NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 3, 2021

by | Apr 3, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 3, 2021

​Recaps of Friday’s action, a growing concern as COVID-19 spreads through the Canucks roster, the Blackhawks and Panthers make a trade, plus updates on Tuukka Rask, Eric Staal and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals to lead the Colorado Avalanche over the St. Louis Blues by a score of 3-2. Avs goaltender Jonas Johansson made 25 saves for his first win of the season. David Perron had a goal and an assist for the Blues. The Avalanche moved into sole possession of first place in the Honda West Division with 52 points, holding a two-point lead over the Vegas Golden Knights. The Blues, meanwhile, dropped to fifth place in the division with 38 points.

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avalanche are red hot of late, riding a 13-game points streak. As for the Blues, they continue to sputter offensively and are in real danger of tumbling out of the playoff race altogether.

The Arizona Coyotes (39 points) moved one point ahead of the Blues into fourth in the West with a 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Phil Kessel scored the winning goal and also picked up an assist as the Coyotes have won four of their last five contests.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kessel also leads the Coyotes with 15 goals and 28 points in 37 games. Their recent rise into playoff contention could take them out of the sellers’ category with the NHL’s April 12 trade deadline just over a week away.

A shootout goal by Jason Spezza gave the Toronto Maple Leafs a 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets. Jack Campbell made 31 saves for the win as the Leafs sit atop the Scotia North Division with 51 points, four ahead of the Edmonton Oilers and the Jets.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Campbell remains undefeated in eight games this season. He’s doing a fine job holding the fort in Frederik Andersen’s absence.

Connor McDavid snapped a 2-2 tie in the third period as the Oilers edged the Calgary Flames 3-2, moving ahead of the Jets into second place in the North with 23 wins on the season. Leon Draisaitl collected two assists for the Oilers.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flames (35 points) have lost seven of their last nine games and sit sixth in the North, six points behind the fourth-place Montreal Canadiens who have five games in hand. The Flames are toast unless they stage a remarkable turnaround over the next six weeks and the Canadiens collapse down the stretch.

An overtime goal by Dmitry Orlov lifted the Washington Capitals over the New Jersey Devils 2-1. Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood made 38 saves to keep his club in this one. With 52 points, the Capitals opened a two-point lead over the New York Islanders for first place in the MassMutual East Division.

The San Jose Sharks kept their playoff hopes alive in the West Division by blanking the Los Angeles Kings 3-0. Martin Jones had a 30-save shutout, Brent Burns collected his 500th NHL assist and Rudolfs Balcers had a goal and two assists. With 36 points, the Sharks moved two points ahead of the Kings into sixth place in the division, two points behind the fifth-place Blues and three back of the fourth-place Coyotes.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Sharks were given up for dead a month ago but five wins in their last seven contests have moved them into contention for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West.

HEADLINES

THE PROVINCE: Seven Vancouver Canucks players and one coach are now on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list, with several of the cases involving the highly contagious Brazilian P.1 variant that has resulted in a surge of COVID cases in British Columbia. It’s expected more Canucks players could test positive when the league updates its protocol list later today.

SPORTSNET: NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said there has been no consideration given to reducing the number of games the Canucks will play once they emerge from their current shutdown. The club is currently not expected to play again until next Thursday but that date could change as more players get added to the protocol list.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Quinn Hughes, Alex Edler, Braden Holtby, Antoine Roussel and Zack MacEwen joined Adam Gaudette and Travis Hamonic on the list yesterday. If the league doesn’t intend to reduce the Canucks games that could mean extending the end of the regular season to accommodate those postponed games.

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: The Blackhawks yesterday acquired forward Vinnie Hinostroza from the Florida Panthers in exchange for minor-league Brad Morrison. Hinostroza began his NHL career with the Blackhawks in 2015-16 and was traded in 2018 to the Arizona Coyotes. He played nine games this season with the Panthers and is due to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Blackhawks add a depth player they’re familiar with as they jockey for a playoff spot in the Discover Central Division. Hinostroza carries a $1 million cap hit. This move is considered a salary dump by the Panthers, shedding Hinostroza’s $1 million cap hit to perhaps free up space to add a defenseman after Aaron Ekblad recently fractured his leg.

NBC SPORTS CHICAGO: Blackhawks forward Brandon Hagel was placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 list yesterday.

BOSTON GLOBE: Bruins starting goaltender Tuukka Rask’s status remains unclear as he continues to receive treatment for an upper-body injury that’s sidelined him for the past four games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: That’s not good news for a Bruins club clinging to the final playoff spot in the MassMutual East Division. Third-stringer Dan Vladar could be sticking around a little longer.

SPORTSNET: Eric Staal will be making his debut with the Montreal Canadiens on April 5 against the Edmonton Oilers. The Canadiens acquired Staal last Friday in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres.

TSN: Winnipeg Jets defenseman Nathan Beaulieu underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on Thursday.

WGR 550: Buffalo Sabres forward Curtis Lazar is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

NHL.COM: The Ottawa Senators-Winnipeg Jets game scheduled for May 7 has been moved up to April 5.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 25, 2020

by | Sep 25, 2020

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 25, 2020

The Penguins trade Patric Hornqvist to the Panthers for Mike Matheson, the latest Stanley Cup Final news and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines

TSN: After a day of uncertainty, the Pittsburgh Penguins finally traded winger Patric Hornqvist to the Florida Panthers for defenseman Mike Matheson. The Panthers also sent winger Colton Sceviour to the Penguins in the deal.

Pittsburgh Penguins trade Patric Hornqvist to the Florida Panthers (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’ S NOTE: This trade was originally reported on Wednesday but was held up due to Hornqvist’s no-trade clause and insurance concerns regarding his contract. It took a day to get those issues sorted.

The Penguins get younger by taking on the 26-year-old Matheson and 31-year-old Sceviour while the Panthers hope to benefit in the short term by the 33-year-old Hornqvist’s playoff experience and gritty style of play. Matheson struggled over the last two years but the Pens have had success taking on blueliners (like Justin Schultz and Trevor Daley) who improved once they came to Pittsburgh.

Hornqvist has three years left on his contract, Matheson six years and Sceviour one year. The Penguins don’t free up much cap space for 2020-21, swapping Hornqvist’s $5.3 million annual average value for Matheson ($4.875 million) and Sceviour ($1.2 million).

The Penguins might not be done dealing. They have a surplus of eight defensemen under NHL contracts and still have to re-sign goaltender Matt Murray or Tristan Jarry. That’s generating speculation one of those blueliners could be shopped in a cost-cutting deal.

NBC SPORTS: Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov’s consistency is among the driving factors in his club’s quest for the Stanley Cup. He’s the playoffs’ leading scorer with 30 points and has had eight multi-point games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kucherov’s performance puts him among the leading candidates for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: The Stars face the Lightning tonight in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final and Game 5 on Saturday. That could put a considerable burden upon goaltender Anton Khudobin. With Ben Bishop still unfit to play, there are questions over what they’ll do between the pipes during the upcoming back-to-back stretch.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Khudobin normally backs up Bishop, but he’s played in most of the Stars’ games in this postseason. Youngster Jake Oettinger appeared in just over 36 minutes in two games, replacing Khudobin for the third period during the Stars 5-2 loss in Game 3 on Wednesday.

SPORTSNET: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is understandably proud of what the NHL accomplished with its return-to-play plan with two quarantine bubbles in Edmonton and Toronto. “It’s been nothing short of remarkable”, he said yesterday.

Bettman praised NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer and his staff of 150 people for their planning and staging of the event, as well as the governments of Alberta and Ontario and the Canadian government, and the collaborative efforts between the league and the NHLPA.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bettman’s pride is justified. The league silenced its critics by staging a safe environment for 24 teams in two NHL cities to compete for the 2020 Stanley Cup. However, he indicated the league’s intent is not to stage next season in a bubble environment. They hope to have fans in the arenas when it is safe to do so.

WGR 550: The Buffalo Sabres signed center Curtis Lazar to a two-year contract extension worth an annual average value of $800K.

SPORTSNET: The Nashville Predators re-signed forward Yakov Trenin to a two-year, $1.45-million contract.

NHL.COM: The league revealed its offseason protocols for training at team facilities. The plan will be similar to Phase 2 of the NHL’s return-to-play plan.

The teams can open their training facilities if a minimum of five players request it commencing Oct. 15, though they can open them sooner at their discretion following the completion of the Stanley Cup Final. No more than 12 players will be allowed on the ice at one time, though more players may be present in the facility at the same time.

Local public health restrictions will be observed and mandatory testing for COVID-19 is required for players and training staff wishing to use the facility.