A natural hat trick for the Avalanches’ Mikko Rantanen, a milestone game for Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the latest on Mika Zibanejad, Erik Karlsson and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: A natural hat trick by Mikko Rantanen propelled the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Rantanen also picked up an assist to finish the night with four points while teammate Nathan MacKinnon chipped in three assists as the Avs picked up their third straight win. Adrian Kempe tallied twice for the Kings.
Colorado Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Rantanen’s natural hat trick was the third in franchise history. He has 12 goals, joining four others atop the league’s goal-scoring leaderboard. Meanwhile, Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper left this game in the third period with an apparent lower-body injury.
The Toronto Maple Leafs overcame a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Washington Capitals 4-3 on an overtime goal by John Tavares. William Nylander and Mitch Marner scored in the third period to send the game into the extra frame. Aliaksei Protas had a goal and an assist for the Capitals.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Oliver Ekman-Larsson reached a notable milestone as the Leafs defenseman played in his 1,000th NHL regular-season game. Jani Hakanpaa played over 15 minutes in his season debut with the Leafs.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery wasn’t pleased with his club’s third-period collapse, calling it “just embarrassing”. Meanwhile, newly-acquired Capital Lars Eller didn’t join the team for this game but is expected to be in the lineup for Friday’s game against the Avalanche.
The Detroit Red Wings blew a 2-0 lead but recovered to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2. Simon Edvinsson scored in overtime while Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist for the Wings. Bryan Rust and Anthony Beauvillier rallied the Penguins to force the extra period.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Penguins honored Evgeni Malkin’s 500th career goal in a pregame ceremony. Malkin reached the milestone against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 16th. He joined Washington’s Alex Ovechkin as the second Russian-born player to reach the 500-goal plateau. Penguins forward Blake Lizotte left this game in the second period after being struck in the face by a puck.
Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka made a career-high 49 saves in a 4-1 upset of the Carolina Hurricanes. Nick Bjugstad tallied twice and Michael Kesselring had two assists for Utah, who killed off a seven-minute Carolina power-play in the third period. Hurricanes forward Martin Necas scored to extend his points streak to 11 games.
The Vegas Golden Knights held off the Anaheim Ducks for a 3-2 victory. Pavel Dorofeyev scored what proved to be the winning goal and Shea Theodore had two assists for the Golden Knights. Lukas Dostal stopped 36 shots for the Ducks.
HEADLINES
THE ATHLETIC: New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad is trying not to get buried in negativity as he attempts to play his way out of his early-season slump. He has 11 points in 14 games but has a plus-minus of minus-6 and has only scored twice.
“I will never be able to fully explain what it is when you’re in this situation,” said Zibanejad. “You have the mantras. You have the sayings to yourself. ‘Forget about the mistakes.’ ‘Just next action.’ ‘Next game, next shift.’ It’s harder than it sounds.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Zibanejad’s position as one of the Rangers’ best players and among their highest-paid comes with intense pressure to perform well. A slump can take a mental toll the longer it goes on, especially when the player starts putting more pressure on themself to overcome the issue.
DAILY FACEOFF: Sweden’s former national team coach Johan Garpenlov doesn’t believe Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson is good enough to play for the country’s 4 Nations Face-Off team in February. He pointed out that Karlsson’s defensive shortcomings could be an issue for Sweden in the tournament.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Karlsson’s poor defensive play has been an issue for the Penguins this season. Nevertheless, he was among the first six players chosen for Team Sweden.
BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm is expected to miss weeks with a lower-body injury suffered during Boston’s 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is a big setback for Boston’s blueline. They’re already missing Andrew Peeke, who’s out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. His 20:51 of ice time per game is second among Bruins skaters.
TSN: Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson is sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body injury. Forward Tage Thompson (lower body) and goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (undisclosed ailment) are day-to-day.
THE BUFFALO NEWS: The Sabres reclaimed goaltender James Reimer off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: The New York Islanders placed defenseman Mike Reilly (upper body) on injured reserve.
TSN: A trial by jury of five former Canadian World Junior players charged with sexual assault is scheduled for Apr. 22, 2025. It is expected to last eight weeks.
Former NHL players Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were charged earlier this year in connection with an alleged sexual assault in a London, Ontario hotel room in June 2018.