NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 16, 2022

by | Jan 16, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 16, 2022

​The Panthers remain atop the overall standings, Alex Ovechkin and Marc-Andre Fleury reach more milestones, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: The Florida Panthers (57 points) maintained their place atop the overall standings by crushing the Columbus Blue Jackets 9-2. MacKenzie Weegar collected four points, Aaron Ekblad had three assists while Carter Verhaeghe and Anton Lundell each scored two goals. Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins was pulled after giving up four goals on 15 shots in the first period.

Third-period goals by Ross Colton and Alex Killorn lifted the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Dallas Stars 3-1, handing the latter their seventh straight road loss. Nikita Kucherov chipped in two assists for the Lightning (57 points), who sit second overall due to the Panthers holding two games in hand.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (NHL Images).

Washington Capitals goalie Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves to shut out the New York Islanders 2-0. Alex Ovechkin scored into an empty net to reach the 25-goal plateau for the 16th time in his career. Only seven other players (Gordie Howe, Jaromir Jagr, Mike Gartner, Teemu Selanne, Brendan Shanahan, Brett Hull and Marcel Dionne) have as many 25-goal seasons. It was a costly win for the Capitals as T.J. Oshie left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury. They hold third place in the Metropolitan Division with 51 points.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 37 saves for the Chicago Blackhawks to pick up his 70th career shutout in a 3-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks, becoming the 14th netminder to reach that milestone. Brandon Hagel, Patrick Kane and Dominik Kubalik were the goal scorers as the Ducks drop three straight games to fall into third place in the Pacific Division with 45 points.

The Los Angeles Kings moved into second place in the Pacific by beating the Seattle Kraken 3-1. Phillip Danault scored twice and Adrian Kempe tallied his career-high 17th goal. The Kings have 45 points but hold three games in hand over the Ducks.

Darcy Kuemper made 20 saves to pick up his first shutout with the Colorado Avalanche with a 5-0 victory over the Arizona Coyotes. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen each had two goals and an assist as the Avalanche (51 points) move into first place in the Western Conference with four games in hand over the Nashville Predators.

Speaking of the Predators, they fell 4-3 to the Boston Bruins on an overtime goal by Taylor Hall. He and Brad Marchand each finished the game with a goal and an assist, with Marchand reaching the 20-goal plateau for the 11th time in his career. Juuse Saros made 40 saves for the Predators. The Bruins have won five straight games and hold the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 46 points.

The Pittsburgh Penguins remain three points up on the Bruins for the first Eastern wild-card spot by nipping the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on an overtime goal by Jake Guentzel as he and Kris Letang each had a goal and an assist. Louis Domingue turned aside 40 shots for the victory. With 42 points, the Sharks hold the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Chris Kreider snapped a 2-2 tie in the third period to give the New York Rangers a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, handing the latter their seventh straight defeat. Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves for the Rangers while teammate Artemi Panarin collected two assists. The Rangers sit in first place in the Metropolitan Division with 54 points.

The Carolina Hurricanes remain two points back of the Rangers by dropping the Vancouver Canucks 4-1. Vincent Trocheck and Martin Necas each had a goal and an assist while Frederik Andersen stopped 30 shots. The Canucks have lost four of their last five.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: After rattling off seven straight wins after hiring Bruce Boudreau as head coach it appears the Canucks are returning to earth. Trade rumors about J.T. Miller and Bo Horvat could resume if the losing skid continues.

Third-period goals by Auston Matthews and Ilya Mikheyev rallied the Toronto Maple Leafs over the St. Louis Blues 6-5. Matthews and Mitch Marner each had a goal and an assist while Ryan O’Reilly scored twice for the Blues. The Leafs (51 points) remain in third place in the Atlantic Division while the Blues (49 points) are third in the Western Conference.

The Ottawa Senators defeated the Edmonton Oilers 6-4 to hand the latter their sixth straight loss. Josh Norris tallied twice for the Senators while Oilers superstar Connor McDavid was held scoreless. With 38 points, the Oilers are four points out of the final Western Conference wild-card spot.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Shaky goaltending and porous defense continue to dog the Oilers and threaten to derail their season.

Alex Nedeljkovic made 22 saves for his first shutout with the Detroit Red Wings to beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-0. Tyler Bertuzzi had a goal and two assists while rookie winger Lucas Raymond scored and chipped in an assist.

SPORTSNET: Nashville Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Jaroslav Halak and Washington Capitals winger Conor Sheary were among the players placed on the NHL’s COVID protocol on Saturday.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Former NHL player Reid Boucher had pled guilty to a third-degree count of criminal sexual assault against a minor stemming from two incidents in 2011. 

Then 17 and a member of the United States National Team Development Program, Boucher forced his then-12-year-old billet sister to perform oral sex on him twice, doing so by threatening to blackmail her with a video in the first incident and then threatening to tell people about their first non-consensual encounter.

After spending parts of six NHL seasons with the New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks, Boucher has been playing in the KHL since last season. He was allowed by the judge overseeing his case to enter a plea that will result in no up-front jail time. If he successfully completes his sentence, the charge won’t appear on his criminal record. Meanwhile, his victim has dealt with the trauma of those incidents, struggling with substance abuse, eating disorders and self-harm.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Boucher pleads guilty to sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl twice 11 years ago, leaving her traumatized for over a decade, and gets a slap on the wrist and continues his playing career. So much for justice.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 1, 2022

by | Jan 1, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 1, 2022

​Alex Ovechkin becomes the all-time power-play goal leader, the Blues and Wild prepare to meet in the 2022 Winter Classic, plus the latest COVID updates and more in the first NHL morning coffee headlines of the New Year.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Alex Ovechkin became the NHL’s all-time power-play goal leader as his Washington Capitals defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-1. The Capitals captain tallied his 275 career power-play goal to pass Dave Andreychuk in what also proved to be the game-winner. Ovechkin added an empty netter to seal the win for the Capitals (47 points), who moved into first place in the overall standings.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: With 754 career goals, Ovechkin is now just 12 behind Jaromir Jagr for third place on the all-time goal list.

New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes scored twice, including the winner in overtime, in a 6-5 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Hughes finished with three points for the second straight game. Connor McDavid and Kailer Yamamoto each tallied twice for the Oilers (37 points), who moved one point ahead of the Colorado Avalanche into the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Mika Zibanejad’s shootout goal lifted the New York Rangers to a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Former Lightning forward Barclay Goodrow scored twice against his former club. Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist.

The Vegas Golden Knights picked up their 10th win in their last 12 games by dropping the Anaheim Ducks 3-1. The Golden Knights sit atop the Western Conference with 44 points and three ahead of the Ducks in the Pacific Division. Ducks goaltender John Gibson made 42 saves in a losing cause.

HEADLINES

NHL.COM: The St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild are preparing to meet in the 2022 Winter Classic at Target Field commencing at 7 pm ET today. It’s the first Winter Classic to be staged in Minnesota and could be the coldest outdoor game in league history as temperatures could reach between minus-3 and minus-9 Fahrenheit. The Blues and Wild enter this game jockeying for first place in the Central Division.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This could prove to be a more competitive game compared to some of the previous Winter Classics. The extreme cold, however, will affect the players’ performance and test the hardiness of the anticipated 40,000 fans in attendance.

COVID-19, meanwhile, continues to affect the regular-season schedule as the league postponed nine more games yesterday, bringing the total of deferred games to 90. Eight of those games were postponed due to current attendance restrictions in some Canadian cities.

SPORTSNET: NHL senior vice president Colin Campbell said the league will try to preserve as many full-capacity home games for Canadian teams as possible. All seven Canadian teams currently have reduced capacity due to recent provincial restrictions introduced to reduce the spread of the COVID Omicron variant.

A number of Canadian home games have been postponed. The league hopes to reschedule those contests as restrictions are eased or lifted over time.

Alberta and British Columbia joined Ontario in reducing its isolation requirements from 10 days to five for fully vaccinated people who test positive for COVID-19.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: That means the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators will get players who test positive back sooner than the Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens, whose home provinces of Manitoba and Quebec still have mandatory 10-day self-isolation periods.

United States-based teams are also now under the five-day rule after the US Centers for Disease Control reduced their isolation requirements earlier in the week.

Pittsburgh Penguins center Jeff Carter, New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff and St. Louis Blues assistant coach Mike Van Ryn were among the latest to enter COVID protocol.

TSN: Montreal Canadiens winger Brendan Gallagher (lower-body injury) is questionable for today’s game against the Florida Panthers.

COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin has been sidelined with an upper-body injury.

CBS SPORTS: Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Zach Bogosian missed yesterday’s game against the Rangers with a lower-body injury.

SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: Patrick Marleau’s wife Christina said the second of the couple’s four sons was nearly kidnapped during a family trip earlier this week. An unnamed couple attempted to coax 11-year-old Brody into coming with them after he returned to the hotel pool to collect the sunglasses he’d left behind. A good samaritan family intervened and alerted hotel security.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Thank goodness for the other family stepping in when they did. Christina also said she saw the woman who attempted to lure away Brody and informed him the police had been called, hotel security was watching her and she had to leave. The report didn’t indicate if that woman and her partner were detained.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 18, 2021

by | Dec 18, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 18, 2021

Panthers, Avalanche games postponed by COVID past Christmas, Paul Maurice steps down as Jets coach, games recaps and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

LATEST NHL COVID-19 NEWS

NHL.COM: Rising COVID numbers have forced the league to postpone the Colorado Avalanche’s and Florida Panthers’ games past the upcoming Christmas holiday break (Dec. 24-26). The Calgary Flames’ postponements have been extended to Dec. 23.

MONTREAL GAZETTE: The Canadiens game against the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre on Saturday has been postponed due to the Bruins having seven players on the COVID protocol list.

NBC SPORTS WASHINGTON: Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom joined teammates Evgeni Kuznetsov and Garnet Hathaway in COVID protocol.

TORONTO SUN: Maple Leafs forwards John Tavares, Jason Spezza, Wayne Simmonds and Alex Kerfoot went on the COVID protocol list yesterday.

EDMONTON JOURNAL: Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and defenseman Duncan Keith joined teammates Ryan McLeod and Devin Shore and head coach Dave Tippett on the COVID protocol list.

THE PROVINCE: Vancouver Canucks forward Tyler Motte became the fifth player on his club to enter COVID protocol.

ARIZONA SPORTS: Coyotes forward Alex Galchenyuk joined Lawson Crouse and Jay Beagle in COVID protocol.

Defenseman Nick Borowiecki is the seventh Nashville Predators player to enter COVID protocol.

THE PROVINCE: Capacity at Rogers Place (the Canucks home arena) has been reduced to 50 percent until the end of January.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Fans and pundits are taking to social media wondering if/when the NHL will pause its schedule because of the rapid spread of the coronavirus. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun said the league and NHLPA are in constant communication taking a team-by-team, case-by-case approach as they attempt to get through this wave of infections following medical guidelines. They’re hoping to avoid a league-wide pause which is considered a last resort.

Paul Maurice stepped down on Friday as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets (NHL.com).

MAURICE RESIGNS AS JETS HEAD COACH

WINNIPEG SUN: In a surprising move, Paul Maurice yesterday stepped down as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets. He’d been in the job for nearly eight years. During his press conference announcing the decision, Maurice felt the struggling Jets were a good team but needed a new voice behind the bench.

Assistant coach Paul Lowry takes over from Maurice on an interim basis for the remainder of the season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Cynics will suggest Maurice jumped before he was pushed out of his job by management. Regardless, he handled himself well during his announcement yesterday. He praised the players and never felt they quit on him. Maurice acknowledged the club’s struggles on the ice this season and expressed his belief they could be reversed with someone new as head coach.

Maurice leaves with a solid record as Jets coach (315-223-62), guiding them to the playoffs five times and reaching the 2018 Western Conference Final.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Speaking of the Jets, they lost their first game with Lowry as coach by falling 5-2 to the Washington Capitals. Alex Ovechkin scored to extend his points streak to seven games while goalie Vitek Vanecek picked up the win with a 40-save performance. Ovechkin is tied with Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid atop the scoring leader board with 47 points while the Capitals (43 points) regained top spot in the overall standings. The Jets (31 points) remain three points out of a Western Conference wild-card berth.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: I think the Jets players were still coping with the surprising news of Maurice’s resignation earlier in the day. It could take a little time to adjust to their new coach.

An overtime goal by Tanner Jeannot lifted the Nashville Predators to their seventh straight win by downing the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2. The COVID-depleted Predators (39 points) were a perfect five-for-five on the penalty kill and sit one point behind the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Wild.

Jeff Carter’s overtime goal gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Kris Letang picked up two assists as the Penguins have won six straight. Sabres goalie Malcolm Subban kicked out 45 shots.

St. Louis Blues goalie Charlie Lindgren (26 saves) picked up his fifth straight win as he backstopped his club over the Dallas Stars 4-1. Vladimir Tarasenko scored two goals as the Blues (39 points) also moved within one point of the conference-leading Wild. The slumping Stars, meanwhile, have lost five straight contests.

The Arizona Coyotes squeaked past the Anaheim Ducks 6-5. Clayton Keller scored twice, including the winner in overtime. Hampus Lindholm tallied twice for the Ducks (39 points), who remain one point out of first in the Western Conference.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hands up everyone who thought the rebuilding Ducks would be jockeying for first overall in the conference at this point in the season. OK, put your hands down, you fibbers!

Seriously, though, I’m becoming more convinced to take this club seriously as a playoff contender with each passing game. Their special teams have been terrific thus far, sitting fourth overall on the power play and penalty kill.

Jonathan Marchessault’s shootout goal gave the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers. The Golden Knights have won four in a row. Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider each had two points for the Rangers.

IN OTHER NEWS…

TORONTO SUN: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman reduced the six-game suspension of Leafs forward Jason Spezza to four games.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Spezza would’ve been able to return against the Vancouver Canucks tonight but he’s in COVID protocol.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 16, 2021

by | Dec 16, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 16, 2021

More COVID cases among NHL teams raise concerns about Olympic participation, the Blackhawks reach a settlement with Kyle Beach, Alex Ovechkin ties an NHL scoring record, and more in today’s morning coffee headlines.

COVID CASES AMONG NHL CLUBS STILL RISING, CONCERN GROWING OVER OLYMPIC PARTICIPATION

CALGARY SUN: The number of Calgary Flames players and staff testing positive for COVID-19 grew to 27 yesterday. Head coach Darryl Sutter and players Jacob Markstrom, Rasmus Andersson, Erik Gudbranson, Byron Froese, Trevor Lewis and Tyler Pitlick joined the list yesterday. Saturday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets has been postponed. The good news is all the Flames’ cases are reportedly doing well, which is being attributed to the players being fully vaccinated.

Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron (NHL Images).

  NBC SPORTS BOSTON: Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron joined teammates Brad Marchand and Craig Smith in COVID protocol yesterday.

THE TENNESSEAN: 11 members of the Nashville Predators were placed in COVID protocol yesterday. They include forwards Mikael Granlund, Matt Luff, Michael McCarron and Philip Tomasino and defenseman Ben Harpur and head coach John Hynes.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: Five Panthers players (Ryan Lomberg, Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Radko Gudas and Brandon Montour) enter COVID protocol on Wednesday.

THE DETROIT NEWS: The Red Wings placed forwards Robby Fabbri and Michael Rasmussen in COVID protocol Wednesday. Tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes is expected to go ahead as scheduled.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The growing number of cases is alarming but it’s not expected to result in a shutdown of the NHL schedule at the present time. That could change if the cases continue to spread and more games become postponed. However, it’s not expected to result in a season-ending shutdown as we saw in 2019-20. It could instead be a pause of two-to-three weeks.

One reason is all cases are experienced at worst minor symptoms because all but one player is fully vaccinated. Another is a return to enhanced COVID protocols (including daily testing) are expected to be implemented soon.

TSN: The province of Ontario is reducing capacity limits at sporting events to 50 percent starting Saturday. That includes the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The NHL has no control over provincial or state COVID guidelines regarding sporting events. It remains to be seen if others will follow Ontario’s lead. The Leafs and Senators will likely see a return to full capacity once the COVID numbers in Ontario are reduced.

NBC SPORTS BAY AREA: San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson is the latest NHL player to express concern over potential three-to-five week quarantine in China for players taking part in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics who test positive for COVID-19 during the tournament. “If that’s the way it’s going to be, I don’t see it being very feasible for guys to take that risk. That’s my personal opinion,” said Karlsson.

DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin expressed apprehension over the potentially strict COVID guidelines for Olympic participants. “It would be unfortunate for anyone to get stuck in quarantine for that long and a serious unknown of when you’d come home. I think it’s unfortunate for all athletes,” said Larkin.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The NHL is so far leaving it up to the NHLPA members to decide if they’ll participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics. No one has definitively said they won’t go because of those restrictions but that could change if there is no loosening of those rules for Olympic athletes.

The opt-out date is Jan. 10. The league can also withdraw if COVID outbreaks reach a point where it cannot complete the remainder of this season on time.

It’s been suggested the NHL would simply run a normal schedule during the Olympic break in February. However, The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro reported that would create a logistical nightmare for team owners as they attempt to reschedule events in their arenas during that period.

BLACKHAWKS REACH SETTLEMENT WITH BEACH

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: After eight months of legal battles, the Blackhawks and Kyle Beach have reached a confidential out-of-court settlement during third-party mediation yesterday. Beach alleged former Blackhawks video coach sexually assaulted him in May 2010 and that Blackhawks executives knowingly covered it up. An independent investigation by the Blackhawks supported Beach’s claims.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Here’s hoping this settlement brings Beach the closure and peace of mind he deserves after enduring a decade of hell dealing with what happened to him. It will take a long time for the Blackhawks organization to scrub away the stain on their reputation for the atrocious way they treated Beach and their handling of this situation.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin tied the all-time power-play goal record as his club fell 5-4 to the Blackhawks. Ovechkin tallied his 274th PP marker to tied Dave Andreychuk.

Blackhawks defenseman Caleb Jones won it for his club with an overtime goal. Chicago winger Alex DeBrincat scored two goals while Marc-Andre Fleury got his 501st career win with a 42-save performance. Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom collected an assist in his season debut after missing 28 games recovering from a hip injury

New York Rangers winger Kaapo Kakko scored twice, including the game-winner as his club downed the Arizona Coyotes 3-2. Chris Kreider assisted on all three Rangers goals. The Coyotes have lost six straight. Rangers winger Artemi Panarin left the game in the second period with a minor lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.

Anaheim Ducks winger Troy Terry netted his 18th of the season in a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken. Goalie Anthony Stolarz picked up his sixth straight win for the Ducks this season.

IN OTHER NEWS…

MONTREAL GAZETTE: Canadiens center Christian Dvorak is listed as sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body injury. Winger Josh Anderson will be out for another six weeks with an upper-body injury. Meanwhile, winger Brendan Gallagher and defenseman Sami Niku are expected to rejoin their teammates later this week after emerging from COVID protocol.

NBC SPORTS BAY AREA: San Jose Sharks winger Kevin Labanc will be sidelined for three months after opting for surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder.

NHL.COM: The Chicago Blackhawks placed forward Henrik Borgstrom on injured reserve backdated to Dec. 10 with a non-COVID-related illness.

LA KINGS INSIDER: Kings winger Andreas Athanasiou will miss the remainder of his club’s current road trip with a lower-body injury.

NHL.COM: The New Jersey Devils acquired goaltender Jon Gillies from the St. Louis Blues for future considerations.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 5, 2021

by | Dec 5, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 5, 2021

Alex Ovechkin reaches more scoring milestones, the Wild and Rangers extend their points streaks, plus updates on Igor Shesterkin, Mitch Marner, Charlie McAvoy and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: Alex Ovechkin scored his 750th career goal and his 118th game-winner as the Washington Capitals downed the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1. He’s now 16 goals behind Jaromir Jagr for third place on the all-time goal-scoring list, tied for third with Phil Esposito for the most game-winning goals, and tied with Jagr, Marcel Dionne, Brett Hull and Mats Sundin for the third-most consecutive 20-goal seasons. The Capitals played without Trevor van Riemsdyk, joining teammate Nic Dowd in COVID protocol.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (NHL Images).

Kirill Kaprizov’s shootout goal lifted the Minnesota Wild over the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3, extending their winning streak to six games while snapping the Leafs’ five-game streak. The Wild (35 points) hold a seven-point lead over the St. Louis Blues for first place in the Central Division. Jason Spezza scored twice and added an assist as the Leafs overcame a 3-0 deficit. Leafs winger Mitch Marner missed this game following a collision in practice with teammate Jake Muzzin. He’s also expected to miss Sunday’s contest with the Winnipeg Jets.

The New York Rangers picked up their sixth straight victory by holding off the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2. Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome each had a goal and two assists while Alexandar Georgiev picked up the win with a 25-save performance. Earlier in the day, the Rangers placed goaltender Igor Shesterkin (lower body) on injured reserve. Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane and Seth Jones each had two points.

Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart’s shootout goal gave his club a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues, marking the third straight game the Panthers overcame a deficit to claim victory. Maxim Mamin tallied twice for the Panthers while Blues goalie Ville Husso made 48 saves. With 37 points, the Panthers return to first place in the overall standings.

Jake Guentzel extended his points streak to 12 games with a hat trick and an assist as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1. Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists and Kris Letang chipped in three helpers. The Canucks sit at the bottom of the Pacific Division with 18 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canucks fans expressed their displeasure late in the game by calling for general manager Jim Benning to be fired. Whether the club’s ownership takes them up on their suggestion remains to be seen.

The Tampa Bay Lightning nipped the Boston Bruins 3-2 on an overtime goal by Steven Stamkos. Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy kicked out 37 shots for the win. The Bruins forced the extra frame on goals by Charlie Coyle and Curtis Lazar. Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy missed the game with a non-COVID-related illness.

An overtime goal by Moritz Seider lifted the Detroit Red Wings over the New York Islanders 4-3, leaving the latter winless in 10 straight games. Oliver Wahlstrom tallied twice for the Isles while the Wings have won five straight.

The Ottawa Senators blew a 5-2 lead but an overtime goal by Brady Tkachuk gave them a 6-5 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle each scored twice and added an assist.

Carolina Hurricanes winger Teuvo Teravainen scored twice and Vincent Trocheck had a goal and two assists in a 6-2 drubbing of the Buffalo Sabres. Sebastian Aho collected three assists for the Hurricanes as they snapped a three-game losing skid. Carolina winger Andrei Svechnikov was a late scratch with an injured finger.

Filip Forsberg’s overtime goal gave the Nashville Predators a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Predator forward Luke Kunin had a goal and an assist. Canadiens goalie Jake Allen stopped 40 shots while teammate Cole Caufield had two assists. Earlier in the day, the Canadiens claimed defenseman Kale Clague off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings. They’re also rumored to have player agent Kent Hughes on their radar as a potential general manager candidate though they haven’t yet contacted him about the job.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hughes is a bilingual Montreal native whose clients include Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron and Penguins defenseman Kris Letang.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 27, 2021

by | Nov 27, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 27, 2021

​Alex Ovechkin reaches another goal-scoring milestone, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Joe Pavelski each reach career benchmarks, Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild to a lopsided victory, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin tallied the 28th hat trick of his career as his club held off the Florida Panthers 4-3. Ovechkin is now tied with Bobby Hull and Marcel Dionne for the sixth-most hat tricks in NHL history. He’s also one goal shy of tying Dave Andreychuk’s record for the most career power-play goals (274). Tom Wilson and Evgeny Kuznetsov each had three points for the Capitals. The Panthers played without Anthony Duclair as he was a late scratch with a lower-body injury and considered day-to-day.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (NHL Images).

Joe Pavelski reached the 400 career goal plateau by scoring twice in a 3-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger left the game in the second period following a collision with Avalanche forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel but returned for the third period. The Stars (9-7-2) have won five of their last six games. Cale Makar netted the only goal for the Avalanche.

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 17 saves for his 200th career win and his second straight shutout to blank the Seattle Kraken 3-0. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare’s first goal of the season was the game-winner while Steven Stamkos netted his 11th goal of the season.

Kirill Kaprizov scored and set up three others as the Minnesota Wild romped to a 7-1 thumping of the Winnipeg Jets, handing the latter their fifth straight loss and chasing Connor Hellebuyck from the Jets net after he gave up four goals on 14 shots. Mats Zuccarello scored two goals and Kevin Fiala collected two assists.

Artemi Panarin broke a 2-2 tie in the third period as the New York Rangers tallied three unanswered goals on route to a 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins. Panarin and Bruins winger Brad Marchand each received misconduct penalties in the final seconds of the game after an exchange of words between the benches led to the Rangers winger throwing one of his hockey gloves at Marchand.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The New York Post’s Larry Brooks cited two sources claiming Marchand invoked Russian president Vladimir Putin and said no Russian players like Panarin. It’s believed the club has contacted the league about Marchand’s remarks.

Panarin took a leave of absence from the Rangers last season to deal with allegations made by one of his former Russian coaches claiming he assaulted a woman in Latvia a decade ago. The coach has close ties to Putin, whom Panarin had singled out for criticism in the past. The allegations were eventually revealed to be unfounded.

The Anaheim Ducks got a 34-save shutout performance from Anthony Stolarz in a 4-0 win over the Ottawa Senators, handing the Sens (4-13-1) their 10th loss in their last 11 games. Rickard Rakell and Trevor Zegras each had two points while Troy Terry netted his 13th goal of the season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports Senators goaltender Matt Murray was a healthy scratch and is expected to be placed on waivers later today. The move is seen as a “wake-up call” for Murray, who hasn’t performed up to expectations this season.

Garrioch reports there are teams struggling between the pipes this season (Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres) who could use an experienced starter. However, Murray’s $6.25 million cap hit makes it unlikely he’ll be claimed.

The Toronto Maple Leafs picked up their eighth win in their last nine contests by downing the San Jose Sharks 4-1. John Tavares and William Nylander each had a goal and an assist while Joseph Woll kicked out 34 shots for the win. Earlier in the day, the Sharks announced general manager Doug Wilson is taking a temporary medical leave from the club to deal with a non-COVID-related illness.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Best wishes to Wilson for a quick and full recovery.

A four-goal second period powered the Carolina Hurricanes over the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3. Sebastian Aho scored two goals and Jesperi Kotkaniemi had a goal and an assist as the Hurricanes set a franchise record for requiring the fewest games (19) to reach 15 season-opening wins. The Flyers have dropped five in a row.

An overtime goal by Alex DeBrincat set up by Patrick Kane lifted the Chicago Blackhawks over the St. Louis Blues 3-2. The Blackhawks (7-11-2) were down 2-0 but rallied back on goals by Jujhar Khaira and Brandon Hagel. The Blues have now lost seven of their last nine contests.

Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi had a goal and an assist as his club doubled up the New Jersey Devils 4-2. Josi now has 20 points in as many games this season. Andreas Johnsson also had a goal and an assist for the Devils, who have lost five of their last six.

Tristan Jarry turned aside 25 shots and Kasperi Kapanen scored the only goal as the Pittsburgh Penguins shut out the New York Islanders 1-0 to pick up their fifth straight win. The Islanders (5-10-2) have lost eight straight.

A 39-save effort by Elvis Merzlikins gave the Columbus Blue Jackets a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Jack Roslovic scored the tie-breaker in the third period for the Jackets (12-6-0) while the Canucks’ record sinks to 6-13-2.

The Buffalo Sabres broke a four-game losing skid with a 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Tage Thompson tallied two goals for the Sabres (8-10-2). The Canadiens (5-14-2) are 1-9-1 on the road this season. Earlier in the day, the Sabres placed forward Drake Caggiula on injured reserve.