NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 30, 2021

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 30, 2021

Patrick Marleau reaches a significant milestone, the Panthers suffer a serious blow with Aaron Ekblad sidelined, the Senators and Kings make a minor deal, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Erik Karlsson scored twice in regulation and the winning goal in a shootout as the San Jose Sharks nipped the Minnesota 4-3. Kevin Fiala and Marcus Johansson each had two points for the Wild (44 points), who sit in third place in the West. Sharks winger Patrick Marleau played his 1,757th NHL game to move past Mark Messier into second place on the all-time games list. Marleau is just 10 games behind leader Gordie Howe with 22 games to play.

San Jose Sharks winger Patrick Marleau (NHL.com).

The Vegas Golden Knights maintained their grip on first place in the Honda West Division with a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Robin Lehner made 24 saves for the win and Jonathan Marchessault collected two assists as Vegas (49 points) have won eight of their last 10 games. They hold a one-point lead over the Colorado Avalanche.

Speaking of the Avalanche, Cale Makar had three assists as they downed the Anaheim Ducks 5-2. Colorado winger Mikko Rantanen tallied his 20th goal of the season. The Avalanche are 9-0-2 in their last 11 contests.

The Philadelphia Flyers overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on an overtime goal by Ivan Provorov. Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux and Provorov each had a goal and an assist for the Flyers (38 points), who move within one point of the fourth-place Boston Bruins in the MassMutual East Division. Buffalo’s winless skid is now at 18 games. Sabres forward Dylan Cozens left the game with an upper-body injury.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Of those 18 defeats, this one is the cruelest for the Sabres, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

A 19-save performance by Casey DeSmith in relief of Tristan Jarry enabled the Pittsburgh Penguins to hold off the New York Islanders 2-1. DeSmith replaced Jarry after the latter left the game in the first period with an undisclosed injury. Jared McCann scored what proved to be the winning goal for Pittsburgh (48 points), who moved into a tie with the New York Islanders. The Isles, however, holds second place in the East Division on the basis of regulation wins. Penguins winger Jason Zucker returned to the lineup after missing 18 games with a lower-body injury.

An overtime goal by Darnell Nurse gave the Edmonton Oilers a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Oilers captain Connor McDavid set up Nurse to extend his points streak to 11 games. Toronto center Auston Matthews tallied his league-leading 23rd goal while Mitch Marner had a goal and an assist. With 47 points, the Leafs remain atop the Scotia North Division while the Oilers sit two back in third place.

Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers each collected three points as the Winnipeg Jets snuffed out the Calgary Flames 5-1. Scheifele scored twice and Ehlers had three assists. The Jets sit one point behind the Leafs and one ahead of the Oilers in the North Division. The Flames (35 points) remain two points back of the fourth-place Montreal Canadiens

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Dropping five of their last six games, the Flames have missed a golden opportunity to overtake the idle Canadiens. They sit only two points behind the Habs but the latter have six games in hand after having four games postponed last week by COVID-19 protocols.

HEADLINES

SUN-SENTINEL.COM: Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad will be sidelined for 12 weeks following surgery to repair a fractured lower left leg.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Losing their top defenseman is crushing news for the Panthers, who are jockeying with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes for first place in the Discover Central Division. It could force general manager Bill Zito into the trade market for help.

CBS BOSTON: Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask could be sidelined most of this week with an upper-body injury.

TSN.CA: Montreal Canadiens center Jesperi Kotkaniemi came off the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list. Teammate Joel Armia remains on the list while new Hab Eric Staal is on the list as part of a seven-day quarantine before joining the club later this week.

OTTAWA SUN: The Senators traded defenseman Christian Wolanin to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for minor-league forward Mike Amadio. Wolanin cleared waivers last week and was demoted to the Senators AHL affiliate in Belleville.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Sun reporter Bruce Garrioch explains the reason the Kings didn’t claim Wolanin off waivers was that they wanted the ability to get a contract off their books. They were interested in Wolanin but wanted to be sure the Senators would take Amadio’s contract.

NHL.COM: Former NHL forward Bobby Schmautz passed away at his home in Arizona on Sunday at age 76. He spent 13 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Rockies. He tallied 20-or-more goals nine times, including two 30-plus goal campaigns. Schmautz spent over six seasons with the Bruins. In 764 games, he scored 271 goals and 557 points, along with 61 points in 84 postseason contests.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Schmautz’s family, friends and former teammates.










NHL Rumor Mill – March 26, 2021

NHL Rumor Mill – March 26, 2021

The latest on Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri plus updates on the Canadiens, Oilers, Flyers and Senators in today’s NHL rumor mill.

HALL AND PALMIERI

SPORTSNET: Buffalo Sabres winger Taylor Hall said he would “for sure” listen if general manager Kevyn Adams approached him about trade options. His comments came following the Sabres 4-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins last night.

Buffalo Sabres winger Taylor Hall (NHL Images)

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Earlier this month, Hall indicated he’d also be open to re-signing with the Sabres. Perhaps the strain of 16 consecutive losses has changed his mind. The 29-year-old winger has a full no-movement clause and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. There’s speculation the New York Islanders could be interested in his services.

TSN: Pierre LeBrun reports the New Jersey Devils and Kyle Palmieri aren’t close to a new contract. He’s told the two sides are struggling to find common ground due to the flattened salary cap and uncertainty over what contracts could look like moving forward. LeBrun considers it more likely Palmieri gets moved by the April 12 trade deadline.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Palmieri is completing a five-year deal with an annual average value of $4.65 million. A five-time 20-plus goal scorer who can skate on either wing, the 30-year-old winger would be a very enticing rental player for playoff contenders seeking scoring punch.

WILL THE CANADIENS BE BUYERS AT THE DEADLINE?

TSN: Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin told reporters yesterday he doesn’t expect to be busy leading up to the trade deadline due to salary-cap constraints.

TVA SPORTS: Maxim Lapierre believes Bergevin could make a move despite his comments to reporters. Lapierre believed the Habs GM is on the hot seat and maintaining the status quo isn’t an option. He feels the club needs a fourth-line center or a veteran third-line forward.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: I’d argue landing a reliable top-four, left-side defenseman is the greater need for the Canadiens. Regardless, a number of pundits aren’t buying the notion that Bergevin won’t do something before the deadline.

Bergevin could strike if the opportunity presents itself. Cap Friendly indicates the Canadiens have over $3.5 million in projected trade deadline cap space. They also carry plenty of tradeable assets in draft picks (11 between rounds two and five) and promising prospects.

LATEST ON THE OILERS, FLYERS AND SENATORS

TSN: Frank Seravalli believes the Edmonton Oilers are looking for a right-shot center who can win faceoffs and help them kill penalties. He proposed Detroit’s Luke Glendening, Vancouver’s Brandon Sutter and Calgary’s Derek Ryan as three options, though the latter two carry higher salary-cap hits than Glendening. Seravalli points out the Oilers traded away their second, third, and fifth-round picks in this year’s draft “so they’d like to do all that with a fourth-round pick if they can.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Oilers GM Ken Holland undoubtedly wants to bolster his lineup before the trade deadline. That will be difficult given their limited cap space and shortage of picks in this year’s draft.

Holland will have to get creative, including perhaps moving out a roster player or dipping into his 2022 draft picks. I also don’t see the Canucks or Flames dealing with the Oilers as long as they remain in playoff contention.

PHILADELPHIA HOCKEY NOW: Ryan Gilbert reports Flyers assistant GM Brent Flahr was among a number of scouts at the Arizona Coyotes game against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday. He speculates Flahr could’ve been checking Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski or Jason Demers. The Flyers kicked tires on Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson during the offseason but he has a no-movement clause.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flyers won’t be buyers if they continue to struggle in the MassMutual East Division. The New York Rangers have overtaken them for fifth place.

OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports the Senators have placed Christian Wolanin on waivers for the purpose of sending him to their AHL affiliate in Belleville or moving him to their taxi squad. He said they’ve been trying to trade the 26-year-old defenseman for the last little while but couldn’t find anyone willing to give up any assets.