Safe to say Shawn Thornton isn't fond of Alexei Emelin.The Florida Panthers enforcer lashed out at the Montreal Canadiens defenseman in a postgame tirade to Marc Antoine Godin of La Presse after the Panthers' 6-2 loss on Thursday night."I think he's what's wrong with the league these days," the veteran said. "I think there's no accountability anymore. You can run around and take headshots at our captain and just turtle and the refs save your life. I'm getting out at the right time because I liked the game when you had to be a man and look at yourself in the mirror. So that's my honest opinion of that guy. I don't have any respect for him. I think he's a pretty good defenseman but I don't like the way he plays."Emelin delivered a high hit on Panthers captain Derek MacKenzie midway through the second period. Thornton immediately went after the Canadiens blue-liner, who fell to the ice before a full-out melee ensued.Emelin was given a minor penalty for elbowing, and Thornton received an offsetting call for roughing.Thornton, 39, said his beef with Emelin goes back a decade."I don't mind people playing hard, but I've seen him with a lot of cheap shit in the last 10 years," he told Godin."I don't mind battling, but I've seen him headhunt a lot of guys and never ever answer for it. Say what you will about me, (but) I've always taken my beating like a man when I had to. I didn't back down from John Scott when they signed him in Buffalo and I didn't back down from (Georges) Laraque (when) they signed him (in Montreal). I can look at myself in the mirror. I'm not sure that idiot can."The Canadiens and Panthers will renew hostilities April 3 in Sunrise.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

With few playoff spots remaining as the regular season winds down, this week's "On the Fly" roundtable focuses on teams outside the postseason picture that have a solid chance of recovering and making the dance next year.Florida PanthersJosh Gold-Smith: The Panthers had so many things go right for them last season and over the summer that it appeared they'd have no problem taking a step forward in 2016-17. That obviously didn't happen, as injuries to their top two scorers, their best defenseman, and their veteran starter in goal helped derail a club that enjoyed its best season in franchise history one year ago.Still, there will be reasons for optimism in Sunrise as they look to start fresh next fall. Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, and Roberto Luongo likely won't all suffer significant injuries again, and if the aging Luongo does get hurt once more, James Reimer has proven to be a more than capable starter when he's not getting banged up himself.Florida has its core locked up long term, and it remains a promising group that was in the playoff mix earlier this season before all of the injuries and a controversial coaching change.Panthers management shouldn't overreact to this disappointing campaign. This club is talented enough to get right back in the postseason next spring.Winnipeg JetsNavin Vaswani: I say it every year around this time: Imagine Winnipeg had a goalie.Poor play at the position has torpedoed yet another Jets season, and this one feels more painful because Mark Scheifele exploded, Patrik Laine scored all those goals, and Blake Wheeler was, well, Blake Wheeler.The Jets are a damn talented squad, with five players hitting the 50-point mark on the season. If Bryan Little and Mathieu Perreault are healthy, they make it seven. Only problem is, none of those guys play goal.Only the Avalanche have allowed more goals than the Jets this season, and at this point, Colorado's barely an NHL team. Allowing 3.15 goals a game, the Jets rank 28th in the league. Also 28th, their 76.7 percent penalty-killing rate. Simply not good enough.Connor Hellebuyck has a .905 save percentage in 54 games. Awful. Michael Hutchinson's at .902 in 27 games. Horrific. Let's not even bother with Ondrej Pavelec.Here's what the Jets have been dealing with in the crease since returning to Winnipeg.SeasonSV%RankPlayoffs2016-17*.89828thNo2015-16.903T-26thNo2014-15.913T-10thYes2013-14.907T-22ndNo2012-13.901T-21stNo2011-12.90225thNo*2016-17 stats don't include Thursday's actionThis isn't hard to figure out: The one year the Jets had some NHL-caliber goaltending, they made the playoffs.Ben Bishop and Ryan Miller are free agents this summer. Hell, even Jonathan Bernier looks like a great option at this point. The Jets will land one of the three in free agency to stop the insanity, and playoff hockey will return to Winnipeg in 2018.Philadelphia FlyersSean O'Leary: It feels like an eternity ago that the Flyers were being mentioned in the same breath as their Metropolitan Division competitors, but that was the case after Philadelphia won 10 consecutive games in December.Much has changed since - the Flyers have dropped off dramatically, holding onto slim postseason hopes as they sit four points back of a wild-card position.While the second half of the season has been a huge disappointment in the City of Brotherly Love, the Flyers still own the tools to contend in the future. Captain Claude Giroux admitted offseason hip surgery has hurt his game, and Philly still boasts two of the most underrated producers in the NHL in Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds.During Ron Hextall's tenure as general manager, the Flyers have drafted well - namely Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov, who have already emerged as key pieces on the roster. Bolstering the blue line and making an improvement in goal are necessities for Hextall in the offseason, but the Flyers could be closer to a return to the postseason than you may think.(Photos courtesy: Action Images)Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Through the remainder of the regular season, we'll take a look at how the night's action impacts the playoff race, highlighting which teams' postseason odds went up or down significantly.All the action comes from the East, where three playoff positions remain up for grabs, and six teams saw decent swings Thursday night.Even a victory wasn't enough for the Tampa Bay Lightning to make up ground in the playoff chase, with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins - both ahead of Tampa Bay - picking up wins. The Lightning now sit three points out of the playoff picture, with just six games remaining.Little changed in the opposite conference, where three playoff seeds also need to be locked down. The Los Angeles Kings, the lone outside team still in the mix, sit 10 points back of the next club, the Nashville Predators, who lost Thursday night:TeamResultPlayoff ChancesChangeMaple LeafsW 3-1 vs. Predators90.8%+6.1%BruinsW 2-0 vs. Stars78.1%+4.2%HurricanesW 2-1 (OT) vs. Blue Jackets7.8%+1.0%LightningW 5-3 vs. Red Wings23.9%-0.7%SenatorsL 1-5 vs. Wild97.4%-1.6%IslandersL 3-6 vs. Flyers2.0%-8.9%To see percentages for the entire NHL, visit Sports Club Stats.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's the end of an era in New Jersey.Devils legend Patrik Elias announced his retirement from the NHL on Friday."After 18 seasons, I am pleased to announce that I will be retiring from the National Hockey League, having played my last game with the New Jersey Devils," Elias said in a statement."For the past few months, I have weighed this decision both physically and mentally. I am happy to say this provides me and my family with closure."The Devils also announced Friday that they will retire Elias' No. 26 next season. He'll be the fifth player in franchise history to earn that honor, joining Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, and Ken Daneyko.Elias goes out as the club's all-time leader in goals (408), assists (617), points (1,025), game-winning goals (80), and hat tricks (eight).The 40-year-old was part of two Stanley Cup championship squads, in 2000 and 2003.Elias also won three bronze medals representing the Czech Republic - two at the world championships and one at the Olympics in 2006.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

A playoff spot was only the beginning. The Edmonton Oilers want more. Home-ice advantage, in particular.A 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday has the club within a point of Anaheim for first place in the Pacific Division, and Edmonton's feeling really good about its game right now.Four wins a row, and eight wins in their last nine, in which they've outscored the opposition 37-17. Seven wins in a row at home, their last loss at Rogers Place coming March 12. A Pacific-best plus-30 goal differential. Yeah, things are good right now in Edmonton."We have to go through these teams in the playoffs and this is a big statement game for us," Cam Talbot said after the game. The goaltender was superb, again, stopping 38-of-40 shots.Connor McDavid scored a brilliant shorthanded goal and added an assist, eclipsing the 90-point mark for the first time."We want to play these games going into the playoffs," the captain said. "We want to ramp up our game."Guess who the Oilers play next? The Ducks, on Saturday, at home, with first place on the line.You're not dreaming, Edmonton. Enjoy.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

All in all, Thursday was about as brutal a night as possible for the New York Islanders.After the club fell behind 3-0 only eight minutes into the first period in Philadelphia, defenseman Travis Hamonic tried to get his teammates going by asking Dale Weise to drop the gloves. Weise obliged, the two players chucked knuckles, and they even gave each other respect at the end for a spirited bout.Only problem: Hamonic appears to have hurt his left hand in the fight. He didn't play after the tilt, logging only 4:38 of ice time. He was spotted after the game, and it didn't look good.

The Ottawa Senators aren't panicking - not yet - but they felt the need to talk some things through after another rough game Thursday.With the opposition closing in for second place in the Atlantic Division, the club held a team meeting after being slapped around by the Minnesota Wild, according to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch.The Sens lost 5-1, and saw each playoff hopeful in the Atlantic win. The Canadiens clinched their playoff spot by beating Florida, the Lightning kept their hopes alive by taking down Detroit, the Bruins shut out Dallas, and the Maple Leafs secured a huge win on the road in Nashville.Toronto, in fact, is now only two points back of the Senators, with both teams having played 76 games. Boston's three back, though Ottawa has a game in hand.The end of Ottawa's schedule is far from kind, and the Senators have only a point to show through three games on a difficult five-game road trip. There are two more stops, in Winnipeg and Detroit - games against two non-playoff teams that Ottawa must take at least three points from. Four of Ottawa's remaining six games are away from home."They really took it to us," Dion Phaneuf said of Ottawa's effort Thursday against Minnesota, according to the Star Tribune's Michael Russo. "The score reflects really the whole game and if you look at how we got beat, they had more than us."Ottawa finished with only 40 shot attempts and 19 shots on goal.The Sens have been a strong club on the road this season, with 21 wins, but they're going to have to dig deep down the stretch, especially with a massive April 6 game looming against the Bruins in Boston.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Doug Weight's New York Islanders suffered a crushing defeat Thursday in Philadelphia, the result almost guaranteed only 10 minutes into the game.It was 4-0 for the Philadelphia Flyers after 9:19 of action, and 5-0 after 20 minutes, the Isles eventually dropping a 6-3 decision. After the game, Weight wasn't pleased. In fact, he was flummoxed, because his team's first period didn't add up."What do you say? Nothing. It's just shit," Weight said, according to Newsday's Arthur Staple. "It's not like they make tic-tac-toe plays - they had four chances in the first and it's 5-0. Four! Do the math."We worked, but it doesn't really matter," he added. "A piss-poor first."That's about as accurate an assessment gets.The Islanders have lost three in a row and are six points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with a game in hand. The math, though, that Weight referenced, isn't pretty.New York will host the New Jersey Devils in Brooklyn on Friday. Lose that one, and it's done, no matter what the numbers say.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Have a night, Mark Scheifele.The Winnipeg Jets superstar continued his breakout season Thursday in fine fashion, hitting the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career with an overtime winner upstairs past Jonathan Bernier.Thursday also happened to be Scheifele's bobblehead night at the MTS Centre, and his finisher capped an impressive comeback. The Jets trailed the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 with under 10 minutes to play in the third period, with Dustin Byfuglien tying the game up with only 12 seconds to go.Scheifele played a whopping 26:47, and is up to 78 points, with career-high totals across the board.At 24, he's only getting started.As for the Ducks, the loser point is a big one for them, as they'll remain in first place in an ultra-tight Pacific Division on Friday morning.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - James van Riemsdyk and Auston Matthews each scored a power-play goal, and Frederik Andersen made 29 saves to help the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Nashville Predators 3-1 on Thursday night.Connor Brown added an empty-net goal with 58.4 seconds left as the Maple Leafs started a three-game road trip by sweeping the season series with Nashville. They also won their second straight and fifth in six games to remain in third place in the Atlantic Division.Filip Forsberg scored his 30th of the season for Nashville. The Predators have lost two straight after a four-game winning streak.Toronto is trying to hold off Boston, while the Predators needed a win to leapfrog St. Louis into third place in the Central Division. Nashville came in three points shy of its third straight playoff berth under coach Peter Laviolette.It was the 1,000th game behind the bench for Laviolette, making him the 28th coach overall and just the second born in the United States to reach that mark in the NHL.A quiet first period ended when Austin Watson took exception to a clean hit on teammate Mattias Ekholm and roughed Maple Leafs forward Matt Martin. That put the NHL's second-best power play on the man advantage, and Toronto needed only 13 seconds to convert as van Riemsdyk redirected a shot by Nikita Zaitsev past goalie Pekka Rinne at 18:42 for a 1-0 lead.The Predators had three power plays in the second - a period in which they have outscored opponents by the biggest margin in the NHL (95-63). Yet they couldn't beat Andersen, who had a nice stop on a backhander by Kevin Fiala just before the third penalty on the Maple Leafs nearly midway through the period.The Maple Leafs got their second man advantage when Nashville captain Mike Fisher slashed Tyler Bozak, and Toronto scored again. This time, Matthews added to his Toronto rookie record with his 36th goal of the season off a wrister as he skated up the slot just inside the left circle with 1:17 left in the second.Andersen preserved the win with several nice saves in the third, including one in front from Fisher. The goaltender also killed off one last penalty when Roman Polak went in the box for holding - Andersen needed Morgan Rielly's help after the puck went off his arm and trickled near the goal line.NOTES: Predators forward James Neal went to the locker room midway through the third period after taking a puck to the face in the neutral zone. ... Among the top 30 in games coached, Laviolette came into his 1,000th game ranked seventh in points percentage at 57.8 percent and one of 17 to win the Stanley Cup. ... It was the 10th time this season Toronto scored multiple power-play goals. The Maple Leafs had just six such games last season. ... Predators forward Craig Smith was scratched with an upper-body injury. Fisher returned after missing four games with an injury.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

By recording an assist Thursday versus Detroit, Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman now stands alone in the franchise record books.Hedman's helper was his 66th point of the season, giving him the highest single-season total by a defenseman in Lightning history, passing the mark Roman Hamrlik set in 1995-96, per NHL Public Relations.It goes without saying that this has been the most productive season of Hedman's career, smashing his personal best of 55 points set in 2013-14.Hedman trails only Brent Burns (73) and Erik Karlsson (68) in points by a blueliner this season, and is proving at 26years old, he is indeed the defensive pillar Tampa Bay coveted when drafting him second overall in 2009.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

BOSTON - Tuukka Rask made 27 saves for his seventh shutout of the season and the Boston Bruins beat the Dallas Stars 2-0 on Thursday night.Boston won its third straight and stayed three points ahead of Tampa Bay for the second wildcard spot with one game in hand.Rask has won two straight since struggling for a stretch. He had allowed 18 goals during a four-game losing streak.Brad Marchand gave Boston a 1-0 lead when he jammed a shot past goalie Antti Niemi at 15:14 of the first period.Niemi had 22 saves and is winless in his last five appearances.Torey Krug added an insurance goal early in the second period when he converted a perfect feed from David Pastrnak.Marchand added an assist and moved into third place in the scoring race, passing Washington's Nicklas Backstrom and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.Dallas had its best opportunity at 11:08 of the third period when Boston's Kevan Miller got a double-minor for high-sticking Curtis McKenzie.Dallas has three goals in its last three games.NOTES: David Krejci played in his 700th game for the Bruins. ... Former Bruin Tyler Seguin played in his 300th game for the Stars and has two goals over the last 10 games. ... Boston F Frank Vatrano missed the game with an upper-body injury. ... McKenzie bled profusely and was helped off the ice.UP NEXTStars: Travel to Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.Bruins: Host the Florida Panthers on Saturday.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

PHILADELPHIA - Wayne Simmonds got his 30th goal of the season as the Philadelphia Flyers scored five times in a fight-filled first period on the way to a 6-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night.Dale Weise, Radko Gudas, Jordan Weal, Sean Couturier and Valtteri Filppula also scored for the Flyers, who won their third straight. Philadelphia began play six points out of a playoff spot but needing to jump four teams.Cal Clutterbuck, Jason Chimera and Andrew Ladd had the goals for the Islanders, who lost their third in a row and seventh in the last 10 games. They fell into a tie with the Flyers with 82 points.New York has six games remaining, while the Flyers have five.Weise started the scoring 4:30 into a wild, record-setting first period for the Flyers by finishing a good pass from Couturier with a forehand from in front that went high over Thomas Greiss.Couturier scored on a rebound 1:19 later to make it 2-0, and Greiss was pulled after allowing Gudas' slap shot from the point to get past him with 11:54 left in the first period.Greiss slammed his stick into the side boards as he exited the ice in frustration.Weise had an assist on Gudas' goal and became the fastest player in Flyers history to record a ''Gordie Howe hat trick'' - with a goal, an assist and a fight - when he dropped the gloves with Travis Hamonic with 11:32 remaining the period.The Flyers were far from done.Weal netted his team-leading sixth goal in March, and seventh since being called up from Lehigh Valley of the AHL on Jan. 25, when he followed his own miss and scored past Greiss' replacement, Jaroslav Halak.Simmonds finished the dominant period with his milestone goal on a power play when Shayne Gostisbehere's slap shot deflected off his knee and then off Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk's left hip before crossing the goal line.Simmonds then joined Weise with a Gordie Howe hat trick when he won a one-sided fight with Anders Lee with 6.3 seconds left in the period, marking the first time in the history of the franchise once known as the Broad Street Bullies that two players had Gordie Howe hat tricks in one period.The five first-period goals were the most this season in one period for Philadelphia.Clutterbuck shot high over Steve Mason early in the second to get the Islanders on the board. But that was the only goal New York could manage despite outshooting Philadelphia 22-3 in the period.Chimera netted his 18th of the season 40 seconds into the third period on a wrister from in front after the puck caromed hard off the back boards from Calvin de Haan's slap shot. Ladd made it 5-3 with 3:58 remaining with a wrist shot that deflected off Mason's back and in.Filppula's empty-netter with 1:41 left completed the scoring. Simmonds picked up his second assist on that goal.NOTES: Philadelphia won three of four in the season series. . Boychuk returned after missing the previous 12 games with a foot injury. . Simmonds scored 32 goals last season and has 119 over the last four seasons. . De Haan had two assists. . Chimera bettered Brandon Manning in a third-period fight.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Filip Forsberg sniped his way into the Nashville Predators' history books Thursday night.With just a ridiculous amount of time and space, Forsberg wired his 30th goal of the season over the shoulder of Frederik Andersen, becoming the first Predator in franchise history to record multiple 30-goal seasons, his first coming in 2015-16.The feat is all the more impressive considering 28 of Forsberg's tallies have come since December 1st, more than making up for a disappointing start to the campaign.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

TAMPA, Fla. - Alex Killorn and Jonathan Drouin scored power-play goals 1:51 apart late in the second period and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 on Thursday night.J.T. Brown, Andrej Sustr and Yanni Gourde also scored for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves.Tampa Bay, which played without 38-goal scorer Nikita Kucherov due to illness, swept the five-game season series with the Red Wings.Detroit got goals from Frans Nielsen, Danny DeKeyser and Mike Green. Petr Mrazek stopped 26 shots.After Sustr put Tampa Bay up 2-1 early in the second, DeKeyser was involved in the final three goals of the period.DeKeyser tied it at 2 on his first goal in 25 games, a shot that went off Lightning defenseman Jake Dotchin.Mrazek stopped Killorn's power-play shot, but DeKeyser put the puck into his own net while attempting to clear it at 16:13.With DeKeyser off for cross-checking, Drouin made it 4-2 on a shot from the right circle with 1:56 left.Gourde scored early in the third period, and Green followed with a power-play goal minutes later.Nielsen and Brown, who stopped a 45-game goal drought, had first-period goals.Henrik Zetterberg assisted on DeKeyser's goal for his 900th NHL point, coming in his 995th game.NOTES: Tampa Bay C Steven Stamkos, out since having right knee surgery in November, has been upgraded to day to day. ... The Red Wings announced that C Luke Glendening will miss the rest of the season with a broken ankle/foot. ... Lightning C Tyler Johnson (lower-body injury, 10 games) has resumed skating with the team in practice. ... Red Wings RW Anthony Mantha left with an upper-body injury after fighting Tampa Bay D Luke Witkowski in the first.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

No collapse this time around.The Montreal Canadiens booked their spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 6-2 victory Thursday over the Florida Panthers.Claude Julien, who took over for Michel Therrien in mid-February, improved to 13-5-1 in his return to the Canadiens' bench.Montreal will play in the postseason for the fourth time in the last five springs. The club advanced to the Eastern Conference finals in 2013-14, and if the Habs lock up the Atlantic Division, they'll meet the New York Rangers in the first round, and will be looking for revenge. The Blueshirts eliminated Montreal in six games in 2014, before losing the Stanley Cup Final to the Los Angeles Kings.The Canadiens went 3-0 against the Rangers this season.Paul Byron scored another pair Thursday, pushing his career high to 22 goals, while Brendan Gallagher had a four-point game on a goal and three helpers. Carey Price was Carey Price - he stopped 29 of 31 shots.With Ottawa losing to Minnesota on Thursday, Montreal jumps six points clear of the Senators, though Guy Boucher's squad does hold a game in hand.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's been a long time since the Carolina Hurricanes lost in regulation.Once 11 points back of the second wild-card seed in the East, the Canes have put together a 9-0-4 run since March 9, setting a new franchise point streak record, and storming into the playoff picture to the surprise of just about everybody.Carolina's latest victory was a crucial overtime win Thursday over the Columbus Blue Jackets, maintaining the gap between them and the Boston Bruins - who beat Dallas 2-0 - at four points with a game in hand.Over the Hurricanes' torrid 13-game stretch, they lead the NHL in points earned (22), goals for (46), and have operated the seventh most effective powerplay (25.8 percent).Leading the charge in race up the standings is Jeff Skinner, who bagged two points in Thursday's win, giving him 15 in his last 13 contests. It hasn't just been Skinner, though, as Sebastian Aho (12), Elias Lindholm (12), Jordan Staal (10), and Justin Faulk (nine) have stepped up to show Carolina's core is in fact quite dangerous.Carolina's next test comes Saturday versus a struggling Stars team, before embarking on a two-game road trip through Pittsburgh and Minnesota.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly "working towards" a long-term extension with rookie defender Nikita Zaitsev, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman adds that the deal would average $4.5 million annually.Zaitsev will be 26 in October, when his new deal would kick in, and it would take him through his age-32 season. He's playing out a one-year, entry-level deal this season that pays him $925,000 in salary and includes up to $850,000 in performance bonuses, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.A veteran of the KHL before coming to North America, Zaitsev has played a huge role on the blue line for the rebuilding Maple Leafs. He averages a team-high 22:17 in ice time, and earned the trust of head coach Mike Babcock early on.Zaitsev went into Thursday's game in Nashville with four goals, and picked up his 30th assist of the season in the game. He ranks first on the club in total ice time this season, at over 1,650 minutes in 75 games, and averages over 1:45 on both the power play and penalty kill.In other words, he's been leaned upon heavily by the Maple Leafs, who have clearly come away impressed by what the Russian defender brings to the table.If the reports are correct, Zaitsev would become the third Toronto defender signed through at least 2018-19 at over $4 million annually. Here's a look at the Toronto blue line:DefenderAgeCap HitSigned ThroughMorgan Rielly23$5M2021-22Jake Gardiner25$4.05M2018-19Roman Polak30$2.25MUFA on July 1Alexey Marchenko25$1.45M2017-18Martin Marincin25$1.25M2017-18Matt Hunwick31$1.2MUFA on July 1Zaitsev25$925KRFA on July 1Connor Carrick22$750K2017-18(All salary information courtesy: Cap Friendly)Defense has been the Maple Leafs' biggest weakness in a breakthrough season that may see them reach the playoffs. That Zaitsev was thrust into the role he's taken is proof that the club lacks depth at the position.Travis Dermott (20), Rinat Valiev (21), and Andrew Nielsen (20) are in the system, but aren't quite ready for the big leagues yet.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Some good news in a lost season.With a second-period assist Thursday, Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg hit the 900-point mark for his career, putting him in some stellar red-and-white company.Zetterberg, a Red Wing his entire career, is only the seventh player in franchise history to make it to 900. The other six guys were kind of good:Player PointsGordie Howe1809Steve Yzerman1755Alex Delvecchio1281Nicklas Lidstrom1142Sergei Fedorov954Pavel Datsyuk918Zetterberg900The assist gave Zetterberg a team-leading 64 points this season. At 36, he's still going strong, bouncing back from a down 2015-16, when he averaged 0.61 points per game - the second-lowest mark of his career.He has 325 goals and 575 assists in 995 regular-season games.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Another game, another franchise record broken for the Toronto Maple Leafs' incredible crop of rookies.Just two days after Auston Matthews broke Wendel Clark's rookie goal record, Mitch Marner set a mark of his own.With a secondary assist on James van Riemsdyk's first period goal Thursday night, Marner established a new franchise record in assists by a freshman (41), eclipsing the previous mark set by Gus Bodnar in the 1943-44 season.The helper also pushed Marner into a tie with William Nylander - the other prominent figure in Toronto's rookie triumvirate - for second in team scoring with 58 points on the season.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Anthony Mantha's solid rookie season is over.The Red Wings forward sustained a fractured finger Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning and won't play in Detroit's remaining five games, general manager Ken Holland said, according to MLive.com's Ansar Khan.That means the kid will miss Detroit's final game at Joe Louis Arena on Sunday, April 9.Mantha finishes his freshman NHL campaign with 17 goals and 36 points in 60 games. He averaged 16:09 in ice time and did most of his damage on the road, with 14 goals and 24 points in 33 games as a visitor.The 22-year-old was drafted 20th overall in 2013 and will be relied upon heavily in the coming years to make the Red Wings great again.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Must-win game on the road, No. 76 out of 82, playoff chances about as slim as they can get, and the New York Islanders simply didn't show up to play Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers.Ten minutes into the game, New York was stuck four. It was 5-0 at the end of the first period. Nightmare.Islanders fans did what any respectable supporter would do: Tweet.Here are some of the better ones:

Dale Weise came ready to do a little bit of everything Thursday.The Philadelphia Flyers forward opened the scoring against the New York Islanders at the 4:30 mark of the first period, assisted on his club's third goal at 8:06, and fought Travis Hamonic at 8:28.Gordie Howe hat trick, just like that. Impressive.Thomas Greiss started for the Islanders but was pulled after he was beat three times on eight shots. Jaroslav Halak came into the game and made one save before Jordan Weal made it 4-0 Flyers less than a minute later.By the time the first period ended, Wayne Simmonds had himself a Gordie Howe hat trick, too, after assisting on Weal's tally, scoring his 30th to make it 5-0, and fighting Anders Lee.

Huge blow for the Tampa Bay Lightning.Nikita Kucherov is sick and won't play against the Detroit Red Wings, the club announced 30 minutes before puck drop.The 23-year-old Russian sniper is Tampa Bay's most productive player this season, with 38 goals and 80 points in 68 games, but the Lightning will have to find a way without him Thursday at home.The good news is the opposition is Detroit, officially eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in a generation. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, is three points back of the Boston Bruins for the second wild-card spot in the East, with a game in hand.With Boston hosting Dallas on Thursday, and likely to take those two points, Tampa Bay needs to win to stay within three.Kucherov has three goals and five points in three games versus Detroit this season.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson was ruled out Thursday versus Minnesota, the team announced.Karlsson was injured after blocking a shot Tuesday in Philadelphia, and while no specifics of the injury have been reported, the Sens' top defenseman missed his first game of the season, ending his personal streak of 324 consecutive contests.Jyrki Jokipakka, 25, who was acquired from the Flames in the Curtis Lazar trade, made his Senators debut in place of Karlsson.Karlsson, of course, has been a workhorse for Ottawa this season, registering 68 points in 75 games while logging an average of 26:52 of ice-time per game.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

China wants to get its hockey program up to par before hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The NHL is using that as a starting point for a long-term vision to turn the country into a hockey nation.The league is making the country of almost 1.4 billion people a top priority internationally. The Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks will play exhibition games in Shanghai and Beijing in September, and the games and the Olympics are only the beginning of what the NHL hopes is a bigger investment.''The way we're looking at it is it's really not about 2022. It's about 2032 and '42 and so on and really building the game,'' NHL executive vice president of media and international strategy David Proper said by phone from Beijing. ''It's doing a disservice ultimately to the building of hockey in China to just target a five-year range and not be looking past that.''At a news conference announcing the exhibition games, commissioner Gary Bettman called them ''the beginning of what we believe will be a very long-term relationship.''The upcoming Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, next year has created conflict for the league, which has expressed reluctance to stop its season to play 13 hours ahead of Eastern Time in a place that isn't necessarily a hockey market. The NHL may yet decide to go to Korea because of players' interest but also in part because of the lure of Beijing.The NHL looks at the NBA, which has had a foothold in China for decades, as a blueprint for the future. But before there's a hockey version of Yao Ming, Chinese fans need to learn more about the sport.Andong Song, the first Chinese player drafted by an NHL team, said most people in his homeland didn't know much about hockey even when the New York Islanders took him in the sixth round in June of 2015. Song was part of China's presentation to the International Olympic Committee alongside Yao and said getting the Games in 2022 got people buzzing about hockey and other winter sports.From the initial meetings with Chinese government officials, the league and NHL Players' Association saw untapped potential.''The exciting thing is you're starting from a baseline of zero, so any effect that we have is going to be a positive effect,'' NHL chief revenue officer and executive VP of global partnerships Keith Wachtel said by phone from Beijing. ''The question is just how much, and that's going to be about the dedication of resources that we have.''While the exact financial investment the league is making in China was not revealed, it's substantial.Proper said the league will put on at least 15 clinics in China this year in addition to what teams might also be doing. The Canucks, Kings, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Washington Capitals have already conducted camps for young Chinese players.As China aims for 2022, Proper considers it a ''perfect storm'' of a motivated government and private sector combined with a league that wants to spread out far beyond North America and Europe.''When somebody comes to you and says, 'We are committed to 300 million people playing winter sports and hockey is one of the primary winter sports we want to focus on,' you have to make that country a priority and you really have to kind of figure out how to help them as best they can to achieve their goals,'' Proper said.The NHL is getting a lift from goaltender-turned-billionaire Zhou Yunjie, chairman of metal can manufacturing company ORG Packaging, in making strides in China. The league signed a multiyear deal with ORG Packaging and will use some of that money to help refine Chinese hockey infrastructure while trying to increase exposure, sell jerseys and make an impact.The ultimate goal is talent development, which will spawn fandom and interest if a Chinese player turns into an NHL star.''We think that it's only a matter of time till we're able to get a Chinese national into the NHL,'' Wachtel said. ''That will be the proof point when millions of kids are playing the sport in China and one day that you see one of those kids that was in a clinic that was run by the NHL and ORG and all our other partners that that kid is playing in the NHL.''Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL came around on going public with teams' unprotected lists for the upcoming expansion draft, but the league still has plenty of work to do when it comes to sharing information with its fans.While announcing the decision to both publicize the lists and televise the event, deputy commissioner Bill Daly stated Wednesday that "one of our guiding principles from the start of this process was to prioritize transparency," admitting keeping the lists private wouldn't have accomplished that.The league's general managers didn't initially want to share the lists of players their clubs were leaving unprotected for possible selection by the Vegas Golden Knights, which Daly confirmed, saying he believed GMs "on balance favored maintaining the privacy of the process."This should come as no surprise to anyone who's followed the NHL recently. While the decisions to reveal the lists and make the expansion draft a TV spectacle represent two steps toward transparency, the league has attempted to conceal information and thus protect its key figures in a host of ways over the years.The most obvious example is the fact that the NHL allows its clubs to individually set policies about revealing contract terms, rather than insisting teams publish the financial details - which inevitably leak out within minutes of a signing announcement regardless.Some teams make a point of disclosing their deals, giving year-by-year breakdowns and providing other useful details, but the majority of clubs offer a simple "per club policy, terms were not disclosed" and withhold the info that emerges moments later from one or more of many reliable insiders.Commissioner Gary Bettman added fuel to the fire a couple of years ago when he said he's not sure fans care about player salaries, despite the overwhelming success of (and demand for) websites like CapGeek and CapFriendly.Bettman's comments were predictably panned, but it's clear he was speaking on behalf of the league's owners and GMs, who may not enjoy being embarrassed down the road for offering ill-conceived deals.The NHL's secrecy about injuries is another issue. Unlike the NFL, NBA, and MLB, this is the only league within the four major U.S. pro sports that allows its clubs to be purposefully vague about physical ailments.Rather than being required to tell reporters - and by extension, fans - what's bothering a player, coaches and GMs can simply resort to calling it an "upper-body" or "lower-body" injury, a practice that's become commonplace in the NHL but nowhere else.Another strategy the league uses to shield its employees from scrutiny is failing to denote which teams have been officially eliminated from playoff contention on the official standings page. This might not seem like a big deal, but the NBA has no problem publicizing which teams' seasons are effectively over on its official website, and the NHL does identify which teams have clinched postseason berths.It's another element of the league's clear focus on the positive, which comes with a reluctance at times to present negative news - an approach the NHL takes in a number of ways, some of them ever-so subtle. The adoption of the "loser point" for overtime or shootout losses has been debated since its inception, but it also has a convenient effect on team records, making owners, GMs, and coaches look better in the process.Maintaining a third column in the standings - which used to be reserved for ties - and dividing a team's losses between two columns makes every team's record more aesthetically pleasing. Although the OTL column certainly matters, there are still only two true outcomes (wins and losses) rather than the three different results seen in pre-shootout times.When ESPN's Pierre LeBrun first reported the GMs' reluctance to publicize the expansion-draft lists during their meetings earlier in March, it provoked an immediate backlash from members of the hockey media. The next day, Colin Campbell admitted the league was considering changing its mind because the information is "going to get out there."The NHL's executive vice president and director of hockey operations is exactly right. Whether it's expansion-draft lists, contract details, injuries, teams eliminated from the playoffs, or a club's true win-loss performance, the info is always going to get out thanks to plugged-in reporters and the advent of social media.Wednesday's announcement was a refreshing acknowledgement of that from the league, but a rich history of truth-averse practices demonstrates the NHL still has a long way to go before it can be considered truly transparent.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The San Jose Sharks will be without Logan Couture for the duration of their Canadian road trip, head coach Pete DeBoer announced Thursday.Couture, who was taken to hospital after being struck in the face by a puck on March 25, is not in Edmonton for Thursday's game, and will not join the Sharks for subsequent dates in Calgary and Vancouver.San Jose has won just one of the past seven games, yet remains in a fight for first place in the Pacific Division. The Sharks will host the same three teams to finish the regular season, with or without Couture.Couture ranks third on the Sharks with 25 goals and 52 points.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Zach Parise appears to have escaped a nasty double whammy with minimal damage.The Minnesota Wild forward skated with the team Thursday morning, less than 48 hours after taking a high stick from Washington Capitals pest Tom Wilson and colliding with Jay Beagle moments later.

Lesson learned?Buffalo Sabres forward Sam Reinhart addressed his benching for all 60 minutes of Tuesday's loss to the Blue Jackets, suggesting head coach Dan Bylsma's punishment may not have fit the crime of being five minutes late for a morning meeting."It's a coach's decision. It's a management decision. From my perspective, I would have rather battled it out with my teammates," he said Thursday, according to John Vogl of the Buffalo News. "I don't think five minutes in the morning is going to influence my preparation for a game, but it was a team stretch and I should have been there on time.""He was a couple minutes late for a meeting, and that happens," teammate Jack Eichel said. "Just like anything, you handle it like a professional and move on from it, learn from it. We're obviously not going to hold it over his head here. He really didn't do too much wrong."Reinhart dressed for the game, but was not granted a single shift by Bylsma.He's expected to hop back over the boards during Sunday's game against the Islanders.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms with defenseman Tucker Poolman on a one-year entry-level contract with an annual value of $1,775,000.Poolman recorded seven goals and 23 assists in 38 games as a junior with the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks this season, and was also named the National College Hockey Conference defensive defenseman of the year.Drafted in the fifth round of the 2013 NHL Draft, Poolman is set to undergo bilateral shoulder surgery, and may or may not be recovered in time for Jets training camp in September.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Crisis officially averted.The Toronto Maple Leafs will have goaltender Frederik Andersen back between the pipes for Thursday's game against the Nashville Predators.Andersen missed one game - a win backstopped by Curtis McElhinney - with an upper-body injury suffered in Buffalo on Saturday. He returns for the first of seven games remaining on the regular-season schedule and with a postseason berth in sight.In 61 appearances this season, Andersen has posted a record of 30-15-14 with a .918 save percentage.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Northeastern's Zach Aston-Reese, Denver's Will Butcher, and Union's Mike Vecchione were named the final three candidates for the Hobey Baker Award, the selection committee announced Thursday.The honor is given annually to the top U.S. college hockey player, and the final three are revealed each year as the 'Hobey Baker Hat Trick.'Aston-Reese led the nation with 31 goals and tied for top spot on the NCAA Division I points list with 63 in 38 games for the Huskies in his senior season.He signed an entry-level deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this month, and will spend the rest of this season with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on an amateur tryout.Butcher is the first defenseman to be named a Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist since 2009 winner Matt Gilroy. Butcher ranked second in the nation in points (36) by a blue-liner and was named Offensive Defenseman of the Year in the NCHC.He's a major reason the top-ranked Pioneers are heading to the Frozen Four, and once his NCAA season ends, the Colorado Avalanche will have until Aug. 15 to sign the graduating rearguard to a contract after making him a fifth-round pick in 2013.Vecchione finished second behind Aston-Reese with 29 goals and tied him for top spot in the country with 63 points. Vecchione was named ECAC Player of the Year and was a finalist for the conference's Best Defensive Forward award.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Nolan Patrick's junior career may be over.The Brandon Wheat Kings were swept by the Medicine Hat Tigers in the opening round of the Western Hockey League playoffs, and Patrick - who's expected to be selected first overall at the 2017 NHL Draft - was unable to suit up during the series due to a lower-body injury.Patrick missed 25 WHL games and the World Junior Championships earlier this season due to an upper-body injury, but recorded 16 goals and 22 assists in 28 appearances following his return to the lineup.Last year, Nolan was named WHL playoff MVP and led the club to a league championship.Still, Patrick ranks first among North American skaters in NHL.com's final prospect rankings, and his draft stock likely won't take a hit despite not playing this postseason.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Vladimir Tarasenko made the trip to Arizona well worth it for Arianna Dougan.Back in February, the St. Louis Blues star winger surprised Arianna, a young fan undergoing cancer treatment, with a trip for two on the team's charter for late-season games in Arizona and Colorado for her 11th birthday.On Wednesday, during the first of the two games, Tarasenko scored a goal on the Coyotes, an added bonus.But even before that, he knew he had done more than enough to make it a memorable trip."If you look in her eyes right now, me and my wife make the right decision to buy this and make this little present," he said on the flight to Arizona, per Lou Korac of NHL.com. "It's not much, but when you make a kid happy, this means a lot."To their credit, the Coyotes did their part to welcome Arianna to Gila River Arena.

Follow theScore's fantasy feed on Twitter (@theScoreFantasy) for the latest news, features and more. And download Squad Up, theScore's free-to-win-money sports game.Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Thursday, March 30 (all advanced statistics courtesy of Corsica.Hockey and apply to 5v5 situations):Dynamic Duos

Jarome Iginla was happy with the Los Angeles Kings' response to Matthew Tkachuk, but he wishes the kid would limit his antics to within the games themselves.The 39-year-old appeared to hint at comments made by the Calgary Flames rookie earlier this week after the Kings dispatched the Flames 4-1 on Wednesday night."We were trying to play hard and send a message," Iginla told Bo Hamby of LAKingsInsider.com. "... Hopefully most of that stuff is done and I'm sure there'll be battles for years, but hopefully it'll just be out on the ice."Tkachuk called out Kings defenseman Drew Doughty on Tuesday, telling Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun that he "expected more from (Doughty), honestly, than to go right to the media and start complaining after a loss."Doughty called Tkachuk "a pretty dirty player" after he was elbowed in the head by the Flames forward on March 19, an incident that earned Tkachuk a two-game suspension.The Kings retaliated early in Wednesday's contest, as Brayden McNabb dropped the gloves with the 19-year-old just over three minutes into the game.Related - Watch: Kings, Tkachuk settle score with 1st-period scrapIginla, a former Flame and the longest-serving captain in team history, knows how important the first-year player is to the success of the club, but again encouraged Tkachuk to keep his aggressiveness within the playing surface."Well, I don't know if I agree with all of it. So we'll just leave it at that," he said."He's had a good rookie season. Playing well on the team, an important part, and he looks like he's going to be a really good player but it'd be nice just to see the battles on the ice as opposed to the other stuff and it'll be fun to watch. Obviously our fans are not going to like him for a long time or ever and vice versa but that's part of the fun part of sports."Iginla posted a Gordie Howe hat trick in Wednesday's victory, his possible final game in Calgary, preventing the Flames from clinching a playoff berth.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Buffalo Sabres have nabbed a high-scoring forward from the college free-agent ranks.The club announced the signing of UMass Lowell forward C.J. Smith to a two-year, entry-level contract.Smith tied for eighth among all NCAA players with 23 goals this past season, and ranked 12th in total points with 51 in 41 games.Named the Hockey East Tournament MVP after leading the event with eight points (four goals, four assists) in five games, he finished his college career with 56 goals and 69 assists in 120 games over three years.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Mobile app users - expand the banner below to view more on the race to the playoffs.Each week, theScore looks at the teams, players, and other hockey figures trending upward and taking a step back.▲ Calgary FlamesThe Flames missed a prime opportunity to clinch a playoff berth Wednesday night, but their 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings likely only delayed the inevitable.Calgary holds an 11-point lead over Los Angeles, the last Western Conference team outside the postseason picture with any hope of getting in. Time is running out on the Kings, who need to go perfect over their final six games - and even that wouldn't guarantee them a spot.It's essentially not a matter of if, but when for the Flames, which is commendable considering where they were last season, and earlier in this one.Brian Elliott wasn't great Wednesday night, but he's improved as the season's progressed, and Calgary could certainly do worse than having a playoff-tested netminder in the fold as it prepares to make its return to the festivities for the first time in three seasons.▼ New York IslandersThe post-Jack Capuano honeymoon is over for the Islanders, who got off to a great start in the Doug Weight era, but have plummeted since.New York has lost two in a row and won only four of its last 10 games. While the Islanders still have a shot to squeeze into an Eastern Conference wild-card position, it's unlikely.The Islanders have a 10.9 percent chance to get in, according to Sports Club Stats, and they'd need to leapfrog the Boston Bruins and the surging Tampa Bay Lightning.It's not impossible, but it sure looks like the team that plays in Madison Square Garden will be the lone New York representative in the Stanley Cup playoffs.▲ Montreal CanadiensNo Atlantic Division club has booked a ticket to the postseason dance yet, but that could change Thursday night.The Canadiens can lock up a spot with a regulation or overtime win against the Florida Panthers, and while Montreal has basically gone wire-to-wire atop the division, it's closing out the regular season the right way.A three-game sweep of the Ottawa Senators during an eight-day stretch earlier this month opened up some breathing room for Montreal in the Atlantic, and the Canadiens appear primed to put last season's disaster fully behind them with another playoff run.▼ Florida Panthers (Photo courtesy: Action Images)The Panthers haven't been lucky this season, but they also haven't been good.Injuries to Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov put Florida in a hole earlier this season, while losing Roberto Luongo afterward didn't help. Now James Reimer's hurt, too.Still, the Panthers have been surpassed by most of their Eastern Conference rivals because they simply haven't been able to score all year (23rd in goals per game at 2.53), and because their rate of power-play success has been woeful at 16.9 percent, sixth-worst in the NHL.Florida's lost two straight and six of its last 10 games. And while the Panthers haven't yet been officially eliminated, that day is certainly coming soon.After a historic campaign in 2015-16 and an active offseason spent locking up their core, it's surprising to see the Panthers' hopes all but extinguished this spring.Mobile app users - expand the banner below to view more on the race to the playoffs.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

David Clarkson is doing what he can to remain involved in the game he likely won't resume playing.The veteran winger has been sidelined for over a year by a chronic back injury. Now he's been named the boys' hockey coach at Upper Arlington High School, located in a Columbus suburb, according to Aaron Portzline of The Dispatch.Clarkson remains under contract with the Blue Jackets through the end of the 2019-20 campaign at a cap hit of $5.25 million, but he's been placed on long-term injured reserve and hasn't skated with the team this season. He's been seeing a back specialist in New York, Portzline adds, but his chances of resuming his career don't appear high.Clarkson served as a volunteer assistant for the high school squad this past season. His hiring as head coach still requires approval by the Upper Arlington school board.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

For the first time in over a year, Alex Stalock will make a start at the NHL level.The goaltender was recalled Wednesday by the Minnesota Wild, and he's expected to get the call for Thursday's game against the Senators in order to give the slumping Devan Dubnyk an opportunity to rest and practice, according to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.

Dmitry Orlov won't be adding this one to his personal highlight reel.The Washington Capitals defenseman was caught staring at the puck as Nathan MacKinnon gathered a full head of steam at the blue line, and the Colorado Avalanche speedster made him pay with a slick between-the-legs deke before burying a perfect backhander.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jarome Iginla made what could be his final game in Calgary one to remember.The 39-year-old Los Angeles Kings forward picked up a goal, an assist, and a fight - otherwise known as a "Gordie Howe hat trick" - in a 4-1 defeat of the Flames.Here's how it all went down:Iginla got things started by dropping the gloves with Flames heavyweight Deryk Engelland. The veteran reigned victorious, leaving Engelland with a nice gash over his eye.He got lucky late in the second period, as Mark Giordano helped push the puck into his own net.Finally, he picked up an assist on Jeff Carter's 32nd goal of the season.(Video courtesy: NHL.com)While it may have been Iginla's last game in Calgary, the Kings and Flames will tangle once again in Los Angeles on April 6.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan expects to have Kris Letang back in the lineup before the playoffs begin.The club's bench boss gave the to-the-point assertion following the club's 5-1 blowout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.Letang has been absent from the Penguins' lineup since suffering an upper-body injury on Feb. 21. The injury has been a huge loss for the Penguins as Letang has been incredibly productive when healthy this season, having amassed 34 points in only 41 games.With just six games and a week-and-a-half remaining on the schedule, the news could not have come at a better time for Sullivan's crew.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

PITTSBURGH - Artemi Panarin and Richard Panik started a four-goal first period for Chicago, and the Blackhawks moved closer to locking up the Central Division title with a 5-1 victory over the short-handed Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.Marcus Kruger and Marian Hossa also scored during an explosive first period as the Blackhawks moved nine points clear of second-place Minnesota with five games left in the regular season. Tanner Kero added a breakaway goal in the third. Patrick Kane picked up two assists to move past Sidney Crosby and into second place in the NHL scoring race.Corey Crawford stopped 31 shots for Chicago, which beat the Penguins in regulation on the road for the first time since 1997.Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 31 saves but received little help outside of Bryan Rust's third-period goal. The defending Stanley Cup champions saw their winless streak reach four games, and their chances to catch first-place Washington atop the Metropolitan Division took another hit.Pittsburgh is struggling with the playoffs two weeks away while missing injured regulars Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Ron Hainsey, Jake Guentzel, and Carl Hagelin. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks are surging.Chicago overwhelmed the Penguins seemingly from the opening faceoff, showcasing all the speed and creativity that have the Blackhawks looking like the best team in the Western Conference and a serious threat to add to the three Cups they've captured since 2010.The Penguins started Fleury over Matt Murray, who has struggled recently while Fleury has regained his form since the team opted to hold onto him at the trading deadline. Given a chance to perhaps make serious inroads on Murray's grasp of the No. 1 spot, Fleury instead spent the opening 20 minutes trying to contend with a seemingly endless series of odd-man rushes that left the Penguins flat-footed and the Blackhawks rolling.Panarin opened the scoring 3:23 in when he banked in a shot from in close off Fleury's right leg. The goal was the easy part. The hard part came courtesy of Kane, who darted behind the Pittsburgh net preparing to attempt a wraparound only to drop a backhand pass to Panarin at the left post. Fleury, believing Kane still had the puck, was caught looking the other way while Panarin executed the hockey version of a lay-up, gently flipping it off Fleury and into the net.Panik doubled Chicago's lead 14:39 into the first when he powered home a shot from the slot past Fleury's outstretched glove. Kruger's fourth of the year with 55 seconds left in the first came courtesy of a deft touch pass from Kane. Hossa finished off a 3-on-1 by firing it by Fleury with 16 seconds left, and Chicago's 20-minute clinic was complete.Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan switched up the lines but stuck with Fleury, who settled down, but by then the damage was already done.NOTES: Chicago tied a franchise record with its 24th road win of the season. ... The Blackhawks went 0 for 4 on the power play. The Penguins were 0 for 2. ... The Penguins last dropped consecutive games by four goals on Jan. 3 and Jan. 5, 2009. ... Pittsburgh's last four-game winless streak came in Sullivan's first four games on the job in December 2015.UP NEXTBlackhawks: Host Columbus on Friday. The Blue Jackets edged Chicago 3-2 on Oct. 21.Penguins: Visit the New York Rangers on Friday. Pittsburgh has won two of the first three meetings this season.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks will play two preseason games on Sept. 21 and 23 in China next season, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced during a press conference at LeSports Center in Beijing on Wednesday night.The game on Sept. 21 will take place at the Mercedez-Benz Arena in Shanghai, while the Sept. 23 contest will take place at the LeSports Center in Beijing.On top of the preseason games - which will be the first ever in China - Bettman also unveiled the plans of a collaboration to help grow and develop the game of hockey in China."The 2017 NHL China Games presented by O.R.G. Packaging represent the formal launch of what we hope will be a long and successful collaboration between our League, our teams and our partners in accelerating the development of hockey in China," Bettman said. "We look forward to our first games in China and to a variety of initiatives that will inspire generations of Chinese players and fans to enjoy our sport. We recognize the importance of helping China build a strong national hockey program and are committed to supporting that priority in every way possible."The NHL plans to hold grassroots hockey programs and schools to help support local youth in an attempt to grow participation in the sport - an initiative that has already begun with both the Kings and Canucks having held hockey camps in China in recent years."Bringing NHL players to China for two games in September will give both current and potential new fans in Shanghai and Beijing a chance to watch some of the best hockey players in the world," said NHLPA special assistant to the Executive Director, Mathieu Schneider. "The NHLPA is committed to growing hockey internationally, and the players fully appreciate the opportunity ahead in the coming years to expand the game's footprint. The players on the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks are looking forward to participating in the 2017 NHL China Games for what will certainly be a great experience in their careers."The initiative will hold significant importance in China with the 2022 Winter Olympics being held in Beijing.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Whether you're for it or against it, we all knew this was coming.As is tradition in hockey circles, the Los Angeles Kings sought retribution versus Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk in their first meeting since the rookie earned a two-game suspension for an elbow to the head of defenseman Drew Doughty.After a small fracas in warmup and one failed fight attempt, Kings blue-liner Brayden McNabb dropped the gloves with Tkachuk early in the first period in an effort to put the feud to rest.Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

One beautiful assist wasn't enough for Patrick Kane during the first period of Wednesday's contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins.After setting up Artemi Panarin with a sweet no-look, behind-the-back pass less than four minutes into the game, Kane was at it again in the final minute of the first period, using a slick one-touch pass to set up Marcus Kruger for his fourth goal of the season.He's just on another level.(Video courtesy: NHL.com)Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.