The Montreal Canadiens signed goaltender Sam Montembeault to a three-year extension with an average annual value of $3.15 million, the team announced Friday.Montembeault has been stellar for the Habs this season, posting a .910 save percentage and a 2.73 goals-against average in 10 appearances. He's also saved 4.65 goals above expected this season, a mark that ranks 20th among all NHL goaltenders, per Evolving-Hockey. He saved 16.78 goals above expected in 40 games last season, good for 13th in the league.It was reported in November that the Edmonton Oilers were looking at the Canadiens' goalie trio of Montembeault, Jake Allen, and Cayden Primeau in their search for help between the pipes. Montembeault was previously the only one of the three on an expiring contract.Montembeault is a native of Becancour, Quebec, which is about a two-hour drive from Montreal.He shined for Canada at the 2023 World Championship, helping his country win gold by registering a .939 save percentage in seven games.The 27-year-old was originally a third-round pick by the Florida Panthers in 2015. The Canadiens claimed him off waivers from the Panthers in 2021.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

This year in sports was defined by inspiring stories, historic achievements, and surreal events that not even Hollywood could script. We loved them all. With 2023 drawing to a close, theScore is looking back on 50 moments that resonated most with us over the past 12 months. Our five-part series, which counts down every Friday in December, kicks off below with moments 50-41.Dec. 1Dec. 8Dec. 15Dec. 22Dec. 2950-4140-3130-2120-1110-150. Mahomes leads Chiefs to another Super Bowl

Forward Joel Farabee was benched for 57:18 in the Philadelphia Flyers' 4-3 overtime loss against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday."Are you asking me why I sat Joel? Because he didn't listen," head coach John Tortorella bluntly explained postgame. The veteran bench boss didn't elaborate further.Farabee played just two shifts for 56 seconds of ice time. He didn't hit the ice again after Alexander Holtz's opening goal 3:10 into the first period.

The City of Brotherly Love didn't live up to its name during Thursday's tilt between the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils, as the game featured a pair of controversial incidents.First, Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway was ejected after leveling rookie Luke Hughes in the first period.Hathaway and Hughes were pursuing the puck on a play the linesman eventually called icing, but the official delayed his call, causing Hathaway to go in full speed and hit Hughes hard into the end boards.Hathaway got a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. Hughes left the contest but returned for the second period, and eventually scored the overtime winner.Flyers head coach John Tortorella wasn't the only one upset at the officiating crew. Devils superstar Jack Hughes didn't appreciate the delayed icing call that caused his brother to get hurt.

The Vancouver Canucks acquired defenseman Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames for a fifth-round selection in 2024 and a third-rounder in 2026, the teams announced Thursday.The fifth-rounder is the pick Vancouver received in Tuesday's trade that sent forward Anthony Beauvillier to the Chicago Blackhawks.Zadorov is under contract for the remainder of the season at a $3.75-million cap hit before hitting unrestricted free agency. He requested a trade out of Calgary through his agent earlier in November, citing a lack of playing time.The 28-year-old has registered six points in 21 games this season while averaging 18:24 of ice time. He's highly regarded for his physicality, logging 100-plus hits in all but two of his 11 NHL campaigns.Zadorov was a first-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2013. He also suited up for the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks before joining the Flames in 2021.Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said Wednesday that his club is seeking help on the blue line. Vancouver is 15-7-1 and on track to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the bubble in 2020.The Flames were widely expected to be an X-factor in trades this season given their numerous prominent pending UFAs. They traded Tyler Toffoli in the summer and still have Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, and Chris Tanev on expiring contracts.Calgary could look to offload more pieces if its season doesn't turn around. The club is currently 10th in the Western Conference at 9-10-3.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Corey Perry released a statement to reporters on Thursday after having his contract terminated by the Chicago Blackhawks for "unacceptable" conduct."I would like to sincerely apologize to the entire Blackhawks organization, including ownership, management, coaches, trainers, employees, and my teammates," Perry wrote. "I would also like to apologize to my fans, and my family. I am embarrassed and I have let you all down."He continued: "As a result of my actions, there has been speculation and rumors. I am sickened by the impact this has had on others, and I want to make it clear that in no way did this situation involve any of my teammates or their families."I have started working with experts in the mental health and substance abuse fields to discuss my struggles with alcohol and I will take whatever steps necessary to ensure this never happens again. I hope to regain the trust and respect of everyone who has believed in me throughout my career."Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson spoke to the media on Tuesday. The visibly emotional executive noted Perry's dismissal was due to a workplace matter and wasn't a criminal matter.Perry became an unrestricted free agent after clearing unconditional waivers on Wednesday.The 38-year-old was sent away from the team before Chicago's Nov. 22 clash against the Columbus Blue Jackets.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano is sidelined week-to-week with a broken finger, head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed to reporters on Thursday.Giordano sustained the injury on Tuesday in the Maple Leafs' 2-1 shootout victory against the Florida Panthers.The 40-year-old is the oldest active player in the NHL. He has five points in 20 games while playing 17:52 per contest.Giordano's injury takes from an already depleted Maple Leafs blue line. Timothy Liljegren hasn't played since Nov. 2, while John Klingberg was placed on long-term injured reserve on Nov. 23.Toronto recalled defenseman Max Lajoie from the AHL's Marlies before announcing Giordano's absence. The 26-year-old has five assists in 14 contests with the Marlies and played one game with the Maple Leafs earlier this season.The Maple Leafs face the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Patrik Allvin acknowledges his Vancouver Canucks have a rather notable area of concern."Do I think we need another defenseman?" the general manager said Wednesday, according to Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre. "I think we can get help on the back end, yes."Several Canucks blue-liners have been shouldering heavy workloads this season due to injuries. Vancouver ruled Carson Soucy out for six-to-eight weeks on Nov. 15, Guillaume Brisebois hasn't played since sustaining a concussion in the preseason, and Ethan Bear was given a six-month timetable upon having shoulder surgery in June.Quinn Hughes has vaulted himself into the Hart Trophy conversation with his elite play, but he's averaging nearly 25 minutes of ice time (24:45) and over 26 minutes in the last 10 games. Filip Hronek ranks second on the club in that department for the season (24:38), averaging 25:36 over his last 10.Ian Cole is also logging over 20 minutes per contest, while Tyler Myers played a personal season-high 23:06 on Tuesday night.Allvin freed up $4.15 million of cap space by trading Anthony Beauvillier to the Chicago Blackhawks earlier this week. Vancouver is now approximately $5.73 million under the cap ceiling, per CapFriendly."There's a lot of pieces out there," the GM said. "But again, I think we owe it to the players internally here to put them in that position to succeed. We all know that we have some injuries, you know, on the back end and Pius Suter up top. We're looking at ways to see where we can strengthen our team."The Canucks have experimented with several internal depth options, including Cole McWard, Noah Juulsen, Mark Friedman, and Akito Hirose.Vancouver has regressed to a degree since getting off to a roaring start to the campaign. The Canucks now sit third in the Pacific Division by points percentage (.674) with a 15-7-1 record and three more games played than the Los Angeles Kings.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Winnipeg Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi called out the Los Angeles Kings' Blake Lizotte on Wednesday, saying his former teammate left him with an injury that was nearly season-ending when the two met in October."He's done a lot of little things like that," Vilardi told TSN's John Lu. "It's stuff that you guys say, 'It was an awkward fall.' It wasn't an awkward fall. It's someone pushing your feet out from the back when he gets caught under me, and then he tackles me. It's that simple."Vilardi sustained a sprained MCL on the play, which has kept him out of the Jets' lineup for the past 18 games.

Detroit Red Wings fans are going to have to be a little patient while waiting for Patrick Kane's first game donning the Winged Wheel.The newly signed winger is aiming to make his Red Wings debut within the next 7-10 days, he said Wednesday, according to EP Rinkside's Sean Shapiro. Kane added that Detroit's clash against his hometown Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 5 is his earliest return date, but his first game will more likely be against either the San Jose Sharks next Thursday or the Ottawa Senators next Saturday.The three-time Stanley Cup champion underwent hip resurfacing surgery in June and inked a one-year, prorated $2.75-million deal with Detroit on Tuesday. He hit the ice with his new teammates for morning skate in Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

Corey Perry cleared unconditional waivers Wednesday, allowing the Chicago Blackhawks to officially terminate his contract.The 38-year-old becomes an unrestricted free agent after the move.Chicago waived Perry with the intention of terminating his one-year, $4-million contract after an internal investigation found he "engaged in conduct that is unacceptable and in violation of both the terms of his standard player's contract and the Blackhawks' internal policies intended to promote professional and safe work environments."Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson noted the incident that resulted in Perry's termination was a workplace matter, not a criminal one, during a press conference Tuesday.Perry was a healthy scratch on Nov. 22 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, which head coach Luke Richardson described as an "organizational decision," according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.Davidson said Saturday that Perry would be away from the team for the "foreseeable future". The player's agent, Pat Morris, released a statement the same day saying Perry was stepping away from the team "to attend to personal matters."Perry played 16 games with the Blackhawks, accumulating four goals and nine points.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy thinks there's a lot his team can gain in the long run from its current three-game losing streak."I think the mindset in here - or at least one that I'm trying to take - is, adversity is good," he said after practice Wednesday. "I think it's something that we didn't really have much (of) last year. This is a bit of a change of pace in here."You get used to winning so much that the losses, they hurt. They feel a lot different than maybe how they used to feel when they're so few and far in between. ... We're gonna learn a lot more about ourselves with this and as this season progresses."Boston fell to the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 on Monday to extend its latest skid. The Bruins usually excel at keeping the puck out of their own net, but they've been outscored 17-8 over their past three losses, which were all in regulation.The Bruins set new NHL records for most wins (65) and points (135) in a single season in 2022-23. Boston only lost three consecutive games once en route to claiming the Presidents' Trophy as the league's best regular-season team, but it salvaged a point from one of those losses. The last time Beantown lost three straight regular-season games in regulation was April 2022.Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery shared McAvoy's mindset."In a lot of ways, we've welcomed this kind of adversity," he said. "We knew it was gonna come. We knew we weren't a 14-1-3 team, and that's just being honest. We're also not a team that gives up 17 goals in three games. We've gotta get back to who we are."Montgomery noted that the Bruins' struggles really started about six or seven games ago."It gets back to checking," he said. "I think we've just been an easy team to play against here."Despite their latest losses, the Bruins still sit on top of the Atlantic Division with a 14-4-3 record, three points clear of the Florida Panthers despite playing one fewer game."There's no need to panic, but this is not our standard, so we don't want to see it go on any further," McAvoy reasoned.Boston's next chance to get back into the win column comes Thursday against the struggling San Jose Sharks.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

There are just three games on the NHL schedule Wednesday night. Although nothing stands out in terms of sides or totals, a few props caught my eye.Let's take a closer look.Cole Caufield over 3.5 shotsCaufield is a very matchup-dependent shooter. Take the past 10 games: Caufield faced seven teams currently holding playoff positions and three teams on the outside looking in.He failed to register four shots in the seven games against playoff teams, falling well short on most nights. He only reached three shots twice.Caufield teed off on the non-playoff teams, however, going over his total in all three games while generating 19 shots - better than six per night - in aggregate.Caufield has a tantalizing matchup tonight against the Blue Jackets. They've struggled defensively all season long and recently lost one of their best blue-liners, Damon Severson, to injury. That bodes well for Caufield, who recorded eight shots on a whopping 15 attempts against the Blue Jackets earlier this season.I'm not sure Caufield will match those outputs, but volume shouldn't be an issue against one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL.Odds: -125 (playable to -145)Kirill Marchenko over 2.5 shotsMarchenko - like many goal-scorers - has extreme home/road splits. He's feasted in Columbus this season, recording three shots or more eight times in 11 tries (73%) while averaging a healthy 3.6 shots on goal per game.His numbers have fallen off a cliff away from home, however. Marchenko is averaging just 1.9 shots per game and has gone over his total in only three of 10 appearances on the road.Marchenko finds himself in a very strong spot on Wednesday night. He'll have the luxury of playing on home ice - where he averages two more attempts per game - against a Canadiens team that allows more shots per night than anyone but the Sharks and Islanders.Getting cushy usage against an exploitable opponent, Marchenko should have plenty of opportunities to fire in this one.Odds: -140 (playable to -155)Alex Ovechkin under 3.5 shotsOvechkin isn't generating a ton of shot volume these days - at least, not compared to his usual standards.He has gone under the number in 10 of 18 games this year and eight of the past 12 overall. Similarly to Caufield, he is mostly enjoying shooting success against weak opponents.Ovechkin's only hits over the past 10 games came against the Sharks, Islanders, and Sabres. He failed to get the job done versus better shot-suppression teams like the Panthers, Devils, Golden Knights, and Oilers.That likely spells trouble heading into a game against the Kings. They rank third in shots against this season and their numbers are better when playing at home.The Kings are very structured and - led by Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault - they have a fantastic combination of defensive centers they can throw at top players to defang them offensively.It will likely be sweaty - sometimes it takes just one or two power plays for Ovechkin to get within striking distance - but I see value in targeting his under in Los Angeles.Odds: -130 (playable to -150)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ToddCordell.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Florida Panthers thought they won Tuesday's clash against the Toronto Maple Leafs after Evan Rodrigues appeared to score a shootout winner, but the celebration was premature.The would-be goal was taken off the board after video review determined Rodrigues double-tapped his attempt.Maple Leafs forward Noah Gregor, who also scored Toronto's only regulation goal, netted his next attempt to set up a 2-1 victory. Players from both teams had to return to the bench after the dramatic twist."Have not seen that," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said postgame, per Bally Sports Florida.He added, light-heartedly: "Especially that fast. You know what I do think: It's important they have rules."Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll was just happy to end the unique night on the winning side."It was a bit of a whirlwind," the rookie told TSN's Mark Masters with a laugh. "I made it all the way back in the locker room, I already had my gloves off. It was nice getting the word that it was under review. After seeing the video, they made the right call."The victory snapped a two-game skid for the Maple Leafs, who are now 11-6-3 on the year. Florida's loss was its third in its past four games.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vancouver Canucks dealt forward Anthony Beauvillier to the Chicago Blackhawks for a fifth-round pick in next year's draft, his former club announced Tuesday.Beauvillier played less than a full season with the Canucks over the last two campaigns. He produced two goals and six assists over 22 games in 2023-24 after collecting nine tallies and 11 helpers across 33 contests down the stretch with Vancouver in 2022-23.The Canucks acquired the 26-year-old from the New York Islanders in the Bo Horvat trade this past January. Beauviller played parts of seven seasons with the Isles, primarily occupying a secondary scoring role despite New York selecting him 28th overall in 2015.Beauvillier is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $4.15-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly.Earlier Tuesday, the Blackhawks terminated veteran winger Corey Perry's contract over what they called "unacceptable" conduct.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Detroit Red Wings won the Patrick Kane sweepstakes.The coveted free-agent winger signed a one-year, $2.75-million deal with Detroit after recovering from offseason hip resurfacing surgery, the team announced Tuesday.Since he signed two months into the campaign, Kane's earnings will be prorated. The deal also includes a full no-trade clause, according to CapFriendly.Kane met with several teams but was impressed by Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde's details and vision for the team, per ESPN's Emily Kaplan.The move reunites Kane with former Chicago Blackhawks teammate Alex DeBrincat. The two played together in the Windy City for five seasons from 2017 to 2022 and were frequent linemates during DeBrincat's last three campaigns as a Blackhawk. DeBrincat currently leads the Red Wings with 12 goals in 20 contests while producing at a point-per-game pace.A three-time Stanley Cup champion (2010, 2013, 2015) heading into his 17th NHL season, Kane was keen on signing with a contender. The Red Wings are in the midst of a seven-year playoff drought, but as of Tuesday, they sit in third place in the Atlantic Division with an 11-6-3 record.The Kane signing follows a busy offseason for general manager Steve Yzerman, who added the likes of J.T. Compher, Shayne Gostisbehere, Klim Kostin, and DeBrincat in the summer to try to get Detroit over the hump.Kane amassed 21 goals and 57 points in 73 games last season - split between the Blackhawks and New York Rangers - for the poorest statistical campaign of his career. However, the veteran was battling a nagging hip issue throughout the year.The 35-year-old underwent hip surgery in early June and was given a four-to-six month recovery timeline. Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom went through the same procedure during the 2022 offseason but has since struggled with lingering hip issues.Backstrom announced in November that he would be stepping away from the team to deal with his ailment. Soon after, Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said he didn't expect Backstrom to play again this season.One of the most prolific players in Blackhawks history, Kane spent the first 16 seasons of his career in Chicago before being traded to the Big Apple this past February. He chipped in with one goal and six assists in seven playoff games before the Rangers were eliminated by the New Jersey Devils in the opening round.Kane ended his Blackhawks tenure near the top of virtually every category in the franchise's all-time record books, including second in assists (779) and points (1,225), as well as third in goals (446) and games played (1,161).On top of lifting Lord Stanley's Mug three times, Kane won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2013 as the most valuable player in the postseason after collecting nine goals and 19 points in 23 games. He also took home the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie in 2008, as well as the Ted Lindsay Award, Hart Trophy, and Art Ross Trophy in 2016 after leading the league with 106 points.Kane also met with the Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, Dallas Stars, and Boston Bruins this past month, according to Kaplan. The Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs showed interest as well, per Johnston.The Red Wings' next game is a clash against the Rangers on Wednesday, but it's unclear at this point when Kane will make his season debut.Detroit will also face Kane's hometown team, the Sabres, next Tuesday.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Chicago Blackhawks placed veteran Corey Perry on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract, the team announced Tuesday."After an internal investigation, the Chicago Blackhawks have determined that Corey Perry has engaged in conduct that is unacceptable and in violation of both the terms of his standard player's contract and the Blackhawks' internal policies intended to promote professional and safe work environments," the organization wrote in a statement, per the Chicago Sun-Times' Ben Pope.Several hours after the club issued the statement, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said the incident in question was a workplace matter, not a criminal one.He also said no other players or their families were involved, despite speculation to the contrary.

Rick Bowness believes the Winnipeg Jets' improved camaraderie is a big reason for their success so far in 2023-24.The head coach returned to the team on Friday following a month-long leave of absence after his wife was hospitalized with a seizure. On Tuesday, Bowness was asked what the biggest difference is between this iteration of the club compared to last season's version."Our depth, for sure, our balance. I think the room is in a much better place than it was last year," Bowness said. "Go back to '22 training camp, we made moves, we opened up the room and it's starting to show itself why we did that."I think the room's tighter, I think the culture here is outstanding because of the players. It starts with that off the ice. That's where it all starts, you've gotta have that chemistry, you've gotta have that culture off the ice. This team is a tighter team off the ice and it's shown itself on the ice."It was a busy offseason for the Jets. They bought out former captain Blake Wheeler, and one of Bowness' first moves in 2022-23 was to strip Wheeler of his captaincy. Adam Lowry was given the "C" entering 2023-24.The Jets also made a blockbuster move in dealing Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings for Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, Gabriel Vilardi, and a second-round pick."This team, they don't care who scores, they recognize when guys are blocking shots. It's all respected in that locker room. Guys might not score, but if they save a goal, that's just as important," Bowness said. "They've learned to recognize all the hard work and things that have to be done by guys who don't score a lot."The Jets sit third in the Central Division with a 12-6-2 start to the campaign.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We have a big night of hockey ahead of us - 20 of the league's 32 teams are set to hit the ice. Let's get to the best ways to attack the slate.Hurricanes (-165) @ Flyers (+145)The Flyers are very good at limiting opposing offenses - particularly when Carter Hart is between the pipes.Hart has made 12 starts this season, though he left one appearance very early on with an injury. If you exclude that game, eight of Hart's 11 starts featured six goals or fewer. He's an under machine.Hart owns a solid .911 save percentage and has only allowed more than three goals once all season. He gives the Flyers a chance every night.I don't see Hart suffering through this game. Defensively, the Flyers have played exceptionally well at home this season, allowing just 25 shots per contest. That's the second-best mark in the league.It just so happens that the Flyers are squaring off against a lethal Hurricanes defense that has done a better job than anybody at preventing shots this season.This figures to be a tight, low-event affair where both teams are forced to grind for every offensive inch.The Canes are a middling team in terms of finishing ability, and the Flyers lack firepower up front, so the conversion rates are unlikely to be high enough to push this game over the number.Bet: Under 6.5 (-135)Lightning (-120) @ Coyotes (+100)This game has the potential to turn into a shootout. Andrei Vasilevskiy started on Monday - having just worked his way back from injury - so the Lightning will no doubt defer to Jonas Johansson in the latter half of this back-to-back set. That spells trouble for the under.Johansson fared pretty well early in the season but came back down to earth toward the end of his run as Tampa Bay's starter. Johansson posted a save percentage that was below .900 in seven of his last nine starts, allowing three goals or more in all but one of them. The exception came against the lowly Blackhawks.Any team with an offensive pulse has been able to score at least three goals on Johansson. The Coyotes aren't exactly Wayne Gretzky's Oilers, but they have enough high-end weapons - Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, and Nick Schmaltz, to name a few - that they should be able to do damage in this game.Conversely, the Lightning have played in track meets all season long and know they have to outscore their problems with Johansson between the pipes. They certainly have the ability to do just that, ranking fifth in the league with an average of 3.59 goals per game.Nikita Kucherov is creating nearly a couple of goals per night by himself. He - and the Lightning offense as a whole - should be able to muster up plenty of chances against a leaky Coyotes defense that ranks 29th in shot suppression over the last 10 games.Expect both teams to contribute their fair share of goals in this one.Bet: Over 6.5 (-115)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ToddCordell.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

And the winner of the Patrick Kane sweepstakes is: Detroit.Kane, 35, reportedly agreed to a one-year, $2.75-million deal with the 11-6-3 Red Wings on Tuesday, after many others - including the Maple Leafs, Sabres, Stars, and Bruins - expressed interest in acquiring the unrestricted free agent. Kane appears ready to return to NHL action after spending six months recovering from hip surgery.Here are four takeaways from the Wings' big splash.Flexibility and familiarity wins Bruce Bennett / Getty ImagesWith at least a handful of teams lining up to speak with Kane, the forward essentially had his pick of the scenario he felt most comfortable with.Most money? Most years? Best usage/deployment? Best chance to win?Above all else, Detroit offered flexibility and familiarity.Prior to the signing, the Wings had an open spot on their 23-man roster and roughly $5 million in cap space. This flexibility allowed general manager Steve Yzerman to add a player of Kane's caliber without subtracting from the group.Now coach Derek Lalonde can insert a top-six winger into a lineup that's produced the third-most points in the Atlantic Division. Kane, meanwhile, joins a group hungry to snap a seven-year playoff drought.The familiarity component is twofold: First, Kane knows the Michigan area well after suiting up for the U.S. National Team Development Program for two seasons in the mid-2000s. Second, Kane is reuniting with old linemate and buddy Alex DeBrincat. The pair skated on the same line for a large chunk of DeBrincat's five-year run in Chicago and were highly productive as a tandem. Kane assisted on 72 of 160 goals DeBrincat scored with the Blackhawks. Jonathan Daniel / Getty ImagesDeBrincat was traded to Detroit from Ottawa in July and immediately signed a four-year, $31.5-million extension. The sharpshooting winger leads the Wings with 12 goals in 20 games. He's played the majority of his five-on-five shifts with center Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond (though he did spend Sunday's 4-1 win over Minnesota alongside center J.T. Compher and Michael Rasmussen).Lalonde will presumably prefer that Kane isn't matched up against the opposition's best defenders to start his tenure, so if DeBrincat and Kane indeed play together, Compher should be their center. He's capable of acting as the second line's defensive conscience, allowing Larkin to drive Detroit's attack on the top line with Raymond.Bounce-back year not guaranteedThis is a low-risk move for the Wings because it's for one year, the cap hit is fine, and it didn't necessitate another transaction, as noted above.On the other hand, there's some mystery here: This signing could end up a dud because Kane is coming off hip resurfacing surgery. None of the NHLers who previously underwent the same procedure - Nicklas Backstrom, Ryan Kesler, Ed Jovanovski - looked the same upon returning. Financially, there's little downside because Kane's deal can be transferred to long-term injury reserve if it doesn't work out.Both things - low-risk move, dud possibility - can be true at the same time. Jaylynn Nash / Getty ImagesKane, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, is one of the most decorated players in NHL history. He's a future first-ballot Hockey Hall of Famer with plenty of individual hardware, notably Conn Smythe and Hart Trophies. He's accumulated an incredible 1,237 points in 1,180 games.He also turned 35 earlier in November and is coming off the least productive season of his career - 57 points in 73 games split between the Blackhawks and Rangers. Will Kane, fixed hip and all, return to his 2021-22 form of 92 points in 78 games? Or have his skills truly diminished over time?Kane's always been an elite stickhandler and passer, and his vision is off the charts, but he's never been a particularly reliable defensive player. If he isn't putting up points, whether at even strength or on the power play, he isn't useful. Again, while the risk is low, this isn't a guaranteed home run.Tantalizing best-case scenario Kane's career earnings are north of $115 million. Money's always a factor, but it's not the only one this late in his career. Winning was clearly a priority.I don't see the Wings as a Cup contender, but they certainly look like a playoff-caliber team through the season's first quarter. Maybe that's enough for Kane, who's seen a handful of lower seeds go on deep runs during his career. Or maybe he believes Detroit's being slept on as a contender - and that he can be Lalonde's missing piece. Bruce Bennett / Getty ImagesThe signing's best-case scenario is, in a word, tantalizing.If Kane experiences no hip issues, if he hits it off with DeBrincat again, if the Wings keep progressing ... the fit could be tremendous.Detroit may rank fourth in the NHL in goals per game right now, but the roster needed an upgrade at top-six wing, and Kane's playmaking style fills a specific void.While the Wings rank ninth in the league on the power play, there's room for Kane on a top unit currently featuring Larkin, Compher, Raymond, David Perron, and Shayne Gostisbehere. Kane's all-world vision, passing ability, and years of experience should find a home on the right flank.The Wings have an 8-13 record in overtime/shootout games over the past two seasons. Kane can help with that: He's masterful in OT and has the second-most shootout goals in the league since debuting in 2007-08.Bonus: He's always been clutch in the playoffs.Perhaps most crucially given his age, Kane can hide a little bit. Detroit's top three centers - Larkin, Compher, and Andrew Copp - are all capable of shouldering a heavier defensive load when Kane's on the wing. That means he can go out and create.Another stage of the 'Yzerplan' Dave Reginek / Getty ImagesYzerman, a Wings franchise icon and the GM since April 2019, took a slow and steady approach to the first few years of his tenure. He refused to rush any part of the rebuilding process.Then, in the 2022 offseason, Yzerman added veterans, including Perron, Copp, and goalie Ville Husso. He took his foot off the gas ahead of the 2023 trade deadline - opting to sell instead of buy - before adding another group of vets this past offseason: DeBrincat, Compher, Gostisbehere, and others.Pursuing and ultimately landing Kane was a natural next step. If you're a Wings fan, the best part is Yzerman still has a few million dollars left for midseason deals, assuming Detroit doesn't tumble down the standings over the next couple of months.The first person I thought about when I heard Kane was off to Detroit was Larkin; the captain and Michigan native must be thrilled. The only time Larkin, a 2014 first-rounder, has appeared in the playoffs was 2015-16 - his rookie season and the final leg of Detroit's 25-year postseason streak.There've been many lean years since, but now the Wings are off to a terrific start, and the short-term future projects to be much brighter if Kane's effective.John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter/X (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

When Florida's Sam Reinhart scored the Game 3 overtime dagger that all but sealed Toronto's playoff ouster last May, the "Blow It Up" chorus had never been louder for this iteration of the Maple Leafs.Even those who had long defended the theory behind the roster that general manager Kyle Dubas had constructed - if not the results - had to admit that something was off. Maybe there was a world in which a team could devote the bulk of its salary cap to four skilled forwards, but the Leafs plainly weren't living in it. Just when it seemed like they had finally figured it out with a win over the Lightning in the first round, they collapsed against a Panthers team that had eked into the playoffs.Something had to change. The coach would be gone, surely. Maybe the GM and team president, too. Whatever combination of new hires came in would have license to reject the Dubas philosophy, which had left the Leafs with a shaky defense and bargain-bin goaltending. That Reinhart goal, in which he circled around, skated past several Leafs, and eventually scored on a wraparound, should have come with a warning label: This Is What Happens When You Spend Too Much on Forwards.The question wasn't whether the Leafs would change, but whether it would be a volcanic explosion or a controlled demolition.Six months later, the surprise is how familiar it all seems. Dubas left after a late-breaking power struggle with president Brendan Shanahan, who then hired Brad Treliving, formerly of the Calgary Flames, as his new general manager. Treliving kept head coach Sheldon Keefe, handed him a contract extension, and left the roster largely intact. He didn't blow it up, even a little. Buttons were distinctly unpressed.If anything, Treliving's moves were quite Dubassian, trying to make up for the lack of cap space by signing Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi and John Klingberg to one-year deals and leaving the goaltending duties to Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll, the same pair that finished last season in Toronto's net. He also signed enforcer Ryan Reaves to a three-year contract, which Dubas would only have done if threats and gunplay were involved.The end result of all that fiddling - there really is no other word for it - is a roster that has similar strengths and weaknesses to its earlier versions and, so far, has produced middling results. After two blown leads over the weekend, the 10-6-3 Maple Leafs have just five regulation wins, or one more than the Sharks and Blackhawks, teams that are in early-stage rebuilds. Steve Russell / Toronto Star / Getty ImagesKlingberg's Maple Leafs career might have lasted all of 14 games now that he's been banished to long-term injured reserve. Domi and Bertuzzi have struggled to find roles (although the latter is trending up). Samsonov has turned into Russian Jack Campbell, complete with sad, self-admonishing quotes. The toughness that Reaves brings is offset by the fact that he has been largely unplayable, a team-worst minus-11 despite averaging fewer than eight minutes per game. He's reportedly an excellent fantasy football commissioner, though, so that's nice.Last spring's "Blow It Up" has turned into this fall's "Run It Back," and Leafs fans could be forgiven for wondering if this is really the best that Shanahan could come up with when he surveyed the wreckage of another playoff disaster. The top-heavy Leafs undone by a lack of depth and a creaky defense? Who could have possibly foreseen this?Adding to the sense of unease is the fact that the shaky results have come amid a career year from pending unrestricted free agent William Nylander and a still-pretty-good year from his 33-year-old linemate, John Tavares. Even if Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner pick up their scoring to match their output of recent seasons, it's reasonable to expect that second line to regress a bit. Line changes at practice on Monday suggest Keefe might try sparking things by moving Nylander up to play with Matthews and putting Marner next to Tavares.The handy thing about having four high-end forwards is that they can help plaster over a lot of cracks. If Treliving can figure out a way to bolster the blue line, and if a goalie gets into a groove, it's certainly possible for the team as currently constructed to get on a hot streak. That was the essence of the Dubas process: Get enough scoring from the skill players and eventually the vagaries of playoff hockey will break your way. It almost worked, repeatedly. Darn those vagaries.But the big moves that weren't made last summer will look more attractive as long as the current malaise continues. The Panthers come to Toronto on Tuesday, offering a fresh chance to revisit the most recent playoff flop. The relentless Boston Bruins arrive later in the week, another reminder of playoff woes. (There are, admittedly, many such teams for the Leafs.)Will Keefe keep his job into the new year if the Leafs keep hovering around the playoff bubble? Will they use a giant contract to keep Nylander in Toronto, or use the cap space that his deal would eat up on someone who's more involved in the goal-prevention business? Will they be aggressive in the trade market, or wait until the summer to retool?Treliving just got hired, after all, and probably figures he has plenty of runway. He hasn't even overseen a heartbreaking Game 7 Toronto loss yet.Scott Stinson is a former national sports columnist for Postmedia News.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We are coming off a disappointing 1-2 night with our props. Aleksander Barkov got the job done against the Senators to get us started. Unfortunately, neither Vincent Trocheck nor Jack Eichel stayed under the number to earn us a winning night.We'll look to rebound with three more props for Tuesday night's card.Nico Hischier over 2.5 shotsHischier is a home cooker. Despite receiving the most difficult defensive assignments from head coach Lindy Ruff, he consistently generates shots at a high rate on home ice.His success rate is 10% higher when playing in New Jersey than it is on the road dating back to the beginning of last season.I like his chances of continuing that trend against the Islanders. They have struggled defensively all season long and allowed more shots per game than all but the Sharks over the last 10.Hischier has a strong track record against the Islanders. He has registered at least three shots in four of his past five against New York, attempting seven shots - and hitting the target only once - in the lone exception.Hischier also has ideal linemates to generate shots. He is centering Ondrej Palat (two goals, eight assists) and Jesper Bratt (eight goals, 17 assists). Those are both pass-happy wingers who would rather create for others than themselves.Look for Hischier, who has averaged more than 20 attempts per 60 minutes (a very strong number) when playing with those two, to put a few pucks on net.Odds: -134 (playable to -150)Auston Matthews over 4.5 shotsMatthews is currently in a big drought offensively, especially by his standards. He has gone under his shot total in seven consecutive games and found the scoresheet in only two of them.In an effort to jumpstart the star center, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe has opted to move William Nylander up to the top line in place of the struggling Mitch Marner. That should greatly benefit Matthews.Matthews and Marner are often the duo Keefe goes with, but the former has actually been drastically more productive alongside Nylander.Since the beginning of last season, Matthews has averaged 3.34 points per 60 minutes of five-on-five play (540-minute sample) while riding shotgun with Nylander. He has managed just 2.21 points per 60 with Marner (787-minute sample).Although Matthews hasn't spent a ton of time with Nylander this year, his rate of generating points and shots is higher with him than it is with No. 16.Matthews is averaging noticeably more volume at home (8.8 attempts per game versus 7.2 on the road) and should see a spark playing alongside the team's leading producer this season. Look for him to be active offensively against a Panthers team in the latter half of a road back-to-back.Odds: +120 (playable to -125)Kyle Connor over 3.5 shotsThe Stars don't provide the best matchup on paper. They are a very strong team that tends to play slower-paced games to suck the life out of opposing offenses. They haven't done much of that away from home, though.Dallas has conceded 34.9 shots per game on the road. That is the fourth-highest mark in the league, better than only the Senators, Sharks, and Islanders.If the Jets are going to see anywhere close to that kind of volume, it's good news for Connor. Their shot outputs are heavily concentrated towards him.He has recorded 82 shots on goal through 20 games, which is more than four per outing. The next closest Jet is Nino Niederreiter at 53. That is a massive gap.This game should be close and competitive, which means the Jets will be spoon-feeding Connor ice time and funnelling pucks his way.Odds: +100 (playable to -125)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ToddCordell.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin gave head coach Dean Evason a vote of confidence less than two weeks ago amid the team's underwhelming start to the campaign. Then Guerin fired him on Monday.The executive explained his change of heart while introducing John Hynes as Minnesota's new bench boss on Tuesday."The coaches can't go out and execute for the players and play, but I just, I didn't feel like it was going to come back. ... I think it had just gotten to that point where - almost no matter what they did - the guys were having a hard time executing and generating offense," Guerin said. "Something had to change. 'You can't trade 23 players' is the old saying. I just had that feeling that it wasn't going to come back."When asked to explain what "it" was, the GM elaborated."It's a little bit of everything. It's the confidence, it's the swagger, it's the ability to make plays," Guerin said. "The feeling that when you step out on the ice, you're going to accomplish something. ... There's just that it factor, and you feel it and you know it."The Wild fired Evason and assistant coach Bob Woods after starting the campaign 5-10-4. Minnesota has one less victory than the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks, the only team beneath the Wild in the Central Division. Heading into Tuesday's slate, Minnesota was seven points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Wild have made the playoffs in each of the last four campaigns.Hynes' first game as head coach of the Wild is mere hours away, but he has prior experience stepping behind a team's bench midseason. He came in for the Predators in January 2020 and Nashville went 16-11-1 to close out the campaign under his direction. The Arizona Coyotes eliminated the Preds in the qualifying round of that year's expanded playoffs.The veteran coach outlined his plan for the reeling Wild on Tuesday."I think you have to come in and, first and foremost, it's important to get to know the players," Hynes said. "It's on the fly, but I believe when you come into this situation, everybody's hurting. It's a tough situation. ..."It's first 'who,' then 'what.' I think when it comes to the 'what' side, it's really just pinpointing simple things. You're not going to come in midseason and make wholesale changes, but I think you want to work on identity, you want to work on the mindset of the team. You come in and make some slight tweaks."With that strategy, Guerin believes the Wild will be able to right the ship with Hynes at the helm."The slate's clean for the guys. It's a new day, it's a new voice, they're going to get a new message. ... I know these players really well, their buy-in level is really high," Guerin said. "If they can make this team better or be better, they'll do it. ... I think they'll listen to John right away."Rookie defenseman Brock Faber seems ready to hear that message."We have a playoff hockey team in here," he said, per The Athletic's Michael Russo. "This is a wake-up call for all of us."Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The officials didn't discriminate after a line brawl erupted in the third period of the Florida Panthers' 5-0 win over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night.Tempers flared earlier in the game, but things reached a boiling point when Senators captain Brady Tkachuk bumped into Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky following a scoring chance in the latter half of the final stanza.Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov then went after Tkachuk, and a full-out melee ensued.Here's another look at referee Garrett Rank's all-encompassing penalty call:

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov is unhappy playing fourth-line minutes and wants to leave the team, his agent, Shumi Babaev, told Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch."He doesn't feel they trust him, and he wants to leave," Babaev said via text message. "They don't understand how bad 'Chinny' feels."Babaev added that he spoke with Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen about his client's displeasure, but no formal trade request has been made yet.Chinakhov wants to stay in the NHL and doesn't intend to return to Russia."Sometimes (I thought about it)," he said. "But I want to play here and that's it."Chinakhov is playing on a one-year, $800,000 contract. He'll be a restricted free agent at the end of the season and is under team control until 2028.The 22-year-old has averaged 13:27 of ice time this season - 12th among Blue Jackets forwards. He's recorded four points in 13 games. In his career, he's tallied 13 goals and 18 assists in 104 contests.The Blue Jackets selected Chinakhov 21st overall at the 2020 NHL Draft. The pick was considered a major surprise at the time, as most pundits viewed him as a third-round player. He was old enough to be taken in the 2019 draft but didn't get picked.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox is expected to return to the lineup Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen.Though Fox is set to come off long-term injured reserve, forwards Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil are going on it. Chytil's placement is retroactive to Nov. 3 and is strictly for cap reasons, Rosen added.Kakko suffered a lower-body injury during Monday's 5-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres and is expected to miss significant time, but it's not believed to be season-ending.Fox has missed the last 10 games since taking a knee-on-knee hit from Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho on Nov. 2. The Rangers didn't bend or break with their No. 1 blue-liner out of commission, going 7-2-1 to take over the top spot in the NHL's standings.Here's how the Rangers' back end looked without Fox in the mix:LDRDK'Andre MillerJacob TroubaRyan LindgrenErik GustafssonZac JonesBraden SchneiderJacob Trouba and K'Andre Miller averaged around 24 minutes of ice time over the last 10 outings after seeing just over 21 minutes each when Fox was in the lineup. Erik Gustafsson filled in effectively for Fox beside Ryan Lindgren and on the top power-play unit, amassing 11 points in his last 10 games. Zac Jones entered the lineup on a consistent basis to form the third pairing with Braden Schneider.Fox's return only makes the red-hot Rangers more dangerous. He was enjoying a strong start to the campaign with three goals and 11 points in 10 outings prior to his absence.Since Fox's debut in 2019-20, he ranks fifth among all defensemen with 246 points (39 goals, 207 assists) in 295 games.The 25-year-old has been a finalist for the Norris Trophy in two of the last three seasons, and he won the award honoring the league's best defenseman in 2021.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

On Monday, brave bettors might have taken the Blue Jackets as big home underdogs against the Bruins. That matchup served as a clear example of one team coming into a game with an inflated market rating and the other with a deflated rating. Let's take a deeper dive into each club.Boston BruinsThe Bruins have started a second straight season by exceeding expectations. The market's projection that they'd collect 100 points was the 10th-highest in the NHL, suggesting they'd be 9.4% more likely to beat an average team on any given night. The Bruins were 10 games above .500 on the moneyline prior to their recent three-game losing streak, so oddsmakers adjusted for their exceptional play and boosted the team's rating.Looking at their advanced metrics, the Bruins are punching above their weight - even more so than last year.METRIC2022-'232023-'24xG% (5-on-5)53.251.4HDC Conversion % (5-on-5)12.614.8Team GSAx/60+0.726+0.596Boston's even-strength expected goals share (xG) is lower than it was in 2022-23, they're converting high-danger chances at a higher (less sustainable) rate than last year, and the team's goaltending, while still very good, hasn't been Vezina-like.Columbus Blue JacketsA week ago, Columbus was 4-15 for moneyline bettors. Naturally, the market dinged them for their rating - which was just shy of 20% below that of a league-average team. However, while a 48.05 xG% doesn't light the world on fire, the Blue Jackets' even-strength play was better than nine other teams - including the Maple Leafs and Canucks. Elvis Merzlikins and Spencer Martin mustered a combined total of 0.79 goals saved above expected (GSAx).In the last week, that goaltending duo has stopped almost a full goal (0.86) above expected as Columbus has won three of four, with the lone loss coming down to the wire in Carolina.The Blue Jackets' stats were improving even before they handed the Bruins their third straight loss in a 5-2 game.The cheat sheetThe dirty little secret in the betting world is that, while there are no bad bets at the right price, the discovery process of what a good price looks like is hidden.Each week, we balance market information from regular-season point totals and in-season advanced metrics - with an even-strength focus - to determine the win probability for each team and the moneyline needed to bet on either side. The idea is to remove the cognitive bias of win-loss records, which can be skewed by outliers like special-team results, poor goaltending performances, and other unreliable events.You can use whatever parameters you like to decide how much of an edge you need to trigger a bet, but here are mine:True line favorite of -111 or longer: 1%True line between -110 and +110: 2.5%True line underdog of +111 or longer: 4%I also have a 5% win probability consideration for a team playing in the second game of a back-to-back with travel and a 3% consideration for the second leg of a home back-to-back. When it comes to injured players, an estimation is made on the player's impact on their team's win probability.When the betting markets open up the night before, you can compare those prices with our "price to bet" column to see if you're getting any value with either side's moneyline. There's a possibility that a moneyline moves into a bet-friendly range between the market opening and puck drop.DATEGAMEWIN PROB. (%)PRICE TO BETNov. 28FLA@TOR38.1/61.9FLA +193/TOR -156NYI@NJD39.3/60.7NYI +183/NJD -148CAR@PHI59.6/40.4CAR -142/PHI +175PIT@NSH50.2/49.8PIT +110/NSH +111STL@MIN40.3/59.7STL +176/MIN -142DAL@WPG52.1/47.9DAL +102/WPG +120SEA@CHI56.1/43.9SEA -123/CHI +150VGK@EDM36.1/63.9VGK+212/EDM -170TBL@ARI48.7/51.3TBL +117/ARI +105ANA@VAN30.1/69.9ANA +283/VAN -222Nov. 29MTL@CBJ45.1/54.9MTL +143/CBJ -117DET@NYR44.3/55.7DET +148/NYR -121WSH@LAK38.2/61.8WSH +192/LAK -155Nov. 30CHI@DET39.2/60.8CHI +184/DET -149SEA@TOR40.6/59.4SEA +173/TOR -140PIT@TBL47.4/52.6PIT +123/TBL +100SJS@BOS30.5/69.5SJS +277/BOS -217NJD@PHI59.0/41.0NJD -138/PHI +170FLA@MTL62.8/37.2FLA -162/MTL +201NYI@CAR38.7/61.3NYI +188/CAR -152EDM@WPG52.2/47.8EDM +101/WPG +121MIN@NSH49.7/50.3MIN +112/NSH +109BUF@STL47.6/52.4BUF +122/STL +100COL@ARI59.0/41.0COL -138/ARI +170DAL@CGY50.8/49.2DAL +107/CGY +114VGK@VAN51.4/48.6VGK+104/VAN +117WSH@ANA48.4/51.6WSH +118/ANA +104Dec. 1SJS@NJD27.5/72.5SJS +325/NJD -251OTT@CBJ53.3/46.7OTT -110/CBJ +134Dec. 2TBL@DAL41.1/58.9TBL +170/DAL -138CHI@WPG36.4/63.6CHI +209/WPG -167NYR@NSH46.5/53.5NYR +135/NSH -110NYI@FLA43.0/57.0NYI +156/FLA -127DET@MTL52.1/47.9DET +102/MTL +120BOS@TOR43.8/56.2BOS +151/TOR -123SEA@OTT52.2/47.8SEA +101/OTT +121BUF@CAR36.7/63.3BUF +206/CAR -165PHI@PIT37.1/62.9PHI +202/PIT -163STL@ARI48.9/51.1STL +116/ARI +106WSH@VGK41.4/58.6WSH +167/VGK-136COL@ANA63.1/36.9COL -164/ANA +204VAN@CGY43.7/56.3VAN +152/CGY -124Dec. 3CHI@MIN29.3/70.7CHI +295/MIN -230SJS@NYR39.3/60.7SJS +184/NYR -148NSH@BUF44.5/55.5NSH +147/BUF -120CBJ@BOS39.4/60.6CBJ +183/BOS -148COL@LAK44.9/55.1COL +144/LAK -118Dec. 4DAL@TBL50.9/49.1DAL +106/TBL +115PIT@PHI54.9/45.1PIT -117/PHI +143SEA@MTL55.4/44.6SEA -119/MTL +146CAR@WPG53.2/46.8CAR -109/WPG +134WSH@ARI49.3/50.7WSH +114/ARI +107STL@VGK38.0/62.0STL +194/VGK-156Matt Russell is the lead betting analyst for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on social media @mrussauthentic.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL is turning back the clock by resurrecting the player draft it used during several past All-Star Weekends.The league announced Monday it's expanding this season's festivities in Toronto to three days. The player draft will take place Thursday, Feb. 1, followed by the skills competition the next day, and then the three-on-three tournament on Saturday.In terms of the player draft, the four All-Star captains (one from each division) will fill out their teams from the remaining pool of players after the conclusion of fan voting. The event will be televised, and each captain will be paired with a celebrity.The NHL held an All-Star player draft in 2011, 2012, and 2015. It was the first league to use the format when it debuted. The most memorable moment came in the inaugural edition, when then-Maple Leafs winger Phil Kessel was passed over until the final pick.The 2015 version will be remembered for Alex Ovechkin doing everything he could to ensure he was taken last, including holding up a hand-written sign that said, "I WANT TO BE LAST (.) I NEED A CAR(.)" The league awarded a new vehicle to the player chosen with the final pick. Ovi was ultimately taken with two other players still on the board.This year's All-Star Weekend will also include a PWHL showcase on Thursday.Toronto will host the midseason event for the first time since 2000.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Minnesota Wild dismissed head coach Dean Evason and assistant Bob Woods after beginning the campaign with a 5-10-4 record, the club announced Monday.Former Nashville Predators bench boss John Hynes will take over behind the Wild bench.The Wild have lost seven straight games, one of which came in overtime and another of which occurred in a shootout. They sit second last in the Central Division, just two points ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks with the same number of games played.Evason said the Wild had to "change something" after the team's seventh straight defeat Sunday. Veteran forward Pat Maroon also vented his frustration, calling it "f-----g unacceptable" and adding that "(our) guys should be pissed off."Minnesota entered Monday with the fourth-worst points percentage (.368) in the NHL. The club ranked second worst in goals against per game (3.95) and 22nd in goals for (2.95) per contest.Evason had guided the Wild since 2019-20. They went 147-77-27 during the 59-year-old's tenure. They reached the postseason in all four of the previous seasons but failed to make it past the opening round each time.Minnesota hired Evason as an assistant coach in 2018 and named him interim head coach upon firing Bruce Boudreau in February 2020. The team removed Evason's interim tag five months later.The Predators fired Hynes in May after the club missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013-14. He spent parts of four seasons behind the Preds' bench after guiding the New Jersey Devils for parts of five campaigns.Hynes' teams have finished no higher than fourth in their division during his eight seasons as an NHL head coach. That includes three eighth-place finishes (though one was after the Devils fired him in 2019-20), one seventh-place effort, and three fifth-place performances by the Predators.The Devils made the playoffs once under Hynes, losing in the first round in 2017-18. Nashville failed to advance past the opening round in each of its three postseason berths under the 48-year-old.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman will sit out two games for tripping Detroit Red Wings winger Alex DeBrincat on Sunday, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced Monday.Hartman used his right leg and arm to haul DeBrincat down when the two players were entangled in the third period of the Red Wings' 4-1 victory Sunday.

Headlined by the Tkachuk Bowl, there are six games on an abnormally fruitful Monday night slate.Let's take a look at the best ways to attack them.Panthers (-125) @ Senators (+110)The Panthers are a solid defensive team, but their high-powered offense doesn't shy away from a track meet if needed. That always seems to be the case when they square off against the Senators.Since last season - the beginning of the Matthew Tkachuk era in Florida - the Panthers have met Brady Tkachuk and the Senators thrice.The two sides combined to score 24 goals (eight per contest) while going over a 6.5 total in each meeting. The shot outputs suggest that was by no means a coincidence.They generated a whopping 233 shots on goal over the course of three meetings. That's 77.6 per game, approximately 15 more than you'd expect in an average NHL contest.If we see anywhere close to that volume in this game, I expect the two sides to soar past the total.Sergei Bobrovsky owns a .906 save percentage this season and has graded out roughly even in terms of goals saved above expected. He's playing adequate hockey but is by no means stealing games for the Panthers.Joonas Korpisalo has conceded at least three goals in four of his past five starts and is just returning from a minor injury. This isn't the ideal spot to ease back into things.With all the firepower featured in this game, as well as mediocre goaltending and a shaky Senators defense, there are a lot of pathways to goals. Expect a bunch of them.Bet: Over 6.5 (-140)Capitals (-215) @ Sharks (+180)I am the furthest thing from a Capitals believer, yet I still think this price is too short.For all the Capitals' faults, they're an opportunistic team going up against the NHL's worst shot-suppression side. The Sharks rank dead last in shots allowed per game and are showing no signs of improvement.They also take minor penalties at a high rate, averaging nearly 3.75 per game. Only seven teams have been more undisciplined.Although the Capitals haven't converted many chances into goals, they've piled up quality looks while on the man advantage. It's only a matter of time before a unit featuring power-play specialists like Alexander Ovechkin, and John Carlson starts to find the back of the net.The Sharks rank dead last in expected goals allowed - and 30th in goals against - per 60 minutes of shorthanded play. They should be just what the doctor ordered.On the flip side, the Capitals don't take many penalties. They're unlikely to provide the Sharks with many power-play opportunities, forcing the league's worst five-on-five offense to do damage. I don't see that happening.Look for the Capitals to rebound from an ugly defeat with a regulation win over the Sharks.Bet: Capitals in regulation (-130)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ToddCordell.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jacob Trouba feels bad.The New York Rangers captain showed remorse for the stick-swinging incident on Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic on Saturday that earned him a $5,000 fine. He lambasted his own actions as "dirty.""The play obviously can't happen," Trouba said, according to lohud.com's Vincent Z. Mercogliano. "It was 100% accidental. At the time, I was shocked it happened. I immediately said, 'I apologize. I didn't have any intention of doing that.' I felt like my hand was pushed and I was kind of off balance, so I apologized right away. That was kind of the end of it then. Then after the game, I saw a video of it, and it doesn't look good. It's not an excusable thing."The defenseman added, "I have to control my posture and my stick better than that. I'm glad he wasn't injured. I deserve the fine. Take it and move on. Learn from the experience and don't let it happen again. That's not the player I want to be."Trouba caught Frederic in the head with his stick early in the second period of the Rangers' 7-4 victory over the Bruins. He wasn't penalized on the play and avoided a suspension.

We have a juicy six-game slate to begin the week. Let's look at a few of my favorite props as we look to start off on a winning note.Aleksander Barkov over 2.5 shots Barkov is somewhat of a matchup-dependent shooter. The good news is that he has a great one Monday night in Ottawa.The Senators are dealing with injuries on defense - and bleeding shots as a result. Only the Sharks, Islanders, and Blue Jackets have conceded five-on-five shots at a higher clip over the past 10 games. That should benefit Barkov, who has one of the highest even-strength shot rates on the Panthers this season.Barkov also has a very strong track record against the Senators: He's registered 19 shots on goal and 31 attempts over the past five head-to-head meetings. Unsurprisingly, he went over his shot total in four of them.The Panthers are coming off a pair of losses and had three of the past four days off. Barkov, well-rested and hungry, should get a full workload against an exploitable Sens defense.Odds: -114 (playable to -130)Vincent Trocheck under 2.5 shotsTrocheck has gone under his shot total in 13 of 19 games (68%) and often falls well short. He's averaging just 1.7 shots on goal and has finished with one or fewer in nine of 19 tries. Obviously, he's not a big shooter.I'm not sure the Sabres are the best matchup to extract a ceiling performance. They rank sixth in five-on-five shot suppression over the past 10 games and are one of the league's best teams at limiting volume to opposing centers.Of note, centers with 2.5 shooting lines like Evgeni Malkin (twice), Mark Scheifele, Connor Bedard, and Sebastian Aho have recently fallen short against the Sabres. The last pivot with a 2.5 total to go over was the Senators' Josh Norris - and that happened in October.Although Trocheck did go over his total against the Sabres in early October, he failed to get the job done on three different occasions this past spring. I expect that to be the case again this time around.Odds: -130 (playable to -145)Jack Eichel under 3.5 shots Eichel doesn't need a ton of attempts to find the back of the net on any given night. He's an accurate shooter, which makes him a scary player to fade - but this contest against the Flames is worth taking the plunge.He's very dependent on the power play for shooting success. Over the past 10 games, Eichel's generated 34 shots (3.4 per game) 14 of which came on the power play. That's more than 41% of his volume.I don't think power-play dependency is a good recipe for success against the Flames. They've been one of the 10 best teams at avoiding penalties this season - and they're only getting more disciplined.It's also worth noting the Flames aren't a great positional matchup. They're 24th in shots allowed per game to centers, on par with the Kings, Jets, and Avalanche.Additionally, Eichel has registered four attempts or fewer in five straight outings against the Flames. Although Darryl Sutter is gone, the Flames' defensive numbers are solid and the team's core remains intact. This isn't a great spot for him.Odds: -135 (playable to -150)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ToddCordell.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Edmonton has started to return to form during its current two-game winning streak, but captain Connor McDavid knows the Oilers still have their work cut out for them if they want to reach the level of their dominant 2022-23 team."We're a long ways from that," he told Sportsnet's Gene Principe after Edmonton's 8-2 shellacking of the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. "We're just taking it one day at a time. I look back to last year, we were 10-10 after 20 (games). We're five points back of that. Not ideal, but certainly by no means are we dead in the water."The Oilers are in seventh place in their division with a 7-12-1 record and are 14 points behind the Vancouver Canucks for third place in the Pacific. If the playoffs started today, Edmonton would miss out on the second wild-card spot by six points.Last season, McDavid and Co. were fifth in their division when they hit the 20-game mark and were only four points back of the Los Angeles Kings in the No. 3 spot. The Oilers went 40-13-9 the rest of the way to finish in second place in the Pacific.Edmonton will hope its strong showing against the Ducks on Sunday can be a springboard for another remarkable turnaround. The Oilers trailed two separate times in the opening frame but entered the first intermission with a 4-2 lead."It's something that we've been missing throughout the year, so good to see a little bit of resilience there," McDavid remarked.Edmonton scored twice in each of the next two periods to complete the rout, with McDavid's five points leading the way offensively.Just one week ago, Leon Draisaitl bemoaned his and McDavid's uncharacteristic scoring slumps, but the latter has since woken up. McDavid's outburst Sunday came just two days after he factored in all but one of the Oilers' goals during their 5-0 win over the Washington Capitals.The 26-year-old has racked up nine points in his last two games and 12 in his last four contests, raising his total to 25 points in 18 games this campaign. He's just 10 points behind Nikita Kucherov for the NHL scoring lead."Confidence is obviously a big part of it," McDavid said. "I think our whole team is playing better, and I think that's why you're seeing guys start to have success."It's not just a light switch that one guy or two guys can just turn on. It takes a whole group, and I thought our group's been playing better of late."The Oilers will try and win their third game in a row Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Minnesota Wild forward Pat Maroon didn't hold back after his team's seventh straight loss Sunday."F-----g unacceptable. ... Guys should be pissed off," Maroon said, according to The Athletic's Joe Smith.The Wild dropped Sunday's contest against the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 despite outshooting the opposition 38-23. The loss drops Minnesota to 5-10-4 on the campaign, with the team's last win coming against the New York Islanders on Nov. 7."We've gotta change something," head coach Dean Evason said postgame. "We can't just continue to (say), 'Well, it's a good effort, we outshot them, we had lots of chances.' We're still losing. So, we gotta find a way to win."Evason added: "Same mistakes, same guys are not pulling their weight. Same mistakes that happen most nights and don't allow us to have a true, true chance of winning a hockey game."The Wild are the league's third-most penalized team per game and have the NHL's worst penalty kill at 67.2%. Minnesota allowed another two power-play goals against the Red Wings on Sunday.Maroon took a tripping penalty 52 seconds into the third period, and Detroit converted on the ensuing man advantage to go up 3-1. He called the play "stupid" and took the blame for his mistake, according to Smith.Evason called out Matt Boldy on Friday, saying the forward "100%" needs to play better, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo. He reiterated the sentiment after Sunday's loss."Sometimes, we'll take accountability, but there are sometimes where the player's gotta step up," Evason said when asked about Boldy. "I don't care how old you are, and I don't care what's going on, these guys get paid a lot of money to score goals and to play better, and some guys aren't. We'll do what we can do from our end, but there's gotta be some looking in the mirror as well."Boldy has one goal and eight points in 11 games. His lone goal came Oct. 14 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 22-year-old is in the first season of a seven-year, $49-million contract signed in January.The Wild will look to snap their losing skid Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Andre Tourigny thinks his scrappy Arizona Coyotes showed their worth during an inspired 2-0 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Sin City on Saturday night."It was pretty close to a Picasso (painting) for a coach," the bench boss told reporters postgame. "We were urgent, focused all night long. ... It's a Stanley Cup champion team on the other side. The way we played defensively, the way we managed the puck, the way we managed our game, that's what we were begging for for a while.""That's what we're capable of," Tourigny added. "I'm not saying we'll play 82 like that, but with the mindset we had, we need to copy and paste."The goaltenders - Connor Ingram for Arizona and Logan Thompson for Vegas - were the main storyline of the contest through the first two periods. The tilt remained scoreless until the midway mark of the final frame when Coyotes star Clayton Keller broke the deadlock with his eighth tally of the season. Keller's goal would be the only one that beat a netminder in the game, as Lawson Crouse iced the outing with an empty-netter.Ingram was undoubtedly Arizona's MVP after turning aside all 34 shots he faced for his second career shutout. He saved 3.37 goals above expected to help the Coyotes end a three-game losing streak that saw them tumble two places in the Central Division standings."We've had some long meetings there the past couple of days just trying to get things back on track, so I think that was a great response from everybody," Ingram said. "That's a good win to learn from and to build on."The victory didn't come easy for the Coyotes, who were outshot 34-18. Arizona's lineup was also heavily depleted: In addition to still being without centers Barrett Hayton and Jack McBain, as well as rearguard Travis Dermott, key blue-liner Matt Dumba missed the contest with a lower-body injury.The Coyotes played half the game with five defensemen after Vladislav Kolyachonok went down with a lower-body ailment in the middle stanza. Troy Stecher led the team in ice time after playing for a season-high 26:49 minutes."The way our guys responded on the back end, really proud of them," Tourigny said.The Coyotes are attempting to move into the next phase of their rebuild this season and currently sit six points behind the Dallas Stars for third place in their division.Next up for Arizona is a clash against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba dodged a suspension Saturday despite committing an objectively questionable act.The NHL instead fined the defenseman for hitting Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic in the head with his stick after a whistle early in the second period of the Rangers' 7-4 win.

Kyle Okposo scored the game-tying goal during the Sabres' come-from-behind win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night, but the captain's intermission speech was equally vital to Buffalo's comeback."(Okposo) said some things (before the third period) - I think everyone in here wanted to run through a brick wall after he spoke," winger Alex Tuch revealed after Buffalo's 3-2 victory. "He's the type of guy that, it doesn't matter what he says, everyone in here is going to listen."The shots and scoring chances were nearly even through the game's first 40 minutes - 22-20 in favour of the Penguins and 20-19 in favour of the Sabres during the first and second period, respectively - but Buffalo had nothing to show for it and headed into the locker room for the second intermission down 2-0.Okposo knew his team needed to be desperate during the final stanza, and his rallying cry set the table for what he viewed as the Sabres' "best period of the year.""Just go," Okposo said of his message to his young team. "Quit worrying about making so many mistakes and worrying about giving up chances. We didn't have that for a long period of stretches last year. We just haven't quite been there this year."He added, "We just wanted to play our game. I've talked about it before, we just haven't played our game. It's just pressure, pressure, pressure, go, go, go. A lot of times when we do that, we stop thinking, and a lot of goals end up on the highlight film."Jeff Skinner kicked off the comeback with a power-play goal just five minutes into the third period, and Okposo followed suit with his first goal of the season soon after. Tuch netted the game-winner in the final minutes of regulation, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen turned aside all 11 shots he faced.Sabres head coach Don Granato said he gave the floor to Okposo after their exciting win."I thought he did a great job between the second and third, and postgame we went right back to him for further comments because it was a great job," he said. "It was a leadership move but a collective effort. We have lots and lots of leaders in the room that took lots of initiative."The Sabres are now in sixth place in the Atlantic Division in terms of points percentage with a 9-9-2 record. Okposo hopes Buffalo can use Friday's inspiring victory as a stepping stone to keep its dreams of ending a 12-year playoff drought alive."There's no time like the present. We're almost 20 games in, we're almost a quarter of the way through," he said. "We're .500 here and we haven't played our best hockey. I think that bodes well for us if we can just get back to using our legs because there's not a lot of teams in this league that can keep up with us if we're playing like that."Next up for the Sabres is a clash against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New York Islanders claimed veteran defenseman Mike Reilly off waivers from the Florida Panthers, the team announced Saturday.The move comes after the Islanders announced they'd placed rearguard Adam Pelech on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body ailment. Pelech exited the first period of Friday's 5-3 victory over Ottawa after absorbing a hit from Senators forward Drake Batherson.Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello later said he expects Pelech to miss at least a few weeks, according to Newsday's Andrew Gross.A vital piece of the Islanders' blue line, Pelech has logged three assists in 16 games so far this season while averaging 19:37 minutes of ice time. The 29-year-old missed three games earlier this campaign with a lower-body issue.New York also lost defenseman Sebastian Aho to injury against the Senators. Shortly after Pelech went to the dressing room, Aho left the game in the opening frame following a check into the boards by center Rourke Chartier.Lamoriello said Aho is now dealing with an upper-body injury but doesn't yet know how much time he'll miss, according to the New York Post's Ethan Sears.Reilly, meanwhile, appeared in two games with the Panthers this season and averaged just over 14 minutes while failing to register a point. Lamoriello expects Reilly to join the team on Sunday, per Gross.The 30-year-old Reilly has also suited up for the Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, and Boston Bruins. Florida signed him to a one-year, $1-million deal in July after Boston bought out the final year of his contract.Reilly has amassed 98 points in 341 games across nine NHL seasons.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe doesn't think star winger Mitch Marner has consistently looked like himself this season."Just not executing at the level that you'd expect from Mitch," Keefe said Saturday, per TSN. "At times he's had it. ... But, no doubt, Mitch hasn't found his groove here yet."Marner has already been held without a point six times this season, including in four of his last six games. For comparison, he was only held off the scoresheet 14 times in 2022-23, when he racked up a team-leading 99 points (30 goals, 69 assists) in 80 outings.By no stretch has the 26-year-old been a non-factor offensively this season, though. Marner showed flashes of his usual self while posting back-to-back four-point games against the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning in early November. Heading into Saturday's action, Marner ranked third on the Maple Leafs with 20 points in 18 games, while his 15 assists are tied with William Nylander for the most on the team.Nine of his helpers have come on Auston Matthews goals, but Marner's sniping centerman has struggled to score as of late with just one tally in his last six games. Marner has also had a hard time finding the back of the net, with his last goal coming Nov. 6 against the Bolts, good for a six-game drought.Keefe wasn't ecstatic with his top line - consisting of Matthews, Marner, and rookie Matthew Knies - after Friday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in which the Maple Leafs surrendered a two-goal lead. That unit was on the ice for two goals against at five-on-five and generated just two shots on net, per Natural Stat Trick."They're not making plays; plays are just dying on their sticks," the bench boss said. "That's a big part of it. However, we're one game away from them carrying us offensively against Minnesota in Sweden. They scored two five-on-five goals, they were our best line in that game. So I have to be mindful of that and not just overreact to a game such as last night."It certainly has my attention because it's happening more than I'd like and not positive enough. They've been challenged before, they've responded."Marner and his linemates will have a chance to rebound Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said Corey Perry will be away from the team "for the foreseeable future," adding that his absence is a team decision rather than Perry's decision, according to the Chicago Sun-Times' Ben Pope.The executive wouldn't provide any more details about what's causing Perry's unavailability."To start ruling anything out is irresponsible," Davidson said, per NBC Sports Chicago's Charlie Roumeliotis. "So I'm just going to not comment on any possible outcome of this."Perry's agent, Pat Morris, said Saturday that his client has stepped away from the team "to attend to personal matters," according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.Chicago made Perry a healthy scratch against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday due to what head coach Luke Richardson described as "organizational" reasons.Similar to Davidson, the bench boss said Thursday that the Blackhawks would keep the reason for Perry's absence "internal" for now.The Blackhawks acquired Perry's negotiation rights from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a 2024 seventh-round pick in June. Chicago subsequently inked the 38-year-old to a one-year, $4-million deal.Perry was performing well in his 19th NHL season prior to his mysterious departure. He racked up four goals and nine points in 16 contests.Chicago is also playing without Taylor Hall, who is expected to miss the rest of the 2023-24 campaign with a knee injury and will undergo surgery to address the issue on Monday.Despite two major holes up front without Hall and Perry, Davidson said he isn't in a position to make moves to add to his rebuilding team."It's not an easy thing to do, to add on the fly, especially this early in the season," he explained, per Pope. "There are probably other teams that would be far more aggressive than us in trying to add talent. It's not something I'm looking at right now."Chicago currently sits in last place of the Central Division with a 6-12-0 record. The Blackhawks rallied to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime on Friday.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had the magic touch Friday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, scoring eight goals on 14 shots in an 8-2 win.The Bolts are the first team in NHL history to score at least eight goals on 14 or fewer shots in a contest since shots were first officially tracked in 1955-56, per Opta Stats. Tampa Bay's 57.1% shooting percentage is believed to be a single-game NHL record.Brayden Point scored the final goal of the evening to complete the hat trick. He also collected two assists in the game.

Marc-Andre Fleury chose to wear the mask he had made for Native American Heritage Night on Friday despite the NHL insisting he wasn't allowed to do so.

In Jessica Campbell's rearview mirror, all roads lead back to her 10-year-old self. The first woman to coach full time in the AHL, and one of the first women to work a game behind an NHL bench, Campbell spent the first decade of her life living an idyllic, rural Canadian existence that included hockey, family, and more hockey."When she was small we lived miles from town - on a farm - and she would say, 'Can we go skating tonight?' and it'd be a blizzard," Campbell's mom Monique says. "You could not keep her off the ice. She had so much fun skating with people. She would beg for me to drive her in even though you could barely see the road. That's how much she loved it, she just couldn't miss a night."Loving hockey was a birthright for the Campbells. As a young adult, Monique played hockey at the University of Saskatchewan, while Jessica's dad, Gary, grew up on outdoor rinks of Canadian lore."It's something I grew up with, my dad liking hockey so much," Monique says. "He passed it on in outdoor rinks and small rural teams we got to play on as girls. I got the opportunity (to play) from my dad and my husband got the opportunity from his family. So we just kept that going."The four Campbell children followed their parents into a lifelong love affair with the game. Josh, the oldest, had big-league ambitions. By the time he was 17, he was up to nearly a point a game for his AAA team. Next in line was Dion, who played university hockey in New Brunswick before professional stints in the Central Hockey League and in Germany. Jessica's older sister, Gina, followed in her mother's footsteps to play university hockey at the University of Regina.From left to right: Josh, Jessica, Gina and Dion Campbell. SuppliedBut back in the fall of 2002, when Jessica was 10, the family's passion for hockey led them to relocate to Melville, Saskatchewan, from nearby Rocanville to be closer to Josh, who signed as a rookie with the Yorkton Terriers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League."I want to be a fan favorite here. I don't just want to be an average hockey player, I want to be one of the best, the best I can be," Josh said at a press event at the time.By Canadian Thanksgiving in October, the younger kids were settling into their new schools. Josh, who turned 18 in September, would be heading home for the holiday.But at 8 a.m. on the Friday of the long weekend, Monique received devastating news: Josh had been in a fatal collision. He wasn't coming home."I remember that morning very clearly. It's just a heartbreaking, devastating moment. You feel weak and lost," Monique says.Josh had been Jessica's biggest role model. "She always connected with him because that's who we watched play hockey the most," Monique says. "She looked up to him a lot. He always helped her along the way, giving her tips on the ice, strategy. We went shinnying together and played a lot together. There was a really good bond there."Jessica Campbell and Josh Campbell as children. SuppliedThe pain pierced through Jessica's childhood. "Those were hard times on me as a young girl," Campbell says. The family leaned into what it knew best: hockey. "It was just a challenging time, but I think it only made us stronger," she says. "And, honestly, it made hockey a place for us where we could work through it. The game itself brought so much joy. I think the game of hockey is an amazing sport because there's a community of people. When you're from small towns, that rink, and the arena, it's a place of gathering where people have each other's backs and everyone knows each other."That community sustained the family through the darkest days following Josh's death. "A lot of Josh's friends at the time on the Terriers - his teammates - would come out and watch (Jessica) play. I know that meant a lot to her," Monique says. "The hockey community - it is like a family, really. They seem to know what you're going through and are really compassionate."As the family adjusted to its loss, hockey helped 10-year-old Jessica define her identity. "The avenue of sport and hockey for me was a place where we healed together as a family but we also could carry on my brother's love for the game," she says.Even before Josh's death, Campbell had announced herself on the ice."I remember I was coaching novice hockey," family friend Leo Parker says. "We lose to this little novice team. House league teams. We lose, I don't know, 10-2 or something like that. Jess scored all 10 goals."Parker paused to laugh. "My son Andre said to me, 'Dad, we have to get her on our team.' She was a perfect little hockey player."Jessica Campbell on the ice in the 2001-02 minor hockey season. Following Josh's death, Parker says Campbell always insisted on wearing his No. 8."You can always connect dots back in your life. Right?" Campbell says. "For me, that loss at such a young age and not really understanding why - you never understand why - that was always the driving force for me in my playing career."Her goals crystallized in those years: get to the highest level of hockey. As a young woman in the early 2000s, that meant making the Canadian national team. And she had a skill that gave her an edge: skating."Jess was always, by far, the best skater on our team," says Bailey Bram, who represented Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics. "When it came to power skating drills, she was always the one who the coach was like, 'OK, Jess, you demo because you can do it best.' No one would ever race her to anything because it was just like, 'Jess is automatically going to win.'"Campbell earned a silver medal at the world under-18 championship and gold the following year as team captain before playing four years of hockey at Cornell. After being cut three times in the final round of tryouts for the senior national team, Campbell was eventually named to the team in 2014, on Oct. 11 - exactly 12 years to the day of Josh's death."She called me the minute she found out. She was just sobbing," Bram says. "She was just like, 'This is supposed to happen this way. And it was supposed to happen this weekend.'"That same year, Campbell signed with the Calgary Inferno in the Canadian Women's Hockey League, playing with them for three seasons. As her playing career began winding down, it was time for her to ask: what next?The answer was obvious to the people who knew Campbell best.From her mom's perspective, it was natural Campbell would continue to leverage her high energy and love for people. "Jess was a high-spirited child who liked to do everything. She never missed anything. She wanted to be part of a lot of things," Monique says. Campbell loved hockey's team atmosphere; even when she was regularly the only girl on her minor hockey team, her mom noticed she formed instant, close bonds with all her teammates on road trips, at tournaments, and on the ice. Her mom couldn't imagine her doing anything but being involved with a team.To Bram, skating definitely had to be part of Campbell's future. "We all thought she might end up doing something with hockey and skating because that's what she was so good at."Campbell coaches on the ice during a Firebirds practice. Coachella Valley FirebirdsPutting those two together meant Campbell would be a natural fit to coach, so she took a position in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia coaching high school girls. Several years into her tenure, she called Bram from a Starbucks drive-through for an impromptu heart-to-heart."She said, 'I'm not unhappy here. I just feel like I'm not fulfilled. I love the girls. They're fun. But, I just feel I have more potential,'" Bram remembers."I wanted to continue to aspire to work with players of the highest level, regardless of gender," Campbell says.To aim for the highest levels of professional coaching meant she would have to do something that hadn't yet been done by a woman: rise through the ranks of men's professional hockey and into the NHL."There is no true blueprint for anybody's pathway," Campbell, 31, says. "If you would have looked at mine, you probably would never have said, 'She's going to coach in the NHL or be in this position.' Because the reality was, nobody else was doing it. But looking back now, I feel if I connect my dots backwards, my upbringing and my story as a young girl with the boys has set me up for the right mentality," she says.Campbell headed directly from the drive-through to her employer to give notice she was leaving. She had a plan: to launch her own power skating business. And that business took off.Campbell briefly relocated to Sweden to launch JC Powerskating before returning to the Okanagan shortly before the NHL's 2020 playoff bubble was set to begin. At the time, many players were isolating in the Okanagan and looking for summer ice to brush off pandemic cobwebs, and before long, she was running 20-person skates with players like Luke Schenn - who won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning that year."I wasn't focused on trying to get to work with NHL players," Campbell says. "I was presented with an opportunity where one NHL player wanted ice time and asked if they could come skate with me. Next thing you know, there were 15 guys and I was running an entire NHL group. The realization for me was just to continue to bring that passion and not worry about any of the other barriers or perspectives that others may have about it."After noticing her skates gaining momentum with NHLers, Brent Seabrook hired Campbell privately to help him recover from hip and shoulder surgery. Icon Sportswire / Getty Images"I really hated her, to be honest," Seabrook says laughing. He clarifies: "I hated watching her skate."I'll never forget, we were working on pivots. And she's like, 'Hey, I want you to come up. And I want you to do like this.'"Campbell demonstrated the skill and Seabrook shook his head."I'm like, 'Jess, there's no chance I'm going to be able to get that low and get my leg out that far. And then push and pump. It doesn't matter how healthy I am or how young I ever was. There's no way I can get down that low,'" he says. "She was very good with the technical parts of it."Her sheer skill earned her respect. "Everything she was asking us to do, she could do," he says. "Everything. She did it, and she did it really well."I find the people that I've worked with (who) are really exceptional at what they do are the people that really stop you and correct you and make sure you're doing it properly."But it wasn't only Campbell's skating that Seabrook liked; her demeanor was great, too. "She took the time to talk to us. It wasn't barking. I could talk to her. She'd follow up with questions. She was learning from us as well. She didn't take any crap from us. She was out there to do a job, and the mentality was, 'Let's do it properly.'"Whatever level you're at, you want to feel like (your coaches) care," Seabrook says. "She would go the extra mile. She would text me after to see how I was feeling. Is it too much? What do you want to do tomorrow for the skate? Do you think we should go harder? Should we pull back a bit? There was a plan behind every skate. She cared."That's Campbell's personality - on and off the ice. "That's a big piece of who I am as a coach," she says. "I want to be a coach who is willing to ask the hard questions and who is willing to be sensitive. I know that is my feminine self that comes through in coaching. It is that communication piece. That level of care. Making sure the guys know my coaching style is to lead with love and lead with service for them. Making sure they know I'm in the trenches with them, and all I want to do is see them succeed."Opportunity knocked as her coaching reputation grew. In 2021, she headed to Germany to be an assistant coach of the Nuremberg Ice Tigers in the DEL under Tom Rowe, the former Florida Panthers general manager and head coach. After the season, she and Rowe were assistants to Toni Soderholm with the German national team at the men's world championship.Campbell, far right, on the German bench at the 2022 world championship. Eurasia Sport Images / Getty ImagesThat's where Campbell came to the attention of Dan Bylsma, the 2011 NHL coach of the year and winner of the 2009 Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. When Bylsma met Campbell, he was an assistant coach with Team USA, and was also scouting upcoming additions for his staff, as he was set to start as head coach of the Seattle Kraken's AHL affiliate, the newly formed Coachella Valley Firebirds."I started my search with a couple of different names in mind. But I saw her coaching the German national team and I started an investigation into where Jessica was at and where her coaching path was at," Bylsma says.He was even more impressed when he learned about her skates in the Okanagan. "NHL players reached out to her and asked her to put them on the ice and through the paces to keep their game fresh and relevant," he says. "That struck a big chord with me in terms of what kind of coach she is. She can put a player on a path to be relevant."When Bylsma hired her, she became the first woman to have a full-time coaching position in the AHL. Now in her second season on Bylsma's staff and with an NHL preseason game under her belt, she's close to the pinnacle she sought when she left her high school job."I think that my hardships and the challenging times in my life were actually the days that prepared me for the work in this job," Campbell says. "There are a lot of hard days, there are a lot of sleepless nights. And, I am alone in this space. As much as I feel completely supported by my staff, by Bylsma, by the organization, by the Kraken - everybody has been so supportive of me - there isn't another female coach specifically in my position that I can call at the end of the day and just communicate with on that same level."I think the strength comes from some of the challenging times in my life where I can lean in. I can dig in and access the place of strength."Bylsma, center, and Campbell, right, before a Firebirds game. Coachella Valley FirebirdsCampbell's in charge of the Firebirds' forwards and power-play unit. In her first season, Coachella Valley was the AHL's third-highest scoring team, with 257 goals. The power play hummed at 20.3% efficiency. The club marched to the Calder Cup final, eventually losing to the Hershey Bears in seven games.Along the way, Campbell did exactly what Bylsma thought she would: show players how to become relevant. She helped transform forward Tye Kartye's play and jumpstart his NHL prospects. Kartye, an undrafted free agent, led AHL rookies with 57 points in 2022-23 and was named the league's top freshman. He was called up to the Kraken for the 2023 NHL playoffs.Kartye's experience was similar to the one Seabrook had back in Campbell's early Okanagan days. "She was really good at telling you how the game went and what you needed to improve on," Kartye says. "Little conversations like that, when you talk one-on-one about how you're doing and how you can improve and how the games have been going, conversations like that build a lot of trust."It's an approach that proves itself in the details and the staggering amount of hours she devotes to developing players."Last year, I was a rookie. I came in and it was a bit of a slow start," Kartye says. "Being able to work with her after practice - she was always out on the ice before or after practice - whenever I needed to do something, she was always there. She'd pass pucks, give advice, go over video. She helped me an incredible amount as I was trying to reach my goal to get to the NHL."Tye Kartye in action during a second-round playoff game last season. Christopher Mast / NHL / Getty ImagesCampbell traces that dedication back to her brother. "That mindset of really not holding back and just going for it has always been inspired by my brother and the way he lived and in the athlete and person that he was," she says.That work ethic and people-centered approach keep providing her chances to see her brother's dream come to fruition. "I think every day about how I get to live out my brother's dream of working or playing at the highest level on the men's side. I do feel a sense of pride and honor with my family that they get to also experience this with me, and there's just so much joy around the game. The game has always been a place where we, as a family, have been able to connect and celebrate."If Campbell could say one thing to Josh, knowing what she now does about her career path, and her future dreams, she knows what those words would be: "I'm here because of you. And I definitely am grateful every day. I'm never going to take the opportunity for granted to get to do what I love on the ice."And if Josh could see Jessica now, Monique thinks he'd use her nickname, one he gave his little sister because she ran before she could walk. She thinks he'd say something like this:"Boof, we always knew you were going to go far with hockey. Look what you've done. I'm extremely proud."Jolene Latimer is a feature writer at theScore.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, the league announced Friday.Girard hasn't played since Saturday and will be away from the team for an indefinite period."I have made a proactive decision to take care of my mental health and will be entering treatment for severe anxiety and depression that has gone untreated for too long and led to alcohol abuse," Girard said through his agency."Taking care of your mental health is of the utmost importance, and I encourage everyone to speak up and seek help should you feel like you need it. I want to express my gratitude to my wife, family, friends, the club, my teammates, and the fans for their patience, understanding, and continued support."Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar offered support for his defenseman."We're with him," Bednar said later Friday evening, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo. "We completely support what he's going through and his decision to go into the program and get help. You've got to take care of yourself first before you're able to ... come and help a team. We miss him and we're really excited to get him back at some point. We don't know exactly when that's going to be, but we'll be in support."Girard, 25, has tallied a goal and three assists in 15 games this season while averaging 20:37 per contest. He posted a career-high 37 points in 2022-23.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Paul Maurice likened his team's performance Friday night to animal excrement."We were horseshit," the Florida Panthers head coach said following a 3-0 defeat to the Winnipeg Jets, according to The Associated Press' Colby Guy."We did some strange things tonight," Maurice added, according to Jameson Olive of the club's official website. "We had some breakaways that we passed off and open plays that we decided not to hit. The positive is that when your whole group is that bad, it's fixable. It's not something systemic that we've seen for a long time."On the surface, the game may not have seemed lopsided. The Jets only scored twice on a goaltender, adding an empty-netter with under four minutes remaining. The Panthers fired the same number of shots on goal as the Jets (32), outshooting Winnipeg 12-11 in the second period and 14-13 in the third. The Cats also won 58.3% of the faceoffs and forced the Jets to block 22 shots compared to the nine Florida prevented from getting on goal.But the victors controlled 53.06% of the expected goals at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick, as Connor Hellebuyck notched his first shutout of the season.The Jets, whom Maurice guided for nine seasons prior to his Panthers tenure, improved to 4-0-0 against their former bench boss since his arrival in Florida before the start of last season. Maurice resigned as Winnipeg's head coach in December 2021.Maurice appears to be fond of using such descriptive language to illustrate his team's performance. While behind the Jets' bench in February 2019, he said, "We were all horseshit tonight" following a 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.About two years later, he used the H-word twice in one postgame scrum. He defended then-Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler by saying, "He got put in a real tough spot by a horseshit backcheck by somebody else," then took a jab at the media by stating, "You'll do your deep dives and analytics, and god, they do a horseshit job of telling you what five guys do."The 56-year-old began his NHL head coaching career with the Hartford Whalers in 1995-96.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Tampa Bay Lightning got their No. 1 netminder back.Andrei Vasilevskiy made his season debut when the Bolts took on the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday."He hasn't played an NHL game since April so I know he is eager," Cooper said pregame, according to team beat reporter Gabby Shirley. "There is a ton of work that has gone in to get him to this spot."He could not have been more careful with everything that has gone into his preparation and, in total Andrei Vasilevskiy style, he has worked his tail off and this was the date circled on the calendar months ago. We hit the target date and he is ready so I am pretty excited to have him back and I know the guys are for sure."Vasilevskiy underwent back surgery in late September to address a lumbar disc herniation and was expected to miss approximately the first two months of the campaign.The Lightning stayed afloat without their star goaltender and sat in third place (fifth in terms of points percentage) of the Atlantic Division with a 9-6-5 record prior to Friday's slate. Jonas Johansson took on the bulk of the starting duties, with Matt Tomkins mainly providing aid on back-to-backs.GoalieRecordSV%GAASOJohansson8-4-5 (17).8943.412Tomkins1-2-0 (3).8893.400As of Thursday, Tampa Bay tied the Calgary Flames for the league's seventh-worst save percentage (.888) at all strengths, according to Natural Stat Trick.Lightning forward Brandon Hagel gave Johansson credit for helping stabilize the squad's crease."At the end of the day, (Johansson) did a hell of a job to put us in a playoff spot," he said, per team beat reporter Chris Krenn. "It was a tough situation for him coming to a new team, not a ton of experience, but the way he played was incredible. He helped this team so much."Vasilevskiy's return provides a huge boost to the Lightning's mission to prove that they're not afterthoughts in a competitive Eastern Conference. The 29-year-old helped propel the Bolts to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021 - he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP the second time around - and he took home the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goalie in 2019.The Russian's 263 wins in 425 regular-season games are the sixth most out of all active goalies, while his 65 victories in 110 playoff matchups are the second most, trailing only Marc-Andre Fleury.A workhorse through and through, Vasilevskiy started every postseason game for the Bolts in each of the last five campaigns. During the Lightning's two Cup runs, he registered a dazzling .932 save percentage and 1.90 goals against average.Vasilevskiy appeared in 60 games for a second straight season in 2022-23, posting a 34-22-4 record to go along with a .915 save percentage and 2.65 goals against average.The Lightning cleared the way for Vasilevskiy's return by placing Tomkins on waivers Thursday.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Ryan O'Reilly is used to playing against former teammates - he's on his fifth NHL team, after all - but the Nashville Predators center said he expected Friday's matchup against the St. Louis Blues to hit him a little differently."You win a Cup, it changes your life," he said in a recent interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Matthew DeFranks. "That makes it a little bit more emotional than the other ones, just knowing how special a place it was for myself. It wasn't very long I was there, but gosh, still some of my favorite hockey memories. My biggest accomplishment came there.""(St. Louis) changed my whole career," he added.O'Reilly crammed a whole lot of success into his five-year tenure in Missouri.During his first season with the Blues in 2018-19, he helped them win their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history, which was an astounding feat given that St. Louis was dead last in the league that January.O'Reilly also earned some individual accolades that season, including the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs after potting eight goals and 23 points in 26 contests, as well as the Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward.The 32-year-old served as captain for his final three campaigns in St. Louis up until his trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs in February. All told, O'Reilly amassed 97 goals and 269 points in 327 regular-season contests and 49 points in 51 playoff games as a Blue.St. Louis honored him with a tribute video on Friday.

Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is upset about not being allowed to wear a custom-designed mask in honor of his wife for the club's Native American Heritage Night, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo.The NHL banned specialty equipment and jerseys for initiative-themed nights prior to the 2023-24 season. Fleury was willing to accept a fine to wear the headgear for warmup, but his agent, Allan Walsh, said the league threatened the Wild with a significant additional fine.Fleury called the league's decision "stupid."The mask features floral patterns for Fleury's nickname and includes a quote from his late father on the back.

Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness will be behind the bench for Friday's clash against the Florida Panthers following a month-long leave from the team after his wife, Judy, was hospitalized by a seizure.