In the second edition of theScore's Calder Trophy Power Rankings, we spotlight four newcomers to the list, all of whom are still chasing down the runaway favorite out in Vancouver. You can read October's rankings here.5. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Montreal CanadiensFrancois Lacasse / National Hockey League / GettyPlaying center as an 18-year-old in the NHL is no easy feat, and Kotkaniemi's already established himself as a future pillar for hockey's most storied franchise.His production (12 points in 24 games) isn't setting any records, but he's only averaging 13 minutes per night. It's clear he's comfortable making plays at the highest level, and his hockey sense routinely creates positive results for his teammates. What's more, Kotkaniemi's five-on-five Corsi For percentage (55.89) ranks fifth on the Canadiens. It'll be intriguing to see if he's rewarded with an increased role as the Habs' surprising season progresses.4. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas StarsGlenn James / National Hockey League / GettyHeiskanen is full steam ahead in his rookie season, leading all freshman skaters by averaging 22:46 per contest - a mark that also ranks third on the Stars.John Klingberg's injury has elevated Heiskanen's role to top-pairing duties, and the 19-year-old hardly looks out of place. He's notched 10 points in 24 contests and ranks third among all rookies with 47 shots on goal.Heiskanen possess both the speed and the skating ability to jump into the rush and then seamlessly get back on defense. It's only a matter of time until he blossoms into one of the league's top blue-liners.3. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo SabresBill Wippert / National Hockey League / GettyAlthough Buffalo has impressed as a team overall, Dahlin's contributions to the red-hot Sabres can't go unnoticed.The 2018 No. 1 overall pick is tied for second in rookie scoring with 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) through 24 games, and regularly displays his generational instincts with dazzling rushes, passes, and scoring chances. Dahlin is also one of two Sabres defensemen on the positive side of the team's shot share at five-on-five (51.89 percent), and he has a plus-5 plus-minus rating.His start may be quieter than initially expected, but Dahlin is living up to the hype in his first taste of NHL action.2. Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa SenatorsAndre Ringuette / National Hockey League / GettyTkachuk might've surpassed Elias Pettersson in these rankings if it weren't for a nine-game injury absence, but the No. 2 spot will have to suffice for now.In only 13 contests, Tkachuk ranks second among Calder candidates with seven tallies, adding six assists in the process. He plays a likable, hard-nosed style that leads to plenty of goals from in tight, and his early presence is making Ottawa's decision to forfeit their 2019 first-round pick in favor of drafting Tkachuk look more justifiable each game.He's got quite a personality, too:

The latest candidate in the Philadelphia Flyers' search for a new general manager is Buffalo Sabres assistant GM Steve Greeley, reports TSN's Frank Seravalli.Greeley is in his second season with the Sabres after spending two years as assistant director of player personnel with the New York Rangers. The 38-year-old was considered for the Carolina Hurricanes' GM opening earlier this year before the job went to Don Waddell.The Flyers haven't asked the Sabres for permission to talk to Greeley yet, according to Seravalli.Initial reports indicated Philadelphia is also considering former Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher and former Hurricanes GM Ron Francis.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Ron Francis and Chuck Fletcher are reportedly among the early candidates to replace the recently fired Ron Hextall as general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.Francis served as director of hockey operations for the Carolina Hurricanes starting in 2011 before becoming the team's general manager in 2014. His contract was terminated this past April.During his tenure in Carolina, Francis oversaw several draft-day steals including Jaccob Slavin (fourth round, 2012), Brett Pesce (third round, 2013), and Sebastian Aho (second round, 2015).Fletcher, the son of legendary NHL executive Cliff Fletcher, was the general manager of the Minnesota Wild for nearly a decade from 2009 until his dismissal in April.He too has a fairly successful draft history, but his most notable move was signing Ryan Suter and Zach Parise to identical 13-year, $98-million contracts on July 4, 2012.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Montreal Canadiens placed defenseman Karl Alzner on waivers Monday, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.Alzner signed a five-year, $23.125-million contract with the Canadiens on July 1, 2017. Shea Weber could make his season debut Tuesday, so a roster spot and cap room needed to be cleared.The 30-year-old blue-liner has been in and out of the lineup this season, picking up one assist in eight games. Last season he tallied 12 points in 82 contests for the Habs.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Every Monday, theScore will offer a weekly fantasy hockey column detailing five moves you should make. Ownership percentages and position eligibility are courtesy of Yahoo.Drop Ilya KovalchukTeam: Kings

The Philadelphia Flyers fired executive vice president and general manager Ron Hextall on Monday, the team announced.Flyers president Paul Holmgren cited philosophical differences as the main reason for the decision."We thank Ron for his many significant contributions, but it has become clear that we no longer share the same philosophical approach concerning the direction of the team," Holmgren said in a statement. "... We feel it's in the organization's best interests to make a change, effective immediately. I have already begun a process to identify and select our next general manager."The Flyers sit fourth-last in the Eastern Conference and have allowed the third-most goals against in the league.Hextall, a former netminder, was unable to address the club's goaltending woes. Brian Elliott (14 games), Calvin Pickard (11 games), Anthony Stolarz, Alex Lyon, and Michal Neuvirth (one game apiece) have combined for an .887 save percentage and a 3.35 goals-against average this season.Hextall remained loyal to head coach Dave Hakstol, despite "Fire Hakstol!" chants last season and the team's poor start to the 2018-19 campaign.Hextall had been Flyers GM since May 7, 2014. Philadelphia made the playoffs twice during his tenure but the team was ousted in the first round each time.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

This is the fifth edition of theScore's 2018-19 NHL Power Rankings, which will be published every two weeks during the regular season. It was compiled by editors Craig Hagerman and Cory Wilkins.1. Buffalo Sabres (16-6-2) ▲Don't look now, but the Sabres are in first place in the NHL. It might be hard to process, but there's no denying that the club has been playing lights out as of late. Carter Hutton has been a rock, meanwhile, Jeff Skinner trails only Patrik Laine with 18 goals on the year. - HagermanPreviously: 10th2. Tampa Bay Lightning (17-6-1)The Lightning continue to roll despite losing Andrei Vasilevskiy for the foreseeable future. Louis Domingue has been able to hold down the fort, and after a slightly slow start, Nikita Kucherov is hitting his stride with 14 points in his last six games. - HagermanPreviously: 2nd3. Nashville Predators (17-6-1) ▼Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyThe Predators have had a tough two-week stretch, but they still managed to top the Lightning and sit tied for top spot in the NHL. All of the success comes despite P.K. Subban and Viktor Arvidsson being sidelined with injuries. Pekka Rinne is also looking like he could repeat as the Vezina Trophy winner. - HagermanPreviously: 1st4. Toronto Maple Leafs (16-8-0)The Maple Leafs hit a minor blip with back-to-back losses against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes but struck back with a commanding win over the Philadelphia Flyers. They recently swept their California road trip and when/if they get Auston Matthews and William Nylander back, they'll be a real force. - HagermanPreviously: 4th5. Washington Capitals (13-7-3) ▲The Capitals have been dealt a bad hand with injuries to T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov but are piling up wins regardless. The club has rattled off five straight victories and, hate him or not, Tom Wilson has been a force since returning from suspension. - HagermanPreviously: 16th6. Colorado Avalanche (13-6-4) ▲Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon can't be stopped - they sit first and second in league scoring, respectively. Alongside Gabriel Landeskog, the trio has combined for 99 points in 23 games. The club has rattled off four straight wins, with Rantanen and MacKinnon posting 18 points combined over that span. - HagermanPreviously: 21st7. Winnipeg Jets (13-7-2) ▼Patrik Laine has scored a ridiculous 11 goals in his last five games, capped off by his five-goal onslaught against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. The Jets have played slightly over a .500 clip the last couple weeks, but remain in good shape in the West. - HagermanPreviously: 6th8. Columbus Blue Jackets (13-8-2) ▲Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyNext to Laine, the league's hottest goal-scorer is Cam Atkinson. The Blue Jackets forward has scored in seven straight games with nine goals total over that stretch. Meanwhile, the club trails the Metropolitan-leading Capitals by just a single point. - HagermanPreviously: 14th9. Calgary Flames (14-9-1) ▼The Flames had two five-goal first periods this past week. Matthew Tkachuck has led the way of late with five goals and eight points in his last six games. David Rittich, on the other hand, looks to be making a case for the club's starter role. - HagermanPreviously: 5th10. Boston Bruins (13-6-4) ▼Injuries, injuries, and more injuries have plagued the Bruins of late. Patrice Bergeron is the latest to hit the IR and will be out roughly a month. Still, the club has gone 3-0-1 in its last four games and remains in the hunt for top spot in the Atlantic Division. - HagermanPreviously: 7th11. Minnesota Wild (14-7-2) ▼The Wild have gone 3-3-0 in their last six games, and Matt Dumba has been a stud posting nine points over that span. Devan Dubnyk, on the other hand, is in the midst of a minor slide, having posted a 3.63 goals-against average and a .878 save percentage in four games. Nevertheless, the club sits second in the Central. - HagermanPreviously: 3rd12. New York Rangers (12-10-2) ▲Although the Rangers have lost two straight games, the team has still had a mighty November going 8-3-1. Henrik Lundqvist has been strong in goal, while sophomore defenseman Neal Pionk is quickly making a name for himself. - HagermanPreviously: 13th13. New York Islanders (12-8-2) ▲Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyThe Islanders' offense has been working overdrive the last couple weeks. The team has gone 4-2-0, scoring four or more goals in each of the victories. The downside is that, in those six games, the team has an even goal differential. - HagermanPreviously: 25th14. Vegas Golden Knights (12-12-1) ▲The Golden Knights are finally starting to look like the club that reached the Stanley Cup Final last season. The team has gone 5-2-0 in their last seven games, Marc-Andre Fleury has posted back-to-back shutouts, Max Pacioretty has suddenly posted six goals in five games, and Nate Schmidt's return has provided a huge boost to their back end. - HagermanPreviously: 27th15. Carolina Hurricanes (11-9-3)▲The Hurricanes remain the Corsi leaders of the NHL. The club had a strong two weeks going 4-2-0, including a 5-2 win over the Maple Leafs. Between the pipes, Curtis McElhinney looks to, at least momentarily, be taking over. The netminder has gone 3-0-0 with a .960 save percentage and a 1.33 goals-against average this past week. - HagermanPreviously: 19th16. Anaheim Ducks (10-10-5) ▲The Ducks struggle to score - only the Coyotes and Kings have fewer goals - but have managed to stay in the thick of things in the woeful Pacific. John Gibson is unquestionably the team's MVP, but accolades are also due to captain Ryan Getzlaf, who is heating up offensively. - WilkinsPreviously: 28th17. San Jose Sharks (12-8-4) ▼After a slow start to the season, big-ticket addition Erik Karlsson is showing signs of life after picking up eight points in his last six outings. There's also Aaron Dell, who pieced together back-to-back shutouts, temporarily stealing the net from starter Martin Jones before getting lit up by the Golden Knights. - WilkinsPreviously: 15th18. Dallas Stars (12-10-2) ▼Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyIt's been a lukewarm month for the Stars, as the team has been able to find the win column but hasn't strung together more than two consecutive victories through November. Backup netminder Anton Khudobin has struggled in fill-in duty with starter Ben Bishop on the shelf. - WilkinsPreviously: 12th19. Detroit Red Wings (10-10-3) ▲After winning just one of their first 10 games, the Red Wings have climbed to .500 led by young talents Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou. Starter Jimmy Howard has also had a strong season. The pending free agent could be an intriguing chip come the trade deadline. - WilkinsPreviously: 22nd20. Montreal Canadiens (11-8-5) ▼The thinking was, for the Canadiens to have a chance this season, it'd be up to Carey Price. Quite the opposite has happened, as the star netminder has struggled, while the team's historically anemic offense is scoring in spades thanks in part to new faces like Max Domi and Tomas Tatar. - WilkinsPreviously: 9th21. New Jersey Devils (9-10-3) ▲Keith Kinkaid was only supposed to hold down the fort in the absence of Cory Schneider. However, the starter has struggled mightily, as he's winless in six games since returning from offseason hip surgery. The Devils also need more from last year's standouts Will Butcher and Miles Wood. - WilkinsPreviously: 29th22. Pittsburgh Penguins (9-8-5) ▼Joe Sargent / National Hockey League / GettyGeneral manager Jim Rutherford has mentioned that drastic changes will come if things don't improve, but since making those claims, the Penguins have responded. Tanner Pearson looks like a savvy addition with four points in six games since his arrival. - WilkinsPreviously: 17th23. Chicago Blackhawks (9-10-5) ▲The post-Joel Quenneville era is underway, as new bench boss Jeremy Colliton has guided his team to a 3-4-2 showing since coming aboard. The most impressive turnaround since the change may be from forward Brandon Saad, who has picked up five points in his last five appearances. - WilkinsPreviously: 30th24. Edmonton Oilers (10-11-2) ▼It's now up to Ken Hitchcock, the Oilers' eighth coach in the last nine years, to right the ship in Edmonton. While the early results have been a mixed bag, the 66-year-old brings structure, a winning record, and a veteran voice that could help heal what ails much of the Oilers. - WilkinsPreviously: 20th25. Philadelphia Flyers (10-11-2) ▼The Flyers' goaltending situation is almost unimaginable. Michal Neuvirth is already injured, Brian Elliott is out with a lower-body ailment, and an illness to Alex Lyon has the team reaching deep into its depth chart. However, the team got some good news on the injury front when James van Riemsdyk made his season debut earlier this month. - WilkinsPreviously: 11th26. Florida Panthers (8-9-4) ▼Roberto Luongo's health has to be of concern to the Panthers. The 39-year-old was back in the lineup for just eight games before another freak injury removed him from the crease. An even bigger concern is backup James Reimer's inability to produce in his absence. - WilkinsPreviously: 23rd27. Arizona Coyotes (9-11-2) ▼Christian Petersen / Getty Images Sport / GettyYou can't win if you can't score, and that's been the story far too often this season for Arizona. The Coyotes have scored more than one goal just twice over their last six games, and they'll be banking on Nick Schmaltz adding some offense after parting ways with Brendan Perlini and Dylan Strome. - WilkinsPreviously: 26th28. Ottawa Senators (9-11-3) ▼Matt Duchene is on fire with 17 points in his last nine outings and is on pace to smash his career high by more than 30 points. If he can keep it up, and if the Senators can get his signature on an extension, moving their first-rounder for the 27-year-old may not look so bad after all. - WilkinsPreviously: 24th29. Vancouver Canucks (11-13-2) ▼A strong start to the season looks like a mirage after the Canucks went winless in eight straight before coming up with a victory against the hapless Kings. The good news is rookie sensation Elias Pettersson has given Vancouver fans a reason to tune in with three more goals in his last five games. - WilkinsPreviously: 8th30. St. Louis Blues (8-11-3) ▼A coaching change has seemingly done little to spark the struggling Blues, as the club has won just once since dismissing Mike Yeo. Many players have failed to live up to expectations after the team's summer makeover, but Ryan O'Reilly, with five points in his past six, isn't one of them. - WilkinsPreviously: 18th31. Los Angeles Kings (8-14-1)Evidently, the problem wasn't behind the bench, as the Kings haven't seen any improvement since swapping out John Stevens for Willie Desjardins. The club owns just three wins in nine games since the coaching change. Of course, the injury bug picking apart the Kings' crease isn't helping matters. - WilkinsPreviously: 31stCopyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Arizona Coyotes announced Sunday that the team has dealt forwards Brendan Perlini and Dylan Strome to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for center Nick Schmaltz.The moves sees the Coyotes part with their top picks in the 2014 and 2015 entry drafts in Perlini and Strome, respectively.Perlini was in his third season with the Coyotes. Through 22 games this year, he's tallied two goals and four assists.Arizona drafted Strome third overall in 2015, behind Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, and one spot ahead of Mitch Marner, who went to the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 20 appearances this season, Strome has recorded three goals and three assists.Schmaltz comes to the Coyotes after collecting 11 points in 23 games this season, good for fifth in team scoring with the Blackhawks. He finished last campaign with 52 points in 78 games.The move marks the latest deal between the Coyotes and Blackhawks following recent trades involving Vinnie Hinostroza, Richard Panik, and Niklas Hjalmarsson, among others.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters was briefly forced to leave Sunday's game against the Arizona Coyotes after being struck in the face by a puck early in the second period.The incident occurred when the Coyotes attempted to clear the puck from their own end.

Christopher Haley of Winnipeg just became Patrik Laine's biggest fan.Haley entered the Sobeys/Safeway Million Dollar Score & Win contest and thanks to Laine, who recorded the first five-goal game in seven years in the Jets' 8-4 win over the St. Louis Blues, took home the grand prize of $1 million.It didn't end there though, as Haley also took home $100,000 for Laine's fourth goal and $1,000 in gift cards for his hat trick goal.

The Nashville Predators placed forward Kyle Turris on injured reserve Sunday.In response to the injury, the club has recalled forward Rocco Grimaldi from the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League.Turris suffered an undisclosed injury in Friday's 6-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues after he was hit into the boards by Brayden Schenn in the first period.The designation means the 29-year-old will miss at least the next three games against the Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, and Arizona Coyotes.Turris has had a solid start to the 2018-19 campaign, posting five goals and 16 points in 23 games.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane and head coach Peter DeBoer were ejected from Saturday's game against the Vegas Golden Knights.Shortly after emerging from the penalty box, Kane caught Tomas Nosek with a low hit in the second period.

Patrik Laine's five-goal outburst versus the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night will go down in the annals of NHL history, and the superstar's efforts were not lost on Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice."To be honest with you, I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner," Maurice told reporters following the 8-4 win. "I think I said that once and I (try to) keep it to myself, but on the nights that he's scored his three, he's had his chances to get so much more."Some of those goals you just gotta sit back and smile if you're standing on the right bench."Laine's legendary performance marked his third hat-trick of November and launched him into first place in the league's goal-scoring race with 19 through 22 games. He's the first player since Johan Franzen in 2011 to record five goals in a single game, and now sits at 99 for his young career, putting him on the precipice of becoming the seventh player in NHL history to hit the century mark before turning 21, per NHL Public Relations.Despite stealing the show with a career night, Laine insists nothing extraordinary was going through his mind in the process."Just try to score and try not to celly so hard," he said.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The most beloved character in the hockey world made a surprise social call Friday night.Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers' uber-popular new mascot, crashed a local wedding reception, entering in style before busting a few moves.

Jesse Puljujarvi will get his first taste of Ken Hitchcock on Sunday.The Edmonton Oilers recalled the 20-year-old on Saturday ahead of a clash against the Los Angeles Kings. Puljujarvi returns to the club after a stint with the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League in which he posted two goals and two assists in four games.Sunday's contest will be Puljujarvi's first since the club dismissed former head coach Todd McLellan.

Roberto Luongo left Friday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes after sprawling out in a failed effort to prevent a goal late in the first period.The Florida Panthers later ruled him out for the remainder of the contest with what the club classified as a lower-body injury, and The Athletic's George Richards reported that the veteran goaltender is day to day.Panthers head coach Bob Boughner confirmed Luongo's status Saturday, according to Richards.Luongo departed after allowing Jordan Martinook's marker with about 38 seconds remaining in the opening frame.James Reimer replaced him in the Panthers' crease.Luongo was playing his ninth game of the season after missing time earlier in the campaign with a knee injury suffered in Florida's season opener.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist is sidelined with a concussion, head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed Saturday.Hornqvist suffered the injury in the second period of Friday's contest against the Boston Bruins and didn't return.Across 21 contests this season, Hornqvist has picked up nine goals and six assists.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Anaheim Ducks are returning forward Maxime Comtois to the Drummondville Voltigeurs, the QMJHL club announced Saturday.Comtois had been on a conditioning stint with the AHL's San Diego Gulls since Nov. 12. He opened the season with the Ducks and notched seven points in 10 games.Due to his age and CHL status, he's not permitted to remain in the AHL for more than the 14-day conditioning period, so he had to be recalled to Anaheim or reassigned to junior by Monday.Comtois potted one goal in four games while rehabbing with the Gulls. He last played at the NHL level on Oct. 23 in the Ducks' 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.The 19-year-old spent three years in the QMJHL with the Victoriaville Tigres, racking up 44 goals and 85 points in 54 games last season.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Vancouver Canucks forward Antoine Roussel has been fined $5,000 for biting San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced on Saturday.The incident occurred toward the conclusion of Friday's 4-0 Sharks win when Vlasic and Roussel engaged in some minor fisticuffs. After the game, Vlasic said Roussel bit him during the scuffle, according to The Athletic's Kevin Kurz, who added that the defenseman also showed him the mark on his hand.The video shows Roussel biting as Vlasic grabs at him.

Former NHL referee Michael "Mick" McGeough died late Friday night after being taken off life support following a stroke, his son Luke announced.

All good things must come to an end.On Friday, for the first time in 18 games, Florida Panthers forward Mike Hoffman failed to pick up a point. Over that stretch, dating back to Oct. 13, Hoffman collected 10 goals and 10 assists.The 28-year-old wasn't without his chances, as he put four pucks on Carolina Hurricanes netminder Curtis McElhinney, only to have each shot turned aside.Acquired in an offseason deal with the San Jose Sharks, Hoffman's had an instant impact in Florida, as he leads all Panthers in scoring, one point ahead of teammates Keith Yandle and Evgenii Dadonov, both of whom have 19 on the season.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Joe Thornton continued his ascent up the all-time leaderboards Friday night, moving past Mario Lemieux for the 11th-most helpers in NHL history.The San Jose Sharks forward set up Timo Meier's power-play goal with nine seconds left in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks.It was Thornton's 1,034th career assist, and he accomplished the feat in his 1,507th career game. Lemieux required only 915 contests to collect his 1,033.Next up for "Jumbo Joe" is Marcel Dionne, who notched 1,040 in 1,348 games.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Tiger Woods gave a nod to the Las Vegas faithful with his shoe selection for his match against Phil Mickelson on Friday, saying his gold-accented kicks are a tribute to the NHL's Golden Knights.

Paul Fenton woke up on Friday with virtually the same Minnesota Wild roster he inherited six months ago.For a rookie general manager tasked with elevating a very-good-but-not-great club to new heights, it might seem like he's sleeping on the job. But the relative inactivity is no fluke.Instead of reconstructing the depth chart, Fenton is exercising restraint through American Thanksgiving - and the Wild are doing just fine despite the lack of moves, holding down second place in the Central Division with a 13-7-2 record and a plus-10 goal differential.“We were very satisfied, to be honest," Fenton told theScore earlier this week, recalling his headspace following a quiet first offseason at the helm. "You look at this team, it had success to make the playoffs the last six years.“For me to come in and automatically look at something and say, ‘I’ve got to change this’ or ‘I’ve got to change that’ - that wasn’t my strategy. I guess, by nature, you think you’ve got to do something, but the patience part was probably the best play that we had.”Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesTypically, six months is a short window for a new GM to make a major impact on a franchise. As the person in charge, you want to save your desperate measures for desperate times. Then again, Minnesota's situation is atypical.The Wild haven't advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 2003, most recently dropping the opening series in back-to-back years to start Bruce Boudreau's tenure behind the bench. Over Boudreau's two-plus years in Minnesota, only three teams have won more often in the regular season - the Washington Capitals, Nashville Predators, and Tampa Bay Lightning.The knock on Minnesota for a number of years (really, since Marian Gaborik left a decade ago) has been the lack of legitimate high-end talent, the type of players capable of breaking a game or a series open. Washington, Nashville, and Tampa all have those players - as do several other contenders for the Stanley Cup.But Fenton, who spent 19 years working under Predators GM David Poile before replacing Chuck Fletcher in Saint Paul this past spring, isn't buying it. He disagrees with the notion that a team needs a superstar to win a Cup.“Yes, I do, to be honest,” he said. “You look at the balance. Balance is the key. We have what arguably is as good a two lines (as anywhere). Two lines that are going to be productive going forward here. We’ve got a third line that is able to put points on the board. And our fourth line just seems to generate chances. Maybe they haven’t had the success, or the points, but they’ve spent the majority of the time playing in the offensive zone. When you have that, you’re eventually going to find success.”The Vegas Golden Knights were three wins away from a championship last June, so it's hard to argue with Fenton - especially with seven Wild players on pace for 50-plus points heading into Friday night's game against the Winnipeg Jets:SKATERGAMESPOINTSPACEMikael Granlund222282Zach Parise211973Mikko Koivu211973Ryan Suter211763Eric Staal211662Jason Zucker221556Matt Dumba221556However, the Wild also have the oldest roster in the NHL, according to Hockey-Reference.com. The hopeful arrival of Russian stud Kirill Kaprizov - "when he’s done with his (KHL) contract, we’re hoping to have him over," Fenton said - and development of goalie Kaapo Kahkonen might curb that problem. Until then, the clock is ticking on Minnesota's core.Key forwards Mikko Koivu, Eric Staal, and Zach Parise, No. 1 defenseman Ryan Suter, and starting goalie Devan Dubnyk are all between the ages of 32 and 35, and they'll earn $28.4 million in combined salary in 2018-19. That means five of Boudreau's top 10 weapons are on the wrong side of their career arcs.Fenton could have altered the trajectory of his roster this offseason by pivoting to youth in some other fashion to put his stamp on the organization. Instead, he opted to take care of smaller business, inking Jason Zucker and Matt Dumba to long-term extensions and bringing in depth pieces like third-pairing defenseman Greg Pateryn and fourth-line center Eric Fehr.Now 22 games into the season, Fenton has made only two minor trades during his tenure - one on Oct. 3 and the other on Wednesday, both involving non-NHLers. That older core, and particularly Dubnyk, Suter, and the oft-injured Parise, have been the least of his worries.“Zach is back to playing like he was playing when he broke into the league," Fenton said of Parise. "He’s got great energy, great passion around the net - that’s the biggest thing. I was talking to him (recently) about eight feet in - that’s his game."When he’s on his game, he’s quick to loose pucks, he’s tipping pucks, he’s able to create chances, he scores off the rush when he has an opportunity to do so. Whenever he can generate quick retrievals of pucks, it seems like our team as a whole plays better.”Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyBoudreau’s previous Wild teams excelled at suppressing scoring chances, hung around the top 10 in goals for and against, and boasted quality special teams. The 2018-19 squad is checking off all the same boxes, and some fresh talent, namely 21-year-old rookie Jordan Greenway, is contributing."He’s so big, he’s evasive, he’s strong," Fenton said of the power forward who scored his third NHL goal in a 6-4 win over Ottawa on Wednesday. "He can battle pucks to the net, he can make plays. He’s starting to shoot the puck more and it’s only a matter of time until he gets the results we think he’s capable of.”Disrupting Boudreau's group might have been the power move, but Fenton's no-panic approach has paid dividends. Winning puts everybody's mind at ease, and so far the same old Wild look mighty dangerous.But don’t mistake the new guy's patience for complacency.“You’re always looking," Fenton said. "You’re always looking to improve your team and if it’s making a big splash, then you weigh the pluses and the minuses and you try to say, ‘If this is going to help our team, I’m going to do something.’ It isn’t like you don’t explore something (new) every day.""That’s how I look at it."John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators' plans for a new downtown arena will need to come via a different path.Capital Sports Management, which is led by Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, is suing Trinity Group, its partner in the redevelopment of downtown Ottawa neighborhood LeBreton Flats, the team announced Friday. The suit claims a conflict of interest caused the venture to fail.The lawsuit is for $700 million, according to Shaamini Yogaretnam of the Ottawa Citizen. John Ruddy, Graham Bird Associates, and Graham Bird are also named in the suit.The Senators and Trinity Group told the National Capital Commission that they've "not been able to resolve their internal partnership issues," NCC board members heard during a public meeting Thursday.During the meeting, the NCC said it would give the Senators and Trinity Group until their next meeting in January to resolve these problems before the board begins looking for other groups to take over the project.Commencing legal proceedings is perhaps not what the NCC had in mind."The two companies were not able to finalize a master development agreement that would have resulted in the construction of a new sports and entertainment arena, as well as a mix of residential, retail, commercial, and hotel properties in Ottawa's downtown core," the Senators release states. "... A number of breaches, all arising out of a conflict of interest ... directly resulted in the failure of the partnership."According to the lawsuit, Trinity Group executive chairman Ruddy started developing a housing property on a nearby street, which put that development in "direct competition" with LeBreton, Yogaretnam adds."Ruddy and Trinity misused confidential inside information about the LeBreton Project and abused the trust (Capital Sports Management) had placed in them," the lawsuit states, according to Yogaretnam.The NCC said it knew in the planning stage of the project that having one side work alone on the redevelopment would not be possible.Following Thursday's meeting, Ottawa mayor Jim Watson voiced his frustration over the "challenging" relationship between Melnyk and Ruddy, saying the two must "get their acts together.""We have given the partners one last time to come together," said Watson, a non-voting member of the NCC.Driving from downtown Ottawa to the Senators' current arena - Canadian Tire Centre in suburban Kanata, Ontario - can take up to 45 minutes during rush hour.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Former NHL referee Michael "Mick" McGeough will be taken off life support, his family stated on a GoFundMe page.McGeough was taken to a hospital in Regina on Sunday with the early signs of a stroke, and his condition worsened while waiting for tests. He met with a neurosurgeon in Saskatoon to see if clots in the back of his brain could be removed. Unfortunately, the damage caused by the stroke was irreversible.The 62-year-old has now returned to Regina to be with his family.McGeough officiated 1,083 games during his career and another 63 playoff games, including the 2006 Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New Jersey Devils will get a boost to their lineup on Friday afternoon.Defenseman Sami Vatanen and forward Brian Boyle were activated off injured reserve and will be in the lineup against the New York Islanders.Vatanen had missed the past three games with a lower-body injury and Boyle was sidelined the previous five contests with an upper-body injury.In 17 games this season, Vatanen has one goal and seven points, while Boyle is tied for fourth on the club with six goals in 15 games.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Former NHL general manager and current Sportsnet analyst Brian Burke isn't a fan of the Carolina Hurricanes' post-win surge.After every home victory this season, the Hurricanes have performed some variation of this celebration:

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock believes William Nylander will sign with the club before it's too late.Nylander and the Maple Leafs remain locked in a contract stalemate. The restricted free agent has until Dec. 1 to sign a new deal or he'll be forced to sit out the remainder of the 2018-19 campaign. But Babcock thinks the 22-year-old's love of the game will lead him back to the Maple Leafs."I'm confident, hopeful," Babcock said, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. "I mean Willy loves hockey. I know Willy good - he's a great teammate and a good person - and he loves hockey. He wants to play hockey. So I'm betting on that. How's that?"Many took notice at Thursday's practice when Babcock quipped: "We have significant pieces not here and they will be here." Those "pieces" were believed to be Auston Matthews, who remains sidelined with a shoulder injury, and Nylander.Despite missing Nylander for all 22 games and Matthews for the past 11, the Maple Leafs sit just one point back of the Tampa Bay Lightning for top spot in the Eastern Conference.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The St. Louis Blues placed forward Jaden Schwartz on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, the team announced Friday.In a corresponding move, forward Pat Maroon has been activated off injured reserve.Schwartz has been out of the lineup since Nov. 16. He's off to a slow start this season by his standards, picking up just two goals and seven assists in 15 games.Maroon, a St. Louis native, inked a one-year deal with the Blues this offseason. He's goalless on the campaign but has tallied seven assists in 14 contests.The 7-10-3 Blues take on the league-leading Nashville Predators on Friday.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Mike Babcock raised some eyebrows on Thursday when asked to assess his team so far this season."Obviously (I'm) ecstatic," the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach told reporters, including TSN's Mark Masters. "Any way you look at it, we've (gotten) off to a good start. We think our team's going to get better. We have significant pieces not here and they will be here."That may have simply been optimism, or just a prediction rather than an update. Either way, Babcock was clearly referring to holdout William Nylander and the injured Auston Matthews."So we'll be a deeper team (with them), but in the meantime, we've been allowed to grow players and create depth in (our) organization, which is important," the bench boss added.Nylander and the Leafs have until Dec. 1 to resolve their stalemate before the forward is forced to miss the rest of the season. The 22-year-old has yet to report because he doesn't have a contract.Toronto is comfortable going without Nylander for the entire campaign if no deal is reached by the deadline, as Sportsnet's Chris Johnston reported on Saturday.Matthews, meanwhile, has been out since Oct. 27 with a shoulder injury.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators have dealt defenseman Chris Wideman to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a sixth-round selection in the 2020 draft.The pick was previously acquired by the Oilers from the St. Louis Blues in the deal for blue-liner Jakub Jerabek on Oct. 1.Wideman ranked seventh in average ice time among Ottawa blue-liners in 2018-19. He ultimately lost minutes to Thomas Chabot, Maxime Lajoie, Dylan DeMelo, and Ben Harpur - all younger players on the back end.He collected five points in 19 games with the Senators this season and spent all three of his previous campaigns with Ottawa, which drafted him 100th overall in 2009.The 28-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent who signed a one-year, $1-million contract with the Senators this past June.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The clock is ticking for the Ottawa Senators to move forward on their plan for a new downtown arena.The Senators and Trinity Group - the team's partner in the prospective redevelopment of downtown neighborhood LeBreton Flats - told the National Capital Commission earlier this month that they've "not been able to resolve their internal partnership issues," NCC board members heard during a public meeting Thursday, according to CBC.Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, a non-voting member of the NCC board, called the development "disappointing" and said the Senators and Trinity Group must "get their acts together."Senators owner Eugene Melnyk implied Thursday that his goal hasn't changed."We've championed a downtown sports and entertainment arena and this important civic project since initiating our proposal in 2014. We continue to be committed to making our vision a reality," he said in a statement, according to The Athletic's Chris Stevenson.The NCC announced on Jan. 25 that it signed an agreement in principle with RendezVous LeBreton - whose main partners are Melnyk and Trinity executive chairman John Ruddy - for the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats, where the hockey team wants to build a new arena.On Thursday, the NCC said it will give the Senators and Trinity Group until their next meeting in January to resolve their problems. Otherwise, the board will begin looking for other groups to take over the project."We have given the partners one last time to come together," Watson said, adding that the relationship between Melnyk and Ruddy is "challenging."The NCC also said it knew in the planning stage that having one side work alone on the redevelopment would not be possible.The Senators currently play at Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, Ontario, which is located about 25 minutes west of downtown Ottawa. However, that travel time can extend to 45 minutes during rush hour, and the location's hurt the team's attendance over the years.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Kristian Vesalainen is heading back to Finland.The Winnipeg Jets are sending the 19-year-old forward from the AHL's Manitoba Moose to Finnish KHL club Jokerit, the team announced Thursday.Vesalainen played the first five games of the season with the Jets before being sent down to Manitoba. Winnipeg recalled the winger on Nov. 16 and reassigned him Nov. 20.An out clause in Vesalainen's contract allowing him to leave for Europe kicked in Saturday. Jokerit acquired his KHL rights in a trade with SKA St. Petersburg on Nov. 15.The 24th overall pick in last year's draft produced eight points in eight AHL games and added one assist in his first five NHL contests.Vesalainen will be eligible to return to the Jets once the KHL season concludes in April.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray will be out "longer-term" due to a lower-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday.Murray has been placed on injured reserve, the team announced."This was not something that we expected," said Sullivan, according to Josh Getzoff of PensTV. Sullivan added Murray has been dealing with the ailment for "a couple of weeks."The two-time Stanley Cup champion has struggled to keep the puck out of his net this season, sporting an .877 save percentage and a 4.08 goals-against average in 11 games.Casey DeSmith has been the more effective goalie for the Penguins with a .924 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average through 13 appearances.Pittsburgh has recalled Tristan Jarry from the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on an emergency basis.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Montreal Canadiens' blue line could get a big boost next week, as Shea Weber might make his season debut on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, head coach Claude Julien said Thursday.Weber hasn't played since Dec. 16 of last season due to foot and knee injuries. The veteran blue-liner was productive in limited action during the 2017-18 season, collecting 16 points in 26 games.With fellow defenseman Noah Juulsen out indefinitely due to a facial fracture, Weber's return would come at an ideal time for the Canadiens.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Calgary Flames placed forward Michael Frolik and defenseman Michael Stone on injured reserve Thursday, the team announced.Frolik is dealing with a lower-body injury and will not travel with the team on its two-game road trip. He missed the Flames' tilt against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. Frolik has seven goals and no assists in 20 games this season.Stone, meanwhile, is dealing with a blood clot and there is no timetable for his return. He's appeared in just one game since Oct. 25, as rookies Juuso Valimaki and Rasmus Andersson have solidified themselves as Calgary's third defense pairing.The Flames lead the Pacific Division with a 13-8-1 record.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Few people love to break down every element of the game more than NHL coaches, and even within that subset, few coaches have loved analyzing hockey more than Ken Hitchcock. A one-man Wikipedia for the sport, Hitchcock has a complete resume and his pedigree cannot be minimized.But, is he the right man to step in and try to salvage the latest in what has become a maddening string of NHL seasons for the Edmonton Oilers? There are doubts, and they’re not small ones, either.This isn’t to suggest the NHL game has passed Hitchcock by - it hasn’t. The 66-year-old posted a 42-32-8 record in 2017-18 with the Dallas Stars, his second and final stint with the team he led to a Stanley Cup victory in 1998-99. Following that season, Hitchcock sailed off into the sunset and into retirement, almost 20 years after he’d steered them to a championship.This was hockey synchronicity in a manner most hockey men never experience. Most coaches are unceremoniously shown the door long before they believe their “best before” label says they ought to be. It speaks volumes about the respect Hitchcock has earned.But here we are today, and the giant embedded emotional and professional tractor beam that comes along with being a coach has pulled Hitchcock back into a job exactly 221 days after his retirement. The Oilers brought him in Tuesday after firing highly respected Todd McLellan the same day, and now, it’s truly full circle for the Edmonton native.In a way, it’s admirable to see how deeply he loves his life’s work, and how hard it is for him to get it out of his blood. That’s what hockey lifers do: they want to be there until their last breath, gliding around on a pad of ice, drawing up the next potential forward combination or set offensive play.Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / GettyBut the job of good organizations isn’t to permit even the most accomplished hockey lifers to stay around until it’s clear they’ve stayed too long. And this is where the Oilers are today. Searching, yet again, for answers for a roster that has one of, if not the greatest player on the planet in Connor McDavid. Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli, now well beyond his third year on the job, has used one of his remaining credibility bullets (most of the others have been used on trades we’ll get to below) to hand the job to Hitchcock and pray he’ll succeed where so many have failed since the summer of 2006.However, if McLellan - who did guide the Oilers to their first playoff appearance since that summer - couldn’t find a way to make Edmonton’s roster jell and propel consistently, who’s to say Hitchcock can? In Hitchcock’s almost six years in St. Louis, he had a far better defense corps than Chiarelli has handed him. You can also argue that Hitchcock’s Blues had a more balanced group of forwards.True, Hitchcock hasn’t had a player like McDavid since Mike Modano in Dallas - and the reality is, McDavid is a better, faster competitor than he ever was. Now, he's being asked to find a system that makes the most of his star's talent, and will also be tasked with rejuvenating the career of moribund winger Milan Lucic and coach the massive letdown that is Jesse Puljujarvi.That sounds like an order so tall, only the coaching equivalent of a McDavid could succeed. Instead, the keys are being handed to Hitchcock, almost entirely due to his brand-name recognition. Having a marquee bench boss brought in at this point feels like a shield being applied to the Oilers’ issues, the grand majority of which have been created by Chiarelli.Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / GettyIt wasn’t McLellan who signed Lucic to a seven-year, $42-million contract in 2016, nor was it him who put all his marbles behind goalie Cam Talbot; it wasn’t McLellan who made the infamous Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson transaction or who moved star Jordan Eberle out of town, with just journeyman Ryan Spooner to show for it.The footprints on those deals all belong to Chiarelli, the man responsible for sending McLellan overboard. It really should be the GM in Edmonton whom the knives came out for today, not McLellan, who’ll be back coaching an NHL team soon enough.Even with his Hockey Hall of Fame-worthy history, it will most likely be Hitchcock who moves along from this Oilers job relatively soon. He’s earned his name by demanding work ethic from his players, but given the state Edmonton’s roster is in, Hitchcock’s demands of himself would have to include a good deal of miracle work.Hitchcock doesn’t need to be put through the wringer for an extended period at this point in his life, and frankly, Oilers fans don’t need to be the wringer for what has been an interminable, unacceptable period. A couple years of trying to untangle this group of players from the mess they’re in now will be more than enough for him, and if he can’t, he’ll either self-extricate from this situation, or the new GM - the next time the Oilers find themselves in this mess, there should be a new GM - will fire him and end his NHL career in more common fashion.

After one game behind the Edmonton Oilers' bench, new head coach Ken Hitchcock is already in awe of Connor McDavid."His recovery rate, cardio-wise, is astounding," Hitchcock told TSN's Frank Seravalli. "He's able to get back up to speed quickly. That's something we've got to take advantage of. He can come out every second shift if it stays five-on-five."McDavid is averaging the third-most minutes among NHL forwards at 22:18 per game, and on Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks in Hitchcock's debut, he logged 23:57.However, additional ice time isn't the only way the veteran coach plans to get his best player more involved."He needs to have the puck more," Hitchcock said. "As do all of our centers, because that's the strength of the team. I think we need to find ways to get them the puck more deeper (in the defensive zone). That's going to be the focus starting at practice."Despite McDavid leading the NHL in controlled zone entries each of the past two seasons, Hitchcock also plans to "double" his touches."That's what we want to do, get way more touches for our whole center ice," Hitchcock said.The Oilers have a shortage of mobile puck-movers on the back end, so using McDavid and second-line center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as focal points on breakouts may be the remedy to that issue.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

At this point, Michael Grabner and the Arizona Coyotes are trolling the opposition - at least in one area of the game.Last week, with the contest scoreless and a teammate in the penalty box, Grabner flung the puck at the Nashville Predators' net from just a few feet inside the offensive zone. The shot looked harmless - until it one-hopped at the hash marks. Beat clean, Pekka Rinne became the latest goalie to be victimized by the NHL's best offensive (and defensive) penalty kill.Arizona's PK has already produced 10 goals (the next highest total is four) while humming along at a 91.7 percent clip defensively, allowing opponents to score just five times. Those numbers have resulted in an eye-catching shorthanded goal differential of plus-5 for the otherwise-middling 9-9-1 Coyotes. And considering the team bagged only two shorties in 2017-18, the recent binge may be the wackiest development of the young NHL season."I've played on some teams where the penalty kill is really good and you’ve had some dangerous guys who have scored off the penalty kill, but not to this pace," Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet, an NHL forward from 1994 to 2002, told theScore."It's given us some juice in the fact that we're hanging our hats on something," he added. "Some teams have identities. Right now, teams are playing us and they're going, 'Hey, this PK is No. 1, and if you’re not careful they can score.'"Norm Hall / National Hockey League / GettyIf the Coyotes maintain their current shorthanded scoring pace - an extremely unlikely scenario given a third of their shots have gone in - they'd finish with 43 goals for the season. The all-time record of 36 is held by the Wayne Gretzky-led 1983-84 Oilers (no other team's scored more than 28), and it's safe to say the current Coyotes roster is nowhere near that Stanley Cup-winning level of talent, which only underlines the absurdity of its brilliant run.And outside of the penalty kill, it's not all sunshine and lollipops for the .500 Coyotes. Marred by injuries to key contributors, struggling to score at five-on-five, and fifth worst with the man advantage, Tocchet's club has failed to seize the moment in the Pacific Division, which, beyond the Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks, features nothing but underwhelming clubs.Consistently inconsistent, the Coyotes will beat the dangerous Nashville Predators or Tampa Bay Lightning one night - and look sharp doing it - but then fall to the downtrodden Detroit Red Wings or Pittsburgh Penguins a few days later."After a bad game, we've bounced back pretty well," Tocchet said, preferring to assess the opening stretch from a glass-half-full perspective. "Last year, especially in the first half, we'd have a couple of duds in a row, where now it's like, 'Hey, we had a bad game, let’s bounce back.' That’s the sign of a team that's coming to."After a 70-point season in '17-18, Arizona's on pace for 82 this time around, while the typical playoff cutoff is approximately 95 points. Solid goaltending and some offense from spark plug Clayton Keller have certainly helped, but again, it's the PK keeping this team afloat heading into Wednesday's game against the Vegas Golden Knights.Grabner, who ranks second to Boston's Brad Marchand in shorthanded goals (19) since entering the league in 2009-10, is leading the charge this season with four. His partner in crime, Brad Richardson, has three, while second-unit regulars Derek Stepan (two) and Lawson Crouse (one) have chipped in as well.At the other end, goalies Antii Raanta and Darcy Kuemper have been lights-out behind blue-liners Niklas Hjalmarsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Kevin Connauton, and the recently sidelined Jason Demers."We have a lot of pride in killing penalties and we’re getting our chances early here and taking advantage of them," Grabner said. "Really, it’s all about not being careless with the puck."PK CategoryCoyotesNHL RankGoals for per 60 minutes5.61stGoals against per 602.81stShot attempts for per 6021.42ndShot attempts against per 6082.84thScoring chances for per 6012.43rdScoring chances against per 6039.42ndLast season, Tocchet's first behind the Coyotes' bench, the team finished with mediocre PK numbers - 19th in kill percentage, and somewhere between 17th and 24th in each relevant advanced-stats category. Then, a few things happened: Grabner signed as a free agent, Hjalmarsson returned to full health, and Connauton slotted in for the departed Luke Schenn.Now, the Coyotes' PK system - with those improvements in place - is working better than anyone could have imagined."We've been making really good reads," Tocchet said of his penalty-killing group."When we're applying pressure, the other guy - the weak-side guy - has been making really good reads. Sometimes you have to guess on these reads and we've been guessing right more often. Are we lucky on some of them? Maybe. But the guys have done a nice job reading it and coming out on the right side of that read."The clip below illustrates the Coyotes' pounce mentality pretty well:Richardson (No. 15 in red) steals the puck and quickly turns a broken possession by Vancouver's power play into an odd-man rush. Connauton (No. 44) and Grabner (No. 40) are with him, and the group scores off a rebound after a lackluster effort from the backchecking Canucks.You'll notice that Grabner doesn't think twice about bolting north. The flying Austrian's lightning-fast anticipation makes him a constant breakaway threat, and he's made a career out of fast-break offense.On the PK specifically, Tocchet's told Grabner to simply trust those instincts."I'm not going to put the shackles on him. I'd be crazy to make him robotic," Tocchet said. "I think he's a feel type of guy - knowing where the puck is, who has the puck, where the puck is going to go. I think that's a hockey IQ thing, and you have to let him do what he does.”So, when a defenseman makes a good read on the penalty kill, Grabner's the logical first option for a breakout target. This is evident often, including in the sequence below, which involves some quick thinking from Connauton:After picking off a pass below his own goal line, Connauton notices Philadelphia's Jordan Weal (No. 40 in orange) deep near the faceoff circle and Grabner gunning for the neutral zone. Hitting a teammate is the ideal choice here, but few possess Grabner's skating ability, so the 50-50 puck pursuit - which he wins before scoring - becomes more advantageous.Overall, the Coyotes have shown flashes in the early going and the positivity is starting to snowball. For one, the Grabner signing (three years, $3.35 million per season) appears to be a nice piece of work by general manager John Chayka. Top center Alex Galchenyuk, injured to start the campaign, is coming along offensively. All-situations defender Jakob Chychrun is working his way back into the rotation after a long battle with his own injury. Raanta, also hurt, is close to returning ... the list is long.But for a franchise that's starved for playoff hockey after missing out for six straight years, much more than a tremendous (potentially historic) penalty kill will be required on a game-to-game basis. And those other areas - at five-on-five and with the man advantage - must improve sooner rather than later."That’s been our Holy Grail," Tocchet said, pausing before finishing his thought."Trying to find that consistency."John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.(Statistics courtesy: NaturalStatTrick.com, Hockey-Reference.com, and NHL.com)Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pekka Rinne's latest victory was one for the record books.The reigning Vezina Trophy winner backstopped the Nashville Predators to a 4-1 triumph over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night, capturing his 320th career win to move past Miikka Kiprusoff for the most all time by a Finnish-born goaltender.Rinne accomplished the feat in 43 fewer games than Kiprusoff, who retired following the 2012-13 season.Here's the leaderboard as far as netminders from Finland are concerned:GoaltenderWGPRinne320580Kiprusoff319623Kari Lehtonen301649Tuukka Rask242458Antti Niemi238453Niklas Backstrom196413Vesa Toskala129266Antero Niittymaki95234Antti Raanta73150Karri Ramo60159Rinne reminisced about Kiprusoff when asked about the achievement postgame."He was kind of the first Finnish superstar goalie," Rinne told reporters including The Athletic's John Glennon. "It was nice to play against him, especially when I was younger. I especially tried to watch him play and things like that. So for sure, it's cool.”Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby will play Wednesday night against the Dallas Stars after missing the last three games with an upper-body injury, the team announced.The Penguins went 0-2-1 without Crosby in the lineup and have just one win in their last 10 games.The team sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings but Crosby has looked like his typical self to begin the season, collecting eight goals and 19 points in 16 games.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Kelly Sowatsky, the Pittsburgh Penguins fan whose public plea for a kidney went viral earlier this year, found a match.In March, the Penguins tweeted a photo of the 31-year-old holding a sign that read, "Calling All Hockey Fans! I Need A Kidney! Kidney! Kidney! Gratefully Yours, Kelly."

Florida Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck underwent surgery to repair a fractured ankle and will be out indefinitely, the team announced Wednesday.General manager Dale Tallon believes Trocheck will return to the Panthers' lineup at some point this season."Vinny is a tremendous competitor and leader for our club," Tallon said. "It's never easy to see a player and person like him suffer an injury like this, but we are confident that he will make a full recovery and be back on the ice with our team this season."Trocheck was injured on an awkward fall during Monday's tilt with the Ottawa Senators. He left the game on a stretcher.Warning: Video contains graphic content

Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly NHL podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's national hockey writer.Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play.On this episode, John is joined by Chris Johnston of Sportsnet and ESPN Insider's Matthew Coller to break down the latest headlines and trends.Topics include:

William Nylander can count Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov as a supporter amid his contract impasse with the Toronto Maple Leafs.Kucherov faced a similar situation to Nylander's prior to the 2016-17 campaign, as he was a restricted free agent coming off his entry-level deal, missing training camp as well as the entire preseason before agreeing on a three-year bridge contract worth $4.76 million per year.Nylander has missed 21 games amid his standoff with the first-place Maple Leafs and needs to come to an agreement with the club by Dec. 1 in order to play this season.The entire saga has been one of the league's most persistent storylines since it began, but if Kucherov was faced with the same situation today as he endured two years ago, he could see himself in the same boat as Nylander."I would have done the same thing," Kucherov told Joe Smith of The Athletic. "I don't know what's happening right now there (in Toronto), but to have a guy like him on any team, every team wants him."He's still going to be a great player; great playmaker; great goalscorer. Everybody has their opinion on him, but as soon as he gets to play, he's going to prove to everyone - they'll just be talking about hockey. If he thinks he's right, good for him."Both the Maple Leafs and Nylander's camp have expressed their desire to come to terms on a long-term deal, but with less than two weeks remaining until the deadline, there's no clear indication as to how the impasse will end.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Dallas Stars goaltender Ben Bishop will likely miss a week after suffering a muscle strain during Monday's game against the New York Rangers, general manager Jim Nill said Tuesday, according to Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News.The 31-year-old was replaced to begin the third period after allowing one goal on 13 shots in the 2-1 defeat.Bishop is off to a strong start this season with an 8-5-1 record, a 2.33 goals-against average, and a .923 save percentage. Luckily for the Stars, if Bishop misses any significant time, the team can rely on backup Anton Khudobin, who has been strong in relief this season. Khudobin is currently 3-3-1 with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.The Stars occupy the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Here are five of the most intriguing trends, storylines, and surprises from the first quarter of the 2018-19 campaign:Smaller goalie equipment making a differenceIcon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyThe NHL made a noticeable reduction in the size of goalie equipment this season - so much so that goaltenders around the league have voiced complaints about increased susceptibility to bruises and more serious injuries. Regardless, the smaller equipment has accomplished what the league clearly intended: more goals.Teams have combined to score an average of 6.12 goals per game so far this season. Excluding the inflated post-lockout 2005-06 season, that mark would stand to be the highest the NHL has seen since it averaged 6.25 goals per game in 1995-96. The league's current average save percentage of .909 would also be the lowest since 2008-09's mark of .908.There seems to be a drastic increase in short-side goals this season. Is the smaller equipment preventing goalies from effectively hugging the post? Is the reduced size punishing goalies who cheat towards the middle of the net in anticipation of centering passes? Or have shooters simply been more accurate when aiming for tight short-side windows?4 coaches already fired, who's next?Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyThe Chicago Blackhawks' Joel Quenneville, Los Angeles Kings' John Stevens, St. Louis Blues' Mike Yeo, and Edmonton Oilers' Todd McLellan have all been fired in the first quarter of the campaign after no coaches were canned last year. The question is: how many more, if any, will be out of a job by the midway point of this season?Randy Carlyle, whose Anaheim Ducks get outshot by an average of 10 shots per game, may be starting to feel the pressure. The Ducks are only a point out of a playoff spot but have just one regulation win in their last 15 games.Philadelphia Flyers fans called for Dave Hakstol's job last year before the team turned a corner, and it wouldn't be surprising if the Flyers' faithful got their wish a year later. Hakstol is the fourth-longest tenured coach in the league but hasn't made it past the first round of the playoffs. Philly has been very streaky under Hakstol, due in no small part to the team's goaltending.Defensemen scoring is way upIcon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettySeven defensemen are on-pace for 70-plus points this season.DefensemanCurrent pointsOn-pace pointsMorgan Rielly (TOR)26102Thomas Chabot (OTT)2494John Carlson (WSH)2186Brent Burns (SJ)2286Mark Giordano (CGY)2078Keith Yandle (FLA)1777Tyson Barrie (COL)1770The last time seven or more defensemen reached the 70-point mark in the same campaign was 1993-94. There were 6.48 goals per game that season and the league save percentage was .895.It's unlikely all these blue-liners reach their on-pace totals, but it's still quite remarkable considering no rearguard had 70 points a year ago.Defensemen are seemingly faster and more skilled with the puck than ever before. They're also encouraged to join the rush and contribute offensively, which wasn't always the case.The best example of this may be the Ottawa Senators, who lead the NHL in goals for but also allow the most. The Sens previously played a defensive trap system but head coach Guy Boucher has activated his defense this season and it's showing - for better or worse.Stacked lines are backBruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / GettyCoaches around the league no longer seem afraid of stacking their top line. Some bench bosses appeared wary of this in past years, electing to put their best players on different lines to create a balanced lineup, but that doesn't look to be a concern anymore - at least not for most coaches.The Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche have arguably the two best top lines in the NHL - when healthy - and they've kept them together despite suspect bottom-nine forward groups. But these two clubs were stacking their first lines before this season began; in a copycat league, other teams have taken notice.The Oilers recently reunited Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the top line - though who knows if newly-minted head coach Ken Hitchcock will keep it that way. Jeremy Colliton is using Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane on the same unit in Chicago; the Dallas Stars have Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Alexander Radulov together; and Artemi Panarin and Cam Atkinson are flanking Pierre-Luc Dubois for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Even Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock has John Tavares and Mitch Marner together - after a very brief separation following Auston Matthews' injury.It's difficult to quantify exactly how much offense line-stacking generates compared to a balanced attack; every team is different. But having the league's most dynamic stars playing together undoubtedly makes for great entertainment.Parity at an all-time highGregg Forwerck / National Hockey League / GettyOne of the best aspects of tuning into an NHL game this season is the uncertainty - it seems any team can beat any other team on any given night. The salary cap is mostly responsible but it also feels like the league's bottom half is stronger than it's ever been.The Metro Division is arguably the best example of this parity. The first-place Blue Jackets and last-place Pittsburgh Penguins are separated by just eight points and the latter has played two fewer games. In two weeks the standings could be completely flipped - and would anyone be that stunned?The only team in the league that seems truly hard-pressed for a turnaround is the 7-12-1 Kings, who are down to their fourth-string goalie. Every other club is seemingly still in the mix for the postseason.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Connor McDavid doesn't believe former Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd McLellan was the sole reason for the team's poor play to begin this season.The Oilers fired McLellan on Tuesday after losing six of their last seven games and replaced him with veteran bench boss Ken Hitchcock. But McDavid says the entire team is responsible for those results, not just McLellan."We're all to blame here," McDavid told reporters. "This obviously isn't on Todd at all, it's on us as players and that's just how the business works sometimes. We got to wake up here."McDavid did admit, however, it was a change that needed to be made."Todd was a guy that everyone liked," he said. "Ultimately, we're a team that's underachieving right now and no one likes where we're at, so the change is necessary."Hitchcock, an Edmonton native, joins the club as the third-winningest coach in NHL history, and McDavid is excited to have him aboard."Obviously he's got a tremendous record, both in the NHL and in international play," McDavid said. "He's a guy that's got lots of experience and we're looking forward to it."The Oilers enter Tuesday night sitting five points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, but just three back of the Vancouver Canucks for third place in the Pacific Division.Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Edmonton Oilers have named Ken Hitchcock as the replacement for fired head coach Todd McLellan, the team announced on Tuesday.Hitchock will stay on for the rest of the season after which his status and future as head coach of the Oilers will be re-evaluated, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.The move comes after the Oilers lost six of their last seven games. They sit five points back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference and three points behind the Vancouver Canucks for third place in the Pacific Division.McLellan concludes his Oilers tenure with a record of 123-119-24 in 266 games. The Oilers have struggled since reaching the second round of the playoffs during the 2016-17 campaign, posting a 45-50-7 record since then.