It appears the NHL disagrees with Nathan MacKinnon.The league won't impose supplemental discipline on Minnesota Wild forward Brandon Duhaime for his cross-check on Colorado Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram during Saturday night's contest, reports The Athletic's Michael Russo.Duhaime got a major penalty for cross-checking and a 10-minute game misconduct after hitting Byram into the boards from behind early in the third period of the Avalanche's 4-1 win. MacKinnon immediately challenged Duhaime to a brief fight, earning the two combatants matching minors for roughing.Byram stayed in the contest, playing seven more shifts before the final buzzer.After the game, MacKinnon called Duhaime's hit "very dirty" and said the league should suspend the Wild rookie.The Avalanche and Wild won't play again until Jan. 17.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Seven San Jose Sharks players, along with head coach Bob Boughner, were placed in COVID-19 protocol prior to their clash against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.Defensemen Erik Karlsson, Jake Middleton, Radim Simek, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic as well as forwards Andrew Cogliano, Jonathan Dahlen, and Matt Nieto were all sidelined.Additionally, captain Logan Couture was "under the weather" and didn't play Saturday, but he wasn't in COVID-19 protocol, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.With Boughner unavailable behind the bench, assistant coach John MacLean took over head coaching duties.Despite being shorthanded, the Sharks beat the Jets 2-1 in overtime to improve to 5-3-0 on the season."I'm proud of every single guy in the room," Sharks forward Tomas Hertl said postgame, according to San Jose Hockey Now's Sheng Peng.Goaltender James Reimer added the Sharks weren't sure there would even be a game after warmups."It was just a little vague. We didn't really know what was going on and what was going to take place. We were familiar with what happened last year, and we didn't know the protocol for this year," he said, per Sharks beat writer Curtis Pashelka.The Sharks recalled a group of players from their AHL affiliate before the game, including defensemen Nicolas Meloche, Ryan Merkley, and Jaycob Megna in addition to forwards Nick Merkley and John Leonard.The start of the game was delayed 15 minutes to allow for the analysis of test results.All players and staff within the Sharks organization have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Sidney Crosby returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins' lineup Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils.The star center missed the Penguins' first seven games of 2021-22 after undergoing wrist surgery in the offseason.Crosby was on a minimum six-week return timeline after having the procedure performed Sept. 8. That would've put the 34-year-old on track to return last Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the Penguins exercised some extra caution with their captain.Pittsburgh went 3-2-2 without Crosby while also missing Evgeni Malkin due to offseason knee surgery. Jeff Carter also returned Saturday after sitting out the last three games in COVID-19 protocol.The Penguins have been severely shorthanded to begin the campaign, as their No. 1 defenseman, Kris Letang, remains out after missing the last three contests while in the protocol as well.Crosby ranked 10th in the NHL with 62 points over 55 games last season.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Kyle Beach took NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to task Saturday for how the league and the Chicago Blackhawks dealt with his sexual assault allegations against Brad Aldrich.Bettman and Beach held a 20-minute video call during which the latter repeatedly questioned Bettman about the NHL's and Blackhawks' actions, the player's lawyer told TSN's Rick Westhead.At the beginning of the call, the commissioner apologized on behalf of the league for the abuse Beach endured at the hands of Aldrich, Chicago's former video coach.Beach then asked Bettman why the NHL let the team launch the independent investigation into Beach's allegations. The commissioner said the league felt it was appropriate to allow the Blackhawks to hire an investigator and then have the NHL evaluate the findings.The 31-year-old also asked Bettman why the league wouldn't pledge to disclose the full Jenner & Block report, which the law firm ultimately revealed Tuesday. The commissioner said NHL officials weren't certain if anything in the probe would be detrimental to Beach and felt they shouldn't release the report before seeing it.Additionally, Bettman claimed the league didn't know Beach was the John Doe cited in the report until the player came forward in Wednesday's interview with Westhead. Beach wondered why NHL executives wouldn't know his identity considering court documents previously implied he was a "Black Ace" currently playing in Germany.Bettman did promise Saturday that the league would offer Beach and his family counseling for as long as required.NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr and his lawyer, Roman Stoykewych, also reportedly spoke to Beach on Saturday. The probe found Fehr received information twice about allegations surrounding Aldrich, including from a Beach confidant. The union's stance was the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program relies on confidentiality, but Beach's lawyer countered that the simple solution would've been to ask for the player's consent to share what he was willing to divulge.The NHLPA scheduled an executive board call for each franchise's player representatives Monday, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.The Jenner & Block investigation found that numerous members of the Blackhawks management group - including then-team president John McDonough, general manager Stan Bowman, head coach Joel Quenneville, and assistant GM Kevin Cheveldayoff - met on May 23, 2010. During the meeting, the team brass discussed Beach's allegations that Aldrich behaved in a sexually inappropriate manner toward him.The report found team executives took no action until reporting it to human resources on June 14, several days after Chicago won the Stanley Cup. Aldrich made an unwanted sexual advance on a Blackhawks intern on June 10, the former employee told investigators.Bowman and Quenneville resigned from their respective positions as Chicago's GM and Florida Panthers bench boss this week. Blackhawks hockey operations executive Al MacIsaac and executive vice president Jay Blunk also departed the organization following the report's release.The league chose not to discipline Cheveldayoff, asserting the now-Winnipeg Jets GM wasn't part of the organization's senior leadership team at the time. Chicago fired McDonough in April 2020.Beach filed a lawsuit alleging Aldrich sexually assaulted two Blackhawks players, which led to the independent investigation. The other player, who remains unidentified, later told investigators Aldrich didn't sexually assault him.A former Michigan high school hockey player also sued the franchise over a subsequent incident that occurred after Chicago quietly dismissed Aldrich, who was eventually convicted and sentenced to nine months in prison and five years of probation for that 2013 incident.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Saturday features a packed NHL card: 10 games headlined by a heavyweight clash between the Panthers and Bruins.Let's explore some of our best bets.Panthers (+110) @ Bruins (-130)The Bruins own a pedestrian 3-3-0 record, but make no mistake - they remain a very good team.As usual, Boston has had no problem dictating the run of play at five-on-five. Its share of expected goals sits at 55.66%, behind only the Capitals, Wild, and Penguins. Those three teams own a combined record of 13-4-5; good company to be keeping.The Bruins deserve better results than they've garnered, especially defensively. They sit 24th in goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five despite ranking first in expected goals against. They aren't giving up much. Sooner or later, they'll be rewarded.Florida, meanwhile, is an extremely dangerous team. That's especially true with Sergei Bobrovsky looking far more dependable than predicted. But the NHL's leader in goals saved above expected won't start tonight in a very bad spot for the Panthers.Both teams are playing their third game in four nights, but Boston was idle Friday while Florida played a taxing overtime road game against the Red Wings.Though they're obviously performing well, the Panthers have taken things to extremes amid their 8-0-0 start. Their expected goal differential at five-on-five is approximately plus-2. Their actual goal differential is plus-11.Boston is playing better than its record indicates, while Florida isn't as invincible as it seems. We like the Bruins to hand the Panthers their first loss.Bet: Bruins -130Canadiens (-105) @ Kings (-115)The Kings own a 1-5-1 record and are without two of their best defenders in Drew Doughty and Sean Walker. Even so, this line sells them a bit short.Los Angeles ranks 10th in expected goal share and owns an even goal differential at five-on-five. That's impressive considering its poor record.The Kings' biggest issue, by and large, has been their play on special teams. The power play has been inconsistent, and only the Coyotes have given up goals at a higher rate while shorthanded.It just so happens that the Canadiens are a lesser five-on-five team and comparably bad on special teams. Montreal has scored only three goals in 46 power-play minutes - the team is essentially three-for-23 on the season - and struggled on the penalty kill. Conversely, only four teams have spent more time shorthanded, and that inability to stay out of the box has highlighted Montreal's penalty-killing issues.Put simply, the Kings look like the better five-on-five squad and - despite their own struggles - aren't any worse than their opponents when it comes to special teams.Cal Petersen is expected to start in goal for Los Angeles, and it seems he's a clear upgrade over Jonathan Quick at this point in the latter's career.Montreal, meanwhile, will either continue overworking Jake Allen with his eighth start in nine games or turn to Sam Montembeault and his .890 career save percentage.Whatever the case may be, the Kings are worth backing tonight on home ice.Bet: Kings -115Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Joel Quenneville has resigned. Stan Bowman has resigned. Al MacIsaac is out too. The independent report into the Chicago Blackhawks sexual abuse scandal reopened old wounds and forced a group of seven executives and coaches to reckon with 11 years of inaction. But as quickly as the scandal exploded this week, the furor will die down now that small measures of justice have been meted out.The news cycle moves so fast that Quenneville's resignation Thursday afternoon was already giving way Thursday night to speculation about whether John Tortorella would be hired to take over in Florida.That's how it always goes. Behavior is exposed, people are outraged, prices are paid, but life continues as people return to their own self-interests. Change is promised, but it never seems to arrive in any demonstrable way.On Wednesday, Kyle Beach told TSN's Rick Westhead that he hoped the release of the report from the independent investigation would make a difference."I hope that this entire process can make a systematic change to make sure this never happens again," Beach said. "Because it not only affected me as a young adult and now as a 31-year-old man, but it also affected kids because it was not handled in a correct way." Dave Sandford / NHL / Getty ImagesFor decades, though, sports' history of sexual abuse has run like clockwork. Despite dozens of scandals, young athletes' dreams and aspirations can be twisted grotesquely by predators operating not just in the shadows but in plain sight.It shouldn't be up to Beach, Sheldon Kennedy, Simone Biles, dozens more American gymnasts, and Bo Schembechler's son to bare their souls to get the rest of us to pay attention.The Blackhawks situation makes it obvious that many of these scandals come down to a failure of leadership. Quenneville and Bowman can lose their jobs, but those punishments do nothing to prevent the next scandal.What would real change look like? We know the Blackhawks had a corporate policy in place in 2010 when Beach made his complaint. The policy meant nothing if the Blackhawks leaders could simply put it aside until it was more convenient. The policy did nothing if the perpetrator could be quietly dismissed without an investigation. Policies alone can't be the answer."Posters and buttons and policies and procedures don't change culture," Kennedy told the Canadian Press this week. "Until sport makes this a priority as they do winning, they'll never have the change that I think people expect from them." Steve Russell / Toronto Star / Getty ImagesOver the weekend, I came across an interview with Julie Lalonde, who trains people to overcome the bystander effect. Throughout this week, I kept returning to this idea as an explanation for the inaction by Blackhawks management. The bystander effect most often relates to attacks in progress; the more people who witness an attack, the theory goes, the more likely it is that no one will attempt to intervene out of fear and self-interest.In fact, people choose not to get involved for myriad reasons. Apart from the bystander effect, Lalonde believes the lack of intervention in difficult situations is "about a lack of empathy. We’re not socialized to have empathy for anyone who is in crisis." There is also research suggesting that poorly executed sexual harassment training makes men more likely to blame victims. It's important to find a way out of this mess.In 2010, Kyle Beach was not in immediate physical danger when Blackhawks management learned about his complaint, but the report outlines that skating coach Paul Vincent recognized that Beach seemed "distraught" the week after the incident with Aldrich. Vincent says that he reported what he knew about Beach, along with allegations that Aldrich had committed sexual misconduct involving a second player, to team president John McDonough, Bowman, MacIsaac, and mental skills coach James Gary - four of the seven men who would be involved in the bigger meeting several days later.Still, none of the seven men, who all had some measure of power within the organization, felt it was up to them to go any further. Quenneville was concerned about "upsetting team chemistry" and wanted to "focus on the team and the playoffs," according to other people in the meeting. Bowman abdicated his own responsibility by pointing a finger at McDonough in his statement this week.Better leaders, even if they didn't act on the information the same day, would have reflected on it and quickly intervened. Better leaders would believe that a player's allegation of (at minimum) sexual misconduct by a coach is a potential cancer that ought to be biopsied. But no one felt the urgency to step forward to protect one of their players and initiate an investigation. They were more than willing to sacrifice Kyle Beach to the altar of the Stanley Cup."I just don't get why one guy couldn't just stand up and say, 'You know what, no, this is wrong,'" Tortorella said Thursday during a panel discussion on ESPN. Jonathan Daniel / Getty ImagesIt's easy for all of us to second-guess and believe we would have acted better. But nothing is going to change unless every person in a position of leadership decides to seek out training to overcome the bystander effect. Leaders' top priorities should include not just meeting business objectives, but keeping their team members safe. Until more leaders accept this responsibility, sports will continue to cycle through abuse scandals.On Sunday in Canada, Showcase will air the finale of the series "Dr. Death," which dramatizes the case of a narcissistic and unskilled surgeon who botched dozens of spinal surgeries in the Dallas area in the 2010s. (The series is a Peacock+ original and available on that streaming service in the U.S.)It intersects with the Blackhawks scandal in respect to the way that large organizations deal with removing troublesome employees. Large organizations, almost by definition, are obsessed with liability, doing whatever it takes to avoid having to pay penalties for bad acts perpetrated in their name.In the case of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, two hospitals quietly shuffled him out the door without official, public reprimands, allowing him to continue to butcher spinal surgeries in tragic ways. He was not reported to any licensing board and was also given legally truthful yet vague letters of recommendation that allowed him to gain surgical privileges from his next employer.People were maimed because leadership at a couple of large hospitals took the expedient route to rid their organizations of Dr. Death. It's easier to pass the problem to someone else than to deal with it yourself. Chase Agnello-Dean / NHL / Getty ImagesThe Blackhawks are clearly guilty of doing this as well. It's galling that Aldrich has a Stanley Cup ring. It's galling that he got to have the Cup for a personal day of enjoyment. It's galling that Quenneville wrote him a glowing performance review dated at the end of June 2010. It all demonstrates a shallow pool of empathy in the organization. At least Blackhawks ownership has formally requested to remove Aldrich's name from the Cup. But that doesn't make up for the people he went on to harass and abuse, most notably the high school student in Houghton, Michigan.The Blackhawks failed to follow their own policy and investigate Beach's complaint. Allowing Aldrich to resign without an investigation meant there was no documentary trail that could have warned other organizations before hiring him. The whole episode needs to be an object lesson in the catastrophic consequences of not taking responsibility for the care and safety of the people in your organization and recognizing the duty to make sure there aren't future victims.The Blackhawks failed so many people in 2010, and that failure spread outside their circle. If anything is going to change, it won't come from policies and punishments after the fact. Change has to come from leaders having empathy and taking responsibility, and it has to come at the moment when it means the most.Guy Spurrier is the features editor at theScore.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas completed an important order of business Friday, locking up defenseman Morgan Rielly to an eight-year contract extension with a $7.5-million average annual value.Rielly is in the final campaign of a six-year, $30-million contract he signed back in 2016, so he'll see a $2.5-million raise when the new deal kicks in next season. This pact will keep the Leafs' longest-serving member and the 2012 fifth overall pick in Toronto through his age-35 season.Below, we analyze the contract and what it means for the Leafs and their top-heavy roster construction moving forward.Is it a good deal? Mark Blinch / National Hockey League / GettyAs far as market value goes, it's fair. Rielly will earn less than fellow offensive blue-liners Seth Jones ($9.5M AAV), Darnell Nurse ($9.25M AAV), and Dougie Hamilton ($9M AAV), but more than defensive stalwarts such as Colton Parayko ($6.5M AAV) and Ryan Pulock ($6.15M AAV). All five of these defensemen are around Rielly's age and signed contracts in the last year.Rielly likely could've earned more on the open market this summer had he decided to test free agency. But staying with the Leafs and getting the eighth year of term proved to be more important to him. Evolving-Hockey projected Rielly to sign an eight-year deal with an $8.21-million AAV if he stayed in Toronto.Now, just because the contract is fair relative to market value doesn't necessarily mean it's a good deal relative to what the player brings to the team.Rielly is an excellent offensive play driver. He's an elite skater and uses his legs and vision to push play up ice and join the rush.On the flip side, he's a poor defender. Partially due to his aggressive offensive nature, the Leafs give up tons of scoring chances when he's on the ice. Evolving-Hockey.comRielly clearly does more good than bad for his team. But he'll be tied for the 21st highest-paid defenseman in the league next season, and it's fair to wonder if someone who struggles as much in their own end as Rielly is worth No. 1 D-man type of money.Additionally, as is the case with most players signed into their mid-30s, the deal doesn't project to age well.

The NHL won't discipline Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff for his involvement in the Chicago Blackhawks' mishandling of an alleged sexual assault in 2010, the league announced Friday.Cheveldayoff, an assistant GM with Chicago during the 2009-10 season, met with commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday. The league concluded that Cheveldayoff wasn't responsible for how the Blackhawks handled the complaint regarding former video coach Brad Aldrich."While on some level, it would be easiest to paint everyone with any association to this terrible matter with the same broad brush, I believe that fundamental fairness requires a more in-depth analysis of the role of each person," Bettman said."Kevin Cheveldayoff was not a member of the Blackhawks senior leadership team in 2010, and I cannot, therefore, assign to him responsibility for the club's actions, or inactions. He provided a full account of his degree of involvement in the matter, which was limited exclusively to his attendance at a single meeting, and I found him to be extremely forthcoming and credible in our discussion."An independent investigation found Cheveldayoff was at a May 2010 meeting in which team executives were told Aldrich had behaved in a sexually inappropriate way toward a player, later revealed to be Kyle Beach.Cheveldayoff released the following statement Friday:

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed defenseman Morgan Rielly to an eight-year contract extension with an average annual value of $7.5 million, the team announced Friday.Rielly received a no-movement clause for the first six years of the deal, while the final two seasons include a 10-team no-trade clause, reports Chris Johnston of TSN.The 27-year-old has spent his entire career with Toronto since being taken with the No. 5 pick in the 2012 draft. He's the longest-tenured player on the Leafs' roster."There's a reason why the organization has gone through a number of changes over the years but he's the one guy that's lasted," head coach Sheldon Keefe said of his No. 1 defenseman, according to David Alter of The Hockey News.Rielly was scheduled for unrestricted free agency at season's end. He's been a part of all Toronto's playoff failures in recent years, but he wants to see the team's mission through."Faith goes both ways," Rielly said, per Alter. "I believe in the group we have here and the people we have in our locker room. I think for the team to offer me that notion of faith is special, too. I look forward to holding up my end of the bargain of trying to accomplish the ultimate goal."When Rielly's new contract kicks in next season, the Maple Leafs will allocate 58.9% of their salary cap to five players: Rielly, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander.Rielly's registered 309 points in 580 career games with Toronto. He's collected four assists in eight games while averaging over 24 minutes per night to start the 2021-22 campaign.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz wrote a letter to Hockey Hall of Fame chairman Lanny McDonald asking for Brad Aldrich's name to be X-ed out on the Stanley Cup, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan.An independent investigation revealed the team didn't promptly act after finding out that Aldrich, then a video coach with the Blackhawks, allegedly acted in a sexually inappropriate way toward a player during the club's 2010 playoff run. Kyle Beach, who says Aldrich sexually assaulted him, identified himself as the player earlier this week."Aldrich's involvement with the team during the 2010 season has cast a pall on the players' extraordinary work that year," Wirtz's letter reads. "The names of some of hockey's most talented athletes appear on the Stanley Cup. But so does the name 'Brad Aldrich,' whose role as video coach made him eligible for engraving. His conduct disqualified him, however, and it was a mistake to submit his name. We are sorry we allowed it to happen."Wirtz added, "The Stanley Cup is an evolving piece of art. It always has been. Names have been engraved and then changed for years. Taking a stand on the unforgivable behavior of Aldrich should include erasing his name from the Cup."McDonald spoke with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday and both parties agree the Blackhawks' request is appropriate, according to Hockey Hall of Fame media director Kelly Masse. The two parties will have further dialogue.Blackhawks executives were informed of Aldrich's alleged behavior in May 2010 while the club was in the Western Conference Final, according to the report from law firm Jenner & Block. The organization didn't act until reporting the complaint to human resources several days after the team won the Stanley Cup in June, and the team allowed Aldrich to resign without an investigation.Jenner & Block's findings led Chicago general manager Stan Bowman to step down from that post and subsequently also his role as GM of the 2022 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team. Blackhawks senior vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac left the organization as well. Joel Quenneville, the Blackhawks' head coach from 2008-18, resigned from his post with the Florida Panthers on Thursday.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

As the ramifications from the Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault scandal continue to sweep the league, Boston Bruins forward Taylor Hall called for change."Every culture needs to keep getting better, and hockey is no different," Hall said Thursday after the Bruins' 3-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. "This is a game that's, I guess, what you would call an old boys' club, and there's definitely some secrecy and things that need to change. Hopefully, they can."

Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday in New York to discuss his involvement in the Chicago Blackhawks' mishandling of an alleged sexual assault in 2010, the team confirmed to TSN's Darren Dreger.The meeting was originally supposed to take place Monday, but Cheveldayoff requested it be moved up.An independent investigation found that Cheveldayoff - who was an assistant GM with the Blackhawks at the time - took part in a May 2010 meeting in which team executives were informed that former video coach Brad Aldrich had behaved in a sexually inappropriate way toward a player, later revealed to be Kyle Beach.However, per the investigation, the franchise didn't act on that information until reporting it to human resources three weeks later, days after the team won the Stanley Cup.Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville - who was also deemed to be part of the meeting - met with Bettman on Thursday afternoon. Panthers GM Bill Zito and team president Matt Caldwell were also in attendance, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan.The Panthers announced Thursday evening that Quenneville resigned.Cheveldayoff has been the Jets' GM since 2011 when he left the Blackhawks after two seasons with the club.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Joel Quenneville has resigned as head coach of the Florida Panthers, the team announced Thursday.The news comes after Quenneville met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman earlier Thursday to discuss his involvement in the Chicago Blackhawks' mishandling of an alleged sexual assault in 2010, when Quenneville was Chicago's head coach.Andrew Brunette will serve as Florida's interim head coach, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.The 63-year-old Quenneville released the following statement:

Editor's Note: Joel Quenneville resigned as Florida Panthers head coach Thursday night after the publication of this article on Wednesday.The Chicago Blackhawks took a small measure of responsibility on Tuesday by backing a report that outlined how a group of senior team leaders appear to have valued a Stanley Cup run in 2010 over protecting a player who warned of a predator on their coaching staff.Those who've followed the sexual assault scandal involving disgraced former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich were probably already disgusted by the team's handling of the matter. The results of the independent investigation by the law firm Jenner & Block - revealed first on Tuesday through a press briefing by the team and then through the full report - confirmed a lot of what had become mostly common knowledge through the work of various media outlets.Brad Aldrich in 2009. Jamie Squire / Getty ImagesYet the findings managed to evoke an extra layer of disgust. It laid out how 11 years ago a group of seven men - some of whom continue to be highly influential in the hockey world - put their own interests ahead of the well-being of an employee who reported inappropriate sexual behavior by Aldrich. Their selfishness set off a chain of events that ultimately led to further abuse by Aldrich at subsequent jobs.That group includes former Blackhawks team president John McDonough; Stan Bowman, who resigned on Tuesday as president of hockey operations and general manager; Al MacIsaac, the vice president of hockey operations who also left the club on Tuesday; former executive VP of business operations Jay Blunk; former mental skills coach James Gary; former assistant general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, who's now GM of the Winnipeg Jets; and former head coach Joel Quenneville, now head coach of the Florida Panthers.The months-long investigation, which drew from interviews with 139 witnesses, determined a sexual encounter between Aldrich and a Blackhawks minor-league player occurred shortly before the club won the 2010 Stanley Cup. (The player said the encounter wasn't consensual, which Aldrich disputes. The matter hasn't been heard in a court of law.)McDonough, Bowman, MacIsaac, Blunk, Gary, Cheveldayoff, and Quenneville discussed the matter during a meeting following the Western Conference finals. However, for the next three weeks, nothing was done to address the situation. The team was chasing a championship, a pursuit that group deemed far more important than anything or anyone else."Bowman recalled that during the meeting, McDonough and Quenneville made comments about the challenge of getting to the Stanley Cup Final and a desire to focus on the team and the playoffs," the 107-page document notes.2010 Stanley Cup parade in Chicago Jonathan Daniel / Getty ImagesDuring this period of inaction by the Blackhawks higher-ups, Aldrich continued to work for and travel with the team. He was in the presence of the player who made the complaint. And he then allegedly made an unwanted sexual advance toward a young intern following a night of celebration with members of the team, according to the report.A few days after the Cup victory, Aldrich's alleged misconduct was finally brought to the attention of the team's human resources department. He resigned and received a severance package and playoff bonus. The team allowed his name to be engraved on the Cup, presented him with a ring, provided him with a personal day with the Cup, and invited him to attend a banner-raising ceremony. The report found that the lack of an investigation went against the team's written policy.Three years later, Aldrich - having faced no repercussions for his actions in Chicago, despite the team having a sexual harassment policy - pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct with a minor while volunteering as a coach at a Michigan high school. There have been multiple allegations of further abuse at other stops in his travels.Elizabeth Jeglic, a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, whose research focuses largely on sexual violence prevention, told theScore on Tuesday she isn't "entirely surprised" by the findings of the investigation.Jeglic said the reaction of Blackhawks management after being told of the complaint against Aldrich was similar to that of the leadership at Penn State when Jerry Sandusky's behavior came to their attention: They "passed the buck." By letting Aldrich leave without an immediate investigation, he was free to abuse elsewhere."A lot of people knew and nobody said anything. The time frame is shorter here, and it involves adults versus children, but a lot of the same dynamics come into play," Jeglic said of similarities between the two cases."It shows where people's priorities lie and where their values are," she added. "I understand they're a sporting organization, but first and foremost you have to care about the people who belong to your organization. If you're not going to take these allegations seriously and follow your procedures seriously, you're sending a message that's (essentially saying), 'This isn't something that's important or a priority.'"Former Blackhawks president John McDonough in 2017. Bruce Bennett / Getty ImagesBowman, who on Tuesday also stepped down as GM of the United States men's Olympic hockey team, issued a statement that more or less pinned the lack of an investigation on McDonough, whose tenure with the team ended in April 2020. Bowman also didn't take responsibility for his inaction or apologize to the player.NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in his own statement that any of the disgraced Blackhawks executives wishing to re-enter the league must meet with him "in order to determine the appropriate conditions under which such new employment might take place." As for Cheveldayoff and Quenneville, Bettman added that he'll meet with each of them soon to "discuss their roles in the relevant events as detailed in the report."Cheveldayoff previously denied knowing about Aldrich's misconduct in Chicago until "just prior" to the latter's departure from the team. Quenneville denied he knew anything until lawsuits filed by the Blackhawks player and by the Michigan high schooler were reported by media outlets earlier this year. Jenner & Block's findings contradict their assertions.The league also punished the Blackhawks - a franchise worth an estimated $1 billion - with a $2-million fine, half of which will be "directed to fund local organizations in and around the Chicago community that provide counseling and training for, and support and assistance to, survivors of sexual and other forms of abuse."Jenner & Block found both Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz and CEO Danny Wirtz were unaware of Aldrich's misconduct until recently."I believe one of the beautiful parts of our game is the focus on team success over individual achievements and accolades," Danny Wirtz said Tuesday. "But that cannot come at the expense of individual safety and well-being. It is clear that in 2010, the executives of this organization put team performance above all else."The player they failed, Wirtz added, "deserved better from the Blackhawks."John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Kyle Beach took time to thank fans for their support just one day after identifying himself as "John Doe," the former Chicago Blackhawks player who filed a lawsuit against the organization for mishandling his sexual assault allegations against former video coach Brad Aldrich."I have immense gratitude for the outpouring of endless love and support that has come through within the past 48 hours," he wrote in a statement on Twitter."Although the results of the private investigation have been released and the Blackhawks have apologized, my battle is really just beginning as the Blackhawks continue to attempt to destroy my case in court."

The Los Angeles Kings are looking to bolster their blue line by, at the very least, adding a depth defenseman on the right side, reported TSN's Pierre LeBrun on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."Drew Doughty and Sean Walker - two of the Kings' top defensemen - both suffered significant long-term injuries this season. Doughty is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks with a knee ailment, while Walker is out for the entire season with a torn ACL and MCL.The Kings currently have $161,000 in cap space, per CapFriendly. Placing Walker on long-term injured reserve will give Los Angeles an additional $2.65 million in space.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie is considered week-to-week after sustaining a lower-body injury during Wednesday's loss to the Detroit Red Wings, the team announced.Oshie notched an assist while seeing 18:31 of ice time in the overtime loss. The specifics of his injury are unknown, but Oshie is in a walking boot and on crutches, according to The Athletic's Tarik El-Bashir.The Capitals are already without top center Nicklas Backstrom, who was placed on long-term injured reserve with a hip injury earlier this month.Oshie's recorded six points over seven games in 2021-22.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vegas Golden Knights signed defenseman Zach Whitecloud to a six-year, $16.5-million contract extension, the team announced Thursday.The 24-year-old was set to become a restricted free agent following the 2021-22 campaign.Whitecloud signed with Vegas in 2018 after finishing his collegiate career at Bemidji State. He's appeared in 72 contests for the Golden Knights and registered career highs in games (51), points (12), and average ice time (17:49) last season.Whitecloud is currently on injured reserve as he recovers from an upper-body injury.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We're going to run regular player props articles going forward. They'll begin on a daily basis once the MLB season ends, but the fun starts now with no baseball today.Let's get right into it.Brock Boeser to score (+200)Boeser, as usual, has been a shooting machine, piling up 24 shot attempts in just four games. That puts him within striking distance of Elias Pettersson (31) for the team lead among forwards, despite not even getting half of Pettersson's ice time.Boeser is the Canucks' biggest scoring threat by far in terms of efficiency. He's generating more than 12 chances per 60 minutes across all game states. For perspective, Nils Hoglander is the closest at 8.47 per 60 minutes.Boeser is a high-end finisher and is creating chances in bulk. The matchup here is quite enticing too.The Flyers are in the latter half of a road back-to-back. Fatigue could play a factor for Philadelphia and I don't like Martin Jones' chances of bailing them out. He's been one of the NHL's worst goalies for years, finishing with a sub-.900 save percentage in three consecutive seasons.If Boeser is able to create a few looks on net - which doesn't seem like a big ask - I like his odds of converting one against Jones.Viktor Arvidsson to score (+230)There is a shoot-first mentality, and then there is whatever Arvidsson has. The guy is the definition of trigger-happy and will not pass up the opportunity to shoot, ever.Arvidsson has attempted a ridiculous 46 shots through six games, averaging 7.66 per contest. And it's not as if they're all low-danger garbage; he is also leading the Kings in scoring chances (27).Despite piling up shots and chances while playing on the top line and power play, Arvidsson has just one goal to show for his efforts. One.Lucky for him, tonight's matchup against the Jets seems like the ultimate breakout spot. Winnipeg ranks 25th in scoring chances against per minute and 2020 Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck is getting the night off. Arvidsson will instead be shooting on journeyman Eric Comrie, who owns a .873 career save percentage.Look for Arvidsson to take advantage.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Wednesday night's slate was a mixed bag for us. We started on a positive note by winning our under - at plus money, no less - in the Boston versus Florida game.We appeared destined for a 2-0 night, but, despite dominating the game, Dallas blew a lead with a minute to go in regulation and then fell in overtime to the undermanned Vegas Golden Knights.We'll aim for better tonight as we look at the best way to attack this nine-game slate.Jets (-115) @ Kings (-105)Winnipeg enters this contest in a good spot. The team has won three consecutive games, and its captain, Blake Wheeler, might return to the lineup.Combine that with the recent injuries to Kings defenders Drew Doughty and Sean Walker, and the Jets seem like an obvious team to back, right? Not so fast.The Jets, despite their recent success, aren't playing very well. They place 26th in expected goal share at five-on-five, and they're ranked even worse for high-danger chances. Only the Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings have controlled smaller shares in the latter category than Winnipeg (42%).So, why have the Jets been winning? A combination of high shooting percentages and Connor Hellebuyck.I doubt they're going to continue shooting the lights out sans Mark Scheifele, and Hellebuyck won't be in the net tonight to bail out the team's defensive mistakes.Instead, it'll be journeyman Eric Comrie between the pipes. The 26-year-old has bounced around quite a bit in recent years. He's only appeared in nine NHL games, and they haven't gone well as he owns a .873 career save percentage.While the Kings aren't exactly known for their finishing ability, they do generate chances in bulk. They're tied with the Washington Capitals for fifth in high-danger chances at five-on-five.I expect L.A. to create plenty of opportunities against Winnipeg, which should lead to success against Comrie.Bet: Kings -105.Avalanche (-125) @ Blues (+105)The Blues are an improved team, and I expect them to contend for a playoff spot in the Central Division. With that said, I think people are getting a little too carried away with the hype surrounding the club right now.While they are undefeated, their 5-0-0 record isn't as impressive as it looks on the surface. Hear me out.St. Louis opened the season with a 5-3 win over Colorado. The Avalanche were missing Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Devon Toews, among others. Despite that, Colorado out-chanced the Blues by 17 and came very close to taking them to overtime.The Blues followed that up by beating a tanking Arizona team that started Carter Hutton, arguably the league's worst regular goaltender.Up next? They squeezed out a 3-1 win over the Golden Knights, who were playing without Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, and Alex Tuch.Then they beat Los Angeles - minus Doughty - a couple of times while losing the Grade A chance battle 27-20 in aggregate. Truly impressive.Yes, they can only play the teams in front of them. Yes, they deserve credit for finding ways to win. But their schedule, aided by injury troubles, has been soft, and, quite frankly, the Blues haven't controlled play as much as I'd like to see given the circumstances.This is a team with a negative five-on-five high-danger chance differential - even accounting for score effects - that's been propped up by an unsustainably high 105.5 PDO (shooting percentage plus save percentage).Tonight St. Louis expects to be without two-way star Ryan O'Reilly, who led the team in goals above replacement (plus-24.3) over the last two years. That's going to make a big difference, especially going up against the likes of MacKinnon, Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen.Even undermanned on the backend, I like the Avs to hand the Blues their first loss of the season.Bet: Avalanche -125.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

William Nylander says the Toronto Maple Leafs finally took matters into their own hands during Wednesday's comeback victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.The Maple Leafs entered the contest on a four-game skid and trailed the winless Blackhawks by two goals in the first period before mounting a come-from-behind win capped by Nylander's overtime tally."Time to wake up. Enough feeling sorry for ourselves. Like nobody is going to get us out of this," Nylander said postgame, per Sportsnet's Luke Fox."We needed to up the battle."Toronto looked listless in recent lopsided losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes. The team appeared to be on the same path in the Windy City until a couple of unnamed players ignited the club during the first intermission."I think (they) got us, quite frankly, pissed off," said goaltender Jack Campbell. "I think that's what sparked us. Love seeing the passion and love seeing guys come through on the ice with it too. And, you know, everybody was battling."The Maple Leafs are now 3-4-1 on the season. They return to the ice Saturday versus the Detroit Red Wings.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane say they wish they could have done more to help Kyle Beach, who identified himself on Wednesday as the "John Doe" at the center of the Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault scandal."We wish we could have done something differently, myself included," Toews said, according to The Athletic's Mark Lazerus. "My heart goes out to Kyle for what he dealt with. Wish I could have done something. It's not an excuse looking back, but the truth is a lot of us were focused on just playing hockey."The two players spoke to the media following the team's 3-2 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, hours after Beach came forward during an interview with TSN's Rick Westhead."Very courageous for (Beach) to come out and let his name be known to the world after everything he went (through)," Kane said, according to Lazerus. "Wish back then we could have done some different things, knew about some different things, maybe we could have helped him."Beach was a member of the Blackhawks organization in 2010, when he says former video coach Brad Aldrich sexually assaulted him during the playoffs. He said during the interview that he believes everyone in the locker room was aware of the incident."Word spread pretty quick," Beach said. "I do believe that everyone in that locker room knew about it. Because the comments were made in the locker room, they were made on the ice, they were made around the arena with all different people of all different backgrounds - players, staff, media in the presence."Toews and Kane, however, suggested they were unaware at the time."Listen, at the end of the day, I don't wish to exonerate myself in this situation by saying I didn't know. But the truth is I had not heard about it until training camp the next year," Toews said, according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.Kane said he didn't know Beach was "John Doe" until he revealed himself Wednesday, adding that he remembered hearing "vaguely some different rumors" about why Aldrich left the team.Toews also defended former general manager Stan Bowman and former senior vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac, both of whom stepped down in light of an investigation into the franchise's handling of the allegations against Aldrich.Law firm Jenner & Block determined that Bowman and MacIsaac knew Aldrich had at least allegedly sexually harassed a player and - along with other members of the management group - didn't act on the information until three weeks later after the team won the Stanley Cup."To me, Stan and Al, make any argument you want, they're not directly complicit in the activities that happened," Toews said. "Regardless of mistakes that may have been made, for someone like Stan, who has done so much for the Blackhawks - and Al as well - to lose everything they care about and their livelihoods, as well."I don't understand how that makes it go away, to just delete them from existence and (say), 'That's it, we'll never hear from them again.' I have a lot of respect for them as people. They're good people."Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Kyle Beach identified himself as the "John Doe" at the center of the Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault scandal during an interview with TSN's Rick Westhead on Wednesday.The Blackhawks drafted Beach with the 11th overall pick in 2008. He was a member of the organization in 2010, when he says former video coach Brad Aldrich sexually assaulted him.Law firm Jenner & Block investigated the team's handling of the incident and released a report of its findings on Tuesday."Yesterday was a day of many emotions. I cried, I smiled, I laughed, I cried some more, and my girlfriend and I - we didn't know how to feel," Beach said in the interview. "We didn't know how to think, we just held each other and supported each other."

The Los Angeles Kings expect defenseman Drew Doughty to miss approximately eight weeks due to a tibial plateau contusion in his knee, general manager Rob Blake announced Wednesday.The veteran will resume skating in six weeks.Doughty suffered the injury during Friday's contest against the Dallas Stars following a knee-on-knee collision with defenseman Jani Hakanpaa. Doughty needed help off the ice, and he didn't return.Hakanpaa was assessed a major penalty and ejected from the game, but he didn't receive any supplementary discipline for the play.The damage to the Kings' blue line didn't stop there, with the team also announcing defenseman Sean Walker will miss the rest of the campaign after tearing his ACL and MCL Monday versus the St. Louis Blues. Walker will undergo surgery at a later date.Los Angeles has placed both players on injured reserve.Doughty led all Kings skaters in ice time so far this season, averaging 22:37 a contest. He also had the second-most points on the roster with seven in four games, trailing just Anze Kopitar.Walker put up two points in six games while playing 18:22 minutes a game.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville and Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will meet separately with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to discuss their involvement in the Chicago Blackhawks' mishandling of an alleged sexual assault in 2010.Quenneville's meeting will take place Thursday in New York, the coach told reporters, including the Boston Globe's Matt Porter. Cheveldayoff will meet with Bettman on Monday, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.Quenneville coached the Blackhawks from 2008-18. He said in July that he'd first learned of the allegations against former video coach Brad Aldrich through media reporting on two related lawsuits against the team. However, the findings of an independent investigation contradict his statement.According to the investigation, Quenneville and Cheveldayoff - then an assistant general manager with Chicago - were part of a May 2010 meeting in which Blackhawks executives were informed that Aldrich had behaved in a sexually inappropriate way toward a player. The organization didn't act on the information until reporting it to human resources three weeks later, several days after the team won the Stanley Cup.Quenneville said Wednesday he won't comment further until he's had his meeting with Bettman. Quenneville also said he discussed matters with the Panthers and they will work to "eliminate all distractions."Cheveldayoff issued a statement Tuesday saying he will continue to cooperate with the NHL after participating in the Blackhawks' investigation.Quenneville will be behind the bench for Florida's clash with the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov will miss 8-10 weeks after undergoing surgery Tuesday on an unspecified lower-body injury, the team announced Wednesday.Kucherov hasn't played since suffering an injury during Tampa Bay's third game of the season. The Lightning reportedly placed him on long-term injured reserve earlier this month.Tampa Bay currently owns a 3-3-1 record and sits fourth in the Atlantic Division.Kucherov missed the entire 2020-21 regular season while recovering from hip surgery. He returned for the playoffs and registered a league-high 32 points over 23 games as the Lightning captured their second consecutive Stanley Cup.The 28-year-old has recorded one goal and three assists this season.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Headlined by a heavyweight clash between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, we have a fun five-game slate on the docket for tonight.Let's take a look at the best way to attack it.Golden Knights (+125) @ Stars (-145)Vegas is off to a really sluggish start to the season. The team is dealing with a plethora of injuries to impact players - most notably Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty - and playing nowhere near the level we're accustomed to seeing.While the Golden Knights picked up a much-needed win in Colorado on Tuesday night, I don't like their chances of going back-to-back in Dallas.Vegas, as mentioned, is missing several of its best players. Not just stars, but high-end support pieces like Alex Tuch and Alec Martinez. Making matters worse, the Golden Knights are playing their third game in four nights, and they won't have Robin Lehner between the pipes either.The Stars have only played once since Friday's win over Los Angeles. They're at home, well-rested, and getting healthier, with John Klingberg recently returning to the lineup.Dallas should have an edge in goal as well. Braden Holtby's last couple of years have been rocky, but he owns a sparkling .939 save percentage and 2.4 goals saved above expectation over five games this season. He should be able to out-duel Laurent Brossoit, should it come to that.Bet: Dallas Stars -145.Bruins (+110) @ Panthers (-130)This is a titanic clash between two of the Eastern Conference's best teams.The Bruins and Panthers have combined to post a 9-0-1 record in the early going of the season, and they've had similar paths to victory. Boston ranks second in expected goal share at five-on-five, while Florida places sixth. The clubs have dominated territorially.The Panthers have been more prolific offensively, but they're also holding up their end of the bargain in the defensive zone. Florida ranks seventh in chances against per 60 minutes. Boston is fifth.These teams know how to suck the life out of opposing attacks. I expect they'll be looking to do just that considering the star power they're up against.If all else fails, early indications suggest the goaltending should be good. Linus Ullmark is 2-0 with a .935 save percentage, and Sergei Bobrovsky shockingly leads the NHL in goals saved above expectation (plus-9). I don't know whether he can keep it up, but he's looked good so far.Expect playoff-type intensity from the Panthers and Bruins tonight. Given how well each side defends and how competent the goaltending should be, I like this game to end under the number.Bet: Under 5.5 goals (+105)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Records are meant to be broken - just not these ones.Below, in no particular order, we investigate five NHL benchmarks that will stand the test of time.Wayne Gretzky's 2,857 points B Bennett / Bruce Bennett / GettyWe could have chosen his 92-goal season, or his 215-point year, or his 51-game point streak, or eight consecutive MVPs, but let's be honest - this entire list could easily be Gretzky's. The Great One holds a whopping 61 NHL records, so we're taking the easy way out and picking his absurd point total.If No. 99 never scored a single NHL goal, he'd still be the league's all-time top scorer. For additional context, Connor McDavid - who could very well join Gretzky on the NHL's Mount Rushmore of best players when it's all said and done - would need to play 19 more campaigns at his current point-per-game clip (1.42) to match Gretzky's total.Many point to Gretzky's quality of competition as a key contributor to his outlandish numbers, but according to Hockey Reference's era-adjusted points, he's still comfortably in first with 2,475.Glenn Hall's 502 consecutive starts Bruce Bennett / Bruce Bennett / GettyHall's claim to fame is probably the most bulletproof of them all. From 1955 to 1962, "Mr. Goalie" started 502 consecutive regular-season contests for the Chicago Blackhawks - almost double the previous record.Hall also made 49 playoff appearances in that span, winning a Stanley Cup in 1961 and Conn Smythe in 1968. Goalies in today's NHL rarely play both nights of a back-to-back, let alone suit up in a career's worth of games without taking a night off.Islanders' 19 consecutive series wins Bettmann / Bettmann / GettyThe early 1980s belonged to the New York Islanders, who began the decade winning four consecutive Stanley Cups to stake their claim as the greatest dynasty in league history. Those Isles teams were just stacked. A core of Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, and Billy Smith anchored the club through a record 19 consecutive series wins, as New York's impeccable run came to a close with a loss to Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers in the 1984 Stanley Cup Final.The Montreal Canadiens won five Cups in a row in the late 1950s and then four straight in the 1970s, but none of those titles came at a time when teams needed four series victories to earn the championship.The salary cap and parity in today's NHL make the Islanders' run untouchable. Think about it: The Tampa Bay Lightning are back-to-back champs and had to sell off an entire line from their latest Cup-winning squad to remain financially compliant. Could you imagine them winning 11 more series in a row? Not happening.Henri Richard's 11 Cups as player Dick Raphael / Sports Illustrated / Getty"The Pocket Rocket" collected so many rings throughout his career that he ran out of fingers to put them on. Now, lots of Canadiens in that era have a bucket full of titles as well, but Richard stands alone with 11 - one more than teammates Jean Beliveau and Yvon Cournoyer.Richard started his career with five consecutive Cups - talk about good timing - and notched 47 points in 49 games over that span. He was by no means just a passenger on a team destined for greatness.Again though, the era makes a big difference. Of course, it was easier to win chips when there were only six clubs in the league, but considering the most Cups won among active players is three, it's safe to assume Richard's record is going to be out of reach forever.Teemu Selanne's 76 rookie goals Denis Brodeur / National Hockey League / GettySelanne introduced himself to the NHL in grand fashion in 1992-93, potting 76 goals to obliterate Bossy's rookie record of 53 set in 1978. The Finnish Flash's mark is also the fifth-highest single-season total in league history.The likes of Alex Ovechkin (53), Auston Matthews (40), Sidney Crosby (39), and McDavid (16) couldn't even come close to Selanne's rookie total, so what kind of talent is it going to take for the Hall of Famer to even feel pressure on his record? On top of that, the NHL hasn't even seen a 60-goal season since Steven Stamkos in 2011-12.If by some miracle this record falls one day, Selanne's successor will still be in tough to match the former Jet's iconic celebration from 28 years ago.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Heading into Wednesday's slate of games, with two weeks of action wrapped up, four NHL clubs remain undefeated - the Edmonton Oilers (5-0-0), Florida Panthers (6-0-0), St. Louis Blues (5-0-0), and Carolina Hurricanes (5-0-0).Naturally, almost everything is going right for these teams. After all, you don't just stumble into a lengthy season-opening winning streak in a league obsessed with parity. But we've tried to identify what's been unsurprising and what's been surprising about each blazing-hot start.(Note: All advanced statistics collected from Evolving Hockey.)Edmonton Oilers Andy Devlin / Getty ImagesUnsurprising: Connor McDavid is good at hockey. To start his sixth NHL season, McDavid leads the league in points with 13 in five games, which is a 213-point pace over 82 contests. (Maybe 150 isn't a pipe dream?) Meanwhile, super sidekick Leon Draisaitl isn't far behind with 11 points. McDavid, Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman, the new winger on McDavid's line, account for seven of the Oilers' league-leading eight power-play goals.Hyman is fitting in perfectly with Edmonton, doing exactly the kinds of things he was doing in Toronto alongside Auston Matthews. On top of scoring, Hyman's regularly retrieving pucks, screening goalies, issuing body checks, and attending to his defensive responsibilities.Surprising: A combination of blah goaltending and a lack of defensive depth had many pundits, myself included, questioning the Oilers' ceiling in 2021-22. Edmonton's final scores so far: 3-2, 5-2, 6-5, 5-1, 5-3.Aside from the 6-5 game, the Oilers are holding down the fort defensively. Backup goalie Mikko Koskinen owns a .943 save percentage in 148 minutes, while starter Mike Smith (who's currently injured) has a .920 mark in 156. Darnell Nurse, who has a league-high average ice time of 27:37 a night, has steered the defense corps toward respectability. Originally paired with Tyson Barrie, Nurse is now dominating with Evan Bouchard. As for polarizing offseason acquisition Duncan Keith, well, he's been fine, which might be good enough from a 38-year-old.Florida Panthers Joel Auerbach / Getty ImagesUnsurprising: Last season, the Panthers finished tied for fourth in goals scored. It's been much of the same this year: They're tied for third in goals per game while outscoring the opposition 27-12. Florida plays an uptempo style, and so far, no other team is generating more five-on-five shot attempts per 60 minutes than the Panthers' 68.1.As expected, a couple of recent additions up front are making a tangible impact, with Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett ranking first and second, respectively, among Panthers forwards in individual five-on-five shot attempts for. Together, they've chipped in 12 points. Also of note: Blue-liner Aaron Ekblad, shelved for most of 2020-21, has been terrific in his return. He and rising star MacKenzie Weegar make an elite top pairing.Surprising: How real this dominance appears. The Panthers have defeated the Penguins, Islanders, Lightning, Avalanche, Flyers, and Coyotes, who are the only pushover in that group. Another significant positive: arguably the biggest question for this team - goaltending - has been more of an exclamation mark.The much-maligned Sergei Bobrovsky, for one, has been nothing but steady, earning a quality start (when the goalie achieves at least the league's mean save percentage in a game) in each of his four starts, according to Hockey Reference. There's been no drop-off when 20-year-old Spencer Knight takes the net, either. The vet-rookie tandem has teamed up for a .937 save percentage.St. Louis Blues Scott Rovak / Getty ImagesUnsurprising: There are two predictable developments with respect to the Blues. The first is David Perron once again producing at a high rate with little fanfare outside of St. Louis. The 33-year-old winger has accumulated six goals and two assists in five contests for a 1.60 points-per-game rate. Will he keep up that pace? Probably not. But he's in damn good shape to meet, or improve upon, his career average of 0.68 points per contest.The second is the penalty kill stymying opposing power-play units, allowing only one goal on 16 opportunities for a league-leading 93.8% kill rate. In 2020-21, the Blues ranked 25th in penalty-kill percentage, but the results never seemed to align with the plethora of penalty-killing talent, namely Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko, and Ryan O'Reilly.Surprising: The Blues have used 20 skaters thus far, and all 20 have recorded at least one point. That's impressive given that St. Louis' secondary players aren't world-beaters, at least on paper. The club's 26-and-under forwards (Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Buchnevich, Jake Neighbours, Klim Kostin, Ivan Barbashev) have all found success in the early going, contributing a combined nine goals and 12 primary assists.The veterans aren't being left behind, though. Vladimir Tarasenko, fresh off an offseason trade request and scuttlebutt about his long-term health, has been excellent. The same goes for two-way wizard O'Reilly.Carolina Hurricanes Ben Jackson / Getty ImagesSurprising: In the offseason, the Hurricanes turned over nine spots on their 23-man roster. It's typical (and understandable) for teams with such a high volume of changes to struggle out of the gate. So, Carolina's strong start, with so many new faces, is borderline shocking.Frederik Andersen, who's manned the pipes every game so far, is headlining the fresh-faced standouts. The 6-foot-4 Dane currently boasts a .946 save percentage while sitting atop the NHL leaderboard in a couple of advanced goalie stats: goals saved above average and goals saved above expected. Forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored a goal against his former team, the Montreal Canadiens, last week. Defensemen Ethan Bear, Tony DeAngelo, and Ian Cole have looked solid in Dougie Hamilton's absence.Unsurprising: Not to contradict the spirit of the above paragraphs, but even with the turnover, Carolina was primed to contend for the Metropolitan Division title. For a few years now, the franchise has been knocking on the door as a fringe Stanley Cup contender; it's not like Rod Brind'Amour, the club's wildly popular head coach, has changed his tactics.The 2021-22 Hurricanes are still a team that dictates the flow of action most nights, ices a lethal power play, and employs a handful of game-breakers. One of those high-impact players, winger Andrei Svechnikov, is so far living up to his fat contract extension with five goals and four assists in five games. Captain Jordan Staal, more of a meat-and-potatoes kind of player at age 33, continues to post stellar underlying numbers, such as a 56.3% expected goals for percentage. Same old.John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Stan Bowman stepped down as Chicago Blackhawks general manager, team CEO Danny Wirtz revealed Tuesday.The 48-year-old also resigned as GM of the 2022 United States men's Olympic hockey team. USA Hockey is expected to announce a replacement in the near future.Bowman vacated his GM posts following the conclusion of an independent investigation into former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich's alleged sexual assault of a player in 2010. Bowman and other members of the team's management group were informed that Aldrich had at minimum allegedly sexually harassed a player on the team, the inquiry confirmed, but the organization didn't promptly address the incident.The NHL also fined the Blackhawks $2 million Tuesday, citing the team's "inadequate internal procedures and insufficient and untimely response in the handling" of the matter.Former assistant U.S. attorney Reid J. Schar of Jenner & Block produced the probe's findings Tuesday. The player had a sexual encounter with Aldrich in May 2010, the report determined, though both people involved disagreed about whether it was consensual. Team employees who met to discuss the matter on May 23, 2010, included Bowman and then-team president and CEO John McDonough, as well as assistant GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and head coach Joel Quenneville. Accounts of the meeting vary widely.No one from the management group acted until June 14, several days after the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, when McDonough reported the information to the director of human resources.Aldrich made an unwanted sexual advance on a Blackhawks intern on June 9, the former employee told investigators.Wirtz said he directed the team's legal department to try to reach a settlement with the former Blackhawks player, as well as a former Michigan high school player who sued the organization, according to TSN's Rick Westhead. Aldrich was convicted and sentenced to nine months in prison plus five years of probation for sexually assaulting the high school player in 2013.NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement he will soon be meeting personally with Cheveldayoff - now the Winnipeg Jets' GM - and Quenneville - now the Florida Panthers' bench boss - to address their involvement. Both Cheveldayoff and Quenneville publicly denied they had any knowledge of the allegations against Aldrich when asked in July.The Blackhawks named Kyle Davidson interim GM. He was previously their assistant general manager of hockey administration.Bowman had worked with the Blackhawks since 2001, joining them that year as special assistant to GM Mike Smith. Chicago promoted Bowman to director of hockey operations and then to assistant GM before naming him GM in July 2009.Longtime Blackhawks executive Al MacIsaac, vice president of hockey operations, also stepped down Tuesday. MacIsaac was also present in the May 2010 meeting.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vegas Golden Knights have engaged in further trade talks with the Buffalo Sabres over the last three-to-five days for star Jack Eichel, reports Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.Vegas currently has $6.4 million in cap space, per CapFriendly, although forwards Max Pacioretty and Alex Tuch are on long-term injured reserve. The Sabres reportedly aren't interested in retaining any of Eichel's salary in a trade.A potential Eichel deal has been looming for months, but nothing has seemingly come close to fruition. Eichel is still waiting to undergo neck surgery and would likely not be available to play until closer to the end of the season if he can hit the ice at all.The Golden Knights own a 1-4-0 record and sit at the bottom of the Pacific Division. Vegas has had a bad run of injuries so far, with Pacioretty sidelined for several weeks and captain Mark Stone out for an undetermined amount of time.The Golden Knights own their first- and second-round picks for the next three drafts. Their young talent is highlighted by players like Peyton Krebs and Nicolas Hague.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs veteran Jason Spezza doesn't believe that his team will crack easily amid an early-season slump."I think for every team that hasn't won, there is a fragile aspect to them. That word has been used by a lot of people, but I don't think we're a fragile group," Spezza said Tuesday, according to The Hockey News' David Alter. "But I think we're a group that is still trying to find their consistency and find our way. We know what a good game feels like; we just haven't been able to do it here recently."The Maple Leafs have lost four straight games and own a 2-4-1 record, and their stars haven't found the scoresheet as often as they normally do. Auston Matthews has one goal in four contests, while Mitch Marner has one assist in seven games. John Tavares has three points, and William Nylander leads the team with five points.However, Toronto's underlying numbers tell a different story. The club ranks first in the league with a 55.36 Corsi For rating and sits ninth with a 54.16 expected goals for percentage, according to Natural Stat Trick. The Maple Leafs also lead the NHL with 270 scoring chances.Spezza said the onus is on the entire team to step up."I think a big thing for our guys is realizing that we get out of this as a team," Spezza said. "We're not looking for one or two guys to climb us out of this."The Maple Leafs are set to take on the winless Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New York Islanders re-signed forward Ross Johnston to a four-year contract extension, the team announced Tuesday.Johnston's deal carries an average annual value of $1.1 million, reports TSN's Chris Johnston.The 27-year-old signed with the Islanders as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He's skated in 87 NHL games, scoring seven goals and adding eight assists.Since the beginning of the 2017-18 season, Johnston ranks second on the Islanders with 198 penalty minutes and 18.95 hits per 60 minutes.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The St. Louis Blues placed captain Ryan O'Reilly and forward Brandon Saad on the club's non-roster COVID-19 protocols list Tuesday.O'Reilly will miss at least 10 days, while Saad won't likely be out that long, Blues head coach Craig Berube said, according to Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch.St. Louis recalled center Dakota Joshua from its AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, in a corresponding move.O'Reilly has produced two goals and three assists over five games this season. The 30-year-old leads all Blues forwards in average ice time with 19:13.Saad, who'll turn 29 on Wednesday, has collected a goal and an assist in three contests this campaign. The Blues signed him to a five-year contract as a free agent in July.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Three days after the Chicago Blackhawks placed their best player in COVID-19 protocol, their captain joined him on the list.The Blackhawks placed Jonathan Toews and fellow forward Henrik Borgstrom in the protocol Tuesday. Both players missed the day's practice as a result.Patrick Kane landed on the list Saturday and missed Sunday's 6-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, along with forward Jujhar Khaira and defenseman Riley Stillman.Three Blackhawks coaches have also been in the COVID-19 protocol since the weekend.

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins believes what goes around, comes around.The 27-year-old said a fan wearing a Dallas Stars sweater taunted him about the death of his close friend and former teammate, Matiss Kivlenieks, as he exited the tunnel prior to Monday's game in Columbus, according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.The Blue Jackets and Nationwide Arena security staff were reportedly trying to identify the fan as of Tuesday morning.Merzlikins went on to make 31 saves on 32 shots en route to the Blue Jackets' 4-1 victory over the Stars."I was expecting a shutout, because I believe in karma. There are some stupid people in this world," Merzlikins said after the contest. "After the first period, the three posts that I got, I really believed in karma. I saw that (Kivlenieks) was really there."Merzlikins added that he didn't respond to the fan."Stupid people don't come into my head. I didn't get upset," he said. "I just realize how stupid people are. This is all. I don't care what he said."Kivlenieks died in July following a fireworks accident. Merzlikins previously called him a hero and said he's going to win the Vezina for him.Merzlikins has enjoyed a fantastic start to the 2021-22 campaign, going 4-0-0 with a .952 save percentage.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Vladimir Tarasenko said he was truly touched to hear St. Louis Blues supporters chanting his name after he starred in a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night."That was a special moment," the Blues winger told reporters postgame. "It was very emotional."Tarasenko smiled and waved to the crowd as fans chanted "Vladi, Vladi" after he emerged from the tunnel upon being named first star of the game.

Early in his NHL career, Mark Messier hatched an offseason ritual with his brother and a couple of friends: Spin a globe and fly to where his finger landed. Messier's crew rode motorbikes in Thailand, drank psychedelic tea at a Barbados hostel, and left a German nightclub as the sun rose to jet straight to Ibiza. The summer getaways rejuvenated him - how else could he have played 25 seasons? - and taught him things about the world."I was interested in the way people live. I was interested in different cultures and different ways of life and different practices and different spiritualities," Messier said. "I loved the adventure of the travel, but I also loved the education."Messier reminisces about these trips in his new memoir, "No One Wins Alone," published Tuesday, which he wrote with sportscaster Jimmy Roberts. Elected to the Hall of Fame as soon as he became eligible in 2007, Messier remains hockey's consummate leader and power center. Few players scored and won so often. Between 1984 and 1990, he helped deliver five Stanley Cups to the Edmonton Oilers, the last of them after Wayne Gretzky was traded. In 1994, Messier captained the New York Rangers to their first title in 54 years.Messier accepts the Stanley Cup from Gary Bettman in 1994. Bruce Bennett / Getty ImagesHis No. 11 is retired in Edmonton and Manhattan. Only Gretzky and Jaromir Jagr tallied more career points than his 1,887. He ranks third in games played (1,756) behind Patrick Marleau and Gordie Howe, the latter of whom Messier faced in the World Hockey Association when he was 17 and Howe was 51. Howe wheeling around the ice pregame, Messier wrote in his memoir, was the only sight in hockey that made him gulp.Messier turned 60 last winter, and be it in print or on TV, he has memories, opinions, and wisdom to share. The book comes out two weeks into Messier's debut as a studio analyst at ESPN, the NHL's new lead U.S. broadcast partner. He's in the legend's chair that Gretzky similarly occupies at TNT, breaking down the game they used to dominate together.Messier's travels, for business and for pleasure, have shaped his outlook on how to live and lead. He thinks that curiosity is powerful, that new and varied experiences enrich how people understand themselves. Within a team, Messier wrote, continuity and connectivity make winning possible. So does having leaders who inspire - players who preach selflessness to the rest of the group and then walk the talk."The overall purpose of writing the book was to give some insight into how powerful of an experience I had playing on a team," Messier said.Messier in 2019. Bruce Bennett / Getty ImagesMessier spoke to theScore about a range of topics, including his TV job; the value of emotion, glue guys, and fall costume parties; and what he regrets about his late-career stint with the Vancouver Canucks. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.theScore: Broadly speaking, this book is about your career, about teamwork, and about your perspective on leadership. How would you define leadership in the NHL? In a dressing room, within a team, what is it that the best leaders do?Messier: Leadership is so multifaceted. There are so many levels of leadership. Dealing with people. Getting people to believe in themselves. Setting an example. Being able to give correction without resentment. Establishing relationships.It's one thing to go out on the ice and be a good hockey player and lead by example. There are just so many different elements of leadership that are important at the professional level because we're talking about livelihoods. We're talking about security for families. We're talking about the upheaval of families being traded if things don't go well. There's a huge responsibility. I don't think it should be heaped on some young player just because they're a good hockey player.You won six Stanley Cups as a player.I like to say we won six Stanley Cups. (Laughs)Messier (center) and Esa Tikkanen celebrate the Oilers' 1990 Stanley Cup victory. Bruce Bennett / Getty ImagesAbsolutely. One of your insights about winning struck me. A lot of players talk about the importance of staying even-keeled, of avoiding highs and lows. You believe the opposite: that you should feel high when you win and low when you lose. Why do you think that?Hockey, and I think most sports, or anything you do with passion, is about emotion. You have to play the game with intensity. With that, there's going to be a fluctuation of state of mind. You're disappointed that you didn't play well. You're disappointed that you lost. You're disappointed that you made a mistake. You're disappointed that you made a decision off the ice that affected the team. And you're absolutely fired up and elated when you win - or when you played a great game, you scored a big goal, you made a great decision, you helped a teammate.The ups and downs of a professional hockey player, it's not a flat-line sport. To try to quell that (emotion) is counterproductive, in my opinion.Which of your championship journeys do you think about the most?Now that I've been retired 17 years - 60 years old and thinking back on my career - it's all about the great and fun moments that we had in the dressing room. Those pressure-packed situations: We're in a 20-by-20 foot dressing room staring at each other before we take the ice. Getting dressed at the hotel in New York City and getting on a bus, walking out onto Park Avenue with our equipment on to go to practice.The journey is the magic ingredient. Of course, you remember the seminal moment of the whistle blowing and hoisting the Stanley Cup and the banner being raised the next year. But it's all the special moments along the way, and the heartache and the heartbreak, and the great, uplifting moments.After our first Stanley Cup, I'm not going to say there was an emptiness to it, but there was a little bit of a pause (where I thought), a week later, 'Geez, we're not going to the rink. That's where all the fun was.' You know what I mean? Not basking in the fact that we won. Of course, here we are years later and we can really relish the fact we won the Stanley Cup. But it's a whole year. How difficult it is, and how much you have to rely on each other, gave (the journey) such a big impact.Messier with the Rangers. Graig Abel / Getty ImagesThe book is called "No One Wins Alone." To make that point, you note that on your star-studded teams, a lot of guys contributed to the team effort - to winning - from the shadows. Who was an unsung hero of one of your Cup teams that people should know about?It's always the role players - the players that you think are expendable at the end of the year, that you think you can replace easily - who are sorely missed. Not only because of what they're able to do as a role player, but what they brought off the ice into the dressing room, on the buses, when you traveled.Those are the galvanizers. The glue guys on the team. They're not easy to replace. We're going to see that in Tampa Bay this year with the six players they lost because of the salary cap. (Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson, David Savard, and Luke Schenn all left the champion Lightning in the offseason.)In the book, I talk about Mark Lamb, a guy who struggled to make it. Here he is (in 1990) playing between Esa Tikkanen and Jari Kurri. A journeyman who could barely stay in the league and here he is replacing Wayne Gretzky. You can't make that stuff up. He was such a great character guy and played such amazing hockey and was such a huge part of our championship team. Loads of character and grittiness and toughness.Dave Brown - another guy who was an enforcer but was a huge part of our team (that post-Gretzky title season). I could list 50 guys right now who were important but never got the recognition they deserved.Mark Lamb. Graig Abel / Getty ImagesI'm glad you mentioned Tampa Bay. To write about Edmonton's 1984 title, you brought up the experience and pride of the four-time champion Islanders and how hard it was to finally beat them. What do Tampa's opponents have to do this season to topple the champs?(Tampa's) got the distinct advantage of having swum in the deep end now for a couple of seasons. When you win the Stanley Cup, it changes you. When you go back to back, it changes your knowledge of the game and how to win and how to prepare and what it takes.Staying healthy will be a challenge for them. They're replacing guys that they lost who were great players, instrumental to their victories. Who's going to replace them? How are they going to bring (the new players) into the culture? How are they going to bring them up to speed, and (instill) the understanding and experience of what it takes to play in the playoffs?It's not going to be easy. But it's not easy unseating anybody who's won a Stanley Cup.It's remarkable what Tampa's done. Pittsburgh won back to back. A three-peat, history tells us it's not easy. There's been three organizations and five teams to ever do it. (The Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1940s and '60s, the Montreal Canadiens in the '50s and '70s, and the '80s Islanders.) It'll be interesting to see how that story unfolds.Blake Coleman raises the Stanley Cup in July. Florence Labelle / NHL / Getty ImagesAnother belief you share in the book: The key to leading a successful hockey team is to throw a good Halloween party. Why is that?When you come to training camp, you're super focused on getting acclimated to your team - even old players coming back again. Getting yourself ready for the season. It's a really intense, focused time for a team. You start the season with new players. You get through the first month of the season. (Halloween) always fell at a perfect time to let your guard down a little bit. Get away from the rink. Get the wives and girlfriends and the entire team together in an environment that's really fun and playful.It brings out people's personalities. It's one of those things that you can all go back to the dressing room for the next couple of weeks and talk about. It's a team-galvanizing experience. Those shared experiences are critical to a team's success, in my opinion.I want to ask about your arrival in Vancouver in 1997. You were named captain, replacing Trevor Linden, and you wrote that the way you handled the division in the locker room at the time was among your biggest mistakes in hockey. What do you wish you'd done differently?Once you have a captain, you can't unseat a captain. It just doesn't work. I thought I was trying to do what was right by being a moderator (between cliques within the team). But in the end, it just wasn't the right thing to do. It didn't sit well with the fan base. It wasn't fair to Trevor. It just was a mistake. It was an honest mistake. It was something that I didn't do with any bad intentions. I was trying to help, but I was trying to help in the wrong way.If I had to do it again, I would have tried to be in more of a support role for the players there and unify things from the rear. Leadership from the back is not a bad thing. It's very important. I had great leaders around me throughout my career. That's something I would have thought about doing differently.L-R: Paul Coffey, Messier, and Gretzky in 1982. Bruce Bennett / Getty ImagesYou and Wayne Gretzky were born 10 days apart in 1961. You started in the NHL with the Oilers together. You wrote in the book that you're effectively family. Now he's analyzing games on TNT and you're working for ESPN. To what extent does that stoke your competitiveness?I don't look at us as competitors so much. I look at us as a whole part of the ecosystem of the NHL. I think back to Saturday night at 6 o'clock, Hockey Night in Canada with Danny Gallivan and Dick Irvin and the great Foster Hewitt. Those people bringing the game right into our living rooms. I look at it as a chance to do what's been done so brilliantly for the last 60 years - of my life, anyway.Hopefully, I'll be able to articulate some of the experiences that I had, some of the knowledge that I had, as a player. Articulate some of the challenges that the players face at different times. Hopefully, bring a perspective to the game that resonates with people.What does it mean to get to do that at the same time as Wayne?Our lives have revolved around the game of hockey. To have Wayne back in the game is great for everybody. To hear his perspective on the game, we're talking about the greatest, maybe, athlete of the century. The greatest hockey player of all time. To be hearing his insights, for me, as a fan, would be exciting.Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

In point-spread betting, we pay -110 on either side. We're taught early in our betting careers that we need to hit 53% to be profitable at that price, which is 3% better than breaking even.When betting moneylines, as we do in hockey, it's more difficult to establish how to be 3% better with prices on the move. Hitting 53% isn't going to do you any good if you play favorites of more than -110 on average. On the other hand, if your bets average out to a +150 moneyline price, hitting 43% would be more than enough to be profitable.It didn't quite match the twists and turns of an Elmore Leonard crime novel, but we provided a three-chapter series before the season on how to use the regular-season point total market to create team ratings, how to interpret home-ice advantage, and then how to use those to create your own moneylines.Less than two weeks of hockey have been played since then. I've taken the advanced stats I value most from those games, the market rating for regular-season win total markets, and last season's advanced stats to create a rating for each team. Also, if there's an injury to a key player that was previously unaccounted for, I'll make those adjustments.With roughly six games played per team, here's how I'm weighing those three factors as of Oct. 25th:2021 SEASON MARKET 2021-2235%60%5%We need a baseline for what these teams have done in the past, which is why 35% comes from last season. The Avalanche didn't just throw a bunch of guys together three weeks ago, meaning last season's body of work matters.Many teams have changed since last year, and the perception of those changes is built into the rating taken from the regular-season point total markets before the year.Since we don't want to overreact to a few games, this season's results carry the least weight right now. For example, we don't want to believe too much in the Sabres' early success or the poor starts by teams like the Islanders, Golden Knights, Canadiens, and Lightning. Each Monday, we'll tweak the weighting to gradually place more importance on what's happened this season.The Cheat SheetThe following is a lookahead to a week's worth of games. It includes my fair price on the games (true moneyline) and the moneyline price that I would need to bet on either side. I just need a 1% edge for a favorite if we're getting better than fair price on the team more likely to win. For the underdog, I'll need 4% or better to make it a bet.DATEGAMETRUE ML +/-PRICE TO BETOCT. 25CGY@NYR+114/-114CGY +134/NYR -109WSH@OTT-120/+120WSH -116/OTT +142TOR@CAR-107/+107TOR +110/CAR +126DAL@CBJ-131/+131DAL -126/CBJ +155TB@BUF-156/+156TB -150/ BUF +185AZ@FLA+209/-209AZ +253/FLA -200LAK@STL+136/-136LAK +161/STL -131OCT. 26CGY@NJ+116/-116CGY +137/NJ -112TB@PIT-150/+150TB -144/PIT +178VGK@COL+207/-207VGK +250/COL -198SJ@NSH+122/-122SJ +144/NSH -117MIN@VAN-123/+123MIN -118/VAN +144WPG@ANA+107/-107WPG +125/ANA +110MTL@SEA+111/-111MTL +130/SEA -106OCT. 27BOS@FLA+116/-116FLA -112/BOS +137DET@WSH+154/-154WSH -147/DET +182TOR@CHI-171/+171TOR -164/CHI +204VGK@DAL+111/-111VGK +130/DAL +106PHI@EDM+129/-129PHI +152/EDM -124OCT. 28AZ@TB+233/-233AZ +284/TB -222CGY@PIT-119/+119CGY -115/PIT +140BOS@CAR+106/-106BOS +125/CAR +100COL@STL-137/+137COL -131/STL +162BUF@ANA+126/-126BUF +148/ANA -121PHI@VAN+107/-107PHI +126/VAN +100MIN@SEA-111/+111MIN -101/SEA +130MTL@SJ+100/+100MTL +118/SJ +117WPG@LAK+144/-144WPG +170/LAK -138OCT. 29CHI@CAR+146/-146CHI+173/CAR -140CBJ@NYR+161/-161CBJ +192/NYR -155AZ@WSH+178/-178WSH -170/AZ +212FLA@DET-134/+134FLA -112/DET +137ANA@VGK+147/-147ANA +174/VGK -141OTT@DAL+177/-177OTT +212/DAL -170OCT. 30NYI@NSH-115/+115NYI -111/NSH +135MTL@LAK+104/-104MTL +123/LAK +103NJ@PIT+138/-138NJ +163/PIT -133WPG@SJ+100/+100WPG -117/SJ -117FLA@BOS+116/-116FLA +137/BOS -112DET@TOR+195/-195DET +234/TOR -186CHI@STL+129/-129CHI +152/STL -124MIN@COL+133/-133MIN +157/COL -128PHI@CGY+120/-120PHI +142/CGY -116EDM@VAN-113/+113EDM -109/VAN +133OCT. 31AZ@CAR+191/-191AZ +230/CAR -183MTL@ANA-129/+129MTL -124/ANA +152BUF@LAK+171/-171BUF +204/LAK -164CBJ@NJ+146/-146CBJ +173/NJ -140NYR@SEA+102/-102NYR +120/SEA +110Last TipsThings like new injuries or appearances by backup goaltenders can skew these games, which is why you have to apply your own discerning opinion on whether or not to make a bet. However, don't be shy to back a heavy underdog or lay a big price on a favorite if you find a price that's profitable long term.With lines opening the night before, you may see no edge on either side. But lines often change enough to offer value by the time the puck drops 24 hours later. You might also see value with the opener, only to see it change with a big move before puck drop. You can then decide if you're happy with the closing line value from your first bet or - if you think it's an overreaction - whether to bet the other way.I recommend grabbing value where you can the night before and then checking back for any overadjustments.Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there’s a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Chicago Blackhawks find themselves in the NHL record books for the wrong reasons.The Blackhawks fell to 0-5-1 on the season with a 6-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, during which time they've never held a lead. At 360:57, it's the longest streak without holding a lead to begin a season since at least 1979-80, Sportradar told The Associated Press' Jay Cohen.SeasonTeamGame time2021-22Blackhawks360:572000-01Capitals350:252015-16Devils308:071995-96Canadiens300:572019-20Sharks284:47Chicago made a flurry of offseason splashes to try and get the franchise back on track after four mediocre years, acquiring Seth Jones, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Tyler Johnson, among others.However, the moves haven't panned out, as the Blackhawks have been outscored 27-12 and sit dead-last in the league standings in terms of points percentage.To make matters worse, Chicago's 2022 first-round pick belongs to the Columbus Blue Jackets as part of the Jones deal, although it's lottery protected.The Blackhawks' next chance at picking up their first win of the season comes Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and will be eligible to play by the time the team takes its first road trip to Canada, according to team reporter Amanda Stein.Blackwood, who was one of the last remaining unvaccinated NHLers, will be cleared by Dec. 3, when the Devils are scheduled to play an away game versus the Winnipeg Jets.The netminder, who'll turn 25 six days later, admitted in September he wasn't vaccinated, citing health reasons. He said he was undecided about getting the shot and wanted to take his time determining whether to do so.The NHL's COVID-19 protocols allow teams to suspend unvaccinated players if they're unable to participate in club activities. The Devils didn't suspend Blackwood but he hasn't played yet this season.The Canadian goalie, who's reportedly on Team Canada's long list for the 2022 Olympic Games, said in early October he was leaning toward getting the vaccine.Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi is the NHL's lone remaining unvaccinated player, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We're kicking off the week with an unusually busy Monday night. Let's dive into the best way to attack this seven-game slate.Flames (+115) @ Rangers (-135)Both teams enter this contest on the same trajectory, dropping their first two games of the season and going undefeated since.The Flames responded to their slow start with consecutive road wins, while the Rangers have piled up four straight victories.The value in this game does not appear to be with either side, but rather the total - and I like the under.Calgary looks stout defensively at five-on-five, which is to be expected given the club is coached by Darryl Sutter. The Flames rank first in chances against per 60 minutes, giving up fewer than 20, and slot fifth in high-danger chances against per 60. Put simply, Calgary is not allowing a high quantity or a high quality of chances.New York has also done a good job of limiting high-danger opportunities, sitting eighth in high-danger chances against per 60. Rangers coach Gerard Gallant ran a pretty tight ship with the Golden Knights, so that's hardly surprising.What is odd though - and promising for the under - is that the Rangers aren't generating much offensively. In fact, no team is creating fewer high-danger chances at even strength than New York.The Rangers are playing low-event hockey at both ends of the ice and they feature one of the league's best netminders in Igor Shesterkin. Similarly, the Flames are giving up very little and are in good hands with Jacob Markstrom in goal.I don't think there will be a ton of fireworks in this one.Bet: Under 5.5 goals (-110)Maple Leafs (-105) @ Hurricanes (-115)The Maple Leafs were absolutely embarrassed by the Penguins on Saturday night, and Toronto is understandably taking a ton of flack for that performance. It was inexcusable, especially given the overwhelming number of quality players missing from Pittsburgh's lineup.With that said, I think it's important to look at the big picture here rather than focusing on one game, and the big picture for the Maple Leafs hasn't been as bad as their early results suggest.Believe it or not, Toronto is creating a lot of opportunities, leading the NHL in scoring chances, high-danger scoring chances, and expected goals.Despite their ability to generate consistent looks, they rank 24th in goals. That is because the Leafs are shooting just 5.7%. That is unsustainably low for a team headlined by Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares.Those three forwards have been particularly snakebitten. Each has scored at least 1.8 goals fewer than expected, slotting all three in the bottom 10 in that category.Their luck is going to change sooner rather than later. It has to because players of that caliber simply can't generate opportunity after opportunity and come up empty-handed over a long period of time.Perhaps there's no better time for regression to hit than tonight against Frederik Andersen. The former Maple Leafs goaltender is punching above his weight right now, owning a .944 save percentage, and is destined to come down to earth.Bet: Maple Leafs (-105)Bonus bet: Kings (+155)Los Angeles is seventh in expected goals share at five-on-five this season, compared to 28th for the Blues. The Kings should get the better of Ville Husso, who is expected to get his first start of the season for St. Louis.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang tested positive for COVID-19 and remains in protocol, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said Monday, according to team reporter Michelle Crechiolo.The Penguins placed Letang on the COVID-19 list Saturday after he returned a positive result. That result has since been confirmed and caused him to miss Pittsburgh's 7-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry started Saturday's contest after producing a false positive test last week.Pittsburgh improved to 3-0-2 with the victory despite missing Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Bryan Rust because of injuries and Letang and Jeff Carter due to COVID-19 protocol.Letang, 34, recorded four assists while averaging 26:08 of ice time over the Penguins' first four games of the season.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Chicago Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton has the support of his core players amid a horrendous start to the 2021-22 campaign."100% this team has faith in Jeremy," defenseman Seth Jones said, per The Athletic's Mark Lazerus. "I've been here a short time but his message has been great for us. ... This isn't a coaching problem. This is a locker room thing, the players on the ice playing the game."The club lost its sixth consecutive game Sunday night, setting a record for the longest streak (360 minutes) without holding a lead to open a season since at least 1979-80.Chicago made significant roster changes this offseason, landing Jones, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Tyler Johnson. The failure to live up to heightened expectations has put Colliton's job security in question early on, but Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews also backs his head coach."Of course," Toews said. "There's details to our game that when we've done them and we've stuck to them, we have four lines rolling and doing it the right way. It's a fun way to play and everyone feeds off it, we just haven't done it enough."Colliton replaced Joel Quenneville as Chicago's coach during the 2018-19 season. He owns an 86-88-25 record over that span.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

This is the second edition of theScore's NHL Power Rankings for the 2020-21 season. Check back for updated rankings every second Monday during the regular season.In this edition, we use the early season to make a snap judgment about each team.1. Florida Panthers (5-0-0)Previous rank: 6thSergei Bobrovsky is back. The highly paid goaltender wasn't always reliable over the last two seasons with the Panthers, but he's returned to form early in this campaign. The 33-year-old boasts a .942 save percentage and entered Sunday's action leading all NHL netminders in goals saved above expected and goals saved above average at five-on-five.2. Edmonton Oilers (5-0-0)Previous rank: 12thConnor McDavid just gets better every year. His Oilers are undefeated through five games and most recently took care of the Golden Knights, who are heavily favored to win the Pacific Division. McDavid already has 13 points in five contests, and maintaining that pace to finish the year with over 200 points isn't beyond the realm of possibility.3. St. Louis Blues (4-0-0)Previous rank: 14thThe Blues are on a roll to kick off the 2021-22 campaign. Most notably, they entered Sunday boasting the league's second-best power play with a 42.9% success rate - trailing only the Oilers - and David Perron's three goals with the man advantage have him in a five-way tie for first in the league. Stay hot, St. Louis.4. Carolina Hurricanes (4-0-0)Previous rank: 9thNo Dougie Hamilton? No Alex Nedeljkovic? No problem. The Hurricanes have looked just fine since they let their former No. 1 defenseman leave as a free agent and traded away the Calder Trophy-finalist netminder. Carolina remains a deep, well-oiled machine, and it won't be shocking if it sustains its early success.5. Washington Capitals (3-0-2) John McCreary / National Hockey League / GettyPrevious rank: 10thAlex Ovechkin has five goals in five games this season, which, obviously, translates to 82 goals in 82 contests. The 36-year-old and the aging Capitals show no signs of stopping, so why not? Such a pace would give him 812 career tallies by season's end - good for second on the NHL's all-time goals list. He's creeping up on the Great One much faster than expected.6. Pittsburgh Penguins (3-0-2)Previous rank: 11thThe Penguins haven't lost in regulation despite missing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. They're getting it done by committee in the early goings of the season and recently trounced the Maple Leafs in a 7-1 victory while also missing Kris Letang and Jeff Carter. Who needs those players to win, anyway? Not these Penguins.7. Minnesota Wild (4-1-0)Previous rank: 17thThe Wild have a legit No. 1 enter in Joel Eriksson Ek. The Swede finished fourth in Selke Trophy voting last year while playing at a 28-goal pace. With three goals in five games, he already looks set to take his game to new heights.8. Boston Bruins (3-1-0)Previous rank: 5thThe Bruins' competitive window is far from closed despite a somewhat aging core beyond David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy. Top-line superstars Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand are still producing, and Boston found viable alternatives to Tuukka Rask and Zdeno Chara that should ensure the club remains a contender.9. San Jose Sharks (4-1-0)Previous rank: 27thThe Sharks won't maintain their early pace, but they will be better than expected thanks to improved goaltending. Though San Jose pulled Adin Hill on Sunday, he was excellent before that: The 25-year-old posted a .922 save percentage and three wins in his first three games.10. Tampa Bay Lightning (2-2-1) Scott Audette / National Hockey League / GettyPrevious rank: 1stThe Lightning's quest for the three-peat isn't off to a good start. Tampa is the only team in the league that hasn't scored a goal in the first period, and the squad hasn't held a lead in regulation so far this season. It seems the hangover from back-to-back Stanley Cup celebrations is real. Can the Bolts shake it off?11. New York Rangers (4-1-1)Previous rank: 15thForget Artemi Panarin's campaign for the Hart Trophy - Igor Shesterkin is keeping the Rangers alive with his stellar play in the crease. He entered Sunday ranked second in the NHL in both goals saved above average and goals saved above expected. The 25-year-old covers up a lot of mistakes and is making an early case for league MVP.12. New York Islanders (3-2-1)Previous rank: 4thEven when Semyon Varlamov returns, Ilya Sorokin has, at the very least, worked himself into a 50-50 split. The second-year netminder owns a .933 save percentage with two shutouts in six games for the Islanders.13. Dallas Stars (3-2-0)Previous rank: 13thThe Stars aren't driving possession, but they're deep enough to contend as long as Braden Holtby plays the way he has early on. The 32-year-old's sparkling start likely isn't sustainable over the full season, and he's benefiting from the defensive talent in front of him. Regardless, his resurgence will help Dallas stay in the playoff hunt.14. Columbus Blue Jackets (3-2-0)Previous rank: 28thThe Blue Jackets' lone win against a good team so far this season came in overtime. But, much like the Sharks, Columbus has been better than many expected, thanks in large part to Patrik Laine rediscovering his game. The Finnish forward's underlying numbers suggest he'll come close to maintaining his current form over 82 games.15. Calgary Flames (2-1-1) Derek Leung / Getty Images Sport / GettyPrevious rank: 23rdJohnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk get all the attention, but Elias Lindholm is the Flames' best player. He already has six goals in four games while centering the team's top line.16. Philadelphia Flyers (2-1-1)Previous rank: 18thCarter Hart is no longer the worst goalie in the NHL after arguably owning that mantle last season. The 23-year-old is back at the level he displayed over his first two campaigns with the Flyers, and though he'll still have occasional shaky moments, he's better than he was in 2020-21.17. New Jersey Devils (3-1-0)Previous rank: 22ndThe Devils have only played four games, but they're among the NHL's best possession teams. It's hard to imagine that remaining the case all season long, but Dougie Hamilton's arrival has helped immensely, and Jack Hughes showed his potential in the opener before getting hurt in the next game.18. Buffalo Sabres (3-1-1)Previous rank: 32ndEmbrace the chaos because the Sabres might be ... good? At the very least, they aren't currently the laughingstock of the NHL. They held the second-best expected goals for percentage in the league at five-on-five (57%) through Saturday's action, trailing only the Wild. Three straight wins to start the season vaulted Buffalo from our power rankings' basement into the top 20. Enjoy your time in the sun, Sabres.19. Winnipeg Jets (2-2-1)Previous rank: 8thThe Jets' start to the season hasn't been pretty, but Kyle Connor is coming for the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. Through Saturday's games, he was in a four-way tie for the league lead with six goals while riding a career-high 27.3 shooting percentage. That latter figure may not be sustainable, but it's time the underrated star gets the credit he deserves.20. Colorado Avalanche (2-3-0) Michael Martin / National Hockey League / GettyPrevious rank: 2ndThe Avalanche have a goaltending problem. Offseason acquisition Darcy Kuemper has struggled to begin the campaign, posting an .894 save percentage and minus-3.6 goals saved above expected. He has a strong track record, but he's also 31 with a lengthy injury history.21. Vancouver Canucks (3-2-1)Previous rank: 20thTo say the Canucks haven't been a good possession team early on would be an understatement. They entered Sunday ranking near the bottom of the league in both expected goals for percentage and scoring chances for percentage at five-on-five. Vancouver has only played six games, but it's a concerning trend.22. Toronto Maple Leafs (2-3-1)Previous rank: 7thThe Maple Leafs are cursed. They were sixth in the league in expected goals for at all strengths (55.7%) as of Sunday, but they have almost nothing to show for it. Toronto has the NHL's sixth-worst goals for percentage (38.7%) and worst shooting percentage (5.7%), and its rough start culminated in a blowout loss to the shorthanded Penguins on Saturday. Whatever the Maple Leafs did to offend the hockey gods, they have to find a way to make amends.23. Detroit Red Wings (3-2-1)Previous rank: 29thThe Red Wings have two legitimate franchise cornerstones in Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider. Raymond, the skilled forward, has four goals and three assists. Seider, the blue-liner lauded for his defensive abilities, already has five points. Steve Yzerman is once again proving his keen eye for talent.24. Vegas Golden Knights (1-4-0)Previous rank: 3rdThe Golden Knights' lack of scoring punch is a serious issue. It was a problem in the playoffs, and it's carried over into the new season, with Vegas finding twine just 10 times so far. Injuries are taking their toll, but other teams like the Penguins aren't making excuses.25. Ottawa Senators (2-3-0) Matt Zambonin/Freestyle Photo / Getty Images Sport / GettyPrevious rank: 25thChris Tierney is a scoring machine. The Senators forward is on pace for 49 goals over 82 - OK, we can't keep this going. Tierney leads Ottawa with three goals in five games, but Brady Tkachuk hasn't found a rhythm after his holdout, and 2020-21 team goals leader Connor Brown hasn't found the net yet. This club has several other talented forwards, too, and the young core should start producing soon.26. Anaheim Ducks (2-3-1)Previous rank: 30thThe Ducks' patience with Troy Terry has paid off. The 24-year-old didn't produce much in his first three NHL seasons, but with six points in five games, he's establishing himself as a bona fide top-six winger.27. Nashville Predators (2-4-0)Previous rank: 24thDavid Poile needs to step down at the end of the year. The 71-year-old is the only general manager in Predators history, but it's time for a change. Nashville has no direction, and it's showing on the ice.28. Los Angeles Kings (1-3-1)Previous rank: 21stThe Kings are still not close to competing. Even in a weak Pacific Division, L.A. needs some massive growth from its youngsters to make any noise.29. Seattle Kraken (1-4-1)Previous rank: 26thThe Kraken are still finding their way as the league's newest team. But if their home opener was any indication, Climate Pledge Arena will soon be the NHL's most hostile barn for visiting teams. Give Seattle fans some credit - they showed out.30. Montreal Canadiens (1-5-0) Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images Sport / GettyPrevious rank: 16thWith a horrid start to the new campaign, the Canadiens are proving their miracle run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final was, in fact, a miracle. Montreal can't score, and the absences of Phillip Danault, Shea Weber, and Carey Price hurt its previously strong ability to prevent goals.31. Arizona Coyotes (0-4-1)Previous rank: 31stIcing one of the weakest rosters in recent memory, the Coyotes are well on their way to becoming one of the worst teams of the salary-cap era. In most cases, they would be dead last in the rankings. But ...32. Chicago Blackhawks (0-5-1)Previous rank: 19thThe Blackhawks are like the Titanic: They looked good until they hit the ice. A flurry of offseason splashes had Chicago appearing decent on paper, but this remains a very flawed team. The Blackhawks haven't even held a lead this season - an accomplishment that earned them a spot in the NHL record books for all the wrong reasons.(Analytics sources: Evolving Hockey, Natural Stat Trick)Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The San Jose Sharks traded forward Dylan Gambrell to the Ottawa Senators for a 2022 seventh-round pick, the teams announced Sunday.The draft pick originally belonged to San Jose, but Ottawa acquired it in January in exchange for defenseman Christian Jaros.Gambrell, a second-round pick of the Sharks in 2016, has skated in 110 career NHL games, recording 10 goals and 13 assists. The 25-year-old center has been productive in the minors, though, tallying 58 points in 69 AHL contests."Dylan's a player whose progress we've monitored since his collegiate career at the University of Denver," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said. "He's a good skating center, a strong checker, and a responsible penalty killer. We have a void at center on account of some recent injuries and Dylan will help us with that need."The Sens are shorthanded down the middle of the ice, as Shane Pinto is expected to miss one-to-two weeks and Colin White is out until at least February.This marks the fifth trade made between Dorion and Sharks GM Doug Wilson.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Patrick Kane is among a trio of Chicago Blackhawks players missing Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings while in COVID-19 protocol.Kane didn't take part in the pregame warmup and was ultimately ruled out.The Blackhawks placed the superstar winger in the protocol Saturday along with forward Ryan Carpenter and defenseman Erik Gustafsson, who were both removed from the list Sunday morning.However, forward Jujhar Khaira and blue-liner Riley Stillman, as well as assistant coach Marc Crawford, landed in protocol Sunday evening and aren't available against the Red Wings.Kane has gotten off to a strong start offensively this season, producing a goal and four assists over his first five games.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators will place goaltender Matt Murray on injured reserve with a head/neck ailment, head coach D.J. Smith said Sunday, according to the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch.The 27-year-old exited Saturday's contest against the New York Rangers in the third period after forward Chris Kreider collided with his head.Meanwhile, Senators forward Shane Pinto is expected to miss a week or two, but his injury is "a little better than we thought," said Smith.Pinto left Thursday's game against the San Jose Sharks with an upper-body injury after crashing into the boards following a hard hit from defenseman Mario Ferraro. Smith said at the time that he didn't believe Pinto suffered any structural damage.Ottawa recalled netminder Filip Gustavsson earlier Sunday.The Senators take on the Washington Capitals on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Ottawa Senators goaltender Matt Murray left Saturday's clash versus the New York Rangers late in the third period after sustaining an apparent injury.Anton Forsberg replaced Murray in the contest.The 27-year-old left immediately after Chris Kreider scored to make it 2-1 Senators. Kreider collided with Murray's head after tapping home a feed from Artemi Panarin.

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty is unavailable for Saturday's clash with the St. Louis Blues, head coach Todd McLellan confirmed to team insider Zach Dooley.Doughty was injured Friday night after a knee-on-knee collision with Dallas Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpaa. Doughty left the game and didn't return, while Hakanpaa was assessed a major penalty and ejected.The early diagnosis on Doughty indicates he avoided ligament damage, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. The star blue-liner will undergo further testing when the club returns to Los Angeles.Hakanpaa won't be disciplined for the hit, per Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News.Doughty, 31, has seven points through four games in his 14th season with the Kings.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.