NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 16, 2024

by | Nov 16, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 16, 2024

Recaps of Friday’s games plus the latest on Auston Matthews, David Perron, Mats Zuccarello, Frederik Andersen and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Washington Capitals forward Connor McMichael scored twice to lead his club over the Colorado Avalanche 5-2. Pierre-Luc Dubois collected two assists for the Capitals while Parker Kelly had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who pulled goaltender Justus Annunen after he gave up three goals on six shots.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Valeri Nichushkin, Jonathan Drouin and Miles Wood returned to the Avalanche lineup following long absences. Wood was the only one to collect a point, getting an assist on a goal by Nikolai Kovalenko. Avalanche netminder Alexandar Georgiev missed this game with an upper-body injury

Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf (NHL Images).

Calgary Flames rookie goalie Dustin Wolf stopped 29 shots for his first career NHL shutout in a 2-0 victory over the Nashville Predators. Daniil Miromanov and Blake Coleman were the goalscorers for the Flames. Juuse Saros turned aside 31 shots in a losing cause as the Predators have dropped six of their last seven contests.

The Vegas Golden Knights overcame a 2-0 deficit to double up the Utah Hockey Club 4-2. Golden Knights forwards Tomas Hertl and William Karlsson each scored two goals and Adin Hill made 32 saves for the win. Logan Cooley and Mikhael Sergachev were the goalscorers for Utah.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before puck drop, the Golden Knights announced they signed defenseman Brayden McNabb to a three-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $3.65 million. The deal includes a full no-trade clause in the first year, followed by a 10-team no-trade list in year two and a five-team list in the final season.

Anaheim Ducks rookie forward Cutter Gauthier scored his first NHL goal in a 6-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Olen Zellweger had a goal and two assists for the Ducks, who were down 3-1 at one point in this contest. Marco Kasper, Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat each had a goal and an assist as the Red Wings dropped three of their last four.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, the Ducks announced forward Robby Fabbri underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and will miss six to eight weeks.

The Columbus Blue Jackets snapped a six-game losing skid by thumping the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2. Zach Werenski and Dmitri Voronkov each had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets. Anthony Beauvillier and Michael Bunting replied for the Penguins, who have only one victory in their last six games (1-3-2).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry gave up five goals on 38 shots in his first game since Oct. 16. Penguins defenseman Kris Letang missed this contest with an illness while teammate Blake Lizotte (concussion) was placed on injured reserve, resulting in the Penguins activating forward Matt Nieto (knee) off IR.

HEADLINES

TORONTO SUN: Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews will not be in the lineup when his club faces off against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday evening. Matthews missed their last five games with an upper-body injury. Leafs coach Craig Berube said his captain has not suffered any setback as the club wants to give him time to recover fully.

OTTAWA SUN: Senators forward David Perron could suit up for Saturday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes. He’s missed the last 11 games after his infant daughter underwent surgery to remove a mass on her right lung. “We’re not fully out of the woods, but we’re getting there,” said Perron.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Best wishes to Perron and his family during this difficult time. Here’s hoping his daughter makes a complete recovery.

SPORTSNET: Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen will remain sidelined for the foreseeable future with a lower-body injury. His recovery period was originally listed as week-to-week but Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour indicated he’ll be out “way longer” than that. Meanwhile, netminder Pyotr Kochetkov is doubtful for Saturday’s game against the Senators. He’s dealing with an undisclosed injury but isn’t expected to be sidelined for long.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: The Minnesota Wild placed winger Mats Zuccarello (lower body) on IR for three to four weeks.

THE SEATTLE TIMES: Kraken captain Jordan Eberle will be sidelined for at least two games with a middle-body injury requiring further evaluation.

DAILY FACEOFF: The Los Angeles Kings placed netminder Darcy Kuemper and defenseman Caleb Jones on injured reserve.

RG.ORG: Size is becoming less of a priority when drafting NHL players. From 2005 to 2009, 34 percent of first-rounders were 205 pounds or heavier, but only 11.4 percent met those criteria in the last five NHL drafts. Height, however, has remained roughly the same, suggesting bulk has been deprioritized.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Teams favor skill over bulk as the speed of the game increases and individual abilities such as puckhandling and playmaking improve.

DAILY FACEOFF: Matt Larkin examines why this season’s NHL average save percentage has dropped to .900, which, if it holds, would be the league’s lowest mark in 29 years.

Larkin attributes the decline not to changes in goalie equipment or a simple matter as offense is rising while goaltending is getting worse. He believes changes such as a crackdown on slashing have resulted in more east-west puck movement, a deemphasis on defense, an increase in power-play efficiency, and a lack of true standout goaltending stars are the main factors.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 14, 2024

by | Nov 14, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 14, 2024

A natural hat trick for the Avalanches’ Mikko Rantanen, a milestone game for Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the latest on Mika Zibanejad, Erik Karlsson and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: A natural hat trick by Mikko Rantanen propelled the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Rantanen also picked up an assist to finish the night with four points while teammate Nathan MacKinnon chipped in three assists as the Avs picked up their third straight win. Adrian Kempe tallied twice for the Kings.

Colorado Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Rantanen’s natural hat trick was the third in franchise history. He has 12 goals, joining four others atop the league’s goal-scoring leaderboard. Meanwhile, Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper left this game in the third period with an apparent lower-body injury.

The Toronto Maple Leafs overcame a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Washington Capitals 4-3 on an overtime goal by John Tavares. William Nylander and Mitch Marner scored in the third period to send the game into the extra frame. Aliaksei Protas had a goal and an assist for the Capitals.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Oliver Ekman-Larsson reached a notable milestone as the Leafs defenseman played in his 1,000th NHL regular-season game. Jani Hakanpaa played over 15 minutes in his season debut with the Leafs.

Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery wasn’t pleased with his club’s third-period collapse, calling it “just embarrassing”. Meanwhile, newly-acquired Capital Lars Eller didn’t join the team for this game but is expected to be in the lineup for Friday’s game against the Avalanche.

The Detroit Red Wings blew a 2-0 lead but recovered to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2. Simon Edvinsson scored in overtime while Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist for the Wings. Bryan Rust and Anthony Beauvillier rallied the Penguins to force the extra period.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Penguins honored Evgeni Malkin’s 500th career goal in a pregame ceremony. Malkin reached the milestone against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 16th. He joined Washington’s Alex Ovechkin as the second Russian-born player to reach the 500-goal plateau. Penguins forward Blake Lizotte left this game in the second period after being struck in the face by a puck.

Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka made a career-high 49 saves in a 4-1 upset of the Carolina Hurricanes. Nick Bjugstad tallied twice and Michael Kesselring had two assists for Utah, who killed off a seven-minute Carolina power-play in the third period. Hurricanes forward Martin Necas scored to extend his points streak to 11 games.

The Vegas Golden Knights held off the Anaheim Ducks for a 3-2 victory. Pavel Dorofeyev scored what proved to be the winning goal and Shea Theodore had two assists for the Golden Knights. Lukas Dostal stopped 36 shots for the Ducks.

HEADLINES

THE ATHLETIC: New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad is trying not to get buried in negativity as he attempts to play his way out of his early-season slump. He has 11 points in 14 games but has a plus-minus of minus-6 and has only scored twice.

“I will never be able to fully explain what it is when you’re in this situation,” said Zibanejad. “You have the mantras. You have the sayings to yourself. ‘Forget about the mistakes.’ ‘Just next action.’ ‘Next game, next shift.’ It’s harder than it sounds.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Zibanejad’s position as one of the Rangers’ best players and among their highest-paid comes with intense pressure to perform well. A slump can take a mental toll the longer it goes on, especially when the player starts putting more pressure on themself to overcome the issue.

DAILY FACEOFF: Sweden’s former national team coach Johan Garpenlov doesn’t believe Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson is good enough to play for the country’s 4 Nations Face-Off team in February. He pointed out that Karlsson’s defensive shortcomings could be an issue for Sweden in the tournament.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Karlsson’s poor defensive play has been an issue for the Penguins this season. Nevertheless, he was among the first six players chosen for Team Sweden.

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm is expected to miss weeks with a lower-body injury suffered during Boston’s 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is a big setback for Boston’s blueline. They’re already missing Andrew Peeke, who’s out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. His 20:51 of ice time per game is second among Bruins skaters.

TSN: Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson is sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body injury. Forward Tage Thompson (lower body) and goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (undisclosed ailment) are day-to-day.

THE BUFFALO NEWS: The Sabres reclaimed goaltender James Reimer off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: The New York Islanders placed defenseman Mike Reilly (upper body) on injured reserve.

TSN: A trial by jury of five former Canadian World Junior players charged with sexual assault is scheduled for Apr. 22, 2025. It is expected to last eight weeks.

Former NHL players Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were charged earlier this year in connection with an alleged sexual assault in a London, Ontario hotel room in June 2018.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 7, 2024

by | Nov 7, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 7, 2024

Alex Ovechkin extends his goal streak, Connor McDavid returns from injury sooner than expected, and the latest on Cale Makar, Gabriel Landeskog, Dylan Holloway, Thatcher Demko and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored the winning goal and picked up an assist as his club nipped the Nashville Predators 3-2. Ovechkin extended his goals streak to five games and Dylan Strome collected two assists for the Capitals, who sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 18 points. Juuso Parssinen and Steven Stamkos scored for the Predators, who’ve dropped four of their last five games (1-3-1).

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ovechkin needs 34 goals to break Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 goals. He has eight goals in 12 games this season.

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin scored twice in the third period as his club doubled up the Edmonton Oilers 4-2. Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev each finished with three points as their team sits atop the Pacific Division with 19 points in 13 games. Brett Kulak and Zach Hyman replied for the Oilers (6-7-1).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Oilers captain Connor McDavid returned to action after missing 10 days with an ankle injury. He was originally expected to be sidelined for up to three weeks. He played over 21 minutes but was held scoreless.

The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1. Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat each had a goal and an assist and Cam Talbot stopped 29 shots for the Wings. Nick Foligno scored for the Blackhawks.

HEADLINES

THE DENVER POST: Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said Cale Makar is ok after suffering a lower-body injury on Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken. He traveled with the Avs and could play Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets.

TSN: Bednar also said captain Gabriel Landeskog suffered a setback as he attempts a comeback after knee surgeries sidelined him for the past two seasons. Bednar said it’s part of the on-again, off-again recovery process and remains hopeful Landeskog can return to action this season.

SPORTSNET: St. Louis Blues forward Dylan Holloway suffered no ill effects from taking a puck to the neck in Tuesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He left the game on a stretcher and was taken to a hospital for observation but was released and rejoined his teammates in practice yesterday. Holloway hopes to play against Utah on Thursday.

TSN: Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko participated in some practice drills on Wednesday with some of his teammates. It’s the latest step in his recovery from a nagging knee injury that has sidelined him since Game 1 of the opening round of the 2024 playoffs.

DAILY FACEOFF: Canucks defenseman Derek Forbort is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment is out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

OTTAWA SUN: Center Shane Pinto and defenseman Artem Zub could return to the Senators lineup for Thursday’s contest with the New York Islanders. Zub has missed nine games with a concussion while Pinto was out six games with an undisclosed ailment.

SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said defenseman Jake Walman was a healthy scratch from Tuesday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets for non-hockey reasons. “Jake did not play because of hockey play,” said Warsofsky. “There was nothing to do with that. It was something in between (us) that we’ll keep in-house.”.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Walman’s absence raised eyebrows given his role on the Sharks. He logs the second-most minutes and is their best offensive defenseman.

MONTREAL HOCKEY NOW: The Canadiens have loaned forward Oliver Kapanen to Timra IK in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW: The Devils announced they’ve relieved Kevin Dineen of his duties as head coach of their AHL affiliate in Utica. Assistant coach Ryan Parent takes over on an interim basis for the rest of the season. The move comes as Utica is off to one of the worst starts (0-9-1) in franchise history.

ESPN.COM: Emily Kaplan recently examined several key issues potentially at stake in the next round of collective bargaining between the NHL and NHL Players’ Association. The current agreement will expire in September 2026.

The players hope for a bigger slice of the growing revenue pie. Many would like to see escrow eliminated. They’d also like to get a cut of future expansion fees. Some players wonder if the league might implement a luxury tax given the willingness of some teams to spend over the salary cap.

Some players would like to see the preseason shortened and expand the regular season to 84 games if it means starting the season earlier. Others would like to see the playoff schedule return to the 1-8 seeding by conference.

TSN: Pierre LeBrun reports the CBA negotiations are expected to start in the New Year. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly will summarize the main points he’s learned from meeting with individual general managers at the upcoming GMs meeting.

The general managers would like to tweak the salary arbitration process and revise the compensation rates for offer sheets. One GM would like to see them revisit term limits on player contracts.

LeBrun doesn’t feel either side wants to have a big war in this round of CBA negotiations. He believes they want this to go smoothly.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kaplan cited one player saying growing league revenue was the priority and doesn’t want to squabble about points. That is the main factor for both sides. Revenue has grown significantly in recent years and neither side wants to do anything that could jeopardize that growth.

There will be some tweaks coming out of the next round of CBA but nothing that will require a work stoppage. There is no rancor between the two sides and no sense of foreboding compared to the lead-up to the three previous lockouts. Some think an agreement could be reached next summer.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 3, 2024

by | Nov 3, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 3, 2024

The Panthers sweep the Stars in the 2024 Global Series, more multipoint performances for Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar keep their point streaks alive, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Third-period goals by A.J. Greer and Sam Reinhart lifted the Florida Panthers over the Dallas Stars 4-2 to sweep their two-game NHL 2024 Global Series in Tampere, Finland. Reinhart finished with two points and Spencer Knight made 23 saves as the Panthers picked up their fifth straight win. Evgenii Dadonov and Matt Duchene replied for the Stars.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stars forward Tyler Seguin missed this game with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (NHL Images).

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin had his third straight multipoint game with a goal and two assists in a 7-2 thrashing of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Dylan Strome also had a goal and two assists while Connor McMichael tallied twice for the Capitals, who moved into first place in the Metropolitan Division with 16 points (8-2-0). Damon Severson and Kevin Labanc scored for the Blue Jackets.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ovechkin now has 859 career regular-season goals and needs 36 to break Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894. The Capitals announced before this game that defenseman Jakob Chychrun (upper body) was placed on injured reserve.

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby scored two goals for the second straight game to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1. Alex Nedeljkovic got the win with 25 saves. Christian Dvorak scored the only goal for the Canadiens, who have lost three straight games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Crosby needs three more goals to reach the 600-goal plateau. Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky left the game late in the third period after being elbowed in the head by Penguins forward Noel Acciari. There was no immediate update regarding Slafkovsky’s injury.

The Canadiens’ charter flight home was grounded when a tanker truck collided with the wing of the aircraft as it sat on the tarmac. The accident took place during the game and no injuries were reported.

The Nashville Predators got a goal and an assist each from Steven Stamkos, Roman Josi and Gustav Nyquist as they downed the Colorado Avalanche 5-2. Avalanche stars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar also each had a goal and an assist, extending their season-opening point streaks to 12 games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avalanche have lost three straight despite the efforts of MacKinnon and Makar. Goaltending remains their Achilles’ heel, giving up a league-leading 4.25 goals-against per game.

St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko scored two goals and collected an assist in a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jordan Binnington kicked out 35 shots for the Blues. Mitch Marner and Steven Lorentz scored for the Leafs.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This game was the first for Leafs coach Craig Berube against his former club in St. Louis. The Blues honored him with a video tribute while the fans gave him a standing ovation. Blues defenseman Philip Broberg left the game in the second period after injuring his right leg following a collision with Marner. There was no postgame update regarding his condition.

Boston Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo made 20 saves to shut out the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0. Matthew Poitras, Justin Brazeau and Brad Marchand scored for the Bruins. Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson left this game in the first period with a lower-body injury and didn’t return. The club didn’t provide a postgame update.

The Ottawa Senators got a 22-save shutout performance from Anton Forsberg in a 3-0 win over the Seattle Kraken. Adam Gaudette, Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle tallied for the Senators. Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer turned aside 20 shots.

Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin scored both of his club’s goals in a 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, snapping a three-game losing skid. Red Wings netminder Cam Talbot stopped 31 shots. Alex Tuch scored for the Sabres as they’ve dropped three straight.

A shootout goal by Ryan Donato lifted the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-3 upset of the Los Angeles Kings. Blackhawks forward Tyler Bertuzzi scored the tying goal that sent the game into overtime and the shootout rounds while Hawks goalie Petr Mrazek made 37 saves in regulation and OT. Alex Laferriere scored twice for the Kings.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Laferriere is on track for a breakout sophomore campaign. After netting 12 goals and 23 points in 81 games last season, he has eight goals and 11 points in 12 games thus far.

The Vegas Golden Knights nipped the Utah Hockey Club 4-3 on an overtime goal by Brett Howden. Noah Hanifin had a goal and two assists for the Golden Knights. Utah’s Logan Cooley had a goal and an assist.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Golden Knights called up Akira Schmid to back up starter Adin Hill for this game.

Vancouver Canucks forward Pius Suter scored twice, including the game-winner with 26 seconds left in the third period, to give his team a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks, ending the latter’s three-game win streak. Jake DeBrusk scored his first of the season for the Canucks. Nico Sturm and Mikael Granlund replied for the Sharks.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canucks placed forward Nils Aman on waivers Saturday.

IN OTHER NEWS…

SPORTSNET: The Islanders got bad news on Saturday as they learned forward Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech will be sidelined for four to six weeks with upper-body injuries. Barzal was placed on long-term injury reserve while Pelech was placed on IR.

The Islanders also announced defensemen Mike Reilly and Alexander Romanov are day-to-day with upper-body injuries. They called up blueliners Grant Hutton and Samuel Bolduc from their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport.

NEW YORK POST: Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey will make his season debut after recovering from a suspected shoulder injury suffered during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final on May 24. The Rangers have returned forward Matt Rempe to their AHL affiliate in Hartford.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 29, 2024

by | Oct 29, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 29, 2024

The Leafs end the Jets’ win streak, the Sharks long losing skid is over, the Lightning honor former captain Steven Stamkos, and Oilers captain Connor McDavid suffers an injury against the Blue Jackets. Get the details on these and other stories in the NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Winnipeg Jets 6-4, ending the latter’s season-opening win streak at eight games. John Tavares had a hat trick while William Nylander and Max Pacioretty each picked up three points for the Leafs. Jets winger Kyle Connor had two goals and two assists.

Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Leafs outshot the Jets 36-23, including 19-6 in the first period. Winnipeg made it interesting as Mark Scheifele and Connor scored third-period goals to cut the Leafs lead to 5-4 before Tavares put it out of reach with an empty-net goal.

The Leafs announced defenseman Jake McCabe agreed to a five-year contract extension with an average annual value of $4.51 million. McCabe, 31, was slated to become an unrestricted free agent next July. He’s earning an AAV of $4 million on his current deal.

The cap hit is alright from the Leafs’ point of view. However, the concern is whether McCabe will still be worth that AAV in the latter years of the contract. He’ll be 32 when it goes into effect next season and will soon reach his mid-thirties when a player’s skills usually decline.

The San Jose Sharks snapped a nine-game losing skid with a 5-4 victory over the Utah Hockey Club on an overtime goal by Alexander Wennberg. They overcame a 4-1 deficit with three unanswered third-period goals by Fabian Zetterlund, Mikael Granlund and Tyler Toffoli to force the extra frame. Zetterlund finished with two goals and Granlund with three points. Matias Maccelli tallied twice for Utah.

An overtime goal by Nick Paul lifted the Tampa Bay Lightning past the Nashville Predators 3-2. Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel each had two points and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 35 shots for the win. Predators forward Steven Stamkos picked up two assists against his former club.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was an emotional return to Tampa Bay for Stamkos. The Lightning honored his 16 seasons with the club with a three-minute video tribute as he took to the ice acknowledging the crowd, who greeted him with a lengthy standing ovation.

The Columbus Blue Jackets thumped the Edmonton Oilers 6-1. Sean Monahan scored twice and Cole Sillinger had a goal and two assists for the Blue Jackets. Oilers captain Connor McDavid left the game after suffering a lower-body injury during the opening shift.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid injured his left foot falling awkwardly into the boards as he was tripped while chasing the puck. He skated off and was on the bench for several minutes before leaving. McDavid returned to Edmonton for treatment and will miss the remaining two games of the Oilers’ current road trip.

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov returned from a lower-body injury with a two-point performance in a 5-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe also had two points in this contest for the Panthers. Jason Zucker and Rasmus Dahlin replied for the Sabres.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, the Sabres placed forward Zach Benson (lower body) on injured reserve.

The Chicago Blackhawks ended a four-game losing skid by beating the Colorado Avalanche 5-2, snapping the latter’s five-game win streak. Ryan Donato led the way for the Blackhawks with two goals and an assist. Avalanche stars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar each picked up a point to extend their season-opening points streaks to 10 games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Avalanche forward Ross Colton will miss some time recovering from a lower-body injury after blocking a shot in the first period. He played through the second period before leaving this contest.

Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho scored in overtime for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Martin Necas had a goal and an assist as the Hurricanes took a 3-1 lead before the Canucks battled back to tie it on third-period goals by Quinn Hughes and Pius Suter.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen missed this game dealing with an undisclosed injury. It is unrelated to the blood clots that sidelined him for most of last season.

The Vegas Golden Knights blanked the Calgary Flames 5-0. Keegan Kolesar and Nicolas Roy each had three points and Adin Hill made 16 saves for the shutout. Dan Vladar turned aside 33 shots for the Flames, who’ve dropped three straight games after starting the season 5-0-1.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flames are mourning the passing of former equipment manager Gus Thorson, who died in Calgary on Saturday at age 65. Thorson was the Flames head equipment manager from 1999 to 2010. My condolences to Thorson’s family, friends and the Flames organization.

HEADLINES

NHL.COM: Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros and Dallas Stars center Matt Duchene are the league’s three stars for the week ending Oct. 27.

TRIBLIVE.COM: Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is preparing for his final game in front of Pittsburgh Penguins fans. Fleury, 39, intends to retire at the end of this season. He spent the first 13 seasons of his NHL career with the Penguins, helping them win three Stanley Cups. The Wild face the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Speaking of the Penguins, winger Bryan Rust was still be evaluated on Monday for an injured right leg suffered during Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks.

CBS SPORTS: The Montreal Canadiens placed defenseman Kaiden Guhle (upper body) on injured reserve.

STLTODAY.COM: The Blues will send forward Mathieu Joseph back to St. Louis to receive treatment for a lower-body injury suffered during Saturday’s game against the Canadiens.

NEW YORK POST: The Rangers recalled forward Matt Rempe from their AHL affiliate in Hartford.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 27, 2024

by | Oct 27, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 27, 2024

In today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines, the Jets remain perfect, two Flyers forwards have five-point performances, and much more as we recap Saturday’s 14-game action.

NHL.COM: The Winnipeg Jets extended their season-opening win streak to eight games by defeating the Calgary Flames 5-3. Cole Perfetti scored the tiebreaker late in the third period and Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist for the 8-0-0 Jets. Andrei Kuzmenko collected two assists for the Flames.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Special teams made the difference for the Jets in this contest, tallying two power-play goals and a shorthanded goal. Perfetti’s goal came with Flames center Nazem Kadri in the penalty box. Kadri wasn’t pleased with the call and earned a game misconduct soon afterward.

Earlier in the day, it was announced that former Flames executive Bill Hay had passed away at age 88. He was the former president and CEO of the Flames and the former chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Hay was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builders’ category in 2015.

Before that, Hay spent eight seasons as an NHL center with the Chicago Blackhawks from 1959-60 to 1966-67, amassing 113 goals and 386 points in 506 regular-season games and 36 points in 67 playoff contests. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy and the Stanley Cup in 1960.

My condolences to Hay’s family, friends and former teammates.

Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier (NHL Images).

A five-point performance from Sean Couturier (including a hat trick) powered the Philadelphia Flyers to a 7-5 upset of the Minnesota Wild. Travis Konecny had a goal and four assists and rookie Matvei Michkov had a goal and an assist as the Flyers snapped a six-game winless skid. Marcus Foligno tallied twice for the Wild.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The win capped a busy day for the Flyers. They placed sidelined defenseman Cam York (upper body) on injured reserve, returned prospect forward Jett Luchanko to the OHL’s Guelph Storm, and called up goaltender Alexei Kolosov, who could start his first NHL game on Sunday against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Florida Panthers erased a 3-0 deficit with six straight goals in a 6-3 victory over the New York Islanders. Matthew Tkachuk led the way with two goals and an assist and Mackie Samoskevich netted his first NHL goal. Maxim Tsyplakov collected two assists for the Islanders.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Isles were busy before this game. They placed winger Anthony Duclair (lower body) on long-term injury reserve, loaned Liam Foudy to their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, signed forward Matt Martin to a one-year, $775K contract, and recalled forwards Pierre Engvall and Hudson Fasching from Bridgeport.

Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson scored twice and collected an assist to lead the Buffalo Sabres over the Detroit Red Wings 5-3. Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin picked up three helpers as the Sabres extended their win streak to three games. Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider each had two points for the Red Wings.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: One of Thompson’s goals was clocked at 104.69 mph, making it the fastest shot ever recorded by NHL Edge since 2021-22.

The Los Angeles Kings got two goals from defenseman Joel Edmundson (including the game-winner) in a 3-2 victory over the Utah Hockey Club. Blueliner Brandt Clarke had a goal and an assist for the Kings, who’ve won four of their last five contests. Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley replied for Utah, which has lost three in a row.

Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson had a goal and an assist in his season debut as his club thumped the San Jose Sharks 7-3. Brett Howden tallied twice and Pavel Dorofeyev had a goal and two assists for Vegas as they picked up their third straight victory. Vitek Vanecek made 35 saves for the hapless Sharks, who became the first NHL team to lose nine consecutive games to start back-to-back seasons.

An overtime goal by Brad Marchand lifted the Boston Bruins to a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Marchand and David Pastrnak each finished with a goal and an assist as the Bruins ended a three-game winless skid. Mitch Marner picked up three assists and Auston Matthews had a goal and an assist for the Leafs, who are winless in their last three (0-2-1).

The Montreal Canadiens downed the St. Louis Blues 5-2. Kirby Dach had a goal and an assist, Cole Caufield sniped his seventh of the season and Sam Montembeault stopped 29 shots for the Habs as they ended a four-game winless streak (0-3-1). Colton Parayko and Jake Neighbours replied for the Blues.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canadiens winger Josh Anderson left the game with a lower-body injury but is traveling with the team to Philadelphia for Sunday’s game against the Flyers.

Former Blues defenseman Marco Scandella told St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Matthew DeFranks that he has retired, though he hasn’t officially announced it. Scandella spent 14 seasons in the NHL from 2010-11 to 2023-24 with the Minnesota Wild, Buffalo Sabres, Canadiens and Blues. He finishes with 170 points in 784 regular season games and nine points in 56 playoff contests.

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves to shut out the Washington Capitals 3-0. Mitchell Chaffee, Brayden Point and Conor Geekie were the goals scorers. It was Geekie’s first NHL goal. Charlie Lindgren turned aside 18 shots for the Capitals as their win streak ended at five games.

The New York Rangers got 32 saves from Jonathan Quick in a 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Ryan Lindgren and Will Cuylle scored for the Rangers while Olen Zellweger replied for the Ducks, who got 30 stops from Lukas Dostal. Rangers winger Artemi Panarin collected an assist to extend his points streak to eight games as his club has won five of their last six.

Nashville Predators winger Jonathan Marchessault scored in overtime to lift his club over the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3. Alexandre Carrier netted the tying goal early in the third for the Predators, who have won three straight. Kirill Marchenko, Zach Aston-Reese and Zach Werenski scored for the Blue Jackets.

The Dallas Stars doubled up the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2, handing the latter their fourth straight defeat. Matt Duchene scored twice for the Stars while Pat Maroon picked up two assists for the Blackhawks.

A four-goal second period carried the Vancouver Canucks over the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3, handing the latter their fourth straight loss. Canucks forward Elias Pettersson got his first of the season and teammate Arshdeep Bains netted the first of his NHL career. Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists for the struggling Penguins.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Earlier in the day, the Penguins loaned goaltender Tristan Jarry to their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a two-week conditioning stint. Jarry has struggled this season and has been relegated to third-string goalie status. His demotion to the farm team is to give him some meaningful playing time and the chance to regain his confidence.

Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis scored and collected an assist in a 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken. Jared McCann sniped his fifth of the season for the Kraken. Carolina has won three in a row while the Kraken are winless in three (0-2-1).