A five-point game for Oilers center Leon Draisaitl, Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov sets a franchise goals record, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Leon Draisaitl scored twice and collected three assists as the Edmonton Oilers nipped the Ottawa Senators 5-4 on an overtime goal by Evan Bouchard. Connor McDavid had two assists to record his eighth 70-assist season as the Oilers (30-24-8) hold third place in the Pacific Division with 68 points. Drake Batherson tallied two goals for the Senators (29-22-9).
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (NHL Images)
SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid tied Mario Lemieux for the second-most 70-assist seasons. Wayne Gretzky holds the record with 16 seasons. McDavid sits first in this season’s scoring race with 105 points.
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar had a goal and two assists in a 5-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Parker Kelly scored twice, and Nathan MacKinnon collected an assist to become the second player to reach 100 points this season. Cutter Gauthier replied for the Ducks (33-24-3), who sit second in the Pacific Division with 69 points. The league-leading Avalanche (91 points) improved to 41-10-9.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avalanche played without forward Artturi Lehkonen, who is sidelined week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov scored to set the franchise record of 220 goals in a 5-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Matt Boldy had three assists for the 36-16-10 Wild, who sit third in the Central Division with 82 points. Nikita Kucherov scored for the Lightning (38-17-4), who sit first in the Atlantic Division with 80 points, but have lost three straight games.
The Dallas Stars collected their 10th straight win as they thumped the Calgary Flames 6-1. Matt Duchene had four assists, and Sam Steel scored two goals and an assist for the 38-14-9 Stars, who sit second in the Western Conference with 85 points. Morgan Frost replied for the 24-29-7 Flames.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stars center Roope Hintz missed this game as he’s on injured reserve with an illness.
San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini scored his 30th goal of the season and collected three assists in a 7-5 win over the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens overcame a 5-2 deficit to tie the game. However, Kiefer Sherwood tallied the winning goal with 3:26 remaining in the third period for the 30-25-4 Sharks (64 points), who sit three points behind the Seattle Kraken for the final Western Conference wild-card berth. Mike Matheson had three assists, and Alex Newhook tallied twice for the Canadiens (33-18-9), who hold the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot with 75 points.
Unanswered third-period goals by Sean Monahan and Charlie Coyle lifted the Columbus Blue Jackets over the Nashville Predators by a score of 3-2. The Blue Jackets improved to 31-21-8 (70 points), sitting three points behind the Boston Bruins for the final Eastern wild-card berth. Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly scored for the Predators (27-26-8), sitting five points out of the final Western wild-card with 62 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: O’Reilly left the game in the third period after being accidentally struck in the left eye by Coyle’s stick during a faceoff. Following the game, the Predators released a statement indicating that O’Reilly will be ok. He is returning with the team to Nashville, where the club’s medical team will evaluate him.
The Predators were also busy in the trade market before this game. They shipped forward Michael McCarron to the Minnesota Wild for a 2028 second-round pick, and forward Cole Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights for a 2028 third-round pick and minor-league defenseman Cristoffer Sedoff.
Moving those two pending UFA depth players shouldn’t adversely affect the Predators’ efforts to secure a playoff berth. However, that could change if they ship out more significant UFA-eligible players such as Erik Haula, Michael Bunting, and Nick Blankenburg.
Speaking of the Golden Knights, they dropped a 3-2 decision to the Buffalo Sabres, who picked up their fourth straight win. Jason Zucker, Owen Power, and Tage Thompson scored for the 36-19-6 Sabres, who are two points behind the Atlantic Division-leading Lightning with 78 points. Ivan Barbashev and Pavel Dorofeyev replied for the Golden Knights (28-19-14), who cling to first place in the Pacific Division with 70 points.
The Boston Bruins got a 34-save performance from Jeremy Swayman to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1. Marat Khusnutdinov and Casey Mittelstadt scored for the Bruins (34-21-5), who hold the final Eastern wild-card berth with 73 points. Erik Karlsson scored for the 31-16-13 Penguins, who sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 75 points.
Utah Mammoth winger Dylan Guenther had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals. Clayton Keller picked up two assists for the 32-25-4 Mammoth, who hold the first Western wild-card spot with 68 points. Pierre-Luc Dubois and Ryan Leonard scored for the Capitals (31-25-7, 69 points), who are four points behind the Bruins.
New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist as his club tamed the Florida Panthers 5-1. Jack Hughes and Connor Brown each had two assists for the Devils (30-29-2). Anton Lundell replied for the 30-28-3 Panthers, who are ten points behind the Bruins.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As the Panthers’ hopes for a third straight Stanley Cup run fade, management could end up becoming sellers by Friday’s trade deadline.
An overtime goal by Mark Scheifele lifted the Winnipeg Jets to a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Cole Perfetti tied the game for the Jets (24-26-10) with 39 seconds remaining in regulation time. Teuvo Teravainen and Ryan Greene scored for the 23-28-10 Blackhawks.
IN OTHER NEWS…
TSN: The New York Rangers placed captain J.T. Miller (upper body) on injured reserve. It is unrelated to the one he suffered earlier in this season.
The Vancouver Canucks placed goaltender Thatcher Demko (hip surgery) on long-term injury reserve, and placed defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph (upper body) on IR.
CALGARY SUN: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed Calgary and Edmonton have submitted bids to host the 2028 World Cup of Hockey. They’re among several NHL cities to bid to host the international tournament.
An announcement is expected within the next two weeks. A European city is expected to host round-robin games, before the tournament shifts back to North America to the host city or cities.
Bettman also doesn’t see the league staging an outdoor game at Lake Louise in Banff National Park in Alberta, citing logistical and economic issues.