NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 5, 2024
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 5, 2024
Recaps of Monday’s games feature the Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon moving into a tie for the league scoring lead, the Devils fire head coach Lindy Ruff, the three stars of the week are revealed, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals and collected two assists in a 5-0 romp over the Chicago Blackhawks. Justus Annunen collected his second straight shutout over the Blackhawks with a 37-save performance for the 38-20-5 Avalanche, who sit third in the Central Division with 81 points. Petr Mrazek stopped 32 shots for the 15-42-5 Blackhawks, who are winless in their last seven games (0-5-2).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: MacKinnon extended his season-opening home points streak to 30 games and tied Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov for the scoring lead with 105 points.
The Florida Panthers picked up their fifth straight win by doubling up on the New York Rangers 4-2. Sam Reinhart tallied twice, Aleksander Barkov picked up two assists and Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 26 shots for the Panthers (42-16-4) as they remain atop the overall standings with 88 points. Will Cuylle and Chris Kreider replied for the 40-18-4 Rangers, who lead the Metropolitan Division with 84 points but slipped to fourth in the overall standings.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Reinhart took over sole possession of second place in the goal-scoring race with 44 goals.
Boston Bruins forward Pavel Zacha scored two goals and David Pastrnak had three assists in a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jeremy Swayman kicked out 32 shots for the Bruins (36-13-14) as they moved into second place in the overall standings with 86 points. John Tavares scored for the 35-18-8 Leafs, who hold third place in the Atlantic Division with 78 points.
The Columbus Blue Jackets upset the Vegas Golden Knights 6-3 as Alex Nylander tallied his first career NHL hat trick. Daniil Tarasov made 37 saves for the 21-30-10 Blue Jackets. Vegas center Jack Eichel was held scoreless in his first game since being sidelined on Jan. 11 with a knee injury. The Golden Knights (33-22-7) remain in third place in the Pacific Division with 73 points but have just two wins (2-7-1) in their last 10 games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As the Golden Knights activated Eichel off long-term injury reserve they placed captain Mark Stone (upper body) on LTIR. That leaves them with roughly $7.3 million in salary-cap flexibility to put toward adding to their roster by Friday’s trade deadline.
A shootout goal by Pavel Buchnevich lifted the St. Louis Blues over the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1. Jordan Binnington stopped 40 shots for the 32-26-3 Blues (67 points) as they kept their playoff hopes alive by moving within five points of the final Western Conference wild-card berth. Scott Laughton scored for the Flyers (32-23-8) to remain in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 72 points.
The Seattle Kraken snapped the Calgary Flames’ five-game win streak with a 4-2 victory. Philipp Grubauer made 35 saves while Jared McCann had a goal and an assist for the Kraken (27-23-11). Andrei Kuzmenko tallied both goals for the 30-26-5 Flames. Both teams have 65 points and sit seven points out of the final Western wild-card spot.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Flames forward Martin Pospisil faces supplemental discipline following his ejection from this game for hitting Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn from behind.
Before this game, the Kraken announced they scratched center Alex Wennberg from this game for trade-related reasons. The Rangers and Avalanche are among the clubs rumored to be interested in Wennberg, who could be on the move before Friday’s trade deadline.
HEADLINES
NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW: The Devils yesterday fired head coach Lindy Ruff. Associate coach Travis Green has taken over on an interim basis.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Devils management had to do something to shake things up. Their playoff hopes are fading and they’re struggling to land a reliable starting netminder in the trade market.
Ruff had difficulty finding solutions to the Devils’ problems this season but I don’t consider him solely to blame. They probably wouldn’t be in their current predicament if they had better goaltending and a healthier roster. It’ll be interesting to see if Green has better luck finding a solution than his predecessor.
NHL.COM: Defensemen dominate the league’s three stars for the week ending March 3. Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi was the first star, followed by the Florida Panthers’ Brandon Montour and the Winnipeg Jets’ Josh Morrissey.
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin will be sidelined for the next two weeks with a lower-body injury.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: How well the Wings adjust to Larkin’s absence could determine whether they clinch their first playoff berth since 2016. They hold the first Eastern Conference wild-card berth with 72 points.
THE TENNESSEAN: The Nashville Predators signed forward Tommy Novak to a three-year, $10.5-million contract extension. His annual average value is $3.5 million. The 26-year-old center was slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Novak drew some interest in the trade market amid speculation about whether the Predators would re-sign him. This isn’t a sign-and-trade scenario as the Preds want to keep Novak in the fold.
SPORTSNET: The Carolina Hurricanes signed former Anaheim Ducks winger Max Comtois to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K at the NHL level. The 25-year-old has 28 points in 45 games this season with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is an affordable depth addition by the Hurricanes as they prepare to bolster their roster for the playoffs. It’s unlikely that this is the only move they’ll have in store before Friday’s trade deadline.