Golden Knights snuff out the Flames, the Blackhawks beat the Sabres, Oskar Sundqvist fined, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.
NHL.COM: Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 34 saves to blank the Calgary Flames 6-0, snapping his club’s five-game winless skid. Nate Schmidt collected four assists while William Karlson scored twice and set up another. The Flames have been shut out in two straight games and have dropped four straight.
Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury backstopped his club to a 6-0 win over the Calgary Flames (Photo via NHL Images).
The Chicago Blackhawks picked up their fourth straight victory by downing the Buffalo Sabres 4-1. Patrick Kane scored to extend his point streak to nine games while rookie Kirby Dach scored twice. Jack Eichel tallied for the Sabres.
TSN: St. Louis Blues winger Oskar Sundqvist was fined over $7,300.00 by the NHL department of player discipline for charging Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson.
THE DETROIT NEWS: Robby Fabbri has bolstered the Red Wings secondary scoring since his acquisition from the Blues earlier this month. They have a record of three wins and two overtime/shootout losses since he joined the roster. Fabbri has also tallied six points during that period.
NEW YORK POST: The Rangers demoted center Lias Andersson to their AHL affiliate in Hartford and placed winger Micheal Haley on waivers.
CBS SPORTS: The Florida Panthers placed winger Dryden Hunt on waivers.
The Hurricanes ship Calvin de Haan to the Blackhawks in a four-player trade, the Flyers re-sign Travis Sanheim and ship Ryan Hartman to Dallas, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES/NEWSOBSERVER.COM: last night reported the Carolina Hurricanes traded defenseman Calvin de Haan and forward Aleksi Saarela to the Chicago Blackhawks for goaltender Anton Forsberg and defenseman Gustav Forsling.
Carolina Hurricanes trade defenseman Calvin de Haan to the Chicago Blackhawks (Photo via NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Having recently acquired Olli Maatta, the Blackhawks continue shoring up their defense corps with veteran players. de Haan brings a measure of “stay-at-home” defensive ability to a blueline that was missing that element this season.
The Hurricanes, meanwhile, move out a third-pairing rearguard who was earning $4.55 million annually for three more years. Taking back Forsberg provides additional goaltending depth that might be needed soon. The Athletic’s Craig Custance believes Hurricanes goalie Curtis McElhinney intends to test the unrestricted free agent market on Monday.
COURIER-POST ONLINE: The Philadelphia Flyers re-signed defenseman Travis Sanheim to a two-year contract worth $3.25 million per season. They also traded winger Ryan Hartman to the Dallas Stars in exchange for winger Tyler Pitlick.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Sanheim gets a cost-effective short-term bridge contract. Hartman was a restricted free agent who no longer fit into the Flyers’ plans. Pitlick has a year remaining on his contract worth $1 million. The Flyers now have around $17 million in salary-cap space for 2019-20.
TWINCITIES.COM: The Minnesota Wild re-signed defenseman Brad Hunt to a two-year deal worth $1.4 million.
NBC SPORTS BOSTON: The Bruins will reportedly re-sign defenseman Steven Kampfer to a two-year contract extension.
STLTODAY.COM: Blues forward Robert Thomas underwent surgery to repair a tendon in his left wrist.
Vegas makes Karlsson re-signing official. WK gets 8 years at 5.9 million per year.
Dallas Stars winger Patrick Sharp scores one of his two goals against NY Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist on Tuesday night.
Game recaps, Islanders to speak with Gerard Gallant & more in your NHL morning coffee headlines.
NHL.COM: The Dallas Stars scored seven goals on New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and hung on for a 7-6 win. The Rangers rallied back from a 7-3 deficit, but Kari Lehtonen replaced Antti Niemi (who gave up six Rangers goals) in the third period to ensure the Stars’ victory. Lundqvist was pulled in favor of Magnus Hellberg to start the third.
Patrick Sharp scored twice while Jamie Benn and Patrick Eaves each had a goal and two assists for the Stars. Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello each had three points for the Rangers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: There’s growing concern among Rangers’ followers over Lundqvist’s declining play this season. The usually reliable “King Henrik” has given up 16 goals on 76 shots over his last seven periods of play. His 2.89 goals-against average and .902 save percentage this season are well off his career totals (2.31, .920). Age (34) and his heavy workload over the last 11 seasons could be catching up with him.
Ryan Miller made 30 saves and Henrik Sedin scored the only goal as the Vancouver Canucks edged the Nashville Predators 1-0. The goal was Sedin’s 999th career NHL point.
The Toronto Maple Leafs overcame a 2-0 deficit to down the Buffalo Sabres 4-3. It was a costly win for the Leafs, as defenseman Morgan Rielly left the game in the first period with an injury to his right leg. Rielly will be reevaluated later today.
Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman each scored twice to give the Ottawa Senators a 6-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Earlier in the day, the Blues learned defenseman Brad Hunt was claimed off waivers by the Nashville Predators.
Chicago Blackhawks rookies Vinnie Hinostroza and Tanner Kero each scored two goals to give their club a 6-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche. Matt Duchene scored twice for the Avs.
Mikael Backlund and Mark Giordano had three-point performances to lead the Calgary Flames to a 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers.
After missing the last three games to illness, Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves to backstop his club to a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Brandon Dubinsky scored twice for the Jackets.
Rickard Rakell’s overtime goal gave the Anaheim Ducks a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Beau Bennett’s late third-period goal lifted the New Jersey Devils to a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild, extending the Devils win streak to three games.
YAHOO SPORTS: Various reports claim the New York Islanders have permission to speak with former Florida Panthers head coach Gerard Gallant. The Islanders yesterday fired coach Jack Capuano and replaced him on an interim basis with assistant general manager Doug Weight. There’s no indication if they’re close to hiring a permanent replacement.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: If Gallant is interested in taking over as the Islanders bench boss, GM Garth Snow shouldn’t waste any time hiring him. The former Panthers coach was a finalist last season for the Jack Adams Award. He’s bound to attract interest from other NHL clubs in the offseason.
WINNIPEG SUN: With the goalie tandem of Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson struggling, the Winnipeg Jets recalled former starter Ondrej Pavelec from the minors.
MLIVE.COM: Detroit Red Wings winger Tomas Tatar’s been managing a nagging shoulder ailment since last season. He will probably require offseason surgery to fix the problem.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Tatar claims it’s not affecting his shooting, but this would explain the decline in his scoring since his career-best 29-goal, 56-point performance in 2014-15.
TRIBLIVE.COM: Pittsburgh Penguins center Matt Cullen could miss three-to-four weeks with a foot injury.
THE MERCURY NEWS: The San Jose Sharks placed forward Joonas Donskoi (upper-body injury) on injured reserve.
IIHF.COM: Former NHL stars Joe Sakic, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu are among those to be inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Hall of Fame this year.
Pittsburgh Penguins winger Conor Sheary (43) scored in overtime in an 8-7 victory over the Washington Capitals.
Game recaps, stars of the week and more in your NHL morning coffee headlines.
NHL.COM: Evgeni Malkin collected a hat trick, Sidney Crosby had a four-point night and Conor Sheary scored in overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins an 8-7 victory over the Washington Capitals, snapping the latter’s nine-game win streak. The two teams erupted for a combined nine goals in the second period. The Penguins took a 7-5 lead in the third but the Capitals forced overtime on goals by T.J. Oshie and Lars Eller.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This game was a throwback to the wide-open style of the 1980s. That second period was wildly entertaining
Earlier in the day, the Penguins announced defenseman Kris Letang is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. The Capitals, meanwhile, were without blueliner John Carlson (lower-body).
Nikolay Kulemin scored twice and Thomas Greiss turned in a 34-save shutout performance as the New York Islanders blanked the Boston Bruins 4-0.
Jack Eichel scored two goals as the Buffalo Sabres downed the Dallas Stars 4-1.
Joel Ward scored and set up another as the San Jose Sharks defeated the Winnipeg Jets 5-2.
Ben Bishop made 31 saves while Tyler Johnson and Brian Boyle scored to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman missed the game due to illness, as did Kings center Anze Kopitar.
Thomas Vanek scored the only goal and Jared Coreau kicked out 18 shots to give the Detroit Red Wings a 1-0 shutout over the Montreal Canadiens.
Jujhar Khaira scored his first NHL goal as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-1. It was the Oilers’ third straight win and puts them into second place in the Pacific Division.
Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom, Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand and Carolina Hurricanes left wing Brock McGinn were named the NHL stars for the week ending Jan. 15.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: As Rangers center Mika Zibanejad returns from a broken leg, goaltender Antti Raanta is sidelined seven-to-10 days with a lower-body injury.
STLTODAY.COM: The St. Louis Blues placed defenseman Brad Hunt on waivers.
