Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean apologized Wednesday for a joke he made on air Tuesday during the second intermission of Game 4 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.MacLean traded jabs with analyst Kevin Bieksa and caused a stir online with a comment some considered homophobic.

Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland wants to re-sign veteran goaltender and pending unrestricted free agent Mike Smith this offseason, he told reporters during his end-of-season media availability Wednesday.Holland added he'll meet with Smith within the next few weeks.Smith has signed back-to-back one-year deals with the Oilers, with this past season's pact carrying a $1.5-million cap hit. The 39-year-old enjoyed a terrific campaign in 2020-21, going 21-6-2 with a .923 save percentage and 13.9 goals saved above average. It marked a major turnaround after he posted severely underwhelming stats in the previous two seasons.The Oilers are projected to have $22 million in cap space this summer, according to CapFriendly. The team has multiple key players set to hit unrestricted free agency, including Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Adam Larsson, and Tyson Barrie. Kailer Yamamoto and Dominik Kahun are notable restricted free agents in need of new deals.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said the club could trade forward Evgeny Kuznetsov this offseason if it finds the right deal."I think we're always open to trading people if it makes sense for what's going on," MacLellan said Wednesday when asked about potentially trading the Russian pivot, per Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press. "If it's going to make our team better, I think we're open to it."Kuznetsov has been the subject of trade speculation this season. However, following the Capitals' five-game drubbing at the hands of the Boston Bruins, MacLellan admitted Kuznetsov isn't the only player that could be moved."I don't think anybody's off the table," he said. "We're not going to trade (Alex Ovechkin) or (Nicklas Backstrom) and those type of people, but I think you have to be open on anything. We would talk to anybody about any player."Kuznetsov is coming off a difficult season. He registered 29 points in 41 contests - his worst per-game rate since 2015 - and averaged his lowest ice time (16:34) since 2017. The 29-year-old also contracted COVID-19 twice, and he was scratched for being late to a team function earlier this month.Kuznetsov has four seasons remaining on his current contract, which has an average annual value of $7.8 million. His deal includes a 15-team no-trade list, although it shrinks to 10 in 2022, according to CapFriendly.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Wayne Gretzky is departing the Edmonton Oilers for a TV job.He will be a lead analyst on TNT's studio show beginning next season, Turner Sports announced Wednesday. Gretzky will earn around $3 million per campaign, according to the New York Post's Andrew Marchand."I’ve long admired Turner Sports’ coverage of the NBA, among other sports, and I’m thrilled to be joining the studio team in their inaugural NHL season," Gretzky said. "This is an exciting opportunity to share my experiences and perspectives on the game I will always cherish, while hopefully informing and entertaining fans along the way."Gretzky relinquished his role as Oilers vice chairman on Tuesday.ESPN reportedly approached Gretzky recently about a broadcasting role. His level of interest was unclear at the time. One day later, it was reported ESPN was out of the running for his services, and that he could still land at TNT. The latter is the other network taking over the NHL's U.S. TV rights next season.TNT's parent company, Turner Sports, followed the Walt Disney Company's lead by inking a seven-year contract with the NHL in late April. Turner has also agreed to deals with play-by-play broadcaster Kenny Albert and analyst Eddie Olczyk - both of whom currently call NHL games for NBC, and that network's broadcast rights expire at season's end.ESPN, which Disney owns, has reportedly hired Leah Hextall to do play-by-play. The company has also brought on Ray Ferraro and Brian Boucher to serve as analysts.Gretzky rejoined the Oilers as a partner and vice chair in October 2016, many years after achieving legendary status with the club as a player. He worked closely with team owner Daryl Katz and CEO Bob Nicholson during his latest tenure with the team.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the verge of winning their first playoff series since 2004.The Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 in Game 4 on Tuesday on the back of Jack Campbell's perfect 32-save performance to take a 3-1 series lead headed back to Toronto.More to come.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Connor McDavid isn't going anywhere.The Edmonton Oilers captain reiterated his commitment to the franchise after the Winnipeg Jets swept the club in the first round of the playoffs."That's not the case at all. We have a great core," McDavid said of the outside chatter of him potentially leaving Edmonton, according to The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman. "We want to see this thing through together."McDavid put together one of the most dominant regular-season performances of all time this year, recording 33 goals and 105 points in 56 contests. He amassed one goal and three assists in the four postseason games.The phenom inked an eight-year, $100-million contract with the Oilers in 2017 and is signed until 2026.Teammate Leon Draisaitl, who finished second in scoring in the NHL this season with 84 points in 56 games and notched five points in the postseason, echoed a similar sentiment."No one in our dressing room is thinking about stopping," Draisaitl said. "We know we're on the right track."The Oilers placed second in the North Division with a 35-19-2 record. Edmonton also finished second in its division last season but failed to make it past the qualifying round in the league's return to play.Since McDavid joined the Oilers in 2015, the club has missed the playoffs entirely three times and made it to the second round just once. The 24-year-old leads the league with 574 points in 407 games since his NHL debut - 43 ahead of Patrick Kane in second.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Tuukka Rask and the Boston Bruins will wait until the 2021 campaign concludes to wade into contract negotiations, Bruins president Cam Neely said Tuesday, according to NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin.Rask is a pending unrestricted free agent. He's in the final season of an eight-year, $56-million pact inked with the club in summer 2013.The 34-year-old goaltender helped the Bruins eliminate the Washington Capitals over five games in the first round of this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs. He posted a .941 save percentage and three goals saved above average while starting every game in the series.Rask raised his game in that matchup - albeit over a small sample size - after producing a .913 save percentage over 24 contests during the regular season. He's spent his entire 14-year career with Boston, claiming the Vezina Trophy in 2014 and finishing as the runner-up last year.In March 2020, the Finnish netminder said retiring when his contract ends is a possibility.Jaroslav Halak, the Bruins' other primary puck-stopper, is also a pending UFA. He's carrying a $2.25-million cap hit and authored a .905 save percentage over 19 regular-season games this campaign. Jeremy Swayman, a 22-year-old rookie, went 7-3-0 with a .945 save percentage and 10 GSAA over 10 games with Boston this season.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Winnipeg Jets defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in triple overtime of Game 4 on Monday night to complete the sweep and advance to Round 2.Kyle Connor was the hero for the Jets, beating Mike Smith with a sharp wrist shot shortly after the Oilers killed a penalty in the third extra frame. The win was the Jets' third straight in overtime and represents the team's first playoff series victory since 2018.Mark Scheifele got his first goal of the series to open up the scoring in the first frame before Connor McDavid quickly answered with a slick wraparound finish for the Oilers. Mason Appleton would ensure the Jets took a lead to the locker room with a go-ahead marker with just over four minutes left in the opening stanza.The second period was a different story, as both Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Alex Chiasson found the net to give the Oilers the 3-2 lead. Edmonton clearly showed a renewed sense of urgency, outshooting the Jets 12-5 in the frame and creating numerous chances. If not for the heroics of Connor Hellebuyck, the scoreline could have been significantly worse for Winnipeg after 40 minutes. The veteran goalie was once again a star for the home team, stopping 37 of 40 shots in the contest.Scheifele once again made his presence felt in the third, wiring home a wicked one-timer at the 6:06 mark to even the contest. The Jets had some quality chances down the stretch, but Smith was solid in the visiting net, eventually finishing with 39 saves on 43 shots.After two back-and-forth overtime periods yielded a number of chances, Connor took advantage of a poor Oilers line change to find some space and beat Smith for the winner in the third extra session.Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse finished the game with 62:07 minutes of ice time - the third-highest total in the playoffs since the stat started being tracked in 1998.Winnipeg will now get some rest and play the eventual winner of the other North Division series between Montreal and Toronto, which the Leafs lead 2-1.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Blake Wheeler may have uttered the quote of the year after making a ballsy play to help the Winnipeg Jets sweep the Edmonton Oilers out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.After blocking a slap shot below the belt during the series-clinching victory Monday night, the Jets captain joked that he doesn't need to produce more children."I've got three beautiful kids, we're not having any more, so what the hell," Wheeler said following Winnipeg's 4-3 triple-overtime win in Game 4.The 34-year-old forward gave new meaning to the term "testicular fortitude" when he took one in the nether regions while blocking Oilers defenseman Kris Russell's blast late in the third period.

The Jets bounced the Oilers from the North Division playoffs early Tuesday morning by winning 4-3 in triple overtime. Here are four reasons Winnipeg cruised to a first-round sweep.Winning plays > losing playsTwo true statements: Edmonton got rocked in this series, and the series was close, more so than the idea of a sweep suggests. Each Winnipeg victory was settled late in regulation or in OT, and puck battles, turnovers, extra efforts, and split-second choices all were magnified in the meantime, as happens in tight games.By Natural Stat Trick's count, the Oilers attempted 72 high-danger shots in the series to Winnipeg's 48. They led the Jets in total expected goals, 14.98 to 11.45. These advantages were hollow. Edmonton wasted Connor McDavid's marvelous season - easily his greatest yet - by finding ways to lose, and Winnipeg accomplished the reverse.Think back to last week at Rogers Place. Because the Jets' stickwork and positioning thwarted McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Games 1 and 2, they didn't require many highlight-reel saves - though Dylan DeMelo, as he killed a penalty from his back, denying McDavid with his hovering wrist sure qualifies. Sturdy, suffocating defense held Edmonton's big guns pointless for half the series. Jonathan Kozub / NHL / Getty ImagesDiscounting Winnipeg's Game 1 empty-netters, the aggregate scoreline was 12-8, the difference being one Jets goal per game that smart thinking or dirty work set up. Tucker Poolman and Blake Wheeler scored by slipping away from defenders on cuts to the net. During Winnipeg's Game 3 comeback, Kyle Connor and Adam Lowry forced turnovers that wound up behind Mike Smith within seconds. Connor got to clinch the series because Neal Pionk, 107 minutes into Game 4, knocked down McDavid's attempted flip-in and sprung his teammate on a partial break.The opposite of the winning play is the backbreaking error, Edmonton's domain in this series. Dmitry Kulikov and Adam Larsson lost track of Poolman in Game 1 and screened Smith on Paul Stastny's Game 2 overtime winner. Up 4-1 late in Game 3, Josh Archibald clipped Logan Stanley and the Oilers didn't kill the minor, unlike the Jets six minutes earlier when DeMelo was dinged for airing the puck over the glass.As for Game 4, there was Ethan Bear's intercepted breakout pass in the third period, the steal that Wheeler fed to Connor as the defense scrambled and left Mark Scheifele open to pot the tying goal. Sportsnet cameras panned throughout the night to McDavid barking on the bench. After that play, he wore a dazed, disbelieving half-smile.Every team makes mistakes, and one that boasts McDavid and Draisaitl has extra leeway to cover them up. That's why losing by sweep is galling. This defeat wasn't akin to Colorado's first-round romp; the Avalanche outscored St. Louis 20-7 in four games. Edmonton was more dangerous than Winnipeg throughout the series, but plays matter most when they lead to goals or save them, and that's where the Jets manufactured the decisive edge.Hellebuyck was brilliantThat Connor Hellebuyck headlines this rundown's second section probably is a slight to him. Log a .950 save percentage for the series and you deserve top billing. There's this, too: Hellebuyck didn't start on back-to-back nights all season, and then he went out Sunday and Monday and stopped 81 pucks across Games 3 and 4. Jonathan Kozub / NHL / Getty ImagesUnbeatable to open the series in Edmonton, Hellebuyck had to battle at home to stake his team to a sweep. In Game 3, Draisaitl solved him twice in the first 10 minutes, but Hellebuyck made 15 first-period saves and 44 total, affording the Jets the time they needed to rally back. In Game 4, McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored on two of Edmonton's first seven shots; Hellebuyck stoned 32 of the remaining 33 he faced, including every attempt that originated beyond the foot of the crease.The consensus in hockey is that no goalie, and perhaps no skater except McDavid, is single-handedly as capable of stealing a game as Hellebuyck. He proved as much this series and set an unjustly high standard for Smith, who looked impenetrable at times - including in Game 4's OT periods - but not consistently and never outplayed his Jets counterpart.Hellebuyck saved 6.82 goals above expected in the series, per Evolving Hockey, easily the postseason's top such number so far. Maintain this form in the North Division final and he'll enter Round 3 as the Conn Smythe Trophy front-runner.Jets' depth reigned supremePoolman, the third-pairing defenseman with five career goals and none this regular season, was the first Jet to score on Smith in Game 1. Dominic Toninato, a fixture of Winnipeg's 2020-21 taxi squad, bagged his own first goal of the year later that night. Bolstered by their respective breakthroughs, 10 Jets tickled twine in the series all told.A few telltale stats, moments, and decisions illustrate the depth imbalance at play in this matchup, starting with the cold streak that helped doom the Oilers: they scored twice in four games when McDavid was on the bench. Nikolaj Ehlers matched that in his Game 3 debut alone, his dynamism and lethal release combining to produce two snipes. Darcy Finley / NHL / Getty ImagesOnce his usual top three lines were intact, Paul Maurice capitalized on Ehlers' return from injury by making a vital tweak. Confident that Lowry, Andrew Copp, and Mason Appleton could curtail McDavid, he relieved Scheifele's line of the responsibility late in Game 3. Galvanized, both lines created goals during the comeback, and then they accounted for all of Winnipeg's offense in Game 4.Dave Tippett's corresponding adjustment was to partner McDavid and Draisaitl with a rotating cast of wingers - Jesse Puljujarvi, Zack Kassian, Kailer Yamamoto - from Game 2 onward. Pairing the superstars got them on the scoresheet, but limited the Oilers' creativity and finishing ability to a single line.Draisaitl exits the playoffs with five points and McDavid with four, while Jujhar Khaira beat Hellebuyck on a Game 3 tip and Nugent-Hopkins retrieved his own rebound to score in the series finale. That was the sum of Edmonton's offense when McDavid took breathers, belated signs of life from the bottom-three forward units that amounted to almost no help at all.The regular season doesn't matterNot if you no-show in the playoffs, anyway. Edmonton had losing records against Toronto and Montreal this season, but pumped Winnipeg for 34 goals in nine games, seven of them Oilers wins. McDavid dominated everyone but especially the Jets, the only opponent that never held him pointless as he breezed to the Art Ross Trophy.Rightfully, highlights of McDavid's 105-point year will be everywhere when voters award him the Hart Trophy. That said, it's worth restating here what he achieved - adjusted for era, it was the NHL's best individual season since Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux's 1980s heyday - to emphasize how little it meant the past six days. Because of COVID-19 delays to Vancouver's season, the North Division playoff matchups were the latest to start, but Edmonton's cameo came and went so fast that five series are still happening. Jonathan Kozub / NHL / Getty ImagesGame 3 marked the first time Edmonton lost in 2021 when McDavid and Draisaitl each recorded three points, a fitting prelude to this franchise's fourth consecutive end-of-year letdown. The Oilers beat San Jose in Round 1 in 2017 and then pushed Anaheim to seven games, but hadn't returned to the playoffs since. (Counting 2020, when 12-seed Chicago ousted them from the Western Conference's bubbled play-in bracket, wouldn't exactly strengthen the club's resume.)Draisaitl and McDavid are signed through 2025 and 2026, but down the depth chart, there's a chance this veteran batch of underperformers looks a fair bit different next training camp.Edmonton has 11 pending unrestricted free agents on the roster, ranging from Nugent-Hopkins to Tyson Barrie to Larsson to Smith, whose resurgent season at age 39 the Oilers just squandered, too. Down the stretch of Game 4, Tippett only trusted four defensemen, and Darnell Nurse had to shoulder 62:07 of ice time. (Genuinely, props to him; only Seth Jones and Sergei Zubov have ever played more.) Evidently, general manager Ken Holland and his players have soul-searching to do.Meanwhile, the Jets motor on to face Toronto or Montreal, having relegated their downcast April and May to the rearview. They went 8-10-1 to end the regular season, amassing 10 fewer points than Edmonton across those final months to finish nine points back in the division.That sentence reads as ancient history now, as irrelevant to the ongoing playoff conversation as McDavid's amazing year.Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

For the Florida Panthers, the future is now.Spencer Knight will start Game 5 of the team's first-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night.The 20-year-old is making his postseason debut after appearing in four contests and starting three of them down the stretch of the regular season.The Panthers' two more experienced goaltenders, Sergei Bobrovsky and Chris Driedger, have both struggled to stop a high-powered Tampa Bay squad, which leads the best-of-seven series 3-1.Driedger is serving as backup Monday, making Bobrovsky a healthy scratch.Bobrovsky allowed 10 goals on 54 combined shots while starting Game 1 and 4, and the 32-year-old has a .841 save percentage in these playoffs. Driedger hasn't fared much better - the 27-year-old has a .871 save percentage over his three appearances, including starts in Game 2 and 3.Knight went 4-0-0 with a .919 save percentage during the regular season. Florida's 2019 13th overall pick is arguably the NHL's top netminding prospect.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nick Foligno won't play in Game 3 against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night due to a lower-body injury, the team announced.Riley Nash is dressing in his place, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.Foligno missed the team's morning skate on Monday but head coach Sheldon Keefe said the veteran would be good to play, according to TSN's Mark Masters. Foligno skated in the pregame warmup before being ruled out.He has one assist through the first two games of the postseason.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Cole Caufield got his first taste of the postseason Monday night.Following his team's morning skate, the Montreal Canadiens phenom confirmed he'd play in Game 3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs."I was put in here to help the team win and do the things that I can to increase our chances," Caufield said. "I'm obviously excited. It's going to be a pretty special night."The 20-year-old skated on a line with Joel Armia and Nick Suzuki to begin Monday's contest. Caufield is playing in place of veteran Eric Staal, who the Canadiens acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres in late March.

Edmonton Oilers forward Josh Archibald will sit out Game 4 for clipping Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced Monday.Archibald was assessed a minor penalty for tripping after low-bridging Stanley in the third period of Game 3 of their first-round playoff series Sunday.

Two games into an all-Canadian playoff matchup 42 years in the making, neither Original Six franchise can be too upset over the results thus far.After losing a somber Game 1, the top-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs rebounded to take Game 2 of the North Division series. The fourth-seeded Montreal Canadiens, meanwhile, return home having won one of two on the road.This dynamic sets the table for an intriguing third contest - which is set for a 7 p.m. ET puck drop on Monday. Here are three things to watch in Game 3:Montreal's deployment Claus Andersen / Getty ImagesOver to you, Dominique Ducharme.The Canadiens' head coach owns last change in each of the next two games, meaning all eyes will be on Montreal's bench whenever Auston Matthews takes the ice.Matthews, who scored a ridiculous 41 goals in 52 regular-season games, has looked terrific to begin the playoffs. He has just a single goal to show for his efforts (the eventual game-winner in Game 2), but he's been highly effective in all three zones through 46-plus minutes of action.The Maple Leafs' agile superstar has leveraged his 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame to outmuscle opponents for the puck - and deliver the odd body check - while recording an average of 11.5 shot attempts and six shots on goal per game, according to Natural Stat Trick. He's also contributed a pair of assists, won 59% of his faceoffs, and drawn a minor penalty while taking none himself."To see (Matthews) physically engaged, he's a big dude, so when he plays that intensely, it kind of bleeds into the group ... it's a trickle-down effect," Leafs blue-liner Zach Bogosian told reporters Sunday. "It's awesome to see." Richard Lautens / Getty ImagesDucharme's best hard-match option is Phillip Danault, quietly one of the NHL's elite shutdown men. Danault was on the ice for a little over half of Matthews' five-on-five minutes in Game 1 (8:40 of 16:03). In Game 2, the 28-year-old center was on for just under half of Matthews' five-on-five minutes (6:49 of 14:22). For Montreal, those aren't concerning ratios with respect to chasing the matchup on the road. But it certainly wasn't an ideal setup, either.On the blue line, the Habs have used a by-committee approach to cover Matthews, though the pairing of Jeff Petry and Joel Edmundson has found itself staring down Toronto's No. 34 slightly more often than Montreal's other two duos.Something to keep in mind: Not only do the Canadiens have the hammer over the next couple of games, but they can also justify shadowing Matthews with greater precision since Toronto's No. 2 center, John Tavares, is out indefinitely. When Tavares is in the lineup, hard-matching can be a delicate task; on any given night, Tavares and William Nylander might be as or more difficult to contain than Matthews and Mitch Marner. When Tavares is sidelined, there's no question which line is worthy of extra attention.That said, Matthews will likely generate a handful of quality looks for both himself and his linemates regardless of who's attempting to shut him down. Canadiens goalie Carey Price, then, is the true X-factor. As unfair as it may seem, the pressure is on Price every game to make a few saves he wouldn't normally be expected to make.Toronto's power play Andrew Lahodynskyj / Getty ImagesBefore Saturday's power-play breakthrough, which saw the Maple Leafs score two goals on six opportunities, Toronto hadn't scored more than a single power-play goal in a game since March 3. Over that 34-game stretch, the club converted on eight of 87 opportunities for a brutal 9.2% success rate. It was an embarrassing spell.What should give Toronto fans optimism is who scored those goals in Game 2: Rasmus Sandin and Nylander, not Matthews. As the Washington Capitals have shown over the course of Alex Ovechkin's career, boasting a generational shooter is merely the starting point for a dominant power play.Yes, Matthews is a fantastic central threat and catalyst (he played a starring role in Sandin and Nylander's snipes), but he can't be the sole shooting option - especially for a Maple Leafs roster littered with proven finishers. The in-zone puck movement Toronto's power play displayed before Sandin's marker is essential to outduelling the modern penalty kill. Mark Blinch / Getty ImagesMind you, the Leafs had plenty of practice in Game 2's second frame, with the Habs taking all four of the period's penalties. Those middle 20 minutes were disastrous for Montreal, sinking any and all hope of a 2-0 series lead."I think it got to us a little bit, with the calls. We lost our main focus there for a little bit," Habs defenseman Brett Kulak told reporters Sunday, alluding to the fine line between leaning on the Leafs physically and avoiding infractions.On the flip side, the Canadiens' power play has failed to convert on any of its six opportunities and hasn't looked dangerous in the process. Natural Stat Trick has Montreal down for just eight scoring chances in 13 five-on-four minutes.Expectations are lower for the Habs in this area of the game. But as the old cliche goes, special teams performance can determine the outcome of a playoff series, and the Canadiens haven't done themselves any favors on the PP or PK.Montreal's stud of the game Mark Blinch / Getty ImagesIn each of the first two games, one Habs forward has put on a show.In Game 1, it was Josh Anderson, who was a menace in transition throughout Montreal's 2-1 win. He scored the opening goal and probably deserved another two. In Game 2, it was Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who was a menace in his own right after subbing in for Jake Evans. He notched Montreal's lone tally in a 5-1 loss.Who's next for the Habs? Which forward will rise to the occasion in Game 3 against an opponent who, on paper, has more firepower and game-breakers?Brendan Gallagher is a prime suspect. The 29-year-old winger has mustered a paltry two shots on goal in nearly 20 minutes of five-on-five action, but with seven shot attempts, he's tied with Petry for the team lead. Gallagher is the type of goal-scoring agitator who's built for postseason hockey - someone who, as Habs general manager Marc Bergevin once put it, "drags his team to the fight." (On brand, Gallagher drew blood in his first shift of the series.) If he continues to battle deep in the Leafs' zone, the goals will eventually come. Mark Blinch / Getty ImagesTyler Toffoli is another possibility. While he picked up secondary assists on two of Montreal's three goals in Toronto, the sniper hasn't scored in his past six games; in the playoffs, he's generated one lonely five-on-five scoring chance, according to Natural Stat Trick. Toffoli led the Habs in goals by a wide margin in the regular season (28 versus second-place Anderson's 17), and they need his best ASAP.Then there's rookie Cole Caufield, a reliable goal-scorer at every level of hockey he's played - including the NHL, albeit in a small sample size - who watched the first two contests of this series from the press box. For a team that generally struggles to score, and particularly one that has struggled to score through two playoff games, Caufield absolutely deserves the opportunity he's getting in Game 3.The reigning Hobey Baker Award winner will make his playoff debut Monday night, and rightfully so, after racking up four goals in his first 10 NHL games.Ducharme's decision to hold Caufield out of the previous two contests was a subject of much debate, but now that it's been reversed, it will be compelling to see how much of an impact the 20-year-old will have - both in Game 3 and potentially beyond.Note: The original version of this piece speculated about whether Caufield would be in the Canadiens' lineup. This piece has been edited to reflect Ducharme's confirmation Monday that the rookie would play.John Matisz is theScore's senior hockey writer. You can follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) and contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com)Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Edmonton Oilers forward Josh Archibald will have a hearing for clipping Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley during Game 3 on Sunday, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced.The play occurred midway through the third period with the Oilers leading 4-1. Archibald was assessed a two-minute minor for tripping and the Jets scored on the ensuing power play.

St. Louis Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly lamented his postseason struggles after the Colorado Avalanche swept his team from the first round of the playoffs Sunday night."I'm very disappointed with myself," O'Reilly said following the Blues' 5-2 loss in Game 4, according to The Denver Post's Mike Chambers."It was pretty pathetic. I didn't really do much this series and especially against that top line. They're a very good line. Obviously, they're going to get chances and make plays. I had the opportunity early to see a lot of that line and play them harder, and I didn't do my job. And if I'm not going my job, you can't expect anyone else to do theirs."O'Reilly - who said before the series that the Blues would beat the Presidents' Trophy-winning Avalanche - notched just one assist over four games. Colorado outscored St. Louis 7-1 when the 30-year-old was on the ice, with the Avalanche's top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen combining for nine goals and 24 points.The Blues were outscored 20-7 over the four games and led for just 7:12 of the series."I thought we would have been able to tilt the ice a bit more and take the momentum back," O'Reilly said. "Obviously, with that team, with the way they play, they're going to have momentum at times, but we sure didn't grab it back like we needed to and sustain pressure. ... They dominated us. Simple as that."The Blues have been eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs in consecutive campaigns following their Stanley Cup win in 2019.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Colorado Avalanche completed a first-round sweep of the St. Louis Blues with a 5-2 win in Game 4 on Sunday.Colorado will face either the Vegas Golden Knights or the Minnesota Wild in Round 2. Vegas currently holds a 3-1 series lead over Minnesota.Vladimir Tarasenko gave the Blues their first lead of the series in the second period with his first of two goals in the game. But the Avalanche responded quickly, with Brandon Saad and Gabriel Landeskog scoring to put Colorado back on top heading into the final frame.It's the first time the Blues have been swept in the playoffs since their Western Conference semifinal series against the Los Angeles Kings in 2012.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri is appealing his eight-game suspension, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.The appeal will be heard directly by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, and Kadri can appeal to an independent arbitrator if he's unsatisfied with the second ruling, Friedman adds.The NHL Department of Player Safety suspended Kadri after he delivered an illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk during Game 2 of the teams' first-round series.

The Winnipeg Jets are getting a major boost in their quest to take a stranglehold on their first-round series against the Edmonton Oilers, as forward Nikolaj Ehlers will return to the lineup for Game 3.The Danish winger suffered a suspected shoulder injury during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 24, according to Sportsnet's Ken Wiebe. Ehlers missed the final nine games of the regular season and the Jets' first two playoff contests due to the ailment.The 25-year-old tied for second on the team with 21 goals and ranked second among qualified Jets skaters with 0.98 points per game (46 in total) over 47 contests prior to the postseason.Winnipeg leads the series 2-0. Game 3 is scheduled for Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares was on his teammates' minds during their Game 2 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday."This one's for (Tavares), obviously. He's our guy, he's our captain," Leafs star Auston Matthews told Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas following the 5-1 win.He added: "When a big piece of your team goes down like that, everybody's got to respond. Guys that come in have got to respond, and I think we did a really good job tonight."Tavares was stretchered off early in Game 1 on Thursday after taking a knee to the head from Corey Perry. He suffered a knee injury and concussion on the play and will be sidelined for at least two weeks.Leafs veteran Jason Spezza acknowledged that the club will need to have a relatively deep run if Tavares is going to rejoin his teammates this postseason."The only way we can see John (again) is to win hockey games," Spezza said, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton. "We want to do well for him, so we're going to try and win as many games as we can and get him back in the lineup.""He's so selfless," Spezza added, according to The Athletic's James Mirtle. "He's trying to calm us down, even the night it happened ... That's why he's a leader."The Leafs and Canadiens will play back-to-back contests on Monday and Tuesday in Montreal.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vegas Golden Knights shut out the Minnesota Wild 4-0 in Game 4 on Saturday to take a 3-1 series lead and move one win away from advancing to the second round.More to come.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn collected four points apiece as the Tampa Bay Lightning thumped the Florida Panthers 6-2 in Game 4 to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round series Saturday.Killorn notched two goals and two assists, while Kucherov scored once and added three helpers. Anthony Cirelli, Yanni Gourde, and Ondrej Palat also talled for Tampa Bay. Jonathan Huberdeau and Carter Verhaeghe netted markers for Florida.Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 39 of the 41 shots he faced. Panthers netminder Chris Driedger stopped 11 of 12 after relieving Sergei Bobrovsky, who gave up five goals on 14 shots.Kucherov and teammate Mikhail Sergachev both left the game due to injuries in the third period following hits by Florida forwards Anthony Duclair and Patric Hornqvist, respectively.Game 5 is scheduled for Monday at 8 p.m. ET.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Florida Panthers went back to Sergei Bobrovsky in Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning after starting Chris Driedger in net for the previous two contests. However, the move didn't go as planned.Bobrovsky was pulled after allowing his fifth goal of the contest midway through the second period. Driedger replaced the older netminder, who faced only 14 shots.The veteran stopped all nine shots he faced after relieving Driedger to begin the third period of Florida's 6-5 overtime win in Game 3 on Thursday.Driedger allowed five goals on 12 shots in the second period of the victory and faced 22 shots over 40 minutes. Bobrovsky gave up five goals on 40 shots in Game 1 of the first-round series, which the Panthers lost 5-4. Driedger then started Game 2, surrendering a pair of goals on 28 shots in a 3-1 defeat.Meanwhile, Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle was scratched for the second straight game Saturday. His ironman streak remains unaffected because these are playoff contests. Yandle is a healthy scratch, according to The Hockey News' Erin Brown.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

John Tavares will miss at least two weeks with a knee injury sustained on the same play in which he suffered a concussion, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said Saturday, according to TSN's Mark Masters.The GM added Tavares had been cleared of all structural damage to his head, neck, and spine. However, there's no timetable for his recovery from the concussion.Tavares was stretchered off early in Game 1 of Toronto's playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday after taking an inadvertent knee to the head from Corey Perry. The Maple Leafs captain was taken to hospital that night and discharged the next morning. He was ruled out indefinitely due to the concussion at the time.Dubas also took the opportunity Saturday to criticize the Toronto Sun for its cover page showing the Leafs' medical staff attending to Tavares with the headline "Captain Crunched.""I think that situations like that garner a significant amount of coverage, but as an organization, we felt (Friday) that the Toronto Sun cover of their newspaper crossed the line and we found the cover to be disgusting," Dubas said, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston."We understand here that writers and columnists have no input into the covers of papers or headlines, but we just thought that it was extraordinarily insensitive on the part of the Sun with regards to the photo and the caption that accompanied the situation (Friday)."Just a complete lack of compassion and respect on behalf of the Sun towards John and his family, especially for such an upstanding member of our organization and community, and his family that had to endure that."The collision between Perry and Tavares happened in the first period of the Canadiens' 2-1 victory. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Craig Berube is resorting to a familiar tactic as his team sits on the brink of being swept out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.The St. Louis Blues head coach criticized the officiating following a 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche that gave the victors a 3-0 lead in their first-round series Friday night."Every game, we get one or two calls. It's usually late in the third period. They're getting (four or five per game)," Berube said. "(It shouldn't be) that lop-sided. I'm not sure why we don't get the calls that we deserve."Berube was particularly perturbed about a perceived missed call involving Blues defenseman Colton Parayko, which would have ultimately prevented the Avalanche from netting a goal."Parayko gets tripped in the corner. (The Avalanche) go down (and) score a goal ... he gets slew-footed, and they don't call it, and it cost us a goal," Berube said. "It's terrible. It's so one-sided, it's not even funny."The St. Louis bench boss called out the officiating during the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, saying after a 7-2 loss in Game 3 that the Blues were "the least penalized team in the league in the first three rounds (and) now all of the sudden we've taken 14 penalties in one series." Berube's team then won three of the next four games to claim the championship in seven.Game 4 of the Blues-Avalanche series is scheduled for Sunday at 5 p.m. ET.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Winnipeg Jets beat the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 in overtime Friday night to take a commanding lead in their North Division playoff series. Here are five stats that contextualize where this matchup is at through Game 2.49:59: McDavid's total ice time without a pointDefending Connor McDavid is a tightrope walk - stressful and more daunting the longer it lasts. Winnipeg escaped Game 1 unscathed: McDavid's forechecking helped swing possession ahead of Jesse Puljujarvi's goal, but he finished pointless in a loss. One leg of the journey down.The Jets made it 2-for-2 Friday. Winnipeg's defense corps has accomplished something remarkable regardless of how soon Edmonton's stars net the first goal they desperately await. Blanking McDavid twice in a row is a singular rarity; he was kept off back-to-back scoresheets just once during this past Art Ross Trophy campaign. When he skated with Leon Draisaitl, his Game 2 left-winger, at five-on-five this year, the overall score favored the Oilers 33-17, according to Natural Stat Trick. Andy Devlin / NHL / Getty ImagesDave Tippett's lineup shuffle made no difference because the Jets were constantly in McDavid's way. Bodies cramped his space and steered his rushes to the outside. Model stickwork from McDavid's primary (Dylan DeMelo and Josh Morrissey) and occasional defenders (Logan Stanley and Derek Forbort) jammed passing and shooting lanes. Wherever he buzzed, cut, deked, feinted, or loaded to fire, a Winnipeg twig interrupted his flow, throwing him off by a vital split-second or inch.Draisaitl played 24:41 in Game 1 and 30:21 Friday, meaning he hasn't scored in more than 55 minutes. These are the world's most fearsome forwards, and the Jets won't run out the clock on this series before they strike. But Winnipeg is already halfway there.73: Combined saves before OT goalAs I wrote after Game 1, Mike Smith's career track record isn't as strong as Connor Hellebuyck's - hardly a slight, considering Winnipeg's goalie owns a Vezina Trophy and a runner-up finish. That said, Smith was awesome Friday when he stockpiled 14 saves in the fast-paced first 10 minutes alone. If he was off at all, Kyle Connor could have bagged a hat trick.For the second straight game, Edmonton won the expected goals battle at five-on-five - although Natural Stat Trick reports a slim margin, 2.4 to 2.3 - only to be rebuffed by Hellebuyck's stellar positioning and cool under pressure. If we're lauding great stickwork, Hellebuyck's poke check on Draisaitl needs to be mentioned, seeing how he negated Paul Stastny's potentially costly defensive-zone turnover. Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesOn the Sportsnet broadcast, color analyst Louie DeBrusk said late in regulation that neither goalie would miss a puck they could see. In overtime, on Winnipeg's 36th shot and the 74th of the game, Stastny's wrister eluded Smith top-shelf when Dmitry Kulikov and Adam Larsson drifted into the netminder's sightline. Wise words from DeBrusk, and a bad break for a guy who'll need to stand as tall again to spark an Oilers comeback.74: Jets' combined hits and blocked shotsIn Game 1 of the North Division's other series Thursday, the Montreal Canadiens belted the Toronto Maple Leafs with 55 hits. As my colleague John Matisz noted, the barrage was partly strategic and partly a matter of necessity: Montreal didn't possess the puck on any of those plays.The Jets and Habs, like the Oilers and Leafs, aren't perfect analogs, but both teams are operating at a talent deficit and have compensated by sacrificing the body. In Game 1, Winnipeg recorded a season-high 68 hits and blocked 19 shots. In Game 2, the Jets threw 52 hits and impeded 22 shots. If you can't pass or shoot yourself, aim to foil the slick opposition's best-laid plans.Edmonton's power play clicked a league-best 27.6% of the time this season but is 0-4 for the series, and the Jets' penalty killing in the third period Friday typified why. Draisaitl and McDavid teed up shots from both faceoff circles, but Forbort blocked the first from his knee and DeMelo, lying on his back, flung his arms skyward to stop McDavid's effort with his right wrist.This takes a toll - DeMelo retreated to the Winnipeg dressing room for a while - but the payoff is immense. Icon Sportswire / Getty Images10: Dubois' points in 2020 postseasonConsider this number representative of Pierre-Luc Dubois' optimal playoff form - the production he could replicate but hasn't yet after missing Game 1 and logging 13:05 of ice time in Game 2. He was a beast for the Columbus Blue Jackets in last year's Toronto playoff bubble, burning the hometown Leafs for a hat trick (and the OT winner in that game, to boot) and notching a goal and six assists across nine other games.Dubois looms as a possible X-factor in this series if he can bottle Friday's last five minutes of regulation. Quiet to that point, he outraced Kulikov to avoid an icing call and set up Stastny for a slot attempt. Later, he gained the zone and fed Andrew Copp cross-ice - through a double team, no less - for a promising chance that was blocked.Dubois never got rolling this season after the Jan. 23 Patrik Laine trade, and it wasn't just because of quarantine rust. He hasn't scored since April 5 or recorded an assist in a month.Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Blake Wheeler have helped corral McDavid; they're sure to handle that matchup again in Winnipeg now that the last change belongs to Paul Maurice. One line down the depth chart, Nikolaj Ehlers' status remains uncertain, but Dubois is back, and as Stastny demonstrated in OT, the opportunity to contribute is there to be seized. Andy Devlin / NHL / Getty Images0-6: Winnipeg’s record in Edmonton seriesYounger fans might not appreciate the context, and no player should spare it a thought, but this subplot is fun regardless. The original Winnipeg Jets stunk against the Oilers in the postseason, dropping six matchups between 1983-90 as Edmonton built a dynasty and pain permeated Manitoba.The details are nastier than the series record lets on. Taking cues from Wayne Gretzky, the Oilers won 16 straight games to sweep the first four encounters and cruise in the fifth, and they erased Winnipeg's 3-1 series lead in the 1990 finale. Distant as it is, the city's playoff history is crushing.Basically, it befits a division where some of hockey's most infamous underperformers reigned this season. Chief among them is Toronto, the North champ that hasn't won a series - but has lost four winner-take-all games in the opening round - since the 2005 lockout. Edmonton won a round in 2017 and promptly missed the next three postseasons, last year's play-in debacle against No. 12 seed Chicago notwithstanding.Names on the back of the jersey change, but fans remember the letdowns and bear the baggage. Something to think about as the series shifts to Bell MTS Place and the Jets, up by a couple of wins again, aim to flip the script.Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour voiced his displeasure with the officiating in the club's opening-round series against the Nashville Predators following Friday's double-overtime loss in Game 3."Nashville is a phenomenal team, but we're also fighting the refs, that's plain and simple," Brind'Amour said, according to Hurricanes beat writer Cory Lavalette. "You can't tell me two games in a row they get seven or eight penalties and we get three?"When the game is this even? It's not right."The Hurricanes have been whistled for 14 penalties to the Predators' six during the last two games.Brind'Amour is proud, though, of the way his team - which owns a 2-1 series lead - has responded."I give my guys a ton of credit for just sticking in, going and playing their butts off, and having a good chance to win," he said.Brind'Amour added: "Two overtimes, you know, a knick-knack penalty when there was stuff going on all over. It just flipped the momentum and they scored the next shift after because we're out of rotation. That's not how it should go."The teams meet again for Game 4 on Sunday.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri is suspended eight games for an illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk during Game 2 on Wednesday, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Friday.Kadri received a five-minute major and match penalty for the hit. Faulk didn't return to the contest and wasn't available for Game 3 of the series.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares was discharged from the hospital Friday morning after spending the night being examined and assessed by a neurosurgical team.Tavares is back home under the care and supervision of team physicians, and he's out indefinitely after taking an inadvertent knee to the head from Corey Perry during the first period of Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens.Head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed that Tavares suffered a concussion during the collision, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.Tavares released the following statement Friday afternoon:

Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning is setting himself up for a busy summer.Benning said Friday that changes need to be made, and the club will explore trades, free agency, and buyouts to improve next season, according to TSN's Farhan Lalji."Ownership has given us the resources to do whatever we need to do to get back to where we need to be," Benning said. "Buyouts is part of our strategy ... We're going to be aggressive on trades, free agency."Vancouver has a number of potential buyout candidates. Loui Eriksson has one year remaining on his deal with a $6-million cap hit at the NHL level, while Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel each have one year left on their contracts with $3-million cap hits.Benning will also need to re-sign young stars Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes this summer. Both players are set to become restricted free agents.The Canucks announced earlier Friday that head coach Travis Green signed an extension to stay with the club. The contract is for two years, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.Owner Francesco Aquilini released a statement Friday to season ticket holders expressing his confidence in the team's management and young core in getting back to being a contending squad.The Canucks finished last in the North Division this campaign with a 23-29-4 record. Vancouver has made the playoffs just twice over the past eight seasons.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason confirmed forward Marcus Johansson suffered a broken arm during Game 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo.The injury occurred when Johansson crashed into the goal post after stepping on the puck while driving in.

The Vancouver Canucks and head coach Travis Green agreed on a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Friday.Green has largely overseen Vancouver's rebuild since joining the club in 2017 and has played a large part in the growth of the team's young stars."We are excited to have Travis Green continue to lead the Canucks as head coach and move forward from a challenging year to focus on future seasons," General manager Jim Benning said. "Our plan has always been to draft and develop a young core and surround them with supporting players who can help us win. We have some of the best young players in the NHL, and I believe Travis is the right coach to help us achieve team success and a return to the playoffs."Green just wrapped up his fourth season in Vancouver. The club missed the postseason for the third time under his leadership after finishing in last place in the North Division with a 23-29-4 record.The Canucks made a surprising run in the Stanley Cup playoffs last year, making it to the second round before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in seven games.Captain Bo Horvat expressed his confidence in Green and the coaching staff the team has in place during his end-of-season media session on Friday."We’d love to see Travis and the coaching staff back," Horvat said. "They’ve done a great job. We have a good young core, and we have to continue to keep growing and getting better."The Canucks battled through adversity this year, dealing with a massive COVID-19 outbreak in March that affected nearly the entire team and coaching staff on top of an injury to star player Elias Pettersson, who missed the second half of the season. The club finished 7-11-1 in its final 19 games of the campaign upon returning to the ice in late April.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The first week of the playoffs has been an absolute treat, and things are ramping up this weekend with all four divisions in full swing.I tend to be more selective betting game-to-game in the postseason, focusing more on series bets and futures, but there's plenty that stands out to me over these next two days.Hurricanes (-140) @ Predators (+120)

The Buffalo Sabres have begun to line up interviews for their head coaching vacancy.Bruce Boudreau and Rick Tocchet are among a number of candidates who will interview for the job, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.General manager Kevyn Adams confirmed last week that interim head coach Don Granato is also being considered for the role, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.Boudreau was fired by the Minnesota Wild during the 2019-20 season, his fourth year with the club. He's expressed his desire to return to a head coaching gig in the past.He has 14 years of experience as an NHL head coach, including stops with the Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks, and the Wild. He's reached the postseason 10 times.Tocchet, who recently parted ways with the Arizona Coyotes after four seasons as the club's head coach, reportedly also has interviews lined up with the Seattle Kraken and New York Rangers for their coaching positions.The Sabres finished last in the NHL this season, missing the playoffs for the 10th straight year. After Ralph Krueger was fired in March, Granato took over and led the team to a 9-16-3 record during his first stint in the league as a head coach.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena, with a gorgeous third-period tally from forward Paul Byron providing the game-winner. It was the historic rivals' first playoff meeting in 42 years.A frightening injury to Maple Leafs captain John Tavares rightfully overshadowed the highly anticipated North Division matchup. A bloodied Tavares had to be stretchered off the ice midway through the first period after Canadiens forward Corey Perry inadvertently kneed him in the head.Postgame, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters Tavares was "conscious and communicating well" and would stay overnight at a local hospital. Andrew Lahodynskyj / Getty ImagesIt's hard to extrapolate from a game that was stopped in its tracks by something more important than sports. But we'll try.Here are three key takeaways from an emotional Game 1:Matthews line tamed - for now?The Habs did their best Winnipeg Jets impression Thursday by shutting out Rocket Richard Trophy winner Auston Matthews - much like the Jets did with Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid in Game 1 of the other North series.Montreal mostly held on for dear life against Matthews, who was buzzing around the offensive zone all night. Matthews dinged a post in the first and finished with a game-high eight shots on goal in almost 24 minutes of ice time. Mark Blinch / Getty ImagesWhen Matthews was on the ice at even strength, the Leafs dominated to the tune of 21-10 in shot attempts and 15-5 in shots on goal, per Evolving Hockey. Matthews and winger Zach Hyman found myriad ways to infiltrate Montreal's defensive structure and challenged goalie Carey Price often. The line's third member, Mitch Marner, was less impressive. There were a few high-leverage moments when Marner failed to even get off a proper shot.Nevertheless, the line's body of work versus all six North opponents this season suggests they'll find their groove over a best-of-seven series. The trio generated a ton of looks in Game 1, and Matthews and Marner racked up 10 and 11 points, respectively, in 10 regular-season games against the Habs.That said, Price and the Canadiens undoubtedly made out well Thursday. Keeping Matthews and Marner pointless is a daunting task for any club - yes, even a club faced with minimizing one fewer star center for most of the night. Claus Andersen / Getty ImagesAs for special teams, the Leafs managed to put the Habs on the man-advantage on five occasions - an inexplicable three times for sending the puck over the glass - while their own struggling power play was largely ineffective, again.Sure, there were positive signs on Toronto's first two power-play opportunities. On the first, Matthews was his usual dangerous self from the right circle. On the second, William Nylander - who had a stellar game and notched the Leafs' lone goal - hit the crossbar from the goalmouth.But then, on the fourth and final opportunity for Toronto, Byron disposed of any positive mojo by scoring a highlight-reel shorthanded goal on netminder Jack Campbell. It was a prototypical Byron tally built on speed and agility, and the timing only added salt to the wound for a floundering Leafs power play.Toronto is running out of time to figure out how to score at five-on-four. If a team is lethal at even strength, power play proficiency can be a luxury in the regular season. That's not the case now, where the margin of error is thin.Habs checking off right boxes Mark Blinch / Getty ImagesJosh Anderson, the 6-foot-3 Montreal forward who can skate like the wind, was the best player on the ice Thursday. It seemed as if he was starring on an odd-man rush every other shift. And he made Joe Thornton pay for turning the puck over by scoring the game's opening goal in transition.This was exactly how the Habs drew it up - swarm Toronto's puck carrier, force them to make a poor decision, and then counterattack the other way.As the less talented, less skilled squad in this series, Montreal will need at least one performance like Anderson's in every single game. At least one offensive catalyst - think also of Tyler Toffoli and Brendan Gallagher - to convert on a scoring chance in the early going to put the Leafs on their heels.Anderson manufactured offense throughout the night, backchecked like a fiend on multiple sequences, and contributed three hits to his team's total of 55. Hits are a strange stat because it's more impressive to have the puck than deliver a body check, yet there's no denying that the Habs were ready to take away time and space whenever the Leafs had a clean look. Andrew Lahodynskyj / Getty ImagesPhysicality was a prominent talking point heading into the series - can Montreal consistently tap into the core of its team identity and disrupt Toronto from scoring a boatload of goals? The answer is "yes" through one game (though Matthews hilariously wasn't interested in retaliating in the second when Habs defenseman Ben Chiarot roughed him up behind the net).Captain Shea Weber, one of several large bodies on the Canadiens' blue line, doesn't appear to be 100% healthy - which is something to keep an eye on in Saturday's Game 2. He notably wasn't deployed in a shutdown role Thursday and seemed a tad tentative, at least by his standards. Still, Weber skated for 22:50 and recorded six shots on goal, including a few patented hard point shots, so there's certainly nothing to pick apart about his overall performance.Playoff Price is alive and wellThe Habs don't win Game 1 without a statement performance from Price. According to Evolving Hockey, the Leafs generated enough quality offense to expect three goals. Well, the 33-year-old Price allowed just one on 36 shots. Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesPrice, of course, is coming off both a concussion and subpar regular season. Heck, he's had subpar regular seasons three of the past four years, leading a significant chunk of the hockey world to dismiss his ability to carry an underdog to a first-round upset in this weird, pandemic-shortened season.There's just something about Price and the playoffs. He's posted save percentages of .936 (10 games in 2019-20), .933 (six games in 2016-17), and .920 (12 games in 2014-15) in Montreal's most recent postseasons, and he's rocking a cool .918 in 71 games over his entire career. He's a big-game player.The pre-series chatter over which team had the edge in net tended to end with a shrug. Price and partner Jake Allen didn't instill a ton of confidence down the stretch. The Leafs' tandem of Campbell and Frederik Andersen features one goalie devoid of previous playoff experience and another with nothing but poor playoff experiences. After Game 1, there's simply no debate.What Keefe decides to do with his forward lines ahead of Saturday will be of great interest to Price and the Habs. The chess match is far from over following a one-goal Game 1. First and foremost, though: Tavares' health and well-being. It's at the top of mind, the most important storyline of this series from a human perspective - for every single player, coach, and fan in the NHL.John Matisz is theScore's senior hockey writer. You can follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) and contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com)Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Penguins pivot Evgeni Malkin is in the lineup for Game 3 against the New York Islanders on Thursday.

Florida Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle is a healthy scratch for Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.Yandle owns the second-longest ironman streak in NHL history, having played 922 consecutive regular-season games. That streak is still alive since this is a playoff game, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.Doug Jarvis holds the record at 964 games.Yandle's streak was in jeopardy earlier this season when Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville said he would likely scratch Yandle for the season-opening game. But Quenneville changed course after facing criticism and inserted the 34-year-old blue-liner into the lineup.Yandle registered 27 points in 56 games this season.Wednesday's game will mark the first time Yandle has been scratched since 2009.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The 2021 IIHF World Championship runs from May 21 to June 6 in Riga, Latvia. Follow along for all of the roster commitments ahead of the tournament opener.BelarusPlayerPositionNHL/club teamYegor SharangovichFNew Jersey DevilsCanadaPlayerPositionNHL/club teamJaret Anderson-DolanFLos Angeles KingsConnor BrownFOttawa SenatorsMichael BuntingFArizona CoyotesMax ComtoisFAnaheim DucksJustin DanforthFColumbus Blue Jackets/Vityaz (KHL)Liam FoudyFBlue Jackets/Cleveland Monsters (AHL)Brandon HagelFChicago BlackhawksAdam HenriqueFDucksAndrew MangiapaneFFlamesNick PaulFSenatorsCole PerfettiFManitoba Moose (AHL)/Winnipeg JetsBrandon PirriFBlackhawks/Rockford IceHogs (AHL)Gabe VilardiFKingsJacob Bernard-DockerDSenatorsNicolas BeaudinDBlackhawksMario FerraroDSan Jose SharksColin MillerDBuffalo SabresOwen PowerDUniversity of Michigan (NCAA)Braden SchneiderDBrandon Wheat Kings (WHL)/New York RangersTroy StecherDDetroit Red WingsSean WalkerDKingsMichael DiPietroGVancouver Canucks/Utica Comets (AHL)Adin HillGCoyotesDarcy KuemperGCoyotesCzech RepublicPlayerPositionNHL/club teamFilip Chytil*FRangersDominik KubalikFBlackhawksLibor Hajek*DRangers*Expected to participateGermanyPlayerPositionNHL/club team or rightsLukas ReichelFBerlin (DEL)/BlackhawksSlovakiaPlayerPositionNHL/club teamMarian StudenicFBratislava Slovan (Tipos Extraliga)Adam Huska*GRangers*Expected to participateSwedenPlayerPositionNHL/club teamMax FribergFFrolunda (SHL)Jesper FrodenFSkelleftea (SHL)Filip HallanderFLulea (SHL)/Toronto Maple LeafsPontus HolmbergFVaxjo Lakers (SHL)/Maple LeafsAdrian KempeFKingsMario KempeFCSKA Moscow (KHL)Carl KlingbergFEV Zug (Swiss National League)Oscar LindbergFDynamo Moscow (KHL)Par LindholmFSkellefteaIsac LundestromFDucksVictor OlofssonFSabresRickard RakellFDucksDennis RasmussenFMetallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL)Marcus SorensenFSharksAndreas WingerliFSkellefteaKlas DahlbeckDCSKA MoscowAlbert JohanssonDFarjestad (SHL)Viktor LoovDJokerit Helsinki (KHL)Nils LundkvistDLulea/RangersMagnus NygrenDDavos (Swiss National League)Lawrence PilutDTraktor Chelyabinsk (KHL)Jonathan PudasDJokerit HelsinkiJesper SellgrenDFrolundaHenrik TommernesDGeneve-Servette (Swiss National League)Samuel ErssonGBrynas (SHL)Viktor FasthGVaxjo LakersAdam ReidebornGAk Bars Kazan (KHL)SwitzerlandPlayerPositionNHL/club teamAndres AmbuhlFDavosSven AndrighettoFZSC Lions (Swiss National League)Christoph BertschyFLausanne (Swiss National League)Enzo CorviFDavosFabrice HerzogFDavosGregory HofmannFEV ZugPhilipp KurashevFBlackhawksNico HischierFDevilsTimo MeierFSharksKillian MottetFFribourg-Gotteron (Swiss National League)Vincent PraplanFBern (Swiss National League)Noah RodFGeneve-ServetteTristan ScherweyFBernDario SimionFEV ZugJoel VerminFGeneve-ServetteSanteri AlataloDEV ZugRaphael DiazDEV ZugLukas FrickDLausanneTobias GeisserDEV ZugFabian HeldnerDLausanneRomain LoeffelDLugano (Swiss National League)Janis Jerome MoserDBiel-Bienne (Swiss National League)Mirco MullerDLeksands (SHL)Jonas SiegenthalerDDevilsRamon UntersanderDBernReto BerraGFribourg-GotteronLeonardo GenoniGEV ZugMelvin NyffelerGRapperswil-Jona Lakers (Swiss National League)RussiaPlayerPositionNHL/club teamAlexander BarabanovFSharksMikhail GrigorenkoFBlue JacketsDmitry VoronkovFAk Bars Kazan (KHL)Maxim ShalunovFCSKA MoscowKonstantin OkulovFCSKA MoscowAnton SlepyshevFCSKA MoscowAnton BurdasovFSKA St. Petersburg (KHL)Artem Shvets-RogovoyFSKA St. PetersburgVladislav KamenevFSKA St. Petersburg/AvalancheEvgeny TimkinFSKA St. PetersburgIvan MorozovFSKA St. PetersburgEmil GalimovFSKA St. PetersburgPavel KarnaukhovFCSKA MoscowSergey TolchinskyFAvangard Omsk (KHL)Andrey KuzmenkoFSKA St. PetersburgVladislav GavrikovDBlue JacketsNikita NesterovDFlamesIvan ProvorovDPhiladelphia FlyersNikita ZadorovDBlackhawksArtem ZubDSenatorsAlexey MarchenkoDLokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)Grigory DronovDMetallurg MagnitogorskIgor OzhiganovDSKA St. PetersburgRushan RafikovDLokomotiv YaroslavlIvan FedotovGTraktor Chelyabinsk (KHL)Alexander SamonovGSKA St. PetersburgUnited StatesPlayerPositionNHL/club teamJustin AbdelkaderFEV ZugColin BlackwellFRangersConor GarlandFCoyotesKevin RooneyFRangersMatty BeniersFUniversity of MichiganBrian BoyleFN/ASasha ChmelevskiFSharksRyan DonatoFSharksJack DruryFVaxjo Lakers/Carolina HurricanesKevin LabancFSharksTrevor MooreFKingsJason RobertsonFStarsEric RobinsonFBlue JacketsTage ThompsonFSabresMatt HellicksonDBinghamton Devils (AHL)/New Jersey DevilsZac JonesDRangersMatt TennysonDDevilsAdam ClendeningDCleveland Monsters (AHL)/Columbus Blue JacketsConnor MackeyDStockton Heat (AHL)/Calgary FlamesMatt RoyDKingsRyan SheaDTexas Stars (AHL)/Dallas StarsChris WidemanDNizhny Novgorod Torpedo (KHL)Christian WolaninDKingsJake OettingerGStarsCal PetersenGKingsAnthony StolarzGDucksCopyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Johnny Gaudreau has his eyes set on a new contract with the Calgary Flames.Gaudreau, who's set to enter the final year of his deal next season, indicated he's willing to sign long term if management presents a suitable offer."If Tree (general manager Brad Treliving) and the owners are happy with the way I've played, it's something we can figure out," Gaudreau said, according to Sportsnet 960's Pat Steinberg. "I would love to do that. I love the city. I don't think I've ever once said I don't want to be here."Gaudreau, 27, has spent his entire NHL career with the Flames since being selected 104th overall in 2011. He previously signed a six-year, $40.5-million contract with the club in 2016.Calgary hasn't been able to find much success over Gaudreau's tenure. The Flames reached the second round of the playoffs during Gaudreau's rookie season in 2015, but they've failed to make it past the first round since. They've missed the postseason three times.Since joining, Gaudreau leads the club with 494 points in 520 games.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Now that the 2021 NHL regular season is in the rearview mirror, it's time to evaluate who deserves some of the league's most coveted hardware.Our hockey editors each made their top three selections for six awards. The votes submitted by the individual writers who handled this season's Hart, Vezina, Norris, and Calder Trophy Power Rankings carried more weight for their specific honors. However, those races - and nearly all of them overall - produced unanimous winners.Here are theScore's choices for this season's premier NHL awards:Jack Adams Award Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyWinner: Rod Brind'Amour

Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov confirmed Thursday he recently tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time this season after previously spending time on the NHL's protocol list, according to The Associated Press' Stephen Whyno.Kuznetsov was placed on the league's COVID-19 protocol list on May 4 and didn't skate for nearly two weeks, according to The Washington Post's Samantha Pell. He missed the team's first two games of the postseason and returned for Game 3 on Wednesday, playing 26:41."It's funny, they said it's not a lot of people get it twice, so it wasn't easy to be in hockey shape right away after you sit in a house," Kuznetsov said.The 29-year-old previously tested positive for the coronavirus in January. He said at the time he did experience symptoms and was "happy" to be alive. However, he said the second time around wasn't as rough."This time was much better, like you said, I been there before so I been focusing on recover quick and join the team and play hockey," he said.Kuznetsov totaled nine goals and 20 assists in 41 games during the regular season.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri was offered an in-person hearing for an illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk during Wednesday's Game 2, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced.The league has the option to suspend Kadri for five-plus games with the offer of an in-person hearing.Kadri received a five-minute major and a match penalty for the hit.

The Winnipeg Jets topped the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 on Wednesday night in the NHL's North Division playoff opener. Here are three takeaways from Game 1.McDavid subduedHere's an underrated Connor McDavid stat to ponder as the Oilers seek to rebound in this series: 22 NHL skaters, discounting guys who barely played, scored at a point-per-game rate during the regular season. McDavid hit that mark in Edmonton's defeats alone.Categorize No. 97's production by game result, and his club's drastic dependence on him is laid plain. McDavid torched defenses for 84 points in the Oilers' 35 regular-season wins, 2.4 per night and as many as Leon Draisaitl, who placed second in the league, recorded in total. Over 21 losses, including two following regulation, McDavid's production slipped to 21 points.It's a crude metric but reflects what opponents can get away with: Spot this incandescent talent one goal or assist and you remain in the fight. Basically, Winnipeg can beat Edmonton if McDavid resembles, say, Sebastian Aho or Max Pacioretty. At his best, he's untouchable. Codie McLachlan / Getty ImagesCredit the Jets, then, for holding McDavid to two shots on target and zero points. They largely nullified him as a threat on the rush, where he exploited Winnipeg this season en route to 22 points in nine meetings. A few times on Wednesday, McDavid slipped the notice of backcheckers to gain speed in transition, but the likes of Dylan DeMelo and Derek Forbort managed to keep pace, knock him off stride, and/or force an errant shot.Per Natural Stat Trick, the Oilers controlled 65% of shot attempts at five-on-five with McDavid on the ice, a concession Winnipeg will make in the name of prudence. (The game plan: keep three men, minimum, between him and the net and rough him up when possible.) He wound up only being the night's third-most influential Connor, accounting for Connor Hellebuyck's first-rate goaltending and Kyle Connor's insurance marker into an empty net.Indeed, this was the sort of game that Winnipeg had to win, assuming McDavid's season for the ages guarantees he'll break out soon. The Jets were aided in Game 1 by their discipline; their lone penalty - Paul Stastny's inadvisable high-stick in the neutral zone - on its own didn't fuel the Oilers' league-best power play.An adjustment to monitor: Will Dave Tippett pair McDavid and Draisaitl at even strength more often to try to jump-start the offense? Deployed together in the waning seconds of the first period, they almost worked magic to open the scoring, though Draisaitl's sublime backhand, breakout pass went for naught. Forbort backpedaled to deny McDavid clean passage to the goal, and the Oilers captain's forehand flick flew wide. Crisis averted.Jets coped without Ehlers Darcy Finley / NHL / Getty ImagesThere's a case to be made that Nikolaj Ehlers is Winnipeg's most important forward. The Jets scored 35 goals and allowed a mere 18 at five-on-five this season with Ehlers on the ice, an elite ratio that no fellow Jets top-sixer came close to matching.Safe to say the shoulder injury that's shelved Ehlers since April 24 continues to loom large, even with a one-win advantage. Ehlers, like Pierre-Luc Dubois, donned a yellow no-contact jersey at practices ahead of Game 1, and in their absence, the Jets were overwhelmed by Edmonton's forecheck and cycle game.The fancy stats reflect poorly on Winnipeg's top lines. Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Blake Wheeler had their hands full with the McDavid matchup and rarely threatened offensively together - Scheifele's high miss on a three-on-one break was an outlier - until Tippett pulled Mike Smith in the last few minutes. Tapped to play on Stastny's wing, Kristian Vesalainen had a nice look at the net early, but they and Andrew Copp together gave up 11 scoring chances and only generated one.Playoff hockey is funny sometimes. Besides Wheeler, who hopped off the bench before his linemates when he recorded an assist, the point-getters on Winnipeg's first two goals - Tucker Poolman, Dominic Toninato, Nate Thompson, and Logan Stanley - combined for a measly 11 points during the regular season. Before you rail about unsustainability, you have to tip your hat. Their dirty work and opportunism were decisive Wednesday. Andy Devlin / NHL / Getty ImagesIn similar circumstances, the Jets already have avoided last postseason's nightmare scenario. Their vaunted top six was thinned in Game 1 against the Calgary Flames when Scheifele and Patrik Laine were knocked out of the series. Winnipeg's lifeless offense went on to manage six goals in four games, two of them off Ehlers' stick. If he returns soon and has help, that'll put the Jets in an optimal position to offset McDavid's inevitable surge.Yes, there's a goalie mismatchHellebuyck and Smith aren't in the same netminding echelon. Hellebuyck won the Vezina Trophy last year and posted a .916 save percentage in 2020-21 (and a .923 mark against opponents that weren't Edmonton, incidentally).Contrast the 28-year-old star (Wednesday was Hellebuyck's birthday) at the peak of his powers with Smith, a 39-year-old journeyman who has enjoyed longevity but not consistency while cycling through five career teams. Smith's resume features one excellent season: He saved 34.29 goals above expected in 2011-12 for a squad, the Phoenix Coyotes, that ditched its former city name seven years ago.So much time has since passed that Smith spent multiple seasons as a platoon option on either side of the Battle of Alberta. His play with the Flames and Oilers dipped to the point that he feared he'd be out of a job in 2021, Smith's wife, Brigitte, indicated to The Athletic's Scott Burnside ahead of the playoffs. Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesInstead, Smith re-upped with Edmonton on a one-year deal in the fall and, out of the blue, posted an impressive .923 save percentage this season. By usurping Mikko Koskinen, he turned a team weakness that prohibits contention into a source of strength, maybe Edmonton's most potent after the megastar duo up front.All of this is to wonder: Is Smith out of his depth against Hellebuyck, or is he a worthy foil?He wasn't bad in Game 1 but faltered in a critical moment, bobbling the rebound that let Poolman tie the score 2:37 after Jesse Puljujarvi's opening goal. Dominant on the cycle, the Oilers heavily outchanced the Jets in the second period - high-danger attempts were 8-3 - but the game stayed deadlocked until Smith was beaten in the third on Stanley's point blast that was tipped twice.Hellebuyck was masterful in the last five minutes, stoning Draisaitl, Ethan Bear, and McDavid in turn before the empty-netters let him exhale. Par for the course for a player whose goals saved above expected figure (13.72) was second in the league this season to Marc-Andre Fleury, according to Evolving Hockey.Smith deserves kudos for the four-month stretch when he threw it back to 2012. Allowing two goals is forgivable, maybe even a blip. But the bodies of work suggest Hellebuyck is more trustworthy, and now he has a series lead to work with.Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Columbus Blue Jackets signed John Davidson to a five-year contract to serve as their president of hockey operations, the team announced Thursday.In addition, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen signed a contract extension that runs through the 2024-25 NHL season."This is an important time for our organization, and having stability and proven leadership at the top of our hockey operations department is critical for us to do what we want to do, which is bring a Stanley Cup championship to Columbus," Club president Mike Priest said. "Signing Jarmo to an extension and then bringing J.D. back gives us the right people to address the opportunities and challenges before us, and we couldn't be more excited."Davidson previously held that same role for Columbus for seven seasons from 2012-2019. He resigned to serve as the Rangers' president for two years before being fired, along with New York general manager Jeff Gorton, on May 5.The Blue Jackets didn't hire a replacement for Davidson after he left, allowing Kekalainen to fulfill both roles. Davidson will now oversee Kekalainen, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.Davidson guided the Blue Jackets to the franchise's most successful run, as the team made the playoffs four times in seven seasons during his reign.The 68-year-old was responsible for hiring Kekalainen in 2013 after the two had previously worked together in the St. Louis Blues organization.Davidson returns to the club at a critical time. The Blue Jackets are currently without a head coach following John Tortorella's departure. Additionally, sniper Patrik Laine is an impending restricted free agent, while defenseman Seth Jones is set to be an unrestricted free agent after next season.Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Nazem Kadri might've once again put himself in hot water with the NHL Department of Player Safety.The Colorado Avalanche forward received a five-minute major and a match penalty for an illegal hit to the head of St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk during Game 2 on Wednesday.

Winnipeg Jets forwards Nikolaj Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois missed Game 1 against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday due to injury.Both skaters were on the ice wearing non-contact jerseys during Wednesday morning's practice.These were the club's line rushes at practice Tuesday:

Though many of the NHL's stat leaders never seemed to be challenged, they're now confirmed as such after the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks wrapped up the regular season Wednesday afternoon.Art Ross TrophyAwarded to the player with the most pointsWinner: Connor McDavidRankPlayerP1Connor McDavid (EDM)1052Leon Draisaitl (EDM)843Brad Marchand (BOS)694Mitch Marner (TOR)67T5Auston Matthews (TOR)66T5Mikko Rantanen (COL)66T5Patrick Kane (CHI)66Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy Darcy Finley / National Hockey League / GettyAwarded to the player with the most goalsWinner: Auston MatthewsRankPlayerG1Auston Matthews (TOR)412Connor McDavid (EDM)333Alex DeBrincat (CHI)324Leon Draisaitl (EDM)315Mikko Rantanen (COL)30Assists leaderWinner: Connor McDavidRankPlayerA1Connor McDavid (EDM)722Leon Draisaitl (EDM)533Patrick Kane (CHI)514Mitch Marner (TOR)475Nathan MacKinnon (COL)45Defenseman points leader Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / GettyWinner: Tyson BarrieRankPlayerP1Tyson Barrie (EDM)482Adam Fox (NYR)47T3Kris Letang (PIT)45T3Victor Hedman (TB)45T5John Carlson (WSH)44T5Cale Makar (COL)44Average ice time leaderWinner: Drew DoughtyRankPlayerATOI1Drew Doughty (LA)26:232Thomas Chabot (OTT)26:173Brent Burns (SJ)26:084Darnell Nurse (EDM)25:385Seth Jones (CBJ)25:14William M. Jennings Trophy Juan Ocampo / National Hockey League / GettyAwarded to the goaltender(s) having played a minimum of 17 games for the team with the fewest goals againstWinner: Marc-Andre Fleury/Robin LehnerRankPlayerGA1Marc-Andre Fleury/Robin Lehner (VGK)1222Semyon Varlamov/Ilya Sorokin (NYI)1253Philipp Grubauer (COL)132T4Tuukka Rask/Jaroslav Halak (BOS)134T4Alex Nedeljkovic/James Reimer (CAR)134Save percentage leaderMinimum of 17 games played, per NHL.comWinner: Alex NedeljkovicRankPlayerSV%1Alex Nedeljkovic (CAR).9322Semyon Varlamov (NYI).9293Marc-Andre Fleury (VGK).9284Chris Driedger (FLA).9275Juuse Saros (NSH).927Goalie wins leader Scott Audette / National Hockey League / GettyWinner: Andrei VasilevskiyRankPlayerW1Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB)312Philipp Grubauer (COL)303Marc-Andre Fleury (VGK)264Tristan Jarry (PIT)255Connor Hellebuyck (WPG)24Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

With the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames wrapping up the regular season on Wednesday afternoon, the NHL draft lottery odds are finally set.The odds are based on the inverse order of the regular-season standings. The expansion Seattle Kraken will get the third-best odds, just as the Vegas Golden Knights did prior to their inaugural campaign.RankTeamOdds1Buffalo Sabres16.6%2Anaheim Ducks12.1%3Seattle Kraken10.3%4New Jersey Devils10.3%5Columbus Blue Jackets8.5%6Detroit Red Wings7.6%7San Jose Sharks6.7%8Los Angeles Kings5.8%9Vancouver Canucks5.4%10Ottawa Senators4.5%11Arizona Coyotes*3.1%12Chicago Blackhawks2.7%13Calgary Flames2.2%14Philadelphia Flyers1.8%15Dallas Stars1.4%16New York Rangers1%The Arizona Coyotes will forfeit their first-round pick for violating the NHL's combine testing policy in 2019-20. A redraw will be done if the Coyotes win the lottery.As a reminder, the NHL approved the following lottery changes:

Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov and goaltender Ilya Samsonov are in the lineup for Game 3 against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night.