a teammate were sexually assaulted by the Chicago Blackhawks’ former video coach in 2010 has made a request for 31 requests for documents from the club related to the allegations. The player claims the Blackhawks covered up the incident instead of reporting it to the police.

The Blackhawks have filed a motion requesting the case be dismissed because it wasn’t filed within a limitation period. The club also said the former player’s complaint should’ve been made via a worker’s compensation claim. They have publicly declined to comment due to the ongoing lawsuit.

NBC SPORTS BOSTON: The Bruins re-signed forward Trent Frederic to a two-year contract with an annual average value of $1.05 million.

WINNIPEG SUN: Pascal Vincent, head coach of the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, is leaving that position to become an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs hired Ryan Hardy as their Senior Director of Minor League Operations. He takes over as the GM of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers.