NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 21, 2024
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 21, 2024
The Sabres’ winless skid continues as Maple Leafs goalie Matt Murray returns to action after a long absence, the Rangers down the Stars, Patrik Laine gets another power-play goal, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: The Buffalo Sabres’ winless skid reached 12 games (0-9-3) as they dropped a 6-3 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Oft-injured goaltender Matt Murray made 24 saves for the win in his first NHL game since April 2, 2023, William Nylander had a goal and two assists, and John Tavares collected two assists to reach 600 for his career. JJ Peterka, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson each had a goal and an assist for the Sabres.

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray (NHL Images)
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Change must come for the Sabres. It’s too late to save their season but they cannot continue beyond 2024-25 with the current management and roster. It is painful watching this once proud franchise remain a laughingstock for 14 seasons with no end in sight.
Sabres fans don’t have to worry about franchise relocation under owner Terry Pegula. That’s the only good thing I can say about this team. The rest is neverending mismanagement, a revolving door of coaches, and former players who blossom into winners elsewhere.
Turning to the Maple Leafs, Murray was the night’s feel-good story with his triumphant return after battling injuries that threatened to end his career. He’ll likely only be in the lineup until Anthony Stolarz returns from knee surgery in late January but it was still a solid performance on his part.
Meanwhile, Leafs head coach Craig Berube said team captain Auston Matthews is still fighting through the upper-body injury that sidelined him for nine games earlier this season. Matthews scored his 11th goal of the season against the Sabres. Berube said the club is working with their captain to take measures to ensure they manage his condition properly, including having him skip their morning skate on Friday.
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin stopped 41 shots as his club snapped a three-game losing skid by beating the Dallas Stars 3-1. Vincent Trocheck had a goal and an assist while the Rangers successfully killed off eight penalties. Roope Hintz tallied for the Stars.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The win moves the Rangers (33 points) within three points of the Ottawa Senators for the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth. The Stars have dropped five of their last eight contests.
Rangers winger Artemi Panarin collected an assist as he returned to action after missing two games with an upper-body injury. Blueshirts call-up Matt Rempe received a major penalty and game misconduct for boarding Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who was shaken up but returned to the game.
Montreal Canadiens winger Patrik Laine struck again on the power play with the game-winner in a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Emil Heineman and Jake Evans each had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens. Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen collected two assists while teammate Cam Talbot made 29 saves as he returned to action after missing two games with a lower-body injury.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Laine has seven goals (all on the power play) and eight points in as many games since returning from a knee sprain.
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists to double up the Anaheim Ducks 4-2. Cale Makar and Valeri Nichushkin each had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who’ve won seven of their last 10 games. Leo Carlsson and Alex Killorn scored for the Ducks.
The Washington Capitals (46 points) regained first place in the Eastern Conference with a 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Charlie Lindgren got the win with 24 saves, including a windmill glove save on Hurricanes forward Tyson Jost that brought Washington fans to their feet. Aliaksei Protas, Jakub Vrana and Connor McMichael scored for the Capitals while Seth Jarvis replied for the Hurricanes.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Capital captain Alex Ovechkin (fractured fibula) shed his non-contact jersey in practice yesterday in another sign that he’ll soon be ready to return to action sometime following the upcoming holiday break. Teammate Lars Eller remains sidelined by illness and won’t play in their remaining games before the holiday break.
An overtime goal by Aleksander Barkov lifted the Florida Panthers over the St. Louis Blues 2-1. Barkov also set up Uvis Balinskis’ first NHL goal to tie the game 1-1 in the second period. Oskar Sundqvist scored for the Blues as they’ve dropped three in a row (0-2-1).
The Utah Hockey Club extended their points streak to seven games (6-0-1) with a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Dylan Guenther tallied twice for Utah as teammate Karel Vejmelka turned aside 28 shots. Mats Zuccarello scored for the Wild as they’ve lost three straight contests.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Wild defenseman Brock Faber played in this game, showing no ill effects from being struck in the throat by a shot during Wednesday’s game against the Panthers. As for Utah (37 points), they moved within one point of the Vancouver Canucks for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.
HEADLINES
THE HOCKEY NEWS: The New York Islanders activated winger Anthony Duclair (lower body) off long-term injury reserve ahead of Saturday’s game against the Maple Leafs.
DAILY FACEOFF: The Chicago Blackhawks placed center Craig Smith (back) on injured reserve.
RG.ORG: Nikolai Kovalenko admitted he was surprised by the trade that sent him from the Colorado Avalanche to the San Jose Sharks. He was part of a deal in which the centerpiece was the Sharks sending goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to the Avalanche for goalie Alexandar Georgiev.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kovalenko’s adjusting well to the move. He has five points in as many games with the Sharks after netting eight in 28 games with the Avalanche.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley will miss the next two games with an undisclosed injury after blocking a shot in Wednesday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.
THE SCORE: Speaking of the Jets, Scott Stinson points out attendance remains a problem in Winnipeg the club’s red-hot start to the season. Their average attendance this season is a little under 14,000 after 15 home games, playing to just over 90 percent capacity, which is only better than seven other clubs.
Stinson cited a report indicating the Jets season-ticket base increased to just over 10,000 from last season’s low of 9,500. Still, it remains well below the 13,000 the league and team ownership believe is necessary to keep the team sustainable.
Low corporate support (20 percent of season ticket sales compared to the average of 50 percent for other clubs) is seen as one factor. Stinson suggests another could be Jets fans taking a wait-and-see approach to the club’s performance after several seasons without much playoff success.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The local economy could factor in those struggling season ticket sales. Ticket prices have risen to where they’re out of reach for some Jets supporters.
Winnipeg is a hockey town and loves the Jets but if the season ticket issue persists it could one day threaten the team’s future in its present location.