The Oilers get a shutout in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ 1,000th career game, reaction to the Flames trading Rasmus Andersson to the Golden Knights, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

RECAPS OF SUNDAY’S GAMES

NHL.COM: Edmonton Oilers center forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored in his 1,000th career NHL regular-season game to help his club blank the St. Louis Blues 5-0. Zach Hyman tallied twice and collected an assist while Connor Ingram turned in a 27-save shutout for the 25-17-8 Oilers. Jordan Binnington stopped 23 shots for the Blues, who dropped to 19-22-8.

Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Nugent-Hopkins is only the second player in Oilers history to play 1,000 games for the franchise, and the only one to play his entire career in Edmonton. He needs 38 more games to pass Kevin Lowe as the franchise leader. Nugent-Hopkins is also the 10th player in NHL history to score in his first NHL game and in his 1,000th.

Blues winger (and former Oiler) Dylan Holloway returned to action after missing the last 15 games with an ankle injury. His teammate, Oskar Sundqvist, left this game in the third period with an injured left leg.

The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars 4-1. Jake Guentzel and Dominic James each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning (30-13-4), who extended their points streak to 13 games (12-0-1) and regained first place in the Eastern Conference with 64 points. Oskar Back scored for the slumping Stars (27-13-9), who are 2-6-4 in their last 12 contests.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy reached the 20-win plateau for the 10th consecutive season. Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist is the all-time leader with thirteen 20-win seasons.

An overtime goal by Alex DeBrincat lifted the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators. DeBrincat and Andrew Copp each had two points as the Red Wings (30-16-4) have won six of their last seven games. Drake Batherson had a goal and an assist, and James Reimer made 30 saves for the struggling Senators (22-19-7), who are 4-6-3 in their last 13 games.

HEADLINES

VEGAS HOCKEY NOW/CALGARY SUN: The Golden Knights acquired defenseman Rasmus Andersson from the Flames in exchange for defenseman Zach Whitecloud, defense prospect Abram Wiebe, a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, and a conditional second-round pick in 2028.

PUCKPEDIA: The Flames retained 50 percent ($2.275 million) of Andersson’s $4.55 million cap hit. The conditional second-rounder becomes a first-round pick if the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup this season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Golden Knights did it again, willingly sacrificing futures to acquire a talented player who can help them right away. It also helped that the player they wanted was interested in joining them.

Andersson is the second defenseman the Golden Knights have acquired from the Flames since 2024. That was the year they obtained Noah Hanifin, eventually signing him to a contract extension.

The salary retention by the Flames was necessary to make the dollars fit for the Golden Knights, who moved Whitecloud and his $2.75 million cap hit in this deal. The 29-year-old blueliner is in the fourth year of a six-year contract. This move leaves the Golden Knights with $3.865 million in trade deadline cap space.

It’s a bit of a gamble contract-wise for the Golden Knights, as Andersson would not agree to sign a contract extension. However, that doesn’t mean he won’t re-sign before his eligibility for unrestricted free-agent status on July 1. It wouldn’t be surprising if he does.

As noted in the links provided, the Golden Knights needed an experienced top-pairing defenseman on their right side to replace the sidelined Alex Pietrangelo, who is on long-term injury reserve and whose playing days may be over. This move signals that Pietrangelo won’t return for the playoffs, meaning he’ll be moved to season-ending LTIR at some point, probably at the end of the regular season.

Andersson is a solid all-around defenseman whose puck-moving skills will provide more offense from the blueline for the Golden Knights.

Whitecloud provides the Flames with an experienced shutdown defenseman who can play top-four minutes. He will buy them time to develop promising blueliners Zayne Parekh and Hunter Brzustewicz. The Brandon, Manitoba native said he’s happy and excited about joining the Flames and playing in a Canadian market, so that’s a promising sign going forward.

How well this deal works out long-term for the Flames depends on the development of college prospect Wiebe and the prospects they select with those draft picks.

NHL.COM: Nashville Predators forward Steven Stamkos was fined $2,500 for unsportmanlike conduct against Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Jeremy Lauzon on Saturday.

TSN: Buffalo Sabres center Josh Norris is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

SPORTSNET: The San Jose Sharks placed defenseman Nick Leddy on waivers.

NHL.COM: Former NHL forward Phil Goyette passed away on Jan. 17 at age 92.

He spent 16 seasons in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, and Buffalo Sabres from 1956-57 to 1971-72. In 940 regular-season games, he had 207 goals and 467 assists for 674 points, along with 46 points in 97 playoff games.

Goyette won four Stanley Cups with the Canadiens from 1956-57 to 1959-60. He won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy with the St. Louis Blues in 1969-70.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Goyette’s family, friends, and former teammates.