Milestone games for Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov and Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey, the Sabres extend their win streak to six games, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Nikita Kucherov collected four assists to reach the 100-point mark for the sixth time in his career as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2. Corey Perry scored in his first game back with the Lightning (39-18-4) since being acquired from the Los Angeles Kings on Friday. Matias Maccelli and Nick Robertson replied for the 27-26-11 Maple Leafs, who are 0-5-2 in their last seven games. The Lightning hold first place in the Atlantic Division with 82 points.
Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kucherov is the third player to reach the 100-point plateau this season, sitting behind Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (106 points) and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (103). The Lightning played without defenseman Emil Lilleberg, who suffered a facial fracture during practice on Wednesday. He’s expected to miss two weeks.
The Buffalo Sabres kept pace with the Lightning with a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators. Tage Thompson scored to extend his points streak to 10 games, and Alex Lyon stopped 23 shots for the 38-19-6 Sabres (80 points), who have won six straight games. Zachary L’Heureux and Matthew Wood replied for the Predators (28-27-8), who have lost four of their last five and remain three points out of the final Western Conference wild-card spot with 64 points.
New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes tallied a hat trick and collected an assist to lead his club to their fourth straight win with a 6-3 victory over the New York Rangers. Jesper Bratt had a goal and two assists for the 32-29-2 Devils. Will Borgen, Vladislav Gavrikov, and Will Cuylle replied for the Rangers (24-30-8).
An overtime goal by Josh Morrissey lifted the Winnipeg Jets over the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 3-2. Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists for the 26-26-10 Jets, who are five points out of the final wild-card berth in the Western Conference with 62 points. Linus Karlsson had a goal and an assist for the Canucks (19-36-9).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was Morrissey’s first game since getting injured during the Olympics. It was a memorable return as he moved past Dustin Byfuglien for the most points by a defenseman for this version of the Jets with 417 points.
The Montreal Canadiens nipped the Los Angeles Kings 4-3. Juraj Slafkovsky scored twice and had an assist, Nick Suzuki had a goal and two assists, and Jakub Dobes kicked out 36 shots for the Canadiens (34-18-10), who moved into third place in the Atlantic Division with 78 points. Anze Kopitar, Scott Laughton, and Alex Laferriere scored for the 25-23-14 Kings (64 points), who also sit three points behind the Seattle Kraken for the final Western wild-card spot.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Laughton’s goal was his first for the Kings since being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.
Speaking of the Kraken, they dropped a 7-4 decision to the Ottawa Senators. Shane Pinto had a goal and two assists, and Warren Foegele scored his first goal since being acquired from the Kings for the 31-22-9 Senators (71 points), who are four points behind the Boston Bruins for the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth. Jordan Eberle collected two assists for the 29-24-9 Kraken (67 points).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson left this game in the second period with an upper-body injury. There was no postgame update on his status. Kraken winger Jaden Schwartz departed in the first period after being accidentally cut on his face by the skate of Senators forward Nick Cousins. He was reportedly still being evaluated following the game.
As for the Bruins (35-22-5), they downed the Washington Capitals 3-1. Pavel Zacha, Viktor Arvidsson, and Elias Lindholm scored, and David Pastrnak collected two assists as they hold that final Eastern wild-card spot with 75 points. Aliaksei Protas replied for the Capitals (31-26-7).
An overtime goal by Bo Horvat gave the New York Islanders a 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks. Ilya Sorokin stopped 30 shots, and Tony DeAngelo also scored for the 36-23-5 Islanders, who hold second place in the Metropolitan Division with 77 points. Macklin Celebrini tallied his 32nd goal of the season, and Yaroslav Askarov made 32 saves for the Sharks (30-25-6), who sit one point behind the Kraken with 66 points
The Philadelphia Flyers upset the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on a shootout goal by Trevor Zegras. Alex Bump scored his first goal in his NHL debut for the 29-22-11 Flyers. Rickard Rakell had a goal and an assist for the Penguins (31-17-14), who sit third in the Metropolitan Division with 76 points.
Calgary Flames forward Joel Farabee had two goals and an assist in a 5-4 upset of the Carolina Hurricanes. Ryan Strome had a goal and an assist in his first game with the Flames (25-30-7) since his acquisition from the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Seth Jarvis had a goal and two assists for the 40-17-6 Hurricanes, who sit in first place in the Eastern Conference with 82 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Flames defenseman Zach Whitecloud left this game in the first period with an upper-body injury.
Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley tallied twice, including the winner in overtime, to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4. Karel Vejmelka stopped 27 shots to become the first goaltender to reach 30 wins this season as the Mammoth (34-25-4) has won three straight and holds the first Western Conference wild-card berth with 72 points. Damon Severson, Mathieu Olivier, Adam Fantilli, and Mason Marchment each had a goal and an assist for the 32-21-9 Blue Jackets, who sit two points behind the Bruins for the final Eastern wild-card spot.
IN OTHER NEWS…
MLIVE.COM: Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Stars center Roope Hintz is expected to miss some extended time after injuring his left leg during Friday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche.
NHL.COM: Former Chicago Blackhawks forward and broadcaster Troy Murray passed away from cancer on Saturday at the age of 63.
Murray played 15 seasons in the NHL from 1981-82 to 1995-96, spending 12 of those seasons with the Blackhawks. In 915 regular-season games with the Blackhawks, Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, and Colorado Avalanche, Murray had 230 goals and 354 assists for 584 points, as well as 43 points in 113 playoff contests. He won the Selke Trophy with the Blackhawks in 1985-86, and the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 1995-96.
After retiring, Murray became the Blackhawks’ radio analyst for over two decades.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Murray’s family, friends, former teammates, and the Blackhawks organization.