NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 16, 2025
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 16, 2025
The Wild and Blues clinch playoff berths while the Blue Jackets keep their playoff hopes alive, a milestone game for Leafs forwards Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and much more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF TUESDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: The Minnesota Wild clinched the first Western Conference wild-card berth (97 points) with a dramatic 3-2 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks. Joel Eriksson Ek scored the tying goal with 22 seconds remaining in the third period to ensure the Wild the point they needed to clinch that playoff berth. They started goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in overtime in what could be the swan song to his NHL career, and got the game-winner from Matt Boldy with 18 seconds remaining in the extra frame.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: In a classy move, Wild starter Filip Gustavsson requested Fleury take over between the pipes at the end of the third period. The future Hall-of-Famer made five saves in overtime and was mobbed by his teammates following Boldy’s goal. They will face the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round.
Meanwhile, the St. Louis Blues (96 points) clinched the final Western wild-card by downing the Utah Hockey Club 6-1. Jordan Kyrou scored two goals, Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and two assists, and rookie forward Jimmy Snuggerud tallied his first NHL goal.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blues center Robert Thomas left the game early in the third period with a lower-body injury for precautionary reasons. Head coach Jim Montgomery believes he’ll be fine. The Blues will square off against the Winnipeg Jets in the first round.
The Calgary Flames (94 points) defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-4 but were eliminated from the playoff race. Morgan Frost scored the game-winner in a shootout while Nazem Kadri had a goal and an assist. Brandon Saad had a goal and two assists for the Golden Knights.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A tough finish for the Flames, but they exceeded expectations by staying in the playoff race for most of this season. It will give them something to build on going forward.
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves had a 26-save shutout to blank the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0. Adam Fantilli scored his 30th goal of the season and Sean Monahan collected two assists for the Blue Jackets (87 points), who sit two points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot with a game in hand.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Montreal can clinch on Wednesday if they defeat the Carolina Hurricanes in any fashion or lose in overtime or the shootout. If the Canadiens lose that game in regulation time, the Blue Jackets can clinch if they get a regulation win in their final game on Thursday.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews (NHL Images).
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews scored his 400th NHL regular-season goal and Mitch Marner collected his 100th point of the season in a 4-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Anthony Stolarz kicked out 35 shots for the shutout. The Leafs clinched the Atlantic Division title for the first time with 106 points and will face the Ottawa Senators in the first round.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Matthews is the sixth-fastest player to reach the 400-goal plateau, doing so in 628 games played. He joins Wayne Gretzky (436 games played), Mike Bossy (506 GP), Mario Lemieux (508), Brett Hull (520), and Jari Kurri (608). He needs 21 goals to break Mats Sundin’s franchise record of 420 goals.
Marner joins Matthews, Darryl Sittler and Doug Gilmour as the fourth player in Leafs history to reach 100 points in a season.
Sabres defenseman Owen Power missed this game with a season-ending injury to his left knee that could require surgery in the offseason.
Speaking of the Senators (95 points), they dropped a 4-3 decision to the Chicago Blackhawks. Frank Nazar scored in overtime and Connor Bedard tallied twice for Chicago while Dylan Cozens had two assists for the Senators.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s been a long time since “The Battle of Ontario” carried over into the playoffs. The last time the Leafs and Senators faced each other in the postseason was 21 years ago in the opening round of the 2004 playoffs.
The Leafs enter that series with defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jake McCabe questionable for Game 1. Sidelined Senators captain Brady Tkachuk is expected to return to action for that game.
The Tampa Bay Lightning secured second place in the Atlantic Division with 102 points by beating the Florida Panthers 5-1. Brayden Point had a goal and two assists while Nikita Kucherov collected two points for a league-leading 121 points. Brad Marchand replied for the Panthers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Speaking of rivalries, “The Battle of Florida” continues as the Lightning and Panthers face off in postseason play for the fourth time in five years.
Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome’s hat trick powered his team to a 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders. Adam Pelech returned to action in this game after leaving Sunday’s match against the New Jersey Devils following an illegal hit to the head by Devils forward Paul Cotter.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was likely the final home game for Islanders forward Matt Martin, who was saluted by the fans and the Capitals following this contest. Meanwhile, the Capitals will face the Canadiens or Blue Jackets in the first round.
The Los Angeles Kings tied their single-season record for most wins (48) by holding off the Seattle Kraken 5-4. Samuel Helenius scored two goals for the Kings (105 points), who will meet the Edmonton Oilers in the opening round for the fourth straight year. Matty Beniers netted his 20th goal of the season for the Kraken.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Kraken confirmed Ron Francis will return for his fifth season as general manager.
An overtime goal by Brian Dumoulin gave the New Jersey Devils a 5-4 win over the Boston Bruins. Timo Meier had a goal and two assists for the Devils (91 points), who will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round. Bruins winger David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist to finish the season with 106 points.
HEADLINES
NBC SPORTS BAY AREA: San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture formally announced yesterday that he’s no longer physically able to continue his playing career.
The 36-year-old center’s final game was in February 2024. He was diagnosed in 2023 with Osteitis pubis, a deep groin injury that sidelined him for almost all of the last two seasons.
Couture hasn’t officially retired as his contract runs through 2026-27 with an average annual value of $8 million. He will remain on their books for the next two years and be placed on long-term injury reserve if they need salary-cap flexibility.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As I noted yesterday, Couture will be remembered as one of the best players in Sharks history. He’s among their top-five players in games-played, goals, assists, and points. Couture didn’t rule out returning to the game in coaching or management. General manager Mike Grier said there’s a job for him anytime with the Sharks.
RG.ORG: Philadelphia Flyers captain Sean Couturier admitted it’s been a tough season for his rebuilding club. However, he believes they have a bright future with the young players in the lineup and their prospect system.
Couturier admitted he didn’t have much of a relationship with former head coach John Tortorella. “We didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, and it was hard,” he said. “I just tried to work with him and do what’s best for the team because that’s my job as the captain.”
THE DENVER POST: Gabriel Landeskog returned to the Avalanche following his recent conditioning stint with their AHL affiliate. He’s resumed practicing with the Avs and could be ready for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series with the Dallas Stars.
TSN: Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers is listed as week-to-week with a right-foot injury just days before their first-round series with the St. Louis Blues.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: There’s no indication if Ehlers will return at some point during that series.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: The NHL department of player safety handed Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse a one-game suspension for cross-checking Los Angeles Kings center Quinton Byfield in the back of the head during Monday’s game between the two clubs.
Nurse will miss the Oilers’ final regular-season game on Wednesday against the Sharks and will be in the lineup for the first game of their opening-round series against the Kings.
NHL.COM: Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes, Ottawa Senators winger Brady Tkachuk and Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner are among the 32 King Clancy Memorial Trophy nominees. The award recognizes leadership qualities and contributions to the community.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Click the link above for the complete list.