Recaps of Friday’s games, the Rangers sign Alexis Lafreniere to a contract extension, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
GAME RECAPS
NHL.COM: The Vegas Golden Knights overcame a 4-3 deficit with three unanswered third-period goals to defeat the Ottawa Senators 6-4. Keegan Kolesar scored the winning goal, Ivan Barbashev tallied twice and Alex Pietrangelo collected three assists for the Golden Knights. Adam Gaudette scored two goals and Drake Batherson and Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist for the Senators.
Vegas Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Barbashev is having a terrific start for the Golden Knights. He’s 10th in the NHL points race with 11 while his seven goals put him among the top five.
The Golden Knights could have a key player back for Saturday’s game against the San Jose Sharks. William Karlsson is expected to make his season debut after being sidelined by an undisclosed injury.
Linus Ullmark returned to the Senators net after being sidelined by a muscle strain for nearly two weeks, giving up five goals on 27 shots. He blamed himself for allowing the Golden Knights’ tying and winning goals.
An overtime goal by Bo Horvat lifted the New York Islanders to a 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri each had a goal and an assist and Ilya Sorokin stopped 32 shots for the Islanders. Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist for the Devils, who have dropped four games in a row.
The Nashville Predators overcame a 2-0 deficit to nip the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2. Filip Forsberg, Gustav Nyquist and Brady Skjei scored for the Predators. Craig Smith and Connor Bedard tallied for the Blackhawks.
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner stopped 27 shots to shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0. Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm each had two points and Viktor Arvidsson collected three assists for the Oilers. Joel Blomqvist kicked out 46 shots for the Penguins, who’ve lost four in a row.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The score would’ve been more lopsided in Edmonton’s favor if not for Blomqvist, who was let down by his teammates’ porous defensive game. The Oilers outshot the Penguins 19-5 in the first period and 20-12 in the second but only had a 2-0 lead heading into the third before Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ekholm put this game away.
HEADLINES
NEW YORK POST: The Rangers signed right winger Alexis Lafreniere to a seven-year, $52.15 million contract extension with an average annual value of $7.45 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lafreniere, 23, is in the final season of a two-year bridge contract worth an AAV of $2.325 million. PuckPedia has the full breakdown of the deal, including an eight-team no-trade list starting in the third season for the remainder of the contract.
Lafreniere had a breakout performance last season with 28 goals and 57 points in 82 games. He’s started this season at a point-per-game pace.
The Rangers have locked up a young core player for the prime of his career to a contract that could become a steal for them over the long term.
DAILY FACEOFF: Utah Hockey Club winger Kailer Yamamoto and Boston Bruins forward Riley Tufte were placed on waivers Friday.
CALGARY SUN: The Flames sent forward Matt Coronato to their AHL affiliate as they prepare for the return of sidelined forwards Sam Honzek and Yegor Sharangovich.
YAHOO SPORTS: Defenseman Calen Addison signed an AHL contract with the Henderson Silver Knights, the farm team of the Vegas Golden Knights. Addison, 24, has 50 points in 152 NHL games with the Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks.