The Toronto Maple Leafs won't have their scouts fly to games as the coronavirus continues to proliferate, reports Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.The club prohibited its European-based scouts from using air travel during the initial phase of the outbreak but has since broadened that ban to include amateur and pro scouts in North America. Some of the Maple Leafs' 25 scouts have reportedly continued to attend games by driving.Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens confirmed similar precautions."At this time, we have asked our scouts to stop flying, stay in their own countries, and/or avoid traveling to countries listed as 'at risk' by the World Health Organization," a Canadiens spokesperson told Sportsnet's Eric Engels before adding, "We are re-evaluating the situation on a daily basis."Although the NHL hasn't issued a directive to all 31 teams, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said clubs have been instructed to "use their best judgment and to consider implementing policies that restrict non-essential travel."The league has already taken several steps to combat the spread of the virus, including urging players to limit contact with fans and restricting dressing room access in a joint effort with the NBA, MLB, and MLS.The Columbus Blue Jackets will continue to play games in front of fans despite a state-wide recommendation from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to conduct sporting events without spectators.California's Santa Clara County has issued a mandatory three-week ban on all large gatherings beginning Wednesday. The San Jose Sharks don't play at home again until March 19 and have not officially announced their plans for that contest against the Montreal Canadiens.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

A disappointing 1-3 record on Tuesday night brought an end to our lengthy winning run, but I'm hardly concerned.We're right back at it Wednesday.GOATs and scapegoatsHats off to Montreal Canadiens forward Lukas Vejdemo, who scored his first NHL goal last night in the third period to cash the over at the Bell Centre. He was sent back down to the AHL after the game, but his efforts were greatly appreciated.Elsewhere, we were undone by a pair of goalies for very different reasons Tuesday. Tuukka Rask made 36 saves to shut out the Philadelphia Flyers, who deserved a better fate against the Boston Bruins, while Marcus Hogberg was an absolute sieve out west. He allowed five goals on eight shots, completely negating a dominant display from the Senators, and Ottawa lost despite outshooting the Anaheim Ducks 42-15.Wednesday betsWinnipeg Jets (+120)Desperation looks good on the Winnipeg Jets. With a playoff spot looking increasingly unlikely toward the end of February if they didn't pull it together, the Jets have found a real urgency and it has paid dividends. They've won three in a row and four of their last five to pull back into the thick of the wild-card race.The Edmonton Oilers are playing some decent hockey as well, but have struggled with inconsistency and are just 5-6 straight up over the past three weeks. They narrowly beat the Jets 3-2 in Edmonton at the end of February but lost three in a row at home to Winnipeg before that. Considering the recent play of the Jets, and of Connor Hellebuyck, they offer excellent value at +120.Best betChicago Blackhawks 3-way moneyline (-105)The Blackhawks had a couple of days off to stew over a frustrating weekend and now find themselves in a prime bounce-back spot against the San Jose Sharks. Chicago won five of its last six home games against Western Conference teams, losing only to the St. Louis Blues, and has had success at the United Center this season against teams below it in the standings.The Sharks have lost four in a row on the road and scored two goals or fewer in their last five away from San Jose. They've typically struggled in Chicago as well, scoring two goals or fewer in eight of their last 12 games there. The Blackhawks should be able to comfortably take care of business in this one, but instead of laying -160 on the moneyline, we'll take them at close to even money to win in regulation.Trend of the nightThe New York Rangers have won 10 of their last 11 games on the road.They're also 6-2 on the road when playing on no rest, with those two losses coming against the Flyers. The Colorado Avalanche have just entered a mini-slump as well, losing three of their last four following a seven-game winning streak. The Rangers can be had at +150 tonight.Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The women's world hockey championship in Nova Scotia has been postponed until next year. Tennis' prestigious Indian Wells event in California was scrapped on the eve of the tournament. Japanese baseball's Opening Day is delayed indefinitely. Marquee soccer matches across Europe are scheduled to be played in empty stadiums. In Italy, they've been canceled outright for at least the rest of March.Over the past several days - as confirmed cases of COVID-19 exceeded 100,000 around the world - sports leagues and organizations have taken increasingly severe precautions to avoid intensifying the spread of the disease. Along with the examples above, no fans were present for Division III basketball tournament games in Baltimore last weekend and no spectators will attend the Olympic torch-lighting ceremony in Greece on Thursday. Pro soccer is on hold in Switzerland, South Korea, Japan, and China - close to the nexus of the outbreak and far beyond. The breadth of this response is unprecedented in history.For the time being, numerous major events are still set to proceed as usual, from March Madness and the Masters over the next 30 days to Euro 2020 and the Tokyo Olympics this summer. The NBA, NHL, and MLB schedules are similarly untouched, but that may change as each league's defensive strategy evolves.If any of these competitions are played in isolation or abandoned altogether, it will be further evidence that no crisis event has ever affected sports to this degree: not the influenza outbreak of a century ago, either world war, or any virus of recent origin."With how rapidly this infectious disease has spread globally to so many countries, it's just having such a greater impact than we've ever seen on sport before," U.K.-based sports historian Heather Dichter said.Al Bello / Getty ImagesDichter is an associate professor of sport management at De Montfort University in Leicester, England, where she focuses her research on mega-events and international competition. In a conversation that's been condensed and edited for clarity, she spoke to theScore on Monday about the uptick in worldwide cancellations, the uniqueness of this ongoing mass response, and the ways in which our games could potentially change as a result.theScore: All sorts of major events across the world are being canceled or played without fans in attendance. Does this kind of widespread global response in the sports world have any historical equivalent?Dichter: Not to this global extent. With Ebola in Africa a few years ago, there was definitely an impact there with the Africa Cup of Nations being moved (out of Morocco) and some countries not wanting to have this influx of fans from Ebola-infected West African states. But that was really at a continental level.I guess the only other, earlier precedent was the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2003, in China with SARS. (That tournament was moved to the U.S., while the women's world hockey championship, set to be held in Beijing, was canceled altogether.) That was still when China was really getting started with hosting international events in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics. Since Beijing, they've been hosting a lot more international events, which is why the earliest events being canceled or moved were the events in China. As this disease has spread all around the globe, it hasn't been as limited geographically as previously.I think where we'll see the impact and the change - and it'll be a bit more behind the scenes - there's going to be a lot more elements to public health that cities and governing bodies will take into consideration when it comes to locations bidding for events. Just looking at hockey and Nova Scotia and (the 2020 women's world championship) being postponed a year now, you are dealing with a single sport. You're dealing with one location, or two, and some practice areas. But the scale and scope of bidding for and planning for that event, it's still significant.Tomohiro Ohsumi / Getty ImagesS: Lately, in general, it seems as though fewer cities have been bidding for or showing a willingness to host the Olympics. I think it's starting to be seen as somewhat of a burden even when there's no specter of a global disease spreading. This seems to be an additional complication or reason cities might cite in balking at hosting such major events.D: They're going to have to consider those things. We haven't seen it yet with sport, but if somebody attends an event and we now have this mass spread of the coronavirus, or any future infectious disease, because of the sporting event - if that becomes a place where all of a sudden, thousands of people get infected in a single afternoon or (over) three days of a tournament - then I think you're going to hear even more of a backlash of locations not wanting to potentially host.It's one thing that world championships for indoor athletics have been postponed a year, and women's ice hockey. Those federations - which are two of the biggest, wealthiest, most prominent international federations - they've said, "We're making our commitment to this location. You have spent the year planning and preparing for this. We're just going to move it a year." But places where events are being canceled, that's lost income, and that's not just for the sport itself. That's all of the elements related to the tourism industry. They may choose not to want to try to host an event again in the future.S: How did the 1918 influenza pandemic affect the sports world? Do any elements of that response parallel at all what we're seeing today?D: Sport was so different back then. Yes, we had international sport and global sport, but not to the extent that we do nowadays. If it did have an impact back then, it would have been very localized. The modern Olympics - although they were founded in 1896 - until 1912, they were really small. It wasn't like you were an athlete and you trained to go to the Olympics. 1912 is when we first started to see the Olympics kind of actually looking like modern Olympics, and then they didn't happen in 1916.You didn't have many world championships back then. It was only a few international sports that did. In 1918, with the war having literally just ended, most of the federations weren't even looking to meet again until 1919. International sport was so disrupted by the war anyway that you didn't see this kind of (additional) impact on sport back then.Ted Williams (left) is sworn into the U.S. Navy in 1942. Bettmann / Getty ImagesS: I'm interested in chatting about the risk-reward proposition that's inherent here. On one hand, there's the entertainment value sports provide in trying times, versus what probably should be the paramount concern: the possibility of people getting infected at events. I realize it's a different scenario, but MLB, minus many players who went off and served, still played during World War II. How have sports organizations weighed this risk-reward equation over the years, and what has it taken for them to cancel events outright?D: It's a tough one. They all have to weigh whatever is happening in the world against what is needed. Obviously, there was that sense during (both) world wars coming from the White House of, "We need baseball to continue. This helps with morale in the country." But when 9/11 happened, all sports stopped for a week. That's why we now have the Super Bowl in February, because it got pushed back - they lost a week in September that year.There's a difference between our professional sports, where the goal is to make money, versus sport at other levels, be it high school sport, youth grassroots sport. NCAA sport in the U.S. is, in theory, about social value, but we all know certain sports make a lot of money. The NCAA does not want to (cancel) its March Madness Final Four, because that's a huge cash cow for them, just like the IOC wants the Olympics to happen when they're supposed to happen, because of the sponsorship, the broadcasting rights. NBC has already announced they've made over $1.25 billion for, basically, commercials. They're going to reap in that cash because they've already shelled out billions for the right to broadcast the Olympics.The badminton federation, they're not bringing in the money like the National Hockey League is. It's just the nature of the sport. Whatever's happening in the world factors differently to what these organizations are making decisions on.Matthew Stockman / Getty ImagesS: Again, with the obvious caveat that keeping people healthy is the most important thing, there's an opportunity cost beyond money to the organizations themselves that athletes incur when events are canceled. Tennis players would lose out on their primary income stream if big events are scrapped. Top women's hockey players won't get to play in their marquee event this year. When events have been canceled in the past, to what degree have these sorts of concerns been considered?D: It's not necessarily events (being) canceled. Think about Olympic boycotts, where other people are making decisions, not the athletes, as to attend. When it was the very political decision for the U.S. not to go compete in Moscow in 1980, and for other countries that also chose to boycott, those athletes were upset. They felt left out. For sports where the Olympics is the pinnacle - where you don't have an opportunity to be a professional rower, that kind of thing - that was their peak. They trained for that. The Olympics happen once every four years. World championships in the IAAF only happen every two years. To miss that, that might have been their one chance where they actually could have won.When you think about professional athletes - tennis, absolutely. If tournaments aren't held, they're not going to win that money. Yes, some of them have sponsorship. For the very best ones - Federer, Djokovic, Serena Williams - they make more money on sponsorships than they do winning the tournament. But that's not to say what they're winning in tournaments is paltry. That is still income they've been planning for. For athletes who are lower down in the ranks, getting to the second or third round of a tournament actually does give them money they're desperately in need of to be able to maintain their career as a professional athlete.S: What other lasting changes in sports might this global response to the coronavirus prompt?D: I think it's hard to say. I think there will be greater contingency plans put into place. I do think we will start to see greater planning: bringing in more public health officials when it comes to places that are going ahead planning and hosting events.Unfortunately, we're seeing more of these new infectious diseases. SARS was 17 years ago. Ebola, we saw the big outbreak six years ago. Zika was four years ago. If we're seeing more new infectious diseases, I mean, that's scary from a health standpoint anyways globally. But if we're seeing more - we're having new diseases coming around more frequently - I think that's going to have to be taken into consideration.It's hard to plan for something that you don't know what it is. It's the same issue with catching athletes who dope. You can't have the detection until you actually know what the new drug is that they're taking. It's hard. Anti-doping is always playing catch-up to science and whoever is doping, and that's kind of, in some ways, how public health is with respect to these sporting events. But you can see what has happened. How can we prepare to prevent something similar?Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Santa Clara County is implementing a mandatory three-week ban on all large gatherings beginning Wednesday due to the coronavirus, County Counsel James Williams said Monday, according to Maggie Angst of The Mercury News.The ban applies to events with more than 1,000 attendees, which includes San Jose Sharks games and other events at the SAP Center. The Sharks may continue playing without fans present, officials added, according to Tatiana Sanchez of The San Francisco Chronicle.The Sharks released an official statement Monday night:"SAP Center at San Jose is aware of the County of Santa Clara’s Public Health Department order to prohibit public and private mass gatherings through the end of March. We will adhere to the mandated guidelines. No events are scheduled at SAP Center until Tues., March 17. We will be reviewing each scheduled event due to take place for the rest of the month and provide an update in the coming days. We appreciate the understanding and patience of our fans, guests and partners during this unprecedented time."If the Sharks decide not to play games in an empty SAP Center, they could play at a neutral site, or postpone and reschedule the games, TSN's Frank Seravalli added.Santa Clara County announced its first coronavirus-related death on Monday. It's the second death in the state of California due to the disease. Santa Clara County has 43 reported cases of the coronavirus.The Sharks' next home game isn't until Wednesday, March 19, against the Montreal Canadiens. Additional games affected by the ban include March 21 against the Boston Bruins and March 29 versus the Arizona Coyotes.Italy, Europe's most affected country by the coronavirus with over 460 deaths and 9,000 confirmed cases, suspended all sporting events for the remainder of the month. Serie A soccer games had previously been played with no fans in attendance. While the NBA has reportedly prepared to play games without fans, the Sharks would be the first major professional sports team in North America to take such extreme measures.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL) released a joint statement Monday confirming restricted locker room access as a preventative measure against the coronavirus."After consultation with infectious disease and public health experts, and given the issues that can be associated with close contact in pre and postgame settings, all team locker rooms and clubhouses will be open only to players and essential employees of teams and team facilities until further notice," the statement read."Media access will be maintained in designated locations outside of the locker room and clubhouse setting. These temporary changes will be effective beginning with tomorrow's games and practices."We will continue to closely monitor this situation and take any further steps necessary to maintain a safe and welcoming environment."Each major sports league is currently in the midst of its regular season, with the exception of MLB. The organization remains committed to playing out the remainder of its spring training games and intends to begin the regular season on its scheduled date of March 26, ESPN's Jeff Passan reports. However, that stance is dependent on how the epidemic develops.Further plans to address the coronavirus are understood to be the subject of discussion in an NBA conference call on Wednesday. A few NHL teams were already limiting media access to help combat the spread of infection, and MLS set up a task force last week to keep up to date with news on the virus and inform clubs of appropriate measures to reduce its risk.The United States has confirmed more than 650 cases of the coronavirus, including 26 deaths, as reported by NBC. The Canadian government has confirmed 72 cases, while the National Post published news of the country's first death due to the outbreak on Monday.Across the world, there are more than 108,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 3,800 deaths, according to CNN. Italy is the worst affected country in Europe, resulting in travel restrictions for its 60-million population and postponement of all of its sporting events.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Montreal Canadiens forward Tomas Tatar is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, the team announced Tuesday.Tatar hasn't played since March 3 against the New York Islanders.The 29-year-old has registered a career-best 61 points through 68 games. He's scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency after next season.Tatar was traded to the Habs from the Vegas Golden Knights in September 2018 along with Nick Suzuki and a 2019 second-round pick in exchange for Max Pacioretty.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Pittsburgh Penguins signed college free agent Drew O'Connor to a two-year, entry-level contract, the team announced Tuesday.O'Connor, who has played the last two seasons at Dartmouth College, was named the NCAA Ivy-League Player of the Year this campaign. He recorded a team-leading 21 goals and 33 points in 31 games this season."Drew is a powerful skater with good hands, which helped him have a very good year at Dartmouth," Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said. "We are very happy Drew has joined the Penguins as we feel he can help our NHL club sooner rather than later."The 21-year-old will report to the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on an amateur tryout contract for the remainder of the season.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will continue to allow fans at games despite a recommendation from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday that events at indoor sports and entertainment facilities be conducted without spectators due to the coronavirus, the team announced in a statement."We have been in contact with the National Hockey League and, given the facts before us, it has been determined that our scheduled games, including this Thursday vs. Pittsburgh and Saturday vs. Nashville, will go on as scheduled and be open to ticketed fans that wish to attend."The team recommended that guests at higher risk, such as elderly individuals and those with pre-existing health issues, should avoid large-scale public events.There are three confirmed cases of coronavirus in Ohio, but the virus is expected to spread, officials said, according to WLWT5.The San Jose Sharks may play games in an empty arena after the club agreed to abide by Santa Clara County's ban of large gatherings exceeding 1,000 people. As of Monday, Santa Clara County had 43 reported cases of coronavirus and one death.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Future Hall of Fame baseball player Larry Walker will fulfill his dream of being an NHL goaltender on Sunday.The Colorado Avalanche will make Walker their honorary emergency goaltender on Sunday when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights, the team announced Tuesday. Walker will also be presented with a gift ahead of his upcoming Hall of Fame induction prior to the opening faceoff.Walker, 53, grew up in the Greater Vancouver Area of British Columbia and played goaltender until the age of 16 before switching his focus to baseball, according to The Denver Post's Kyle Newman."Being Canadian, you're born into this world with a stick in your hand and skates on your feet," Walker said. "So that's how I was as a kid. You played hockey, and that's all that really mattered."Walker became only the second Canadian-born player to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame, joining Fergie Jenkins, who was inducted in 1991.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Phil Myers will miss approximately four weeks due to a fractured patella on his right knee, the team announced Tuesday.Myers has appeared in 50 games with the Flyers this season, recording four goals and 12 assists, while averaging 17:06 of ice time.The 23-year-old was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Flyers in 2015. He spent two campaigns playing with the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms before making his NHL debut last season, appearing in 21 contests.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed forward Mikhail Abramov to a three-year, entry level contract, the team announced Tuesday.Abramov was drafted by Toronto in the fourth round (115th overall) in 2019.The 18-year-old leads the QMJHL's Victoriaville Tigres with 76 points (35 goals) in 63 games this season. Abramov also recorded 10 points in 10 games while representing Russia at last year's world Under-18 tournament.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vancouver Canucks will have Brock Boeser back in the lineup for Tuesday's clash versus the New York Islanders, the forward confirmed.Boeser was diagnosed with a rib cartilage fracture on Feb. 18 and was initially expected to miss eight weeks. The 23-year-old winger ultimately missed 12 games. The Canucks managed a 5-6-1 record without him while also battling through an injury to starting goalie Jacob Markstrom.Due to their recent slide, the Canucks enter Tuesday's action one point back of a wild-card spot and three points out of third place in the Pacific Division.Boeser posted 16 goals and 29 assists in 56 games before being sidelined.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

One day after Santa Clara County implemented a three-week ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 attendees due to coronavirus concerns, multiple San Jose Sharks players were asked about the possibility of playing their home games without a crowd."It would definitely be a weird feeling if that happens," forward Joe Thornton told reporters "What's going right now, it's weird for everybody. So I think we're all confused like you guys are.""It would definitely be very strange," Evander Kane said.The Sharks are set to embark on a three-game road trip beginning Wednesday in Chicago. They'll return home March 19 for a tilt versus the Montreal Canadiens before two more contests at SAP Center on March 21 and March 29.San Jose could opt to play at a neutral site or postpone the games if it elects not to host in an empty rink, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.Santa Clara County reported Monday its first death due to the coronavirus, and cases in the area continue to rise.All active major North American sports leagues (NHL, MLB, MLS, NBA) released a joint statement Monday restricting media access within locker rooms to help prevent the spreading of the virus.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Nate Leaman will guide the American squad at the 2021 World Junior Hockey Championship in December, USA Hockey announced Monday.The Providence bench boss served as an assistant coach for the United States at the tournament in 2007 and 2009. He led the Friars to a national championship in 2015, and they've earned six straight NCAA berths during his tenure.Team USA finished sixth at the 2020 world juniors under Minnesota Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin.The upcoming tournament begins Dec. 26 and will be co-hosted by Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.If you blindly followed Monday's betting preview, you raked. We went 2-0 with our official bets and produced two more winners with our trend of the night. Fun was had and money was made.Let's go for another perfect night - and our seventh best-bet winner in a row - on Tuesday.GOATs and scapegoatsThe Winnipeg Jets found themselves down 2-0 at the end of the first period on Monday, which meant our best-bet streak was hanging by a thread. Then Nikolaj Ehlers happened. He scored early in the second to kick-start the comeback and then assisted the next two goals before a Mark Scheifele empty-netter sealed the deal. It was beautiful.It's hard to have a scapegoat when you don't lose a bet, but Mikko Koskinen tried his very best to stop us. He made an astounding 45 saves but couldn't make the 46th, as the Vegas Golden Knights won in overtime.Tuesday betsNashville Predators/Montreal Canadiens over 5.5 (-110)The Predators are coming off a home-and-home with the Dallas Stars in which they scored three goals and allowed none. The Canadiens just finished a short Florida trip in which they scored one goal in two games. I think the floodgates will open tonight for these two frustrated offenses. Nashville is on an 8-0 run to the over in away games against Eastern Conference teams (with those contests averaging 8.9 total goals), while Montreal is on a 4-0 run to the over at home.New York Islanders/Vancouver Canucks under 5.5 (-110)The Islanders have lost six in a row and 10 of their last 11 while playing easily their worst hockey of the season. The Canucks haven't been much better, losing five of their last six overall and four of their last six on home ice. Meanwhile, both teams are desperately fighting to stay in the playoff picture. The Islanders have lost 10 of their last 11 games away to Western Conference teams and have scored two or fewer goals in 10 of those.On the surface, it looks like the Canucks are the play, but this line is fishy at just -120 and dropping, which is enough to give me pause. The under looks like the better target, as it's cashed in six of Vancouver's last seven home games against Eastern Conference teams. I expect a really tight game on Tuesday as both teams try to stop the bleeding with points at a premium.Ottawa Senators (+120)The Senators are playing some really good hockey right now, winning four of their last five, including a victory in San Jose on Saturday. Coach D.J. Smith is doing a great job and a number of these players are fighting hard for their jobs. The Ducks have been playing some competitive hockey as well, but their blue line is just so banged up. I can't pass up this sort of value with Ottawa in a game between two bad teams, and I certainly won't be laying -140 with the Ducks.Best betPhiladelphia Flyers (-105)The best team in hockey right now is the Philadelphia Flyers. They've won nine in a row and now sit just one point out of first in the Metropolitan Division with a game in hand. The Flyers have also won seven in a row on home ice and 10 of their last 11 in Philadelphia, but even before this insane run, they were a juggernaut at Wells Fargo Center, posting a 25-5-4 record there overall this season.A visit from the NHL's top team shouldn't be enough to scare you off the Flyers. The Boston Bruins are playing their typically strong hockey these days, winning nine of their last 11 on the road, but they've lost six of their last seven games in Philadelphia. The Bruins also have some breathing room atop the Atlantic Division, so I expect just a bit more intensity from the Flyers.Trend of the nightThe Tampa Bay Lightning have won three straight games in Toronto and six of their last seven there.But the Maple Leafs are desperate for a get-right performance, and the Panthers' win in St. Louis on Monday probably served as quite the wake-up call. There's a short price on the Bolts at -115, but I'm staying far away from this game.Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Carolina Hurricanes' goaltending situation is beginning to stabilize.Petr Mrazek is expected to return Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings after missing the last six contests with a concussion.Mrazek and fellow Carolina netminder James Reimer were both injured against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 22, forcing emergency backup goalie David Ayres into the crease before the Hurricanes prevailed.Carolina has won only two of six contests since then while using the goalie tandem of Anton Forsberg and Alex Nedeljkovic.Mrazek received the bulk of the starts this season before his injury, going 20-16-2 with a .904 save percentage in 39 games.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly will return to the lineup Tuesday versus the Tampa Bay Lightning after missing 23 games due to a broken foot, he confirmed to reporters, via Kristen Shilton of TSN.Rielly was injured while blocking a shot on Jan. 12 against the Florida Panthers. The Leafs went 11-9-3 in his absence.Toronto's defense corps is now getting closer to full health with the return of Rielly and Cody Ceci - who made his comeback Friday - but Jake Muzzin is still out with a broken hand suffered two weeks ago.Tuesday's clash versus the Lightning will be massive in the Leafs' pursuit of a playoff spot. Following the Florida Panthers' win on Monday, Toronto holds a narrow one-point advantage for third place in the Atlantic Division with 13 games to go.Rielly, 26, has appeared in 46 games this season, posting three goals and 24 assists while averaging over 24 minutes per contest.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New York Rangers inked forward Patrick Khodorenko to an entry-level contract, the club announced Tuesday.Khodorenko's deal begins in 2020-21, and he'll immediately join the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack on an amateur tryout.He collected 54 goals and 120 points in 143 games over four seasons at Michigan State University, including 16 markers and 33 points in 36 contests during his senior year in 2019-20.The 21-year-old, who was an undrafted free agent, led the Spartans in goals, assists, points, and shots on goal this past campaign.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon suffered a lower-body injury Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings, the team announced, according to The Denver Post's Mike Chambers.MacKinnon left midway through the second period and did not return. Head coach Jared Bednar offered no update postgame. It's unclear what caused the injury, although there was one play right before he exited where he appeared to be laboring.

Connor McDavid was not in the Edmonton Oilers' lineup for Monday's key divisional matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights.The Oilers and Golden Knights are neck-and-neck atop the crowded Pacific Division standings.McDavid entered Monday's action second in the NHL with 96 points. In the captain's absence, Gaetan Haas was shifted up the lineup to center the club's second line between Tyler Ennis and Zack Kassian.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Every Monday, theScore offers a weekly fantasy hockey column detailing a handful of moves you should make. This edition focuses on Round 1 of the playoffs. Ownership percentages and position eligibility are courtesy of Yahoo.Add Vladislav NamestnikovTeam: Avalanche

The San Jose Sharks signed defenseman Radim Simek to a four-year extension, the team announced Monday. The deal is reportedly worth $9 million, according to CapFriendly.Simek is in the final season of a two-year, $1.35-million contract he signed with the Sharks in 2018 after playing for the AHL's San Jose Barracuda in 2017-18. Simek spent five years playing in the Czech Republic before coming to North America."Radim has been an integral piece of our team defense for the last two seasons," general manager Doug Wilson said. "His style of play blends a sound defensive game, coupled with a heavy physical ingredient and good puck-moving skills."The 27-year-old has appeared in 47 games with the Sharks this season, recording two goals, seven assists, 91 hits, and averaging 17:08 in ice time.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Following a pair of losses on home ice over the weekend, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said he believes his team's recent struggles are just a blip on the radar."I am not worried about missing the playoffs," Rutherford told The Athletic's Josh Yohe on Monday. "This is a good team, and we'll be just fine. We're just fine."He added: "There's no panic here, and no need to panic. We have a good hockey team and we have the guys to get out of this. And we will."The Penguins soared to the top of the Metropolitan Division with a 13-4-2 surge to kick off the new year, but a 2-8 record since has caused Pittsburgh to slide down the standings.The club sits third in the division, five points back of the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers, and holds a three-point edge on the Columbus Blue Jackets, who occupy the East's top wild-card seed.Rutherford made some big moves leading up to the trade deadline, adding Jason Zucker, Patrick Marleau, Conor Sheary, and Evan Rodrigues. The acquisitions, along with key players returning to the lineup, led some to suggest the Penguins would challenge for the division title down the stretch, but that hasn't been the case."The determination from this team, as a whole, was greater when we had people out," Rutherford said. "We were winning then and we were so determined. We didn't look that way as much recently."The Penguins return to action Tuesday versus the New Jersey Devils, then have a trio of important games against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes, and New York Islanders later in the week.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.It was a great weekend as we went a perfect 3-0 with our best bets and 5-2 overall for a tasty profit.Let's turn that money into more money Monday.GOATs and scapegoatsA number of guys did us a solid over the weekend, but GOAT honors go to Kevin Fiala. He was a horse for the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, scoring a pair of goals, including the overtime winner on the power play after drawing the penalty following a great individual effort. He helped the Wild to a 5-4 win and ensured a clean sweep of our best bets.As for our scapegoat, Igor Shesterkin made his first start since Feb. 22 on Saturday, and he was absolutely not up to his old antics. He allowed five goals on 23 shots and didn't even last two periods, leaving us with little chance of cashing our New York Rangers -1.5 bet.Monday betsVegas Golden Knights (+105)The atmosphere inside Rogers Place should be absolutely electric for this massive Pacific Division showdown. With a regulation win, the Edmonton Oilers would leap ahead of the Golden Knights and into first place, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Vegas is going to spoil the party.This is the second game of a back-to-back for the Knights, who won 5-3 in Calgary yesterday, and they actually excel in this spot. Vegas has won four straight road games on no rest and is 6-1 this season in this situation. The Oilers have lost their last three home games when they've had at least one day off between games and their opponent is playing on no rest. Edmonton has been playing well, winning four of its last five, but had lost four of five before this run and is 4-3 at home since the start of February. There's good value with Vegas tonight.Best betWinnipeg Jets (-120)The wild-card race is going to make for incredible entertainment over the final month of the season. The Winnipeg Jets have gotten back into the thick of it by playing some of their best hockey of the season, while the opposite has been true of the Arizona Coyotes, who are in danger of falling out of contention pretty soon.The Jets have won five in a row at home, allowing just six goals total over that span. That doesn't bode well for a Coyotes team that struggles mightily to score, especially on the road where they've lost 11 of their last 13, scoring two goals or fewer in 10 of those games. Arizona lost 10 of its last 11 visits to Winnipeg and I'd expect a similar fate tonight.Trend of the nightOf the last 12 meetings between the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche at the Staples Center, 10 of them have totaled five goals or fewer.With a total of 5.5 tonight, the under is certainly in play - it's hit in eight of Colorado's last 10 road games. In addition, the Avalanche scored two or fewer goals in 10 of their last 12 games in Los Angeles, so their team total under 2.5 at +150 might also be worth a look.Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The national NHL rights holders in both Canada and the United States celebrated International Women's Day on Sunday by featuring broadcast teams comprised entirely of female talent.Play-by-play voice Leah Hextall, color commentator Cassie Campbell-Pascall, and reporter Christine Simpson worked the Vegas Golden Knights-Calgary Flames game for Sportsnet. They were members of the first all-female lineup - including the broadcast team and the production crew - to present an NHL game, according to Hextall.

Injured Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser was a full participant in practice on Sunday, and he's hoping to return to the lineup ahead of schedule."It's always exciting to skate with the guys and it feels good to be back out there," Boeser said, per the team. "I felt pretty good out there so hopefully I'll be back soon."General Manager Jim Benning announced Feb. 18 that Boeser was expected to miss at least eight weeks due to a rib cartilage fracture.Boeser had notched 16 goals and 29 assists in 56 games before being sidelined. His return to the lineup would be a huge boost for the Canucks, who enter Sunday's tilt versus the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Western Conference's first wild-card spot with 76 points.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

After two meetings in less than a week, it's safe to say the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins are a little sick of each other."There's some bad blood brewing," Lightning forward Pat Maroon told The Athletic's Joe Smith following his team's 5-3 victory on Saturday night.But the final score was largely an afterthought following a frantic end to the second period that began when the play was blown dead to review a potential Bruins goal, and a line brawl ensued.The madness began after Sean Kuraly's rebound attempt slid through Andrei Vasilevskiy's legs and barely over the goal line. The net-side referee signaled the puck didn't go in, and after the Lightning moved the puck to the other end of the ice, a siren blared indicating the Bruins actually scored (the goal was later confirmed).That's when all hell broke loose.Lightning forward Pat Maroon confronted and ultimately fought Zdeno Chara, who was talking to officials about Mikhail Sergachev's prior hit from behind.Maroon's altercation was the catalyst for the chaos, and the veteran winger thinks a rivalry began between the two squads Saturday night."We're starting to stir the pot, which is fun going into meaningful games down the stretch. Boston is the team, what they accomplished last year and what they accomplished this year. That's the team to beat," Maroon added.Maroon familiarized himself with Boston last spring as a member of the St. Louis Blues, who beat the Bruins in seven games during the Stanley Cup Final.The Bruins lead the Atlantic Division by seven points and are on track to win the Presidents' Trophy. The Lightning and Bruins don't square off again this season, but as the top two clubs in the Atlantic, there's a good chance they renew hostilities in the playoffs.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL will close dressing rooms to the media to combat the spread of the coronavirus, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.Players will now be available to the media in a formal press conference area. MLB, MLS, and the NBA are expected to follow suit on the new protocol, Friedman adds.Only a "couple of teams" are closing their dressing rooms for the time being, but it could become a league-wide practice over the next 48 hours or so, Sportsnet's Chris Johnston reported on the latest edition of "Saturday Headlines."The NHL asked teams for available building dates later in April in case of postponements, lined up potential neutral-site venues in the event that only certain regions become unsuitable to host games, and discussed playing in empty arenas as a worst-case scenario, Johnston added.The league sent a memo Friday to all teams, urging players to limit contact with fans as concerns about the virus grow. The league also ordered its employees to stop all business-related travel outside North America.Santa Clara County in Northern California has recommended the cancellation of large events, including San Jose Sharks home games, but the team announced Friday that all scheduled affairs at SAP Center will proceed as originally scheduled.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators dismissed CEO Jim Little after becoming aware of abuse allegations his former wife, Lara Smith, made toward him, the club said, according to the National Post's Adrian Humphreys.The Senators reportedly discovered several allegations of harsh or abusive behavior, including previous public claims of domestic abuse made by Smith toward Little.Ottawa fired Little less than two months into his tenure Wednesday. The former executive said he was fired for using "strong language" during a heated phone argument with team owner Eugene Melnyk on Feb. 14.Following the dispute, the Senators conducted an investigation into Little's behavior, during which they found Smith had published online accounts of his abuse during their marriage."As the weeks and months unfolded, I was the victim of extreme control, psychological, and at times, physical abuse," Smith reportedly wrote in August 2019. "Going to yoga class and the grocery store were cause for outbursts of rage."The club confirmed knowledge of the blog post and that it was unearthed after Little's disagreement with Melnyk."The pattern of behaviour by Mr. Little within the organization, which violated the team’s code of conduct and the policies of the NHL, coupled with the detailed allegations contained within an online posting discovered subsequently, was extremely concerning given his conduct within the company’s head office," Senators team spokesperson Dan Gagnier said.Little disputed the allegations through his lawyer."The suggestion that the Senators terminated Mr. Little’s employment because of (Smith's) allegations ... is untrue," his representative, Matthew Sammon, said, adding that the matter will now be addressed in court.Sammon also called Smith's allegations "defamatory" and said they aren't "attributed to any specific source."Smith and Little were married in July 2015 but were no longer living together as of October 2017, according to divorce records.The Senators hired Little on Jan. 10.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi suffered an injury to his spleen Friday night while playing for the AHL's Laval Rocket against the Cleveland Monsters, the team announced Saturday.The Montreal Canadiens prospect was taken to hospital in Cleveland, where he spent the night under observation.He's scheduled to return to Montreal on Saturday, where the Canadiens' medical staff will evaluate him further. A timetable for his recovery has yet to be determined, but the club will provide an update in the coming days.Kotkaniemi has collected 13 points in 13 games with the Rocket. Montreal assigned him to Laval on Feb. 1 after he managed only eight points in 36 contests during his second NHL campaign.The 19-year-old forward notched 11 goals and 34 points across 79 games in his rookie season.Montreal drafted him third overall in 2018.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The International Ice Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada canceled the 2020 Women's World Championship in Halifax and Truro, Nova Scotia, due to the growing threat of the coronavirus, they announced Saturday."The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has diligently monitored the development and risk of the coronavirus (COVID-19), and under the recommendation of the chief medical officer of health of the Province of Nova Scotia and the IIHF, it was determined the best course of action was to cancel the event," Hockey Canada CEO Tom Renney said in a statement. "This decision was made in the best interest of the players, fans, staff, volunteers, and the general public, and we fully support the IIHF's decision."The IIHF assured Hockey Canada that Halifax and Truro will host the event in 2021.The tournament was scheduled to begin March 31. Six other IIHF events scheduled this month were canceled earlier this week due to the virus, and the focus will now shift to whether the World U-18 Championship in April and the men's worlds in May can go on as originally planned, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.Numerous sporting events around the world have recently been canceled, postponed, or played without fans in attendance in an effort to stop the virus from spreading.The NHL sent a memo to all teams Friday to remind players to limit contact with fans and also order league employees to stop all business-related travel outside North America.The Women's World Championship was set to feature a 10-team field: Canada, the United States, Finland, Russia, and Switzerland made up Group A, while Japan, Germany, Czech Republic, Denmark, and Hungary were in Group B.In 2019, Team USA defeated Finland to claim its fifth consecutive gold medal at the event.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL has sent a memo to teams instructing players to limit contact with fans amid concerns over the coronavirus, deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to The Canadian Press on Friday.The NBA took similar precautions Monday, recommending players use fist-bumps rather than high-fives when interacting with fans, and avoid taking items for autographs.Commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday he's ordered a stop to all business-related travel outside of North America for league employees. If employees travel to affected locations of their own accord, the league is mandating a two-week quarantine upon return before those individuals can resume work.A number of sporting events around the globe have been canceled or postponed as countries work to contain the virus. Switzerland's top hockey league has pushed back its playoffs until mid-March, while some Italian soccer games have taken place with no fans in attendance.The NHL has not yet explored dramatic measures to contain the outbreak. Santa Clara County in northern California has recommended the cancellation of large events, including San Jose Sharks games. Nevertheless, the Sharks announced Friday all SAP Center events will proceed as scheduled this weekend. The team did, however, urge fans to follow the county health department's suggestion that people at "higher risk" avoid mass gatherings.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault made his return to the lineup Friday night against the Vegas Golden Knights.The 32-year-old missed the team's previous 16 games after exiting with an upper-body injury against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 31.The veteran winger contributed six goals and 14 points in 46 contests this season - his sixth with the Jets - before being forced out of the lineup.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Toronto Maple Leafs activated defenseman Cody Ceci off injured reserve, the team announced Friday.Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe revealed shortly thereafter that Ceci will be in the lineup for Friday's game against the Anaheim Ducks, according to TSN's Mark Masters.The 26-year-old missed the club's previous 14 games after suffering an ankle injury Feb. 5 against the New York Rangers.Ceci entered Friday's game having registered eight points while logging 20:38 of average ice time through 54 games this season. The 6-foot-2 rearguard also plays a vital role on the penalty kill, leading the team with 2:49 of shorthanded ice time per game coming into the contest against the Ducks.Toronto is also expecting to get blue-chip rearguard Morgan Rielly back in the near future, while Jake Muzzin remains out with a broken hand.The Maple Leafs loaned defenseman Timothy Liljegren to the AHL's Toronto Marlies in a corresponding move Friday night.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Edmonton Oilers signed forward Josh Archibald to a two-year contract extension, the team announced Friday.It carries an average annual value of $1.5 million, TSN's Ryan Rishaug reports. That's a modest raise on the one-year, $1-million pact Archibald signed with the Oilers last July.Archibald was set to be a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. The 27-year-old has matched a career high with 12 goals this season, while also chipping in eight assists across 59 games.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.Well, we nailed our best bet again on Thursday. But that's all we nailed while slumping to a frustrating 1-3 finish.There's a ton of hockey upcoming this weekend though, offering plenty of opportunities to make it back. Let's dive in.Friday notesThe Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks couldn't be trending in more opposite directions right now as they get set to meet tonight north of the border. The Avs have won nine straight on the road, while the Canucks have lost four in a row overall and three of their last four on home ice. Still, this is a good spot for Vancouver to bust out of its slump.The Canucks are on an 8-0-2 run at the Rogers Arena coming off a home loss. They had won 11 of 12 overall at home before this little slump, and I like them to rediscover that form and make it four wins out of six at home against the Avalanche.Like Colorado, the Vegas Golden Knights are playing excellent lately too. They've won nine of their last 10 games, but only one of those victories has come on the road. That recent surge leads to an inflated Friday price on the Knights against the Winnipeg Jets, even though Vegas is below .500 on the road this season. The Jets, meanwhile, have won four straight at home, and they offer good value at this price.Friday bets:

Montreal Canadiens legend and Hall of Famer Henri Richard died Friday at the age of 84, the team announced.Richard played 20 seasons with the Canadiens, winning a remarkable 11 Stanley Cups - an NHL record for a player. He joined the Habs during the 1955-56 campaign and was on five consecutive championship-winning teams to begin his career.He served as Montreal's captain from 1971 to 1975, and the organization retired his No. 16 before Richard was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979. Richard finished his career with 1,046 points in 1,258 games.A four-time postseason All-Star and Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winner, Richard was the younger brother of fellow Canadiens legend Maurice "The Rocket" Richard.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly announced Wednesday that the 2020-21 salary cap is projected to be between $84 million and $88.2 million. Both ends of that range represent substantial increases from the current ceiling of $81.5 million.At the very least, NHL teams are looking at a $2.5-million increase, and a bump potentially as high as $6.7 million. Should the new ceiling fall right in the middle at $86.1 million, the $4.6-million jump will represent the league's biggest cap spike since 2011-12.Though all teams operate under the same ceiling, some clubs are better positioned to take advantage of the impending increase than others.For teams that recently locked up their core players, the contracts signed will look better and better as the cap rises. Conversely, clubs with multiple pending free agents will soon be forced to dish out more money than they would have if they'd signed their key players earlier.It's important to remember that general managers and player agents often approach contract negotiations by examining the cap percentage a team invests in a particular deal, rather than the cap hit itself. This makes it easier to compare contracts signed in different seasons.With all that said, let's examine the clubs that stand to gain the most from a cap bump, and those that will likely benefit the least.Teams that benefit mostToronto Maple LeafsAndrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star / GettyPerhaps it's due to their location at the "center of the hockey universe," but it often seems the Maple Leafs are the first club mentioned when discussing teams up against the cap. It's true Toronto is tight against the cap ceiling, but so are several other teams.The Maple Leafs already got their heavy lifting out of the way: Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander are all signed through at least 2023-24. Toronto doesn't have any key pending unrestricted free agents beyond Tyson Barrie, and its most important pending restricted free agent, Travis Dermott, likely won't be too expensive. Perhaps most importantly, the extra cap space - a minimum of $6.3 million - will help the Maple Leafs in their offseason search for defensive help.Washington CapitalsIcon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyWork will need to be done in the summer of 2021 when Alex Ovechkin (UFA) and Jakub Vrana (RFA) are in need of new contracts, but the Capitals have the rest of their core locked up.Nicklas Backstrom, who was set to become a UFA this summer, signed a five-year extension carrying a $9.2-million cap hit in January. Had Backstrom negotiated his new deal after the league announced the projected cap increase, he likely would've been able to collect a few more bucks.General manager Brian MacLellan also signed several members of the supporting cast to four-year deals this past summer. Those contracts - Carl Hagelin ($2.75M), Richard Panik ($2.75M), Garnet Hathaway ($1.5M), and Nick Jensen ($2.5M) - will be more team-friendly with the cap increase.With Braden Holtby's $6.1-million hit coming off the books on July 1 and in-house replacement Ilya Samsonov seemingly ready for a starter's role, even a conservative estimate leaves the Caps with close to $13 million in cap flexibility this summer.St. Louis BluesJeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / GettyThe Blues have the majority of their squad signed through next season. The one major piece currently missing from the equation is Alex Pietrangelo, a pending UFA.Re-signing Pietrangelo initially seemed like a long shot after GM Doug Armstrong traded for fellow right-handed defenseman Justin Faulk in September and inked him to a seven-year, $45-million extension. But while Pietrangelo can conceivably command more money in light of the cap increase, the extra space certainly boosts St. Louis' chances of re-signing its captain to some degree.The Blues project to have a minimum of $10.2 million in offseason cap space, with Vince Dunn the only key RFA set for a modest raise.Calgary FlamesTom Szczerbowski / Getty Images Sport / GettyThe bulk of the Flames' core is signed through at least the 2021-22 season, and most of the cap hits are already considered team-friendly within the league's current cap structure.The contracts of Johnny Gaudreau ($6.75M), Sean Monahan ($6.375M), Elias Lindholm ($4.85M), and Noah Hanifin ($4.95M) will soon look even better. Not to mention, general manager Brad Treliving already took care of business by inking Matthew Tkachuk to a three-year, $21-million bridge deal, and showed faith in 23-year-old blue-liner Rasmus Andersson with a six-year, $27.3-million pact that kicks in next season.Calgary has three pending RFAs, but the trio of Andrew Mangiapane, Mark Jankowski, and Oliver Kylington shouldn't break the bank. There are several UFAs on the blue line in TJ Brodie, Travis Hamonic, and deadline rentals Erik Gustafsson and Derek Forbort, but the Flames project to have a minimum of $19.4 million with which to work this summer. Calgary could conceivably make quality adds up front, on the back end, and in net.Vegas Golden KnightsEthan Miller / Getty Images Sport / GettyThe Golden Knights have a lot of money committed to their current roster, but very few holes to fill. Their seven best forwards and top five defensemen are all signed through at least next season.Vegas' biggest issue this season has been goaltending, as Father Time appears to be catching up to Marc-Andre Fleury. But the team acquired 2019 Vezina finalist Robin Lehner in a surprising move at the trade deadline, and it looks like he could be part of the solution down the stretch and into the playoffs. With the cap increase, Vegas will have at least $12.1 million in flexibility to bring back Lehner and reinforce the rest of the lineup with depth pieces.Teams that benefit leastBuffalo SabresKevin Sousa / National Hockey League / GettyThis cap increase couldn't be coming at a worse time for the Sabres. The club may have a minimum of $37 million in cap space this summer, but only four forwards - Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner, Kyle Okposo, and Marcus Johansson - are signed beyond this season.Buffalo has a long list of pending RFAs, too, including Sam Reinhart, Victor Olofsson, Dominik Kahun, Brandon Montour, Lawrence Pilut, and Linus Ullmark. GM Jason Botterill could've done himself some favors by signing at least a couple of those players to extensions before the 2019-20 campaign - especially Reinhart, who entered the season as an obvious member of the team's core.Botterill will also have to deal with the second contracts of young defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Henri Jokiharju when their entry-level pacts expire after next season. He'd be smart to try and hammer out some extensions this summer, but the cap increase means new deals won't come cheap.Ottawa SenatorsBruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / GettyTo say the Senators have been pinching pennies during their rebuild would be an understatement. Their projected cap hit of $74.4 million this season is the second-lowest in the league, while their estimated payroll is just $66.7 million. Ottawa has cleverly navigated its way to the cap floor by spending as little real money as possible.For example, the Senators acquired both Artem Anisimov and Nikita Zaitsev this past summer. Before Anisimov and Zaitsev arrived in Ottawa, their former teams (the Blackhawks and Maple Leafs, respectively) had already paid significant bonuses due to them. The Senators are now paying those players far less in actual salary than their cap hits would suggest, while those same cap hits help the team reach the floor.That said, Ottawa has just seven skaters and $41.8 million on the books for the 2020-21 campaign. The cap floor is typically set around $20 million below the ceiling, which means the Senators could have to dish out at least $25 million this summer just to reach the lower limit. That's hardly an ideal situation for an organization trying to spend as little as possible.New York IslandersMike Stobe / National Hockey League / GettyThere's an argument to be made that the cap spike helps the Islanders, who have most of their roster locked up moving forward. But the team must soon deal with three very key pending RFAs in Mathew Barzal, Ryan Pulock, and Devon Toews.Barzal is the club's best forward, and Pulock is the team's top blue-liner. They're also two of the best RFAs leaguewide this summer. They weren't going to come cheap either way, but the cap increase means both players can ask for more coin. Had these RFAs been extended earlier, they would almost certainly be under contract at lower cap percentages than they will be after this offseason.New York projects to have a minimum of $12.6 million in cap space this summer. But after dealing with the team's RFAs, GM Lou Lamoriello will have very little money left to upgrade his offense.(Salary cap data source: CapFriendly)Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The first three words out of David Quinn's mouth at his postgame press conference encapsulated Mika Zibanejad's memorable night to a tee.The New York Rangers head coach summarized his center's five-goal effort against the Washington Capitals with a brief but inarguable statement.

Mika Zibanejad had a night he'll never forget.The New York Rangers center scored five goals in Thursday's 6-5 win over the Washington Capitals, including the overtime winner.

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce underwent right-shoulder surgery and is expected to be sidelined for the next four-to-six months, the team announced Thursday.The 25-year-old was one of Carolina's key defenders this season, scoring four goals and adding 14 assists in 61 games while averaging 21:53 of ice time. He's in the second campaign of a six-year, $24.15-million contract signed in 2017.Injuries are piling up on the club's blue line. After losing Dougie Hamilton to a fractured fibula in January, the team acquired defensemen Brady Skjei and Sami Vatanen at the trade deadline to bolster its defense corps. Vatanen, who hasn't played since Feb. 1 due to a leg injury, suffered a setback in practice on Thursday and is looking at missing even more time, head coach Rod Brind'Amour said, according to The Athletic's Sara Civian.The Hurricanes currently sit three points behind the New York Islanders for the second wild-card spot in the East.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Philadelphia Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault announced Thursday that forward James van Riemsdyk could miss four-to-six weeks with a broken right index finger, according to NHL.com's Adam Kimelman.Vigneault added that JVR will get a second opinion on the injury.Van Riemsdyk suffered the ailment while blocking a shot in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals.

Brendan Shanahan isn't worried about the Toronto Maple Leafs' direction despite the criticism aimed at the club during its inconsistent season."I just see adversity differently," the team president said Thursday, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.It's been an up-and-down campaign for the Maple Leafs, who were pegged in the preseason as a Stanley Cup contender. Shanahan believes the pressure the team faces is a privilege."If we are lucky enough to be the kind of team that can compete and win Stanley Cups it will not be peaceful," Shanahan said. "It’ll be loud and noisy because the decisions are worth more and the small decisions, the small tweaks, will have a bigger impact on a bigger stage."Shanahan, who won three Stanley Cups while playing with the Detroit Red Wings, shared what he believes is the difference between teams that evolve into perennial Stanley Cup contenders and those that fall short."To me, one of the biggest separations between the elite teams and the good teams is consistency, and that’s something that we are definitely as a group trying to learn and develop," he said.The Maple Leafs own a five-point lead over the Florida Panthers for the third seed in the Atlantic Division entering Thursday's action.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.We settled for a 1-1 finish Wednesday with a pair of underdogs, but you took home a profit if you followed the trend of the night.A spectacular collapse from the Columbus Blue Jackets ruined what would have been a perfect 2-0, so hopefully, the betting gods get us back Thursday.GOATs and scapegoatsNick Schmaltz and Lawson Crouse scored 2:29 apart in the third period to lift the Arizona Coyotes past the Vancouver Canucks, just when it seemed we were in for more third-period heartbreak. Darcy Kuemper also made 36 saves, so he can share the honor with his two teammates.We needed that in a big way after Zach Werenski committed a brutal turnover behind his own net to gift the Calgary Flames a goal, kick-starting their comeback and eventual overtime win. Cheers for that, Zach.Thursday betsBuffalo Sabres (+145)You can't possibly feel comfortable laying -160 with the Pittsburgh Penguins right now. They've lost five straight on the road and are struggling to find their game, while the Sabres have ripped off four straight wins on home ice. This Buffalo team has been plagued by inconsistency all season but remains undervalued by oddsmakers and has proven a profitable side to back on home ice. The Penguins are just 2-6 on the road this season when favored by more than -120, with both of those wins coming against the Detroit Red Wings.Carolina Hurricanes (+120)The Philadelphia Flyers are on an absolute tear, and I love the look of this team, but this is a good spot to back the Hurricanes. The Flyers have won seven in a row but are 2-3 at home this season when playing without a night off, and 5-7 overall in the second leg of back-to-backs. This is also a letdown spot for them after a huge win in Washington on Wednesday, while the Hurricanes need this victory to keep up the wild-card raceCarolina has won four of its last six games in Philadelphia and is on a 6-1 run on the road when its opponent is playing on no rest and it's had at least a day between games. Trust the Hurricanes to hand the Flyers and Carter Hart a rare home loss tonight.Edmonton Oilers/Chicago Blackhawks under 6.5 (-110)There seems to be a perception that these are two high-scoring teams, yet that doesn't match reality. The Oilers are 10-3 to the under this season on the road when the total is set at 6.5, and the Blackhawks are 12-4 to the under on home ice in games with that same number. Chicago has limited opponents to two or fewer goals in five of its last six games, while Edmonton is on a 3-1 run to the under. The last six meetings between these teams in Chicago have gone under, while the last eight have seen fewer than 6.5 goals.Best betMinnesota Wild (-120)The Wild are on a 6-2 run, with their only losses coming against the Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues. They have won five straight on the road and clawed their way back into the thick of the playoff race, and would end the night in a wild-card spot with a win in San Jose. The Sharks have won three in a row at home, which is why we're getting the Wild at such a short price, but I'm not putting too much stock into wins over the New Jersey Devils, a struggling Penguins team, and a brutal performance by the Toronto Maple Leafs.Minnesota has won three of its last five visits to San Jose, against much better Sharks teams than this one. This is also a revenge spot for the Wild, who lost 2-0 at home to the Sharks on Feb. 15, sparking this impressive 6-2 run.Trend of the nightThe Montreal Canadiens have taken a 2-0 lead in each of their last five games, and seven of their last eight. They've been quick out of the gate but that intensity doesn't always last, as they've gone on to lose four of those seven contests.If you want to bet on the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, who have won five straight over the Habs in Florida and eight of nine against them overall, perhaps hold off and look to get them at plus-money should Montreal open the scoring. You can also look to bet that the team to score the first goal doesn't win the game at +180, as well as Montreal to score first at +130.Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Minnesota Wild forward Eric Staal won't join the club on its upcoming road trip due to a death in his family, the team announced Thursday.The Wild begin a three-game stint in California against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday before playing the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday and the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.Staal, 35, ranks second on the Wild in points (47) and third in goals (19) through 66 games this season. The veteran pivot tallied five points over his previous five contests.Minnesota has won six of its last eight outings and sits one point shy of a Western Conference wild-card berth entering Thursday's action.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New Jersey Devils defenseman Will Butcher underwent surgery to repair ruptured thumb ligaments from an injury he sustained Feb. 18, according to Devils reporter Amanda Stein. He is expected to make a full recovery in three-to-four months.Butcher finishes this season with four goals and 17 assists in 56 games. He recorded four goals and 26 assists in 78 contests last season, and five goals and 39 assists in 81 games the season before.The 25-year-old inked a three-year, $11.2-million contract with the Devils last summer. His injury timeline puts him on track to be ready for training camp in September.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin is considered day-to-day while recovering from a broken rib he suffered in a car accident on Feb. 23, the team announced Thursday.Shesterkin, 24, was a full participant during Thursday's skate and did not have any restrictions.Since joining the club in January, Shesterkin has authored a 9-1-0 record with a 2.23 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage to help the Rangers get back into the playoff race.The team has gone 2-3-0 since Shesterkin went down, however, while allowing 3.6 goals per game. Netminders Alexandar Georgiev and Henrik Lundqvist produced a combined .892 save percentage in those contests.New York sits four points back of the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth entering Thursday's action.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Only a few years removed from being perennial Stanley Cup contenders, the Los Angeles Kings and defenseman Drew Doughty find themselves at the bottom of the league's standings for the second consecutive season.Doughty said he's trying to keep a positive attitude while the club toils through the rebuilding process."It's very hard, but it's the position I'm in, and I gotta try to stay positive every day, as hard as it is," Doughty said Wednesday, per TSN. "Coming to the rink, trying to have fun, trying to help guys get better and help myself get better - it's a difficult process. But like I said, I'm in the position I'm in so I have to make the best of it and just try to get better every day, both as a team and individually."Doughty seemed slightly underwhelmed when asked if his team is beginning to turn a corner."I mean, yeah, 'cause we got a lot of picks, I guess, so (I'm) happy to see all that, get some prospects," Doughty said. "I guess a little bit. We've had flashes of seeing it getting better and then we go into a hole and get worse for a little bit so we need to stay consistent with it and keep running with it.""I'm getting there," Doughty added when pressed by a reporter if he's satisfied with the team's trajectory. "We're getting better, no doubt about it. ... We're going to have some good, young talent on this team and we need to build the team back up."Doughty, 30, has been a member of the Kings since being taken second overall in the 2008 draft. He helped the club take home two Stanley Cup victories in 2012 and 2014, and he also took home the Norris Trophy in 2016.The Kings shipped out a number of veteran players this season, including Alec Martinez and Tyler Toffoli, to load up on draft picks. They currently hold eight selections over the first four rounds of the 2020 draft and seven picks across the first four rounds in 2021.Doughty has appeared in 915 games with the Kings over his career, recording 117 goals and 382 assists. He's in the first year of an eight-year, $88-million contract extension that he signed in 2018.Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators fired CEO Jim Little less than two months after he was hired, the team announced Wednesday in a statement on Canada Newswire."The decision was made as a result of conduct inconsistent with the core values of the Ottawa Senators and the National Hockey League. Mr. Little's departure is effective immediately," the statement read.Little released a statement later Wednesday that attributed his dismissal to using "very strong language" in a phone argument with Senators owner Eugene Melnyk on Feb. 14. Little said they were discussing his approach to the job.

New York Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk needed 90 stitches to repair a cut to his face after being struck by a skate during Tuesday's game, general manager Lou Lamoriello announced Wednesday.Boychuk only suffered damage to his eyelid, not his eye, Lamoriello added. There is no timetable for his return, but Boychuk is expected to make a full recovery.The incident occurred in the third period of the Islanders' game against the Canadiens. Montreal forward Artturi Lehkonen fell to the ice in front of New York's goal and clipped Boychuk on the way down.