NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 14, 2023

by | Mar 14, 2023

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 14, 2023

The Sabres, Avalanche and Stars are the winners in Monday’s action, the three stars of the week are announced plus injury updates and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The Buffalo Sabres snapped a four-game losing skid with two third-period goals by Alex Tuch to hold off the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3. Dylan Cozens, Owen Power and JJ Peterka each had two points for the Sabres, who improved to 33-28-5 (71 points) to sit five points behind the New York Islanders for the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth. Auston Matthews had a goal and two assists for the Leafs (40-18-8) as they sit second in the Atlantic Division with 88 points.

Buffalo Sabres winger Alex Tuch (NHL Images).

Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen scored twice and collected an assist in an 8-4 drubbing of the Montreal Canadiens. Cale Makar collected three assists and Valeri Nichushkin had a goal and two assists for the 37-22-6 Avalanche, who sit in third place in the Central Division with 80 points. Josh Anderson scored his 20th of the season for the 26-35-6 Canadiens, who’ve dropped seven in a row.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lehkonen left the game in the second period with a broken finger after being struck by a shot. He’s returning to Colorado for surgery. Canadiens forward Rem Pitlick left the game in the first period after going head-first into the boards. No update was provided on his status.

The Dallas Stars downed the Seattle Kraken 5-2. Jamie Benn had a goal and two assists while Miro Heiskanen had three assists for the Stars (37-17-3) as they hold first place in the Central Division with 87 points. Vince Dunn had collected two assists for the 37-23-7 Kraken as they hold third place in the Pacific Division with 81 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stars forward Tyler Seguin remains sidelined recovering from a superficial cut to his leg. He could return to action within the next couple of weeks.

HEADLINES

NHL.COM: Arizona Coyotes winger Clayton Keller, Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby and Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner are the three stars for the week ending March 12.

THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Carolina Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov is sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Svechnikov’s absence is a big blow to the Hurricanes’ offense. He’s third among their scorers with 23 goals and 55 points in 64 games.

GOPHNX.COM’s Craig Morgan tweeted that Coyotes forward Christian Fischer is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. There is no timeline yet for Nick Schmaltz’s return from a lower-body injury.

CBS SPORTS: Minnesota Wild winger Marcus Foligno suffered a lower-body injury during Sunday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes.

NBC SPORTS CHICAGO: The Blackhawks have shut down rookie forward Cole Guttman for the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury.

TSN: The Nashville Predators signed forward Mark Jankowski to a one-year, $775K contract.

SPORTSNET: Eric Engels reports a potential expansion of video review for high-sticking and over-the-glass calls was discussed during yesterday’s meeting of NHL general managers. There was also discussion about meeting with the NHL Players Association to potentially grandfather in cut-resistant equipment as mandatory.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Oh, goody! More things to slow down the game.

NORTH STAR BETS: Chris Johnston reports NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly takes a dim view of three-team trades where a club acts as a broker to allow trades among cap-strapped teams. He said the league has never favored such trades but relented to them years ago because general managers lobbied to have retained-salary transactions in the collective bargaining agreement.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: I believe that was implemented in the updates to the CBA following the 2012-13 lockout. Former Leafs general manager Brian Burke was reportedly among those GMs at the time leading the charge for retained salary transactions to facilitate more movement in the trade market. I doubt we’ll see the league clamp down on that in the next round of collective bargaining.

Johnston also reported Daly didn’t sound as though there is any need to implement a rule that would prevent teams from sitting out players for “trade-related reasons” as we saw in the weeks leading up to the March 3 trade deadline. However, he didn’t rule out the possibility if it were to become a trend.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Daly may have said the same thing to the general managers. Probably something along the lines of, “Don’t make it a habit, gentlemen, or else.”










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 26, 2021

by | Feb 26, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 26, 2021

​Recaps of Thursday’s action, Jeff Skinner’s status with the Sabres concerns his agent, updates on Auston Matthews and Henrik Lundqvist, some notable injury news and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The New York Islanders tallied five unanswered third-period goals to upset the Boston Bruins 7-2. Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves while teammates Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee and Adam Pelech each had a goal and an assist for the Islanders. The Bruins have dropped three of their last four games.

Three straight third-period goals lifted the Washington Capitals over the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2. Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie and Lars Eller each had a goal and an assist. Tom Wilson tallied the game-winner and also received a two-minute minor penalty for injuring Penguins forward Mark Jankowski with a late hit in the first period. Earlier in the day, the Penguins placed winger Jason Zucker (lower body) on injured reserve.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Wilson has a history of questionable hits but it doesn’t appear as though he’ll receive supplemental discipline for this one.

The Tampa Bay Lightning scored twice in the third period in a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Yanni Gourde netted the game-winner as the Lightning won their third straight over the Hurricanes, moving into second place in the Discover Central Division with 27 points.

A three-goal third-period rallied the Florida Panthers over the Dallas Stars 3-2. Sergei Bobrovsky made 37 saves while Aleksander Barkov, Anton Stralman and Frank Vatrano tallied for the Panthers, who sit atop the Discover Central Division with 28 points. Stars forward Roope Hintz missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury.

Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane is playing his way into the Hart Memorial Trophy conversation (NHL Images).

Patrick Kane tallied his 399th career goal and Malcolm Subban made 26 saves for his first shutout with the Chicago Blackhawks in a 2-0 blanking of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Carl Soderberg also scored for the Hawks, who sit third in the Central with 26 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Blackhawks keep finding ways to win thanks in part to Kane’s production and leadership. He’s moved into a tie with Toronto’s Auston Matthews (31 points) for third place in the NHL scoring race and continues to be considered among the early favorites for the Hart Memorial Trophy.

The Ottawa Senators are on their first three-game win streak of the season after upsetting the Calgary Flames 6-1. Matt Murray made 29 saves, Colin White scored twice and Drake Batherson scored for the fourth straight game.

Earlier in the day, the Senators placed center Derek Stepan on injured reserve among reports he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. They also placed little-used forward Filip Chlapik on unconditional waivers for the purpose of buying out his contract. Meanwhile, the Flames placed goaltender Jacob Markstrom (upper body) on injured reserve.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Senators’ improvement throughout February is due in part to giving more ice time to their younger players. They still have more rebuilding to do but they’ve served notice in recent weeks that they’re no longer an easy two points. The Flames, meanwhile, have dropped five of their last six.

An overtime goal by Pavel Zacha lifted the New Jersey Devils over the Buffalo Sabres 4-3. The Sabres made winger Jeff Skinner a healthy scratch for the third straight game, prompting his agent to contact general manager Kevyn Adams to express his concern over his client’s status. Sabres captain Jack Eichel was a late scratch with a lower-body injury while goalie Linus Ullmark left the game following the first period with an undisclosed injury.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Skinner’s poor production this season is cause for concern for the Sabres but critics question if he’s being properly utilized by head coach Ralph Krueger. It’s yet another issue for a team whose playoff hopes are fading while raising questions about Eichel’s future in Buffalo.

Sam Gagner tallied his third career hat trick as the Detroit Red Wings downed the Nashville Predators 5-2. Jonathan Bernier made 37 saves for the win.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The mounting losses for the Predators continue to stoke speculation they’ll become sellers at the Apr.12 trade deadline. I’ll have more in today’s Rumor section.

Blake Wheeler had a goal and two assists while Kyle Connor scored twice as the Winnipeg Jets overcame 2-0 and 3-1 deficits to beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-3. The Habs dropped their fourth straight, spoiling the debut of interim head coach Dominique Ducharme. Canadiens winger Josh Anderson left the game in the first period after an apparent slew foot by Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo. He’ll undergo more tests but Ducharme said his injury isn’t considered to be too serious.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ducharme declared a clean slate for his players before this game. What he got was a strong start undone by more shaky goaltending from Carey Price, sloppy defensive play and a collapse of confidence as the game rolled along. The Habs (22 points) still hold a playoff spot in the Scotia North Division only because the Flames and Vancouver Canucks are playing worse than they are. Speaking of the Canucks…

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mike Smith turned in a 32-save shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Canucks. Alex Chiasson, Jesse Puljujarvi and Connor McDavid were the goal scorers.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canucks have only two victories in 13 games this month.

HEADLINES

TSN: Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said center Auston Matthews has been dealing with a wrist injury for most of this season. Matthews appeared to aggravate the injury during Wednesday’s 2-1 win over the Flames but Keefe feels it hasn’t gotten worse.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Matthews was scoring at a goal-per-game pace prior to Wednesday. He has a shot at becoming the first player since Brett Hull in 1991-92 to score 50 goals in 50 games.

NEW YORK POST: Henrik Lundqvist returned to the ice earlier this week after undergoing open-heart surgery seven weeks ago. However, the 39-year-old goaltender said it will be months before he can reach a decision on whether he’ll continue his playing career.

NBC SPORTS BAY AREA: Saturday’s game between the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues will continue as scheduled after the Sharks announced no new positive COVID-19 tests. Thursday’s game between the two clubs was postponed after Sharks forward Tomas Hertl tested positive. He’s expected to miss some time as he remains on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list.

TSN: The number of players on the league’s protocol list shrunk to seven players with three of those being members of the Philadelphia Flyers.

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: The Blue Jackets are preparing to increase the number of fans attending their home games after Ohio governor Mike DeWine announced indoor sports and entertainment events in the state to 25 percent capacity. The Jackets currently have a plan approved by the state that allows 10 percent capacity.

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: The Bruins will soon welcome fans back to TD Garden as the state of Massachusetts will allow 12 percent capacity starting on March 22.