NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 10, 2023

The Sharks upset the Oilers, Connor Bedard sets a Blackhawks record while the Jets’ Kyle Connor and the Bruins’ Charlie Coyle enjoy hat-trick performances. Details on these stories and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The San Jose Sharks got a 39-save performance from Mackenzie Blackwood to hold off the Edmonton Oilers 3-2. Tomas Hertl and Fabian Zetterlund each had a goal and an assist for the 2-10-1 Sharks. Darnell Nurse and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins replied for 2-9-1 Oilers, who are tied with the Sharks with a league-worst five points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The arse has gone out of it for the free-falling Oilers. This could be Jay Woodcroft’s final game as their head coach. Whether a new bench boss can save their season remains to be seen given their porous goaltending, sloppy defensive play and lack of production but they have to do something.

Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard (NHL Images).

Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard became the youngest player in franchise history to have a multipoint game in a 5-3 upset of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Bedard scored twice and set up two others while Nick Foligno collected three assists for the Blackhawks (5-7-0). Anthony Cirelli, Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos replied for the Lightning as they slipped to 6-4-4.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bedard is also the youngest player since 1944 with a four-point game. He now leads all rookies this season with seven goals and 11 points. Meanwhile, Blackhawks winger Andreas Athanasiou left the game in the second period with an undisclosed injury.

The Boston Bruins downed the New York Islanders 5-2 thanks to Charlie Coyle potting his first career NHL hat trick. Coyle finished with four points while David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists as the Bruins (23 points) took over first place in the overall standings with a record of 11-1-1. Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves for the Islanders as they dropped to 5-4-3.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Bruins activated forward Jakub Lauko off injured reserve but he didn’t skate in this game. They also placed forward Morgan Geekie (upper body) on injured reserve. Meanwhile, Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech missed this contest with a lower-body injury.

Winnipeg Jets winger Kyle Connor tallied a hat trick to lead his club over the Nashville Predators by a score of 6-3. Connor finished the night with four points while Mark Scheifele had four assists as the Jets rose to 7-4-2. Filip Forsberg scored twice for the 5-8-0 Predators.

An overtime goal by Cole Caufield lifted the Montreal Canadiens over the Detroit Red Wings 3-2, snapping their four-game losing skid. Cayden Primeau made 27 saves for the win in his first game since Oct. 24 while Mike Matheson had a goal and two assists as the Canadiens improved to 6-5-2. Christian Fischer and JT Compher replied for the 7-5-2 Red Wings as they’re winless in their last four (0-3-1).

New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin collected a goal and an assist to extend his season-opening points streak to 13 games in a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Alexis Lafreniere and Vincent Trocheck each had a goal and two assists while Louis Domingue stopped 25 shots in his first NHL game since 2021-22 as the Rangers improved to 10-2-1. Brandon Duhaime replied for the Wild as they fell to 5-6-2.

The Vancouver Canucks (10-2-1) extended their win streak to five games and pushed their points streak to nine games as they beat the Ottawa Senators 5-2. Elias Pettersson took over the lead in the NHL scoring race (24 points) with a goal and two assists while Ilya Mikheyev tallied twice. Drake Batherson and Artem Zub replied for the 5-7-0 Senators as they’re at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with 10 points.

Dallas Stars forward Matt Duchene had a goal and two assists as his club overcame a 2-0 deficit with a 5-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jake Oettinger stopped 27 shots as the Stars improved to 8-3-1 on the season. Boone Jenner and Kirill Marchenko replied for the Blue Jackets as they dropped to 4-6-3.

St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas scored the game-winner as his club nipped the Arizona Coyotes 2-1. It was Thomas’ fifth straight goal as his club improved to 6-5-1. Lawson Crouse replied for the 6-6-1 Coyotes.

The Seattle Kraken (5-6-3) blew a 3-1 lead but still defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 as Oliver Bjorkstand scored his second goal of the game with 32 seconds remaining in the third period. Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists for the 8-4-0 Avalanche as they dropped their first home game of the season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avalanche also lost forward Artturi Lehkonen in the second period after falling face-first into the boards. He was taken to a local hospital as a precaution and is reportedly alert, responsive and has full movement of his limbs. An update on his condition could be released on Friday.

An overtime goal by Bryan Rust gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings (8-2-3). Penguins captain Sidney Crosby had his 450th career multipoint game with a goal and an assist while Erik Karlsson collected two assists as the Penguins improved to 6-6-0 with their third straight victory. Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar collected an assist to move into second place on the franchise’s all-time points list with 1,155.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kopitar has a ways to go to catch franchise leader Marcel Dionne’s 1,307 points.

IN OTHER NEWS…

THE PROVINCE: Former Vancouver Canucks great Trevor Linden slammed the club’s former general manager Jim Benning. Linden, who as team president hired Benning in 2014, claimed the former GM probably wouldn’t have chosen Elias Pettersson in the 2017 NHL Draft if he’d had the choice.

Benning refuted Linden’s story, claiming the decision to select Pettersson was a group one. “We were always going to draft Pettersson. The whole group like Petey,” he said.

Benning added that he felt the scouting group hadn’t watched other players enough and wanted them to conduct their due diligence. He called rumors that he liked another player over Pettersson “simply not true,” adding that he told team owner Francesco Aquilini he was drafting the young center the night before the draft.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This sad little attempt at a pissing contest serves no purpose and changes nothing regardless of whose side of the story you believe. The Canucks chose Pettersson, who is currently the NHL’s leading scorer and a big reason why the club is off to its best start in years.

THE ATHLETIC: Peter Baugh reports Kraken winger Jordan Eberle is doing well after suffering a deep cut to his leg from a skate blade during practice on Wednesday. He’s listed as day-to-day.

CBS SPORTS/DAILY FACEOFF: The Washington Capitals placed defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk (lower body) on injured reserve and announced winger Anthony Mantha is day-to-day after taking a puck to the ear during Wednesday’s game against the Florida Panthers.

CALGARY SUN: The Flames have recalled goaltender Dustin Wolf amid speculation that starting goalie Jacob Markstrom could be nursing an injury.