NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 30, 2024

by | Apr 30, 2024

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 30, 2024

The Panthers eliminate the Lightning, the Stars tie their series with the Golden Knights, the Vezina Trophy finalists are announced and the Kraken fire head coach Dave Hakstol. Details and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The Florida Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-1 to win their best-of-seven first-round series in five games. Carter Verhaeghe and Aleksander Barkov each scored twice and collected an assist for the Panthers, who will play the winner of the Boston Bruins-Toronto Maple Leafs first-round series in the second round.

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lightning head coach Jon Cooper was critical of two goalie interference calls that went against his club in this game. Those goals might’ve changed the outcome of this game had they counted but would’ve only delayed his club’s inevitable elimination. After years in the Lightning’s shadow, the Panthers emerged this season as the dominant NHL club in Florida.

This is the second straight season that the former Stanley Cup champion Lightning have been eliminated in the first round. The main reason is steady depletion of their roster due to salary cap constraints.

The future of Steven Stamkos is the biggest question facing the Lightning in this offseason. The long-time Tampa Bay captain is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Following this game, Stamkos said he hadn’t thought about it as he was focused on trying to help his team win this season. Cooper believes Stamkos knows he belongs with the Lightning. That will depend on whether he and Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois can agree to a new contract before free agency begins on July 1.

The Dallas Stars scored three unanswered goals as they overcame a 2-1 deficit to double up the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in Game 4 of their first-round series. Wyatt Johnston tied the game, Ty Dellandrea scored the winning goal and Jake Oettinger stopped 32 shots as the Stars tied this series at two games apiece. Michael Amadio and Jack Eichel scored for the Golden Knights.

PLAYOFF NOTEBOOK

NHL.COM: Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers, Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks, and Connor Hellebucyk of the Winnipeg Jets are the finalists for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender in 2023-24.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to the three finalists. Hellebuyck seems the most likely to win this award, joining Bobrovsky as the only active goalies to win the Vezina at least twice.

THE SEATTLE TIMES: The Kraken fired head coach Dave Hakstol after three seasons behind their bench. Hakstol guided the club to its first postseason in its second NHL season but they failed to qualify for the playoffs this season. Assistant coach Paul McFarland also won’t be returning.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Kraken’s disappointing follow-up to last season’s surprising performance isn’t solely on Hakstol. Matty Benier’s sophomore slump, another injury-shortened season for Andre Burakovsky and the offseason departures of Daniel Sprong and Morgan Geekie were contributing factors. Still, it’s usually the head coach who bears the responsibility when a team struggles.

There’s no shortage of candidates to replace Hakstol. They include former NHL bench bosses like Craig Berube, Todd McLellan, Gerard Gallant, and Dean Evason. The Times’ Geoff Baker suggested keeping an eye on Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour, whose current contract expires at the end of this season.

TORONTO STAR: The Maple Leafs are preparing to play Game 5 against the Bruins without Auston Matthews. The Leafs center missed practice on Monday with an ongoing illness and is questionable for tonight’s game.

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark would love to start Game 5 against the Maple Leafs. However, he’s said he won’t be a “salty crybaby” if Jeremy Swayman gets the call. Swayman has played three of the four games thus far, winning all three.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Bruins can advance to the second round with a win over the Leafs in Game 5.

THE PROVINCE: Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet expects a better effort from his club as they look to eliminate the Nashville Predators in Game 5. He said his players were pleased with their comeback effort in Game 4 but they knew their play in that contest was average. Tocchet indicated they are focused on improvement.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This series would be tied at two games apiece if not for those frantic final minutes for the Canucks in Game 4. They can’t afford another average performance against a desperate Predators team in Game 5.

TSN: Winnipeg Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov suffered a fractured cheekbone after being struck by a shot by teammate Nate Schmidt during Sunday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. However, he hasn’t been ruled out for Game 5 of the first-round series between the two clubs on Tuesday. The Avalanche hold a 3-1 series lead.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour is shaking up three of his lines for Game 5 against the New York Islanders. Jack Drury will move up to center the second line, winger Teuvo Teravainen drops down to the third line and Jesperi Kotkaniemi moves to the fourth line.

CBS SPORTS: New York Islanders forward Matt Martin will miss Game 5 against the Carolina Hurricanes with a lower-body injury.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 12, 2023

by | May 12, 2023

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 12, 2023

The Hurricanes advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Stars push the Kraken to the brink of elimination, the Vezina Trophy finalists are announced, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: The Carolina Hurricanes advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 3-2 overtime victory over the New Jersey Devils to win their best-of-seven second-round series in five games. Jesper Fast tallied the game-winner, Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns scored in regulation and Frederik Andersen stopped 27 shots for the Hurricanes. Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier tallied for the Devils, who got a 36-save performance from Akira Schmid.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Hurricanes await the winner of the Florida Panthers-Toronto Maple Leafs series. The Panthers hold a 3-1 lead in that best-of-seven series and could wrap things up with a win tonight in Toronto.

This was the most closely-contested game of the series following four lopsided contests between these two clubs. The Devils dominated the play for long stretches and had several opportunities to break the game open but failed to cash in on their scoring chances.

Steady goaltending from Andersen, a solid defense corps and experience made the difference in this series for Carolina. Depth forwards such as Fast and Jordan Martinook also stepped up offensively for the Hurricanes in this series.

The Devils may be disappointed over the outcome of this series but it doesn’t overshadow their significant improvement this season. They reached the playoffs for the first time since 2018, finishing third overall with a franchise-record 112 points. They also won their first playoff series since 2012 by eliminating the arch-rival New York Rangers in the first round. Led by young stars like Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, the Devils have a bright future ahead.

Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski (NHL Images).

Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz scored twice and collected an assist in a 5-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken to take a 3-2 lead in their second-round series. Jason Robertson collected three assists while Joe Pavelski tied Chris Drury for the most career game-winning playoff goals (17) by a US-born player. Adam Larsson and Jared McCann replied for the Kraken. Game 6 goes Saturday evening in Seattle.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The 38-year-old Pavelski also became the oldest player to score at least seven times in a playoff series. Stars winger Mason Marchment missed this game after taking an elbow to the head in Game 4.

This game was much close than the score suggests as the Kraken narrowed Dallas’ 3-0 lead to 3-2 before Hintz put the game out of reach in the third period. The Stars should anticipate a tough battle from the Kraken in Seattle.

HEADLINES

NHL.COM: Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders and Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins are this season’s finalists for the Vezina Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL’s best goaltender.

The department of player safety handed down one-game suspensions to Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and Edmonton Oilers blueliner Darnell Nurse.

Pietrangelo’s punishment was for slashing Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl in Game 4 of their second-round series on Wednesday. Nurse’s is for instigating a fight with Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague with less than five minutes remaining in Game 4.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Nurse was suspended because he instigated a fight within the final five minutes of Game 4. However, Hague reportedly asked the Oilers’ defenseman for the fight. I guess the thinking here is that Nurse could’ve refused but didn’t.

Pietrangelo made a deliberate attempt to injure with his lumberjack slash on Draisaitl. It was uncharacteristic of him and was apparently provoked by his anger over uncalled infractions during the game. Nevertheless, that doesn’t excuse what he did. While Draisaitl wasn’t injured on the play, Pietrangelo’s action should’ve merited more than a one-game suspension.

TSN: Joseph Woll will get the start again for the Toronto Maple Leafs when they face off tonight against the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of their second-round series. Ilya Samsonov remains sidelined by an upper-body injury. Matt Murray will serve as Woll’s backup.

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: As expected, the Flyers formally announced Keith Jones as their new president of hockey operations. They also confirmed that Daniel Briere is now their full-time general manager after serving in the role on an interim basis since March.

OTTAWA SUN: Actor Ryan Reynolds and the Remington Group won’t be submitting their $1 billion bid for the Senators. They reportedly sought exclusive negotiating rights with the National Capital Commission and the City of Ottawa to get a deal to build a new arena.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: There are seven other groups that are anticipated to make bids for the Senators by the anticipated May 15 deadline.

MONTREAL GAZETTE: Karl Subban, the father of former NHL defenseman P.K. Subban, has joined the group Ban Ads for Gambling to get ads for sports betting removed from hockey broadcasts. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has also called for a ban on the use of celebrities to sell sports betting.

A former school principal, Subban is concerned about children being exposed to gambling ads involving celebrities and NHL players.

CALGARY HOCKEY NOW: The Flames have reportedly blocked former general manager Brad Treliving from interviewing with other teams before his contract expires at the end of June.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 11, 2022

by | May 11, 2022

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 11, 2022

The Leafs, Hurricanes, Blues and Kings go up 3-2 in their respective series, the Canadiens win the 2022 NHL draft lottery, the Vezina Trophy finalists are announced, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Auston Matthews snapped a 3-3 tie to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of their first-round series. Toronto rallied from a 2-0 deficit and held a 3-2 lead until Ryan McDonagh tied it for Tampa Bay before Matthews netted the game-winner. William Nylander had a goal and two assists and John Tavares had a goal and an assist for the Leafs, who hold a 3-2 series lead over the Lightning as the series returns to Tampa Bay for Game 6.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: That was the most entertaining game of this series. The Lightning dominated the opening period but the Leafs rallied in part thanks to a motivating between-period speech by center Jason Spezza. Their biggest test comes on Thursday as they must finally get the monkey off their backs and win the franchise’s first playoff series since 2004.

St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko (NHL Images).

St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko tallied a natural hat trick in the third period to lead his club to a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild in Game 5 of their opening-round series. Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington picked up his second straight win by stopping 32 shots. Kirill Kaprizov scored both Wild goals. The series heads back to St. Louis on Thursday for Game 6 with the Blues holding a 3-2 lead.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Blues showed their mettle by overcoming a 2-1 series deficit to put themselves in the driver’s seat heading into Thursday’s contest. We’ll find out if the Wild can do the same to force a seventh and deciding game back home in Minnesota on Saturday.

The Carolina Hurricanes atoned for their undisciplined Game 4 loss against the Boston Bruins with a 5-1 victory in Game 5. Seth Jarvis scored two goals, Teuvo Teravainen, Vincent Trocheck and Tony DeAngelo each had three points and Antti Raanta made 33 saves for the win. Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy returned to the lineup after spending Game 4 in COVID protocol. The Hurricanes lead the series three games to two heading back to Boston for Game 6 on Thursday.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Bruins fell behind 2-0 in the first and spent the next two periods falling further behind as they tried to play catch-up. They need more from their secondary scorers such as Taylor Hall, Jake DeBrusk and Craig Smith or this series will be over on Thursday.

An overtime goal by Adrian Kempe lifted the Los Angeles Kings to a 5-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 of their series. The Oilers overcame a 4-2 deficit in the third period on two goals by Leon Draisaitl to force the extra frame. Kempe and Draisaitl each finished the night with two goals and an assist. The Kings hold a 3-2 series lead heading home to Los Angeles for Game 6 on Thursday.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Kings are poised to pull off the first upset of the 2022 NHL playoffs unless the Oilers can win Game 6 and return home to Edmonton to take Game 7 on Saturday. The Oilers haven’t won a playoff series since 2017 so it’s gut-check time for Draisaitl, fellow superstar Connor McDavid and their teammates.

HEADLINES

NHL.COM: The Montreal Canadiens will select first overall in the 2022 NHL Draft after winning the draft lottery on Tuesday evening. The New Jersey Devils won the second-overall selection while the Arizona Coyotes will get the No. 3 pick. The draft will be held at the Bell Centre in Montreal on July 7-8.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Follow the link above for the full list of the draft order from selections 1 through 16. The remainder of the order will be determined by the outcomes of the four rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

MONTREAL GAZETTE: The top prospect in this year’s draft is Kingston Frontenacs center Shane Wright. However, Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes played coy over which player he’ll select on July 7, indicating he and his staff will continue to evaluate the prospects before making their final decision.

Winger Juraj Slafkovsky of TPS Finland and center Logan Cooley of the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) are also ranked among the top three in this year’s prospect pool.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canadiens will conduct due diligence but they’ll likely take Wright, who was ranked this year’s top prospect throughout this season. While the 18-year-old center isn’t a generational talent, he’s drawn favorable comparisons to Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron. If Hughes chooses Wright, Canadiens fans will be thrilled if he becomes a multiple Selke Trophy winner.

Hughes’ son, Jack, is also among this year’s top-32 prospects. However, the Canadiens GM joked he wouldn’t be taking him with that selection.

NBC SPORTS CHICAGO: The Blackhawks wound up with the sixth-overall selection. However, that pick goes to the Columbus Blue Jackets as part of the terms of last year’s Seth Jones trade.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: That could work in the Blackhawks’ favor. Had this year’s pick landed among the top two, the Blue Jackets would’ve received the Hawks’ first-rounder in the 2023 draft, which is considered to be deeper in talented prospects.

VEGAS HOCKEY NOW: The Golden Knights wound up with the 16th overall pick but that selection goes to the Buffalo Sabres as part of last November’s Jack Eichel trade. The Sabres also own the ninth-overall pick.

NHL.COM: The Calgary Flames’ Jacob Markstrom, Nashville Predators’ Juuse Saros, and New York Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin are the 2022 finalists for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: These three are certainly worthwhile candidates. Shesterkin is considered the favorite as he led all starters during the regular season with a 2.07 goals-against average and .935 save percentage.

NBC SPORTS BAY AREA: Patrick Marleau officially announced his retirement as an NHL player on Tuesday. He spent 21 of his 23 seasons with the San Jose Sharks and holds the league record for most games played with 1,779. Marleau is also the Sharks’ all-time leader with 1,607 games played, 522 goals and 1,111 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Best wishes to Marleau and his family in their future endeavors.

NHL.COM: Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn was fined $5,000.00 by the department of player safety for a dangerous trip on Calgary Flames forward Trevor Lewis during Game 4 on Monday.

VEGAS HOCKEY NOW: Golden Knights center Jack Eichel played the final six weeks of the regular season with a broken finger.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 2, 2021

by | Jun 2, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 2, 2021

The Lightning takes a 2-0 series lead over the Hurricanes, the Vezina Trophy finalists are announced, the 2021 Draft Lottery goes tonight, an update on Jack Eichel and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: A third-period goal by Anthony Cirelli was the game-winner as the Tampa Bay Lightning held off the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 to take a 2-0 lead in their second-round series. Alex Killorn opened the scoring in the second period for the Lightning. Andrei Svechnikov got the Hurricanes on the board late in the third. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves for the win as the Bolts were outshot 32-15. The series shifts to Tampa Bay for Game 3 on Thursday.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hurricanes center Vincent Trocheck left the game with an injured right leg following a second-period collision with teammate Warren Foegele. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour said it didn’t know the extent of Trocheck’s injury but indicated it didn’t look good. An update could come later today.

Losing their second-line center would be another blow to the Hurricanes’ forward lines. Winger Nino Niederreiter is out for the series with an undisclosed injury suffering in practice before Game 1.

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (NHL Images).

Speaking of Andrei Vasilevskiy, he joins Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights and Philipp Grubauer of the Colorado Avalanche as this year’s finalists for the Vezina Trophy.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s the fourth straight season Vasilevskiy has been named a finalist, winning the award in 2018-19. It’s the first time Fleury and Grubauer have been honored.

The 2021 NHL Draft Lottery goes tonight at 7 pm ET at league headquarters. The Buffalo Sabres have the best odds of winning after finishing with the worst overall record, followed by the Anaheim Ducks. The expansion Seattle Kraken has the third-best odds.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The NHL Draft will be held virtually on July 23-24. Follow the link above for full details on the lottery rules and this year’s top prospects.

WGR 550: Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel has reached the end of the rehab period for the herniated disk in his neck. If he still wants the neck surgery that team doctors haven’t been comfortable with, he has the right to take the team to arbitration. If he doesn’t agree with the arbiter’s decision, he can ask for a trade.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The surgical procedure Eichel prefers has never been done before on an NHL player. The team doctors’ preference is for continued rehab. It’ll be interesting to see what unfolds if Eichel feels he hasn’t made much progress with his current treatment.

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy admitted goaltender Tuukka Rask has been battling nagging injuries. However, he doesn’t feel there’s any reason to believe Rask won’t be ready to play against the New York Islanders tonight in Game 3 of their second-round series.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Rask appeared to struggle during the Bruins’ overtime loss in Game 2. If that continues in Game 3 we could see backup Jeremy Swayman for Game 4.

TSN: Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk was fined $5,000.00 by the NHL department of player safety for cross-checking Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield in Game 2.

WINNIPEG SUN: The province of Manitoba will allow 500 fully-vaccinated healthcare workers into the MTS Centre tonight for the Winnipeg Jets’ opening game of their second-round series against the Montreal Canadiens.

TWINCITIES.COM: Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin said he suffered a sprained shoulder during his club’s series against the Vegas Golden Knights. Teammate Joel Eriksson Ek played through a knee injury suffered in Game 6. The duo won’t require offseason surgery.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: The Panthers signed defenseman Kevin Connauton to a one-year, two-way contract extension.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: According to Cap Friendly, Connauton will earn $825K at the NHL level. He spent most of this season on the Panthers’ taxi squad, seeing action in seven games.

TSN: The Pittsburgh Penguins have given teams around the league permission to speak with former general manager Jim Rutherford before his contract with them expires at the end of June. Rutherford stepped down as GM in January for personal reasons.










Lightning’s Vasilevskiy Continues To Steer Towards Another Vezina Trophy

by | May 8, 2021

Lightning’s Vasilevskiy Continues To Steer Towards Another Vezina Trophy

 










NHL Betting: Andrei Vasilevskiy Sets The Bar High In Vezina Trophy Race

by | Mar 10, 2021

NHL Betting: Andrei Vasilevskiy Sets The Bar High In Vezina Trophy Race