NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 25, 2026

by | Jan 25, 2026

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 25, 2026

A big night for Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard, Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon ties a franchise record, Red Wings forward Patrick Kane closes in on a league record, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

NHL.COM: Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard tallied his first career hat trick and collected three assists in his 400th career NHL regular-season game in a 6-5 victory over the Washington Capitals. Connor McDavid tallied twice (including the winner in overtime) and had three assists for the 26-19-8 Oilers. Justin Sourdif and Connor McMichael each had a goal and an assist for the Capitals (25-21-7), who are 1-4-1 in their last six games.

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard (NHL Images)

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It was a historic game for Bouchard. He became the fourth defenseman to factor in all of his team’s goals in a six-goal game, joining Bobby Orr, Al MacInnis, and Doug Crossman. He was the fourth blueliner in Oilers history to score a hat trick, joining Paul Coffey, Marc-Andre Bergeron, and Risto Siltanen, and joined Coffey and Kevin Lowe as the only Oilers rearguards to net at least six points in a game.

Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin left this game in the first period with a lower-body injury.

The Buffalo Sabres got a 26-save shutout by Alex Lyon to blank the New York Islanders 5-0. Jason Zucker scored two goals for the Sabres (29-17-5), who’ve won three straight games and are 18-3-1 in their last 22 contests. This was the first game in this season that the Islanders (27-19-5) were shut out.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lyon tied the Sabres record of Gerry Desjardins (1976-77) with nine consecutive wins. Earlier in the day, the Sabres made a minor trade, acquiring defenseman Gavin Bayreuther from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for prospect forward Viktor Neuchev.

Islanders center Bo Horvat returned to action after missing nine games with a lower-body injury. Head coach Patrick Roy was not pleased with the performance of the line of Mathew Barzal, Anthony Duclair, and team captain Anders Lee, benching them for the entire third period. Isles defenseman Ryan Pulock missed this game as he’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Detroit Red Wings forward J.T. Compher scored two goals in a 5-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets. Lucas Raymond and Marco Kasper each had a goal and an assist, and John Gibson made 26 saves for the 32-16-5 Red Wings, who took over first place in the Atlantic Division with 69 points. Cole Koepke replied for the Jets (20-24-7).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Red Wings forward Patrick Kane collected an assist to move within one point of Mike Modano’s record for the most points among U.S.-born players (1,374). Meanwhile, teammate Simon Edvinsson missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury.

A hat trick by Mason Marchment powered the Columbus Blue Jackets over the Tampa Bay Lightning 8-5. Marchment finished with four points while Charlie Coyle and Adam Fantilli each had a goal and two assists for the Blue Jackets (24-20-7), who have won six of their last seven games. Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists while Jake Guentzel and Anthony Cirelli each collected three points for the 32-14-4 Lightning as their 15-game points streak ended.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak left this game with an injury.

Boston Bruins winger Morgan Geekie tallied twice in a 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Charlie McAvoy collected three assists for the Bruins (30-20-2), who’ve won eight of their last nine games. Cole Caufield scored all three goals for the 28-17-7 Canadiens, who are 3-4-1 in their last eight games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Shaky goaltending and penalty killing were once again the Canadiens’ undoing. They’re sixth overall in goals per game (3.37) and eighth in power-play percentage (23.8), but are 24th in goals against per game (3.29) and 26th in penalty-killing percentage (76.5).

Florida Panthers winger Brad Marchand scored twice (including the winning goal) and picked up an assist to beat the Minnesota 4-3 in overtime. Sam Reinhart had a goal and an assist for the 27-20-3 Panthers. Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy each had a goal and an assist for the 29-14-10 Wild.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Marchand returned to action after missing seven games with an injury. Boldy was back after missing four games with a lower-body injury.

The Los Angeles Kings nipped the St. Louis Blues 5-4 on a shootout goal by Trevor Moore, who also scored in the third period. Alex Laferriere had a goal and an assist for the Kings (21-16-13). Jordan Kyrou scored twice for the Blues, who dropped to 19-24-9 as their winless skid reached four games (0-3-1).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Moore had missed 11 games with an upper-body injury.

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi kicked out 35 shots in a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Seth Jarvis had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes (32-15-5), who hold first place in the Eastern Conference with 69 points. Tim Stutzle replied for the 23-21-7 Senators, who are 1-2-2 in their last five games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Hurricanes hold first overall in the East over the Red Wings because they hold a game in hand. Before the game, the Senators inducted former head coach Jacques Martin into their Ring of Honour.

Third-period goals by Barrett Hayton and JJ Peterka lifted the Utah Mammoth to a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators. Karel Vejmelka made 27 saves, and Mikhail Sergachev collected three assists for the 27-20-5 Mammoth, who picked up their fifth straight win. Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault scored for the Predators (24-23-4).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Predators defenseman Nicolas Hague missed this game as he’s considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 19, 2025

by | Dec 19, 2025

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 19, 2025

Recaps of Thursday’s action and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

NHL.COM: Connor McDavid scored a shorthanded goal and picked up an assist in a 3-1 victory over the Boston Bruins. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also had a goal and an assist for the 17-12-6 Oilers, who have won six of their last eight games. Pavel Zacha replied for the Bruins (20-15-0), who dropped two of their last three contests.

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (NHL Images)

SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid has caught up with Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon for first place in the scoring race, with each player having 58 points. Calvin Pickard replaced Oilers starting goalie Tristan Jarry as the latter left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury. There was no postgame update on his status.

The Minnesota Wild extended their win streak to six games by downing the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2. Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov each had a goal and two assists, and Jesper Wallstedt made 27 saves as the Wild improved to 21-9-5. Zach Werenski scored both goals for the Blue Jackets (14-14-6), who have lost six of their last seven games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Boldy join Kaprizov with his 20th goal of the season, making the Wild the only team thus far this season to have two 20-goal scorers.

Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson stopped 22 shots to shut out the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0. Jakob Chychrun tallied twice, and John Carlsson had a goal and two assists for the Capitals (19-11-4) as they snapped a three-game losing skid. Dennis Hildeby made 25 saves for the Maple Leafs, who slipped to 15-13-5.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube pulled no punches about his team’s performance following this game, laying the blame for the loss at the feet of his players. He pointed out that the Capitals played with more passion and urgency. When asked why his players were so flat in this game, Berube replied, “Ask those guys, not me.”

Speaking of 4-0 wins, Ottawa Senators netminder Linus Ullmark made 24 saves to earn his shutout over the Pittsburgh Penguins, handing the latter their seventh straight loss (0-3-4). Brady Tkachuk netted two goals, and Drake Batherson collected two assists for the 16-13-4 Senators, who have won three of their last four games. Arturs Silovs stopped 22 shots for the Penguins as their record dropped to 14-10-9.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before the game, the Senators announced that former head coach Jacques Martin will be inducted into their Ring of Honour in a pregame ceremony on Jan. 24, 2026. Martin coached the Senators from 1996 to 2004, following a brief return behind the bench in 2023-24. In 748 games with the Senators, his record was 367-261-96-24.

Los Angeles Kings winger Adrian Kempe scored two goals, and Anton Forsberg kicked out 31 shots for a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. With the win, the Kings (15-10-9) ended a four-game winless streak (0-2-2). Oliver Bjorkstrand replied for the Lightning (18-13-3), who are winless in their last three games (0-1-2).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and defenseman Ryan McDonagh returned to action after missing time with injuries.

An overtime goal by J.T. Miller lifted the New York Rangers over the St. Louis Blues by a score of 2-1. Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves, and Gabe Perreault also scored for the Rangers, who improved to 17-15-4. Jonatan Berggren tallied for the Blues (13-15-8).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Rangers winger Artemi Panarin missed this game with an illness.

Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson scored to extend his goal streak to five games in a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Zach Benson and Mattias Samuelsson each had two assists for the Sabres, who won their fourth straight game and improved to 15-14-4. Bobby Brink had two points for the Flyers (17-10-6).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Buffalo head coach Lindy Ruff picked up his 915th win to move into fourth place on the all-time list. Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring returned to action after missing a month with an injury. However, the Sabres lost defenseman Conor Timmins to a broken leg that will sideline him for six to eight weeks, while forward Tyson Kozak departed with an upper-body injury.

The Calgary Flames got two goals from Mikael Backlund to double up the Seattle Kraken 4-2. Nazem Kadri had a goal and an assist for the 14-17-4 Flames. Joey Daccord made 42 saves for the Kraken (12-14-6), who have lost four straight games and have one win in their last 11 contests.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Earlier in the day, the Flames announced defenseman Jake Bean will be sidelined indefinitely as he will undergo surgery for an undisclosed injury.

Montreal Canadiens winger Zachary Bolduc tallied twice in a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Lane Hutson had three assists for the 18-12-4 Canadiens. Frank Nazar scored, and Spencer Knight had 31 saves for the Blackhawks (13-15-6), who have lost four straight.

Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston had two goals as his club held off the San Jose Sharks by a score of 5-3. Roope Hintz had a goal and an assist, and Jake Oettinger stopped 34 shots for the Stars (23-7-5). Chad Graf scored twice for the 17-15-3 Sharks.










Senators Fire Head Coach D.J. Smith, Bring Back Jacques Martin As Interim Coach

by | Dec 18, 2023

Senators Fire Head Coach D.J. Smith, Bring Back Jacques Martin As Interim Coach

The Ottawa Senators announced they’ve relieved head coach D.J. Smith and assistant coach Davis Payne of their duties.

Jacques Martin takes over as head coach on an interim basis. Former Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson joins the staff as an assistant coach.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This has been building for several weeks. Coming off four straight losses, the Senators have floundered with just three wins in their last 10 games. Despite holding several games in hand over their Eastern Conference rivals, they’re mired at the bottom of the Conference standings.

Ottawa Senators interim head coach Jacques Martin. (NHL.com)

Smith was hired by former Senators general manager Pierre Dorion, who was fired on Nov. 1. The club failed to reach the playoffs in his four previous seasons behind their bench.

It was excusable for most of those seasons as the club was rebuilding with young talent. This season, however, there was an expectation that the Senators would finally break through as a playoff contender.

They had a .500 record on Dec. 5 but they’ve managed just one win in their last six games since then. That slump threatens to derail their playoff hopes as they failed to gain ground in the standings.

Martin was hired earlier this month as a special advisor to the coaching staff. Many observers, however, suggested that he was brought in as Smith’s potential replacement. He has 17 years of NHL head coaching experience, including nine seasons behind the Senators bench from 1995-96 to 2003-04.

During that period, the Senators had four 100-plus points season, with Martin winning the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 1998-99. He was also an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins during their Stanley Cup seasons 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Alfredsson, meanwhile, is stepping behind an NHL bench in a coaching role for the first time. Revered by Senators fans and respected by his former teammates, he spent 17 of his 18 NHL seasons with the Senators, 13 of those as team captain and nine seasons playing for Martin. Their all-time leader in goals (426), assists (682) and points (1,108), he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022.

Martin and Alfredsson face a difficult task in reversing the Senators’ slide.

Stocked with stars such as Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Claude Giroux and Jakob Chuchrun, the Senators have no problem scoring goals, sitting 10th overall as of Dec. 17 with a goals-per-game of 3.35.

Keeping the puck out of their net, however, is another matter. They possess the seventh-highest goals against per game (3.42) and the second-worst penalty-killing percentage (72.4). In short, they lack reliable goaltending and a sound defensive system.

Defensive hockey was Martin’s bread-and-butter in his previous head-coaching tours with the Senators, St. Louis Blues, Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens. It will be interesting to see if he can get this version of the Sens to buy into his system.