David Quinn is determined to turn the San Jose Sharks around.Following Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks - San Jose's eighth defeat in a row - Quinn predicted that the Sharks will eventually put their losing ways behind them under his watch."It's going to stop; I'll tell you that right now," he said, per NBCS. "It may not stop this year, but it will stop soon."In Quinn's first year on the job, the Sharks are on pace for their worst season - via points percentage - since 1995-96 and fourth-worst since the franchise began play in 1991-92.The 19-38-15 Sharks sit last in the Western Conference and 31st overall in the NHL standings, with only the Columbus Blue Jackets bettering them in ineptitude.Additionally, San Jose ranked 17th in The Athletic's midseason prospect pool rankings, and it ranks 17th in average age. The club is also locked into several long-term contracts for aging players, including captain Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, Norris Trophy favorite Erik Karlsson, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Between salary retainment in the Brent Burns trade and Martin Jones' buyout, the Sharks have nearly $6 million tied up in dead money next season.When new general manager Mike Grier was hired this past offseason, he said the team wasn't looking to rebuild. But bottoming out this year, winning the lottery, and drafting Connor Bedard first overall would certainly go a long way in making this the quick turnaround Quinn and Grier are aiming for.Quinn, however, has yet to find NHL success, as he failed to win a postseason game during his three-year stint with the New York Rangers prior to joining the Sharks. He's a decorated coach at the college level, though, as he was an assistant on Boston University's national championship-winning team in 2009 and the head coach of the Terriers in 2018 when they were Hockey East champions.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Florida Panthers veterans Eric and Marc Staal didn't participate in warmups Thursday as the team donned a Pride-themed jersey prior to the 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.The brothers said they didn't wear the jersey due to their Christian beliefs."After many thoughts, prayers, and discussions, we have chosen not to wear a Pride jersey tonight," the duo said in a joint statement, according to The Associated Press' Tim Reynolds. "We carry no judgment on how people choose to live their lives and believe that all people should be welcome in all aspects of the game of hockey."Having said that, we feel that by us wearing a Pride jersey, it goes against our Christian beliefs," the statement continues. "We hope you can respect this statement, we will not be speaking any further on this matter and would like to continue to focus on the game and helping the Florida Panthers win the Stanley Cup."The Staal brothers' decision comes days after San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer declined to wear his team's Pride-themed warmup jersey.Following the game, Eric said he wanted to stick with their statement and move forward, while Marc was not made available to the media. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice defended the decision of his players, saying the focus should be on the rest of the team instead.“My thought is the story is not about them,” Maurice said, according to the Associated Press. “The story is about the rest of the group being excited, the organization and the fans being excited to celebrate a great night. These are grown men who have lived in their faith their whole lives. This is not new to them. They have the right to take that stand. The rest of the players wore that sweater proudly and I hope we conveyed that message of ‘Welcome to our building, welcome to our franchise and welcome to the great game of hockey.’”Eric is the NHL's active games-played leader with 1,354 contests. The 38-year-old has 13 goals and 25 points this season.Marc has played in all 71 of the Panthers' games this campaign, tallying 12 points.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Washington Capitals got a big boost to their blue line Thursday as No. 1 defenseman John Carlson returned to the lineup against the Chicago Blackhawks.Carlson had an immediate impact, scoring a third-period goal and adding an assist in Washington's 6-1 drubbing of Chicago.Despite getting on the scoresheet a couple of times, Carlson said he wasn't overly thrilled with his performance and had a lot of nerves to overcome in his first game since December."Probably better than I thought but still not very good," Carlson said of his return, according to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic."I haven't been nervous like that in a long time, so it was nice to work through that," he added.Carlson missed the previous 36 games. He suffered a skull fracture and a severed temporal artery after taking a slap shot to the head against the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 23. Carlson said Sunday that it felt like he got "struck by lightning."Following the win, the Capitals now sit four points out of a playoff spot with nine games left in the campaign. MoneyPuck gave them a 0.3% chance of reaching the postseason entering Thursday's play.Carlson recorded eight goals and 13 assists in 30 games this season prior to the injury. Washington's blue line now looks much different than the last time he suited up, as Dmitry Orlov and Erik Gustafsson were shipped off at the deadline while Rasmus Sandin was acquired.The Capitals also got back goaltender Darcy Kuemper and defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk against the Blackhawks. Kuemper missed two contests with an upper-body injury, while van Riemsdyk was absent for one game due to the birth of his child.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Boston Bruins superstar Brad Marchand recently deleted his Twitter account, and he explained why Thursday."It's strictly because I'm not paying for Twitter," he said, according to Boston.com's Conor Ryan."They took my two-step verification, so I was like, you know what - I'm going to get out now while I can," Marchand continued."I'm sure I'll be back on at some point - if I'm bored and want to make fun of someone," he said.Marchand has long been one of the most active NHLers on social media. He's made waves numerous times responding to criticism and even got into feuds with rival clubs.Twitter recently removed two-factor authentication via text message for users who aren't signed up for its Twitter Blue subscription service - one of the company's relatively new policy decisions - which costs $8 per month.Marchand's Bruins have been the NHL's best team by a wide margin this season. Boston entered Thursday at 54-11-5 and with a 20-point lead on the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Getting a tough puck sucks. Back in the 1990s, when heat-seeking missiles Scott Stevens and Darius Kasparaitis roamed NHL rinks, a tough puck usually preceded a thunderous body check in the unclaimed ice of the neutral zone.One glance down to corral a poorly placed pass and ... boom! Clobbered.Getting a tough puck in open ice remains dangerous, even in an offense-first era. But it's a rare occurrence. In today's game, there's another, more common scenario where a winger is tasked with taming a fast, wobbly pass along the boards before attempting to exit the defensive zone. Icon Sportswire / Getty Images"The difficulty is in getting the puck off the wall," Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo said earlier this season, describing a nightly challenge for all wingers."Getting a tough puck off a rimmed pass - as a winger, when the opposing defenseman is coming down at you, and you have to separate yourself and make a play to the middle of the ice, that can be really hard," he said. "But it's also nearly impossible for the other team to defend. So, if you can do it consistently as a winger, that quick breakout off the wall can be very useful."Okposo, a 15-year veteran, was talking about tough pucks inside the Sabres' KeyBank Center dressing room following a morning skate. I had asked him a simple yet loaded question: What's the hardest skill to master, the most difficult thing for you to do on the ice, as a professional hockey player?"Geez ... there's a lot," Okposo started. "Every year there's something new."That was a popular reply when I asked six of Okposo's peers the same question as a follow-up to a 2020 article about skill mastery. But, like Okposo, all six managed to identify at least one especially hard skill, move, or trick.Here are their answers and explanations.Ditching long-held defensive tick Richard Lautens / Getty ImagesMatt Grzelcyk is a 5-foot-10, 176-pound defenseman who simply can't outmuscle most opponents. So he's been hardwired to issue cross-checks. At least you'll slow him down, he reasons. At least he'll know you're there.Grzelcyk's trying to change his habits, however. There's a more effective and efficient way for him to defend."If I have a bigger guy in the corner, I want to steer him out of danger," said Grzelcyk, who's in his sixth season with the Boston Bruins. "I can put my stick on the ice, in a specific spot, and encourage him to move away from the net."He's right. Every time Grzelcyk raises his stick to deliver a cross-check - one that's barely disrupting the opponent's flow - he's leaving himself exposed. The opponent can easily scoot the puck through or around Grzelcyk's legs.John Tavares is one rival Grzelcyk's seen plenty of this year. The Toronto Maple Leafs center is listed as three inches taller and 40 pounds heavier."It's a natural habit to want to be physical in the corners and around the net," Grzelcyck said. "But when the guy's throwing his weight around, if he has 40 pounds on me, he can spin one way or another and I lose control. Countering that with the stick angling is something I always talk about with the coaches."Turning slap shot into weapon Len Redkoles / Getty ImagesIt's been well-documented that slap-shot usage is on a steep decline.Yet one-timers are still relied upon in one particular game situation: the power play, where extra time and space facilitate clappers. For this reason, Kevin Hayes is motivated to do whatever he can to turn his into a legitimate weapon.Building muscle memory through practice reps are important, the Philadelphia Flyers forward said. Developing chemistry with the right passer is, too, with John Carlson's influence on Alex Ovechkin's goal total being a prime example. Expanding one's wheelhouse and learning how to fire equally lethal slap shots from one's front foot and back foot are other pillars. Hayes has thought about tinkering with his stick specs, but it's complicated."I've been using a 95 flex since late high school," Hayes said in February. "And I made it to the NHL with a 95, right? So why am I even trying to change it? I don't really see myself changing anytime soon, so I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to make it work with what I'm using now."Could Hayes, who's used his slap shot to score 12 of 154 career goals, grab a 95-flex stick for even-strength shifts and a whippier stick - say, one with a 75 flex rating - for power-play time?"You could," he replied. "But what if you have a grade-A chance that calls for a wrist shot? Know what I mean? So it's hard to figure that out. I haven't really asked too many players about it, but it is something I'm trying to dig into."Keeping opponents guessing Jared Silber / Getty ImagesAdam Fox knows exactly what kind of player he is - one of the smartest and most agile defensemen in the world - and exactly what kind of player he isn't."I'm not going to kill people with speed or strength," Fox said with a smile.This self-awareness gives Fox the agency to double down on the attributes that powered him to the 2021 Norris Trophy. The New York Rangers blue-liner is focused on refining the subtleties in his game - which can be a difficult undertaking.Example 1: Improving edge work in tight spaces to open up his hips and mess with the forechecker's timing and positioning. "If it works, you're turning your feet one way and the forward coming at you is turning the same way," Fox explained. "Then, when he sets into a track, you quickly go the other way."Example 2: Improving his capacity to act casually when slipping a puck to a Rangers center after curling deep in the defensive zone. He's working on this because the last thing he wants to do is telegraph breakout passes. In this case, deception flows from Fox's elusiveness and quick hands. Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesExample 3: Improving his blue-line trickery by incorporating more jukes, shakes, and head fakes. "It's all about working on deceptive plays," Fox said.Fox, once again a candidate for the Norris, knows he must pick his spots."Feeling everything out, being in the league for a few years to see what works, is super important," he said. "There's a lot of smart guys in the league that you're just not going to fake out. Some guys might outsmart you, so holding that puck an extra second works sometimes and other times it doesn't. It's about feeling things out. In the end, there's a time and place for everything."Finding faceoff-circle grooveTage Thompson has followed up last season's 38-goal outburst with 43 in 70 contests this season. A highlight-reel regular, he's a bonafide NHL superstar.It can be easy to forget that Thompson's in the middle of just his second season at center. However, his faceoff win rate of 43.1% is a giveaway that he's still learning the position. Ben Jackson / Getty Images"Right now, I'm trying to find one thing that works, something I can fall back on," Thompson said of overcoming his woes in the faceoff circle.He later added, "A lot of people from the outside, those watching, think it's meat and potatoes, hack and whack. But there is an art form to it. Certain guys have made a living off it. There are little nuances to the process, lots of detail."Thompson is being proactive. In the offseason, he worked with former NHLer Marty Reasoner, a 52.9% faceoff guy in his day, and during the season he's been leaning on Sabres assistant coach and resident faceoff guru Jason Christie."If I can dial that in, get good at it, that gives our team such an advantage, starting with the puck," said Thompson, who usually shares the ice with Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch. "We won't have to chase it around for half of the shift."He's been picking his teammates' brains about technique, watching video of the best active faceoff men, and studying linesmen to tease out tendencies."Linesmen have a certain routine," he said. "Some of them are quicker on the drop. Some of them make you really square up. Some let you cheat a little. You've got to know who you're working with in that respect, too."Outdueling while under pressure Justin Edmonds / Getty ImagesSean Durzi didn't know what to make of the question when it was posed. He's learning loads "every single day," so the list of skills to master is long. Durzi's only appeared in 126 NHL games, after all.A beat later, though, an answer came to the Los Angeles Kings defenseman.The most difficult thing for Durzi is to shoot the puck while under pressure and at full speed. No, wait, he continued, honing his thought - it's shooting the puck to a specific spot while under pressure and at full speed."I can pick a spot from the point, no problem," Durzi said of outdueling goalies. "But when it's one-on-one with the goalie, can you be deceptive enough to beat him? Whether you turn your blade over or do something else. That's what I'm learning and, from what I've seen, you gain with experience."Durzi knows he's capable of carrying the puck down the wall in the offensive zone, then, with defenders swarming, cut to the middle of the ice and beat the goalie cleanly. He's done it in practice. But the stakes are significantly higher in games, the intensity ratcheted way up. Nothing truly matches game action."Especially with all of the defenders on you," he said. "It's just a lot different."Developing better puck poise Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesCole Sillinger, the 12th overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft, turned heads last season as the league's youngest player. Conversely, Year 2 has been a bumpy ride. The 19-year-old has recorded just 11 points in 64 games.Sillinger is still confident he can blossom into an impact, 200-foot center for the Columbus Blue Jackets. And one of the ways he'll come to earn that label, he insists, is by becoming fully comfortable operating below the hash marks in both end zones. Developing better poise with the puck is his top priority."Ultimately, you want to create more puck possession and O-zone time," Sillinger said. "It's the same mentality in the D-zone, as far as retrieving the puck and moving it out of the zone through possession and protection. You don't want to force anything."He's trying to learn to be less predictable in those areas. Holding onto the puck a second or two longer can give him, as the puck carrier, more influence over the play. Defenders have no choice but to swarm, opening up teammates for a pass.Right now, Sillinger's predictability makes him easier to shut down."If I can keep improving on the possession aspect, and then add it to my game permanently," Sillinger said, "I'll see myself have more opportunities and also whomever I play with will have more opportunities as well. Win-win."John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We have a fun 12-game slate ahead of us on Thursday night. Naturally, I see the most value in two of the least enticing matchups. Let's dig in.Blues (+110) @ Red Wings (-130)Although their recent record (5-4-1) might not suggest as much, the Blues are playing some truly terrible hockey right now.They've lost the expected goal - aka weighted shots - battle in eight of the last 10 games and seven in a row. That would perhaps be justifiable if their schedule was difficult, but it hasn't been.During this stretch, the Blues have faced off against the Red Wings, Sharks (twice), Coyotes, Blue Jackets, and a Capitals team that saw their GM pull the plug on the season at the deadline. If the Blues can't hang at five-on-five with those teams, there's real cause for concern.I don't have a long list of great things about the Red Wings, but there are a couple. For all their faults, they've defended very well of late. Only five teams have done a better job at suppressing expected goals since the deadline.They've fared especially well against bad teams, allowing next to nothing at five-on-five to the Blues (1.52 xG), Predators (0.79 xG), and Blackhawks (0.73 xG).Beyond three or four forwards at the top of the roster, the Blues are paper-thin up front. If they couldn't muster up much against Detroit while controlling matchups at home, I don't see a reason to expect any different on the road.The Red Wings have played decent hockey in Detroit this calendar year, owning a .500 record at home.Look for them to take care of business against a Blues side that has won just six times and posted a 41 xGF% away from home in 2023.Bet: Red Wings (-130)Kraken (-125) @ Predators (+105)Death, taxes, and targeting the Predators. I've gone at them a handful of times since the trade deadline, and I'm going back to the well tonight with the Kraken.Yes, the Predators have done a good job of staying afloat after depleting their roster at the beginning of the month. That being said, their recent wins have come against the Blackhawks, Kings (in a shootout), Ducks, Red Wings, and a Sabres team that's conceded what feels like 500 goals this month.The Preds scored one goal at home to Chicago. They generated 20 shots at home to the Jets. They generated 22 shots and lost by seven to the Rangers. There isn't a whole lot to be impressed with.If they're struggling to create against the Blackhawks and Jets (in their current form), I certainly don't have faith in their ability to facilitate offense against the Kraken.Although there's always the possibility an egg is laid in goal for Seattle, that's about the only way the Preds are going to score against them. The Kraken are very stout defensively and give opponents next to no room to breathe.They've conceded just 26 shots on goal per game over the last 10, ranking third in the league. The Kraken also sit near the top in terms of suppressing expected goals and chances.It'll be very difficult for this watered-down Predators lineup to create opportunities with any sort of regularity. If Seattle's goaltending is remotely decent, it should be able to pick up two big points.Bet: Kraken (-125)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We have 12 games to look forward to on Thursday's meaty slate. Let's look at three props that stand out from the pack as we seek to build on our 6-0 start to the week.Ryan Hartman over 2.5 shots (-132)Similar to Martin Necas, Hartman is a much more efficient shot generator away from home. He has gone over his total in 17 of his 27 road affairs (63%), compared to just eight of 22 at home (36%).There's every reason to expect Hartman's road success to continue against the Flyers. For one, he's playing a much larger role with Kirill Kaprizov out of the lineup. Hartman is skating on the top power-play unit and routinely sees 19-plus minutes of ice time.That extra opportunity has led to more shots. Hartman's gone over in four of six games sans Kaprizov while recording more shots than all Wild forwards except Matt Boldy.Lastly, the positional matchup is very enticing. The Flyers rank 29th in shots against per game versus centers over the last 10.Jared McCann over 3.5 shots (+135)McCann has seen his total bump from 2.5 to 3.5, and for good reason. The Kraken's top sniper has recorded four shots or more in seven of the past 10 games, falling one shot shy in two of the three occasions he failed to go over the number.The uptick in shots we have seen from McCann is no coincidence. He's averaged nearly 19 minutes per night during this stretch, which is well above the 16 he's averaged over the course of the season.Those extra shifts have been put to good use: McCann has averaged 7.4 attempts over the past 10 games, well above his season output of 4.8 per night.McCann is playing more minutes, shooting the puck more frequently, and garnering extremely strong results; he's scored seven times in this span.With the Kraken in the thick of a heated playoff race, I see no reason why they'll ease off the gas and get away from what's working so well for McCann.Miro Heiskanen over 2.5 shots (-145)Heiskanen is a monster on home soil. He's registered three shots on goal or more in 70% of his games in Dallas this season, a remarkably impressive rate.The numbers beneath the hood are much better in Dallas, as you'd expect. He's averaged 5.2 shot attempts on the road this season and 6.8 at home. That's a sizeable gap.What I love about Heiskanen is he continues to improve upon an already strong process in Dallas. His numbers have increased of late, with Heiskanen registering a team-best 76 attempts over his last 10 in Dallas.Yes, he's even ahead of Jason Robertson - one of the best volume-shooting wingers in the NHL who's gone over his shot total (3.5, by the way) in 66% of his home affairs.Heiskanen should be able to stay hot in a sneaky-good matchup Thursday night. The Penguins rank bottom-five in shots against per game versus defensemen and are in the latter half of a road back-to-back, having played at altitude in Colorado.Expect Heiskanen's home cooking to continue.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Chicago Blackhawks won't wear Pride jerseys during warmup for Sunday's game against the Vancouver Canucks, citing security interests for their Russian players, team sources told The Athletic's Mark Lazerus.The decision came from the team's front office, which consulted with security officials both inside and outside the organization, according to the Associated Press' Jay Cohen.Chicago has three players with Russian heritage or family on its roster: Nikita Zaitsev, Philipp Kurashev, and Anton Khudobin. Russia passed a law in December to criminalize LGBTQ+ "propaganda" on any platform.In January, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov refused to wear a Pride jersey due to his Russian Orthodox religious beliefs, but the rest of his teammates participated. Afterward, the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild - two teams with prominent Russian players - decided against wearing the jerseys on their scheduled Pride nights.Most recently, goaltender James Reimer was the lone San Jose Shark to sit out his club's Pride night warmup over the weekend, citing his Christian faith.The Blackhawks will still host Pride Night on Sunday despite not donning rainbow-colored uniforms.The club released a statement Wednesday addressing their intentions:"Together, our activities will focus on fostering conversation and more equitable spaces in our pursuit to make hockey more inclusive. We do not condone anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric, and we stand firmly with the community."While we know game day celebrations like these are an important way we can use our platform to bring visibility, it is the work we do together 365 days a year that can create true impact in ensuring all of our colleagues, fans and communities feel welcomed and safe within our sport."Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Just like most of the Toronto Maple Leafs' fanbase, superstar Auston Matthews is curious what top prospect Matthew Knies can bring to the table at the NHL level.Knies is playing out his second season at the University of Minnesota, but is eligible to sign an entry-level contract with Toronto whenever his collegiate campaign ends. Many believe the Leafs could give him a chance to close out the regular season and perhaps suit up in the playoffs, and Matthews supports the cause."Yeah of course, I think there's always that intrigue this time of year," the reigning Hart Trophy winner told TSN.Matthews added: "Hopefully the year he's had kind of gives him some confidence coming in and finishing his season, and seeing where that goes. Jumping in, it's quite a jump, but obviously he's a mature young guy and we'll do everything we can to help him out and give him the best opportunity to succeed."There is no firm date on when Knies may become available. Minnesota is the top-ranked team in the NCAA, and is expected to make a deep run to the Frozen Four. The championship tournament runs April 6-8, and the Maple Leafs only have three regular season games after the end date - including one against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who will be Toronto's first-round playoff opponent barring a miraculous change in the Atlantic Division standings.Knies was drafted in the second round of the 2021 draft. He earned Big Ten Player of the Year honors this season after posting 41 points in 36 games, and is one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's top player.The 6-foot-3 winger also represented the United States at the Olympics and world juniors in 2022.The Maple Leafs are currently fifth in the NHL standings with 93 points.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Veteran center Brian Boyle officially retired Wednesday after suiting up in 14 NHL seasons.The 38-year-old wasn't on a roster this season, but he played in 66 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. His next step will be joining NHL Network as a studio analyst.Boyle was drafted 26th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2003. His longest stint with any team came from 2009-14 with the New York Rangers, where he appeared in 355 games. He also played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators, and Florida Panthers.The Massachusetts native racked up 252 points in 871 career games while tacking on 33 more in 124 playoff contests.Boyle won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2018 for his dedication to the sport after overcoming a chronic myeloid leukemia diagnosis.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The results of the annual NHLPA Player Poll are in, and while most of the responses were predictable, there were a few eyebrow-raising trends.Many of the top picks went back-to-back. Patrick Kane again earned the most votes for best stick-handler, Leon Draisaitl repeated as the best passer, Marie-Philip Poulin was once again considered the best women's hockey player, and Montreal's Bell Centre remained the most popular choice as the arena with the best ice.The full poll can be viewed here. The players responded to 14 questions in total, down from 15 in 2021-22. Here are some of the results:If you need to win one game, who's the goalie you'd want on your team? Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyPlayerVote %Andrei Vasilevskiy52.3Igor Shesterkin4.8Marc-Andre Fleury4Connor Hellebuyck3.5Ilya Sorokin3.2Vasilevskiy nabs most coveted goalie honors for the second straight year, increasing his vote share from 37.4% last season. Both the win and the increase are a bit surprising considering the Tampa Bay Lightning puck-stopper is being outplayed by numerous netminders in 2022-23. However, you can't deny his track record with a pair of championships and plenty of playoff success in general.In a must-win game, which forward do you think would be most impactful? Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyPlayerVote %Connor McDavid59.3Sidney Crosby11Nathan MacKinnon8.4NIkita Kucherov2.3Patrice Bergeron1.5Auston Matthews1.3No surprise here with McDavid destroying the field of forwards given his dominance both in 2022-23 and in his career as a whole. The NHLPA phrased this one as "which skater" last year, with McDavid and Crosby finishing one-two in that as well. But McDavid's total increased from the 42.2% he received in 2021-22, while Crosby's fell from 17.4%.Who's the top defenseman in the game? Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyPlayerVote %Cale Makar63.9Victor Hedman11.4Roman Josi6Erik Karlsson3.3Rasmus Dahlin2Adam Fox2The results are pretty much as expected, with blue-liners getting their own separate query this time. Makar is having another outstanding campaign after claiming the Norris Trophy, the Conn Smythe Trophy, and the Stanley Cup last season.Who's the most complete player? Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyPlayerVote %Sidney Crosby30.1Patrice Bergeron18.8Aleksander Barkov17.1Connor McDavid11Nathan MacKinnon4.7Crosby also earned this distinction in 2021-22. Bergeron leapfrogged Barkov after placing third last year.Who's the most underrated player? Eliot J. Schechter / National Hockey League / GettyPlayerVote %Aleksander Barkov23Tage Thompson4.3Mika Zibanejad3.3Sebastian Aho2.9Jesper Bratt2.7Brayden Point2.7This question wasn't asked in 2021-22. Barkov's win by a wide margin is well-deserved, and it's notable to see Zibanejad and Bratt cracking the top six.Which player do you least enjoy playing against but would like to have on your team? Andy Marlin / National Hockey League / GettyPlayerVote %Brad Marchand36.5Connor McDavid15.6Tom Wilson8.1Matthew Tkachuk6Victor Hedman3.9The NHL's most prominent pest claims this one for the second consecutive year, with McDavid and Wilson finishing right where they did one season ago as well. Marchand got more votes this time after garnering 26.4% in 2021-22.Which NHL player is the best guy in the locker room? Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyPlayerVote %Marc-Andre Fleury3.8Kevin Hayes2.7Phil Kessel2.7Jakub Voracek2.7Nick Foligno2.5Ryan Johansen2.5This question wasn't asked last year, either. It was by far the most divisive this time around, with 181 different players earning votes. The range of responses - and Fleury's status as the game's most beloved player, for that matter - isn't shocking. But it's a bit unexpected to not see a player like Ryan Reaves get more love, especially considering he's now with his fifth team.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

John Tortorella may be viewing life through orange-colored glasses.The Philadelphia Flyers head coach downplayed the notion that his team has nothing left to play for after a 6-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night."Everybody thinks the season has been lost," Tortorella said. "We knew there was going to be pain this year. I respect our club. We stayed in it, competing up to the break."Tortorella attributes the Flyers' descent to Travis Konecny's injury in late February. The talented forward hasn't returned yet, and despite missing the last 12 games, the 26-year-old still leads Philadelphia in goals and points by six and three, respectively. He's notched a career-high 27 tallies to go along with 27 helpers over 52 contests this season."Losing TK kicked the crap out of us," Tortorella said. "It was such a catalyst for us and we haven't found ourselves since."The Flyers entered Wednesday with the NHL's sixth-worst record at 26-32-12, but the veteran bench boss isn't dwelling on his team's spot in the standings."No one likes being out (of the playoff race) like we are," Tortorella continued. "But as an organization and coaches and management, we have to look at what's gone on within the season. Forgetting about looking at the record, there has been some great development of our young guys."Owen Tippett and Noah Cates - who are both 24 years old - and Joel Farabee, 23, have shown some promise as Philadelphia's top line. Tyson Foerster has a goal and four assists in six games with the team this season, and he's only 21. Morgan Frost, who'll turn 24 in May, has also shown flashes of skill up front, while 22-year-old defenseman Cam York is playing on the top pairing and No. 1 power-play unit.Carter Hart had a .913 save percentage through his first 40 games of this campaign, but the 24-year-old goaltender posted a mark of .887 over his last 10.Philadelphia is well back of the postseason hunt and would need to leapfrog six teams to earn a wild-card berth.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Vancouver Canucks blue-liner Quinn Hughes is primarily viewed as one of the NHL's elite offensive defensemen, but he doesn't pay mind to those who think he's one-dimensional."I feel like my game's really good right now," Hughes said, courtesy of TSN. "I'm proud that I'm a plus. I'm playing a lot of minutes, and defensively, I've been trusted against the top lines. Anyone that says I'm a defensive liability, frankly, doesn't watch me play at this point."Hughes is plus-16 through 65 games to lead a Canucks team that ranks 23rd with a minus-25 goal differential. He's markedly improved in that department over the past two years after finishing minus-10 and minus-24 in two seasons from 2019-21.Among six Canucks blue-liners to play at least 500 five-on-five minutes this season, Hughes ranks second in expected goals against per 60 minutes (2.72) and third in shots against per 60 minutes (27.54).The 23-year-old has managed to limit opponents' top offensive threats while averaging 25:23 per contest - sixth-most among NHL defensemen - and putting up 65 points, good for third among blue-liners behind Norris Trophy contenders Erik Karlsson and Josh Morrissey.Hughes, however, thinks he still can improve."I think as far as the numbers, I still haven't scored a lot. I've missed a lot of my chances, and I think that there's still lots of room to grow, to be honest with you," he said. "I'm happy with my game; of course, with those (individual) awards, you have to be on a team maybe that wins. But I feel like I'm right there with a lot of the guys, for sure."Drafted seventh overall by Vancouver in 2018, Hughes has 230 points in 270 career games with the Canucks. He was named an alternate captain after Rick Tocchet replaced Bruce Boudreau as head coach midseason, and the dynamic rearguard said at the time he wants to grow as a leader while Vancouver finds a path to contention.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Montreal Canadiens were a little healthier when they took on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.Canadiens forwards Brendan Gallagher and Kirby Dach each returned from lengthy injury absences for a clash between the Atlantic Division rivals.Gallagher last suited up on Jan. 3, sitting out the past 32 contests with a lower-body injury. The Canadiens went 12-17-3 without him in the lineup.It's been a tough campaign for Gallagher, who also missed most of December with the same ailment. The 30-year-old has been limited to 25 games this season, recording four goals and five assists.Dach last played on Feb. 14. The Canadiens initially held him out of their 6-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 16 because of an illness, but further testing revealed his symptoms were related to a lower-body injury.The 22-year-old has thrived during his first season with Montreal, logging a career-high 12 goals and 35 points in 54 matchups. The Canadiens acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks in July for first- and third-round picks in 2022.Injuries have derailed Montreal's 2022-23 season: Christian Dvorak, Cole Caufield, and Arber Xhekaj all saw their campaigns end early; 2022 first overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky hasn't played since January; and pending unrestricted free agent Sean Monahan has been out since early December.The Canadiens sit last in the Atlantic Division with a 27-37-6 record.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The reigning Stanley Cup-winning head coach isn't going anywhere.Jared Bednar signed a three-year contract extension to remain with the Colorado Avalanche through 2026-27, the team announced Tuesday."On behalf of the Kroenke family and the entire organization, we are thrilled to announce a long-term commitment to our head coach," Avalanche president of hockey operations Joe Sakic said in a press release. "Jared has done a tremendous job behind the bench and certainly deserves this extension and to continue as the leader of our team."Bednar has a 281-190-52 record with the Avalanche. He's the winningest coach in the franchise's history, having surpassed the Quebec Nordiques' Michel Bergeron in January."Being able to lead this team over the last seven years has been a privilege," Bednar said. "I am grateful and excited to have the opportunity to continue building on what we've accomplished so far."Colorado has become home to me and my family, and I can't thank our ownership enough - Stan and Josh Kroenke - as well as Joe Sakic and (Avalanche general manager) Chris MacFarland, my coaching staff, and all of our players for their hard work and dedication. I look forward to continuing this process with them."The 51-year-old was already under contract through the 2023-24 campaign.Colorado is second in the Central Division with a 41-22-6 record. The Avalanche are one point behind the Dallas Stars for the division lead and have a game in hand.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We have a jam-packed Tuesday card to look forward to, as 26 of the league's 32 teams are set to be in action.Let's take a closer look at a couple that stand out.Predators (+130) @ Sabres (-150)For a while, I've argued the Predators haven't played nearly as well as the results have indicated. That's finally starting to catch up to them.They've dropped three consecutive games, over which time they scored only three goals while conceding 12.They're getting significantly outplayed at five-on-five almost every night. That's a recipe for disaster when you're lacking high-end talent and what you do have - Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, etc. - is sitting on the sidelines.I don't expect things to improve for the Predators in Buffalo on Tuesday night. The Sabres have been one of the league's most prolific offenses at home this season, netting an average of 3.5 goals per game.With Josi injured and Mattias Ekholm traded, the Predators lack the defensive personnel needed to slow their attack. They don't have the horses offensively to keep up, either, as we've seen during this dreadful losing skid.The Sabres should dominate the run of play in this game. Assuming that's the case, their big edge in chances - and true talent - should shine through over 60 minutes, even against Juuse Saros.Bet: Sabres in regulation (+105)Maple Leafs (-125) @ Islanders (+105)The Maple Leafs have been a little hit-and-miss since the trade deadline. Meanwhile, the Islanders have won five of seven and are playing some of their best hockey of the season. Even so, I can't wrap my head around this price.These two teams met back in late January, with tonight's projected starters (Ilya Samsonov and Ilya Sorokin) also between the pipes that game. The Maple Leafs closed as -240 favorites and won by three goals.I understand Toronto had home ice for that game, and the Islanders didn't have Bo Horvat on their roster. That's not worth a 15% swing in win probability, which is what we're seeing right now.Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares are all healthy and playing. So, too, is Samsonov, who ranks third in the NHL in save percentage against Grade A chances since the last time the two sides met. There's no reason for such a drastic difference in price.Could the Islanders go out there and win? Absolutely! But their recent wins, and improved metrics, likely have more to do with them facing teams like the Sharks, Ducks, and Red Wings as opposed to some new leaf - no pun intended - being turned and serving as the solution to all their problems.This team is still inconsistent offensively, Mathew Barzal isn't in the lineup, and the Maple Leafs are a big jump in class relative to what the Islanders have faced lately.Growing pains with new personnel or not, I'm happy to back the Maple Leafs against a fringe playoff team at such a reasonable price.Bet: Maple Leafs (-125)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Steve Yzerman, the Hall of Fame center turned mastermind general manager, rarely partakes in media interviews. When he does, the Detroit Red Wings executive tends to play his cards close to his chest.That said, if the topic is right, he may share a pearl of wisdom with the world.Take his appearance on a national TV broadcast in late November. Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, then an analyst for TNT, asked Yzerman about the astounding number of blown leads during the 2022-23 season."Yeah," Yzerman replied. "I wouldn't say I have a real scientific answer. But I think our game - the league, in general - is in a real transition." Jeff Vinnick / Getty ImagesIn today's NHL, Yzerman continued, the attacking team prioritizes puck possession and motion within the offensive zone. Defensemen activate often, which creates confusion for the defending team and leads to goals against."The offensive side of coaching has overtaken the defensive side," the GM added. "Now teams, coaches are going to have to adjust and come up with better defensive techniques or systems to defend a little bit."Traditionally, hockey coaches have obsessed over defensive structure and habits: backchecking, blocking shots, clogging passing lanes, battling along the boards, closing gaps, and clearing the front of the net. It's ingrained in coaches' collective identity to care deeply about defensive details.With the NHL plunging deeper into an era of offensive dominance, where league-wide scoring continues to hover well above six goals per game, how are coaches adapting? How much credit do coaches deserve for the uptick?theScore recently asked eight coaches - four currently running NHL benches and four with loads of experience in lower leagues - those exact questions.Here's what we learned.The modern mindset Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesAs of Tuesday morning, the average NHL game this season featured 6.38 goals. If that rate holds until the end of the regular season, 2022-23 will count as the highest-scoring campaign since 1993-94, according to Hockey Reference."We want to score 10. Every night," Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour told theScore over All-Star Weekend. "Now, we don't want to give up any, but we're trying to score 10. I think where the game's really improved in that regard is that (most NHL) coaches think the same way now."This season's power plays have been converting on 21.4% of all opportunities - an absurd rate reached only in the wide-open 1970s and '80s. Moreover, multi-goal, third-period comebacks have suddenly become fairly common, with 2022-23 having already set the record for most in a single campaign (53).This chaotic, offense-first product is a continuation of last season when goals per game rose to 6.28 from 5.88 in 2020-21 and 6.04 in 2019-20. Power-play success rate rose to 20.6% from 19.8% in '20-21 and 20.0% in '19-20."The one thing I know for certain is that no one fears a defensive team," Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato said when asked about his overarching philosophy. "Coaches and teams have to strategize to put people on their heels when they know you can score, and that commands respect." Ben Green / Getty ImagesGranato, whose team ranks third in goals for per contest this season, said he doesn't diminish or overlook the defensive side of the game. In his mind, Buffalo's defensive issues (27th in goals against per game) can be traced back to a youthful lineup making too many poor decisions with the puck."But yes," Granato said of aggressively pursuing goals, "it is and will be a deliberate focus. Always. It's always been like that with my coaching. Guys want to score, and it's a lot more fun to watch. Fans want to be entertained. So from the outset, yes, a couple of years ago we were dead last in scoring in the NHL. Now we're very close to first in the NHL in scoring, just tiny percentage points away. And that's by design and by effort by our guys."The uptick in goal scoring can be attributed to all kinds of macro changes over the past decade. The NHL cracked down on slashing and cross-checking. Expansion created roughly 50 new jobs, which means players who previously competed in the minors are now in the NHL. Skaters everywhere gained access to better stick technology while goalie equipment has been slimmed down. Most elite youth players train with skills and skating coaches, raising the baseline of offensive ability at all ages and levels."We have better athletes all across the board," Brind'Amour said. "They've pushed the bar up, and now everyone's getting better and faster and stronger and more skilled because they've worked on it 24/7 since they were 10 years old."Added Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer: "We've got so much young talent on rosters now that you didn't have before. You used to put out your third- and fourth-line checkers to lock down games as early as the second period if you've got a lead. Now you've got young, skilled players looking to score the entire game. That's why you see the swings. ... No lead is safe." Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesCoaches pull goalies earlier and more often, putting extra pucks in both nets. Power plays have been optimized by using four or five forwards, loading up the first unit with three or four deadly shooting threats, and disorienting the penalty kill with passes from the bumper spot and goal lines.DeBoer, who's coached five different NHL clubs, noted that pro bench bosses are taking advantage of statistical and video analysis "more than they ever have in the history of the game" - especially during special-teams meetings."Players are a lot more inquisitive now. They do want to know the why and how things work," said Danton Cole, who's coached pro, junior, and college players for more than two decades, most recently at Michigan State. "The analytics of the game can help you offensively because you can show players how to attack through the middle of the ice or get off the wall in the offensive zone."Teams have also altered how they operate at five-on-five - more carry-in zone entries, higher shot volume from the slot area, and a preference for east-west passing, just to name a few trends. The focus on maintaining possession and generating quality looks shows clearly in the five-on-five high-danger data:James Richmond, GM and coach of the OHL's Mississauga Steelheads, said it's vitally important to frame defensive play in an incentive-rich way at the junior level. "The more we can pressure the player with the puck, the better chance we get it back and get it back soon," he tells his players."Every good junior player comes up through minor hockey having the puck a lot. That's not a new thing, but it's true," Richmond said. "As you go up levels, the puck is on your stick less and less. So, the goal is to get the puck back."How do we do that?" he continued. "We don't send five guys after the puck carrier, like a team of six-year-olds. There are certain areas you can occupy on the ice to make the puck carrier feel uncomfortable. You ideally want that player to pass or shoot it before they're really ready to pass or shoot. And if you can get somebody to do something out of their comfort zone, there's a good chance they're going to make a mistake, and you'll get the puck back."Counterstriking - the act of turning defense into offense in the blink of an eye - is usually what follows a turnover in today's high-paced game. And you can't beat instant gratification in 2023. Mark LoMoglio / Getty ImagesIt helps that modern defensemen are eager to start or join the attack to overwhelm the opposition. The stay-at-home archetype, which favors pucks off the glass and brute physicality over carry-out zone exits and effective stick checking, is essentially extinct. The job description for blue-liners has been rewritten for mobility, creativity, and problem-solving ability."Players now are interchangeable," said DeBoer, citing how frequently defensemen act like forwards and how often forwards must cover for them.Ben Simon of the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins maintains "the old adage of 'your best defense is a good offense' is so relevant" for today's players and coaches. Everybody's eager to push play in the right direction - with numbers."I have seen - probably in the last four or five years - defensemen being way more active in really all aspects offensively, whether that's off a faceoff or off the rush or off a breakout or off sustained O-zone play," Simon said. "They're coming through a hockey system now where they're being encouraged to be more involved with the puck. And there's a natural correlation with coaching."The extreme approach Michael Martin / Getty ImagesCreating offense is at the core of the Brooks Bandits' program. The Alberta-based junior A team that helped develop Colorado Avalanche superstar Cale Makar scouts offensive dynamos almost exclusively, centers recruiting pitches and practice drills around scoring, and plays a high-risk brand of hockey.It's all part of "flipping the script" inside teenage players' heads."There aren't really any players who get excited about defending," longtime Brooks GM and head coach Ryan Papaioannou said of the "No. 1 challenge" in junior. "Instead of trying to fight that battle head-on," he added, "we just start on the offensive side, get everybody to buy into that, then go from there."The Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks teams of the 2010s inspired Papaioannou to go all-in on offense. He loved how Chicago's defensemen defied tradition by always being on the move and finding ways to get involved in the offensive zone. The Bandits covet defensemen with strong skating, high intelligence, and puck skills. Size and physicality are far down the priority list. Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesBrooks' emphasis on offense is partially based on the widely held belief that a team can achieve defensively sound hockey through old-fashioned hard work. "I think 85% of playing defense is just straight-up effort," Papaioannou said.The program graduated Makar, arguably the world's best defenseman (and the best prototype for the playing style), and Columbus Blue Jackets first-rounder Corson Ceulemans to the NCAA. This year's Bandits, who won 53 of 60 regular-season games, are chasing a third consecutive junior A national title."To try and do this in the NHL - at the scale we are - might be a little extreme," Papaioannou said. "The players you turn the puck over to in the NHL are going to burn you. You'd get eaten up pretty good most nights. But you could find a balance and bring up the level of offense in many different ways."The inevitable counterpunchAs Yzerman suggested during his TNT interview in November, a market correction will come at some point. Coaches will try to outsmart each other, and, perhaps within only a few years, NHL goal rates will stop trending up.There are several factors out of coaches' control - such as changing officiating standards and the young player's mindset - but they still hold immense power. Look no further than three-on-three overtime, where the chaotic action from early seasons has slowly been replaced by a coaching chess match."There's always a counterpunch to these trends. Coaches will figure out a way to combat this latest jump in scoring, even if it's reined in just a little," said Cole, who started coaching in the middle of the so-called dead-puck era. Glenn James / Getty ImagesRichmond, who runs the OHL's Steelheads, likens hockey tactics to fashion."It goes out of style, and it comes back, it goes, and it comes back. Why does it leave? Well, people get tired of it," Richmond said, chuckling. "In hockey, when you're always doing something over and over to create scoring chances, the other team sees it and builds a defensive scheme against it. Then it becomes harder again. So, it'll slow down and then come back again."Every spring provides a temporary shift. In the playoffs, games tighten up as players fight for every inch of ice, officials put their whistles away, and coaches can key in on the opposition during a series. While the offensive mindset doesn't vanish, defensive structure certainly takes over."I think it's in coaches' DNA. We'll try and coach the skill out of the game as much as we can," DeBoer said with a hearty laugh. "We'll try and defend. Come playoff time, you see everyone else buckle down."Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy recalled hearing Darryl Sutter of the Calgary Flames remark that the NHL has transitioned from being a 3-2 league to a 4-3 league. All things being equal, it's a nightly race to four goals.That's fine with Cassidy. The NHL is in the entertainment business. Goals sell tickets. But he believes an all-offense approach would devalue the product."I just don't want it to become a 6-5 league," Cassidy said. "I don't think that's great for hockey. But I guess, until that happens, we'll see."John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We kicked off the week in strong fashion with a perfect 3-0 night of shot props.We'll try and replicate that effort with three more plays for a busy Tuesday night on the ice.Jack Hughes over 3.5 shots (-132)Hughes is one of the NHL's most consistent volume shooters. He's gone over his total at a 64% clip this season, including a remarkable 71% on home ice.Hughes has hit a new gear with his shot generation of late, especially when playing in New Jersey. He's registered four-plus shots in nine of the last 10 games, averaging an impressive 7.7 attempts in that span.Tuesday, Hughes finds himself in a sneaky good matchup against a Wild team that's allowing shots at a high clip. Minnesota ranks 28th in five-on-five shots allowed since the trade deadline and is bleeding them to centers in particular.Only the Coyotes, Blackhawks, and Golden Knights have allowed more shots per game to the position over the past 10. Expect Hughes to capitalize.Martin Necas over 2.5 shots (-132)Necas has some of the most insane home/road splits you'll find. Unlike most offensive players, he's much more productive on the road. His success rate away from Carolina (71%) is actually 24% higher than his home output (47%).I like his chances of getting the job done once again versus the Rangers. They're giving up a lot of rubber right now, especially to wingers.New York ranks in the bottom five in shots against per game versus lefties and righties over the past 10.With Andrei Svechnikov out of the lineup, Necas should carry more of the workload offensively. He'll skate on the top line alongside Sebastian Aho, as well as on the top power play.Given New York's struggles preventing shots, Necas' road success, and the increased usage, our favorite road warrior will have every opportunity to get the job done once again.David Pastrnak over 4.5 shots (-110)Pastrnak is a certified Senators killer. He's recorded at least five shots in five of six meetings since the beginning of the 2021-22 campaign, falling one shy in the lone exception.But Pastrnak hasn't just squeaked out shot victories against Ottawa. He's absolutely shredded them, averaging nearly 11 attempts per game over those six matchups.For a perspective on how insane that volume is, Pastrnak leads the NHL in attempts this season by a whopping 62, and his per-game average is 8.7. That's been enough for him to hit five or more at an impressive 57% clip. You can imagine how strong his rate is when flirting with 11.There's every reason to believe Pastrnak could put up another big number against the Senators this time around. They're susceptible to giving up shots in bulk, and even more so on the road.Look for Pastrnak to pile up the shots against an exploitable, and fatigued, Senators team.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

After making the playoffs for 16 consecutive campaigns, it's near impossible to imagine a postseason field that doesn't include the Pittsburgh Penguins, but that might soon become a reality.The Penguins are barely holding onto a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Their already shaky positioning wasn't helped by their current three-game losing streak that saw them get outscored 10-2 by the New York Rangers in an embarrassing back-to-back set.Despite the uncertainty of an underwhelming season, captain Sidney Crosby is remaining calm."We've been in those situations, and you gotta turn the page," Crosby told reporters Monday, two days after his side's rough 6-0 loss at Madison Square Garden. "Whether you win a game or lose a game, you gotta learn from it. It was a tough lesson. Those aren't fun games to be a part of, but you gotta move on."We know the importance of all the games from here on in. We've just gotta find a way to make sure we put a full 60 together, give ourselves a chance."Prior to the Penguins' recent skid - their eighth multi-game losing streak of the season - they held the first wild-card spot and a two-point edge over the New York Islanders.Now, the Islanders are ahead of the Penguins, while the Florida Panthers lie in wait after winning five of their last six games:TeamPositionGPPointsNew York IslandersWC171 (36-27-8)80Pittsburgh PenguinsWC269 (34-25-10)78Florida PanthersNo playoffs69 (35-27-7)77Washington CapitalsNo playoffs71 (33-31-7)73Buffalo SabresNo playoffs69 (33-30-6)72Like the Panthers, the Islanders are also trending upwards with five victories in their last seven contests.To be fair, the Penguins have had to deal with their fair share of injuries - two of their three trade deadline acquisitions are currently considered week-to-week - but they haven't been at their best this season. Pittsburgh has allowed 3.26 goals against per game, its worst clip since 2006-07, which is when the squad's impressive playoff streak began.The organization fought to keep its iconic core of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang together in the offseason, and they've done their part. Crosby and Malkin are Pittsburgh's top two point-getters with 83 and 72, respectively, while Letang paces the team in average ice time (24:23).The Penguins' next chance to snap the skid will come Monday against the Ottawa Senators.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Barring an incredible hot streak and a collapse from the teams in front of them, the Ottawa Senators have likely excused themselves from Stanley Cup Playoffs contention. A win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night could resuscitate their chances, but in the three-point game era, it's very difficult to make up ground in the final weeks of the season.Ottawa lost six of its last seven games, and its slide has come in conjunction with an injury to Cam Talbot, who missed 10 games when the season began (Ottawa went 4-6).When the Senators (now 20-1 to make the playoffs) miss the postseason, will it simply be because their veteran 35-year-old stopgap starter wasn't available at the beginning and virtual end of their season?Here's a look at the four goaltenders the Senators used more than once this season and how they've fared relative to the average goaltender, using goals saved above expectation.PLAYERGSAxGSAx/60 MIN.Cam Talbot5.040.17Anton Forsberg2.940.12Mads Sogaard-3.48-0.31Kevin Mandolese3.171.04Per 60 minutes, Anton Forsberg has held up in deputizing for Talbot, while Mads Sogaard has been the weak link of the trio. In what is likely a good example of small-sample bias, Kevin Mandolese excelled in the three appearances he had this season.While all this is cool for Senators fans, as bettors it's theoretically need-to-know information, especially with Forsberg out for the season and Sogaard the nominal starter until Talbot comes back. Here's the problem:PLAYER ML RECORDCam Talbot15-15Anton Forsberg11-13Mads Sogaard5-6Kevin Mandolese1-2Despite the difference in the metric evaluation of each goaltender, the Senators have been virtually .500 when any of them have started. However, it's important to know what might happen with Sogaard now playing nightly. He went 4-1 in spot starts against five teams that aren't currently in the playoffs, but since getting the No. 1 workload, he's 1-5 - with four games coming against playoff teams.On the surface, there isn't likely to be a valuable bet on Senators-Penguins on Monday night, as listed below. But if there's a hidden element that would hurt the Sens' rating based on inexperience in net, the Penguins might be the side to back.The recipeWe started the season using regular-season point totals as a baseline for rating teams since it's our best measurement. Throughout the campaign, we adjust club ratings using on-ice metrics to remove the cognitive bias of win-loss records, which can be skewed by outliers like special-teams results, poor goaltending performances, and other unreliable events.The cheat sheetThere are no bad bets at the right price, but how do we know what a good price is?The following includes my fair price on the games (true moneyline) and the moneyline price I'd need to bet either side. I only need a 1% edge for a favorite if we're getting better than a fair price on the team more likely to win. For the underdog, I'll need 4% or better to make it a bet. For games I project to be closer to a coin flip, a 2.5% edge is enough for a worthwhile wager. 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 a team on the second leg of a back-to-back without travel. When it comes to injured players, I do my best to estimate the 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. The moneyline could also move into a bet-friendly range at some point between market open and puck drop.DATEGAMETRUE MLPRICE TO BETMarch 20OTT@PIT+140/-140OTT +166/PIT -134FLA@DET-158/+158FLA -151/DET +187CHI@COL+220/-220CHI +267/COL -210SJS@EDM+221/-221SJS +268/EDM -211CGY@LAK+111/-111CGY +131/LAK -107March 21MIN@NJD+187/-187MIN +225/NJD -179OTT@BOS+251/-251OTT +309/BOS -239CAR@NYR-124/+124CAR -119/NYR +146TBL@MTL-193/+193TBL -184/MTL +232NSH@BUF+149/-149NSH +176/BUF -143FLA@PHI-124/+124FLA -119/PHI +146CBJ@WSH+160/-160CBJ +190/WSH -153TOR@NYI-120/+120TOR -115/NYI +141ARI@WPG+176/-176ARI +210/WPG -169DET@STL+137/-137DET +162/STL -132SEA@DAL+139/-139SEA +165/DAL -134VGK@VAN-116/+116VGK -111/VAN +136CGY@ANA-151/+151CGY -145/ANA +179March 22PIT@COL+116/-116PIT +136/COL -111ARI@EDM+300/-300ARI +376/EDM -285March 23MIN@PHI-104/+104MIN +107/PHI +115TOR@FLA+120/-120TOR +141/FLA -115CHI@WSH+185/-185CHI +222/WSH -177NYR@CAR+172/-172NYR +206/CAR -165MTL@BOS+318/-318MTL +401/BOS -301TBL@OTT-129/+129TBL -124/OTT +152STL@DET+123/-123STL +145/DET -118SEA@NSH-120/+120SEA -116/NSH +142PIT@DAL+149/-149PIT +176/DAL -143VGK@CGY+123/-123VGK +145/CGY -118SJS@VAN+148/-148SJS +175/VAN -142WPG@ANA-146/+146WPG -140/ANA +173Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there’s a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We begin the week with 10 teams in action. Among that group are two of the bottom-three seeds in the NHL. Let's take a look at the best ways to attack them.Sharks (+270) @ Oilers (-340)Things are going from bad to worse for the Sharks. They've been an unmitigated disaster since the trade deadline, winning just once in eight tries.In that span, they've scored 17 goals and conceded 37, posting a league-worst minus-20 goal differential.They're severely lacking scoring punch without Timo Meier, and they're getting crushed defensively.Only two teams have conceded expected goals at a higher rate across all situations. Given the level of goaltending they've gotten from James Reimer and Kaapo Kahkonen, it's no surprise so many chances against are leading to goal after goal.I don't think the bleeding is going to stop against the Oilers. They're 6-2-0 since deadline day and have generated expected goals at a top-five clip league-wide.With Evander Kane healthy again and newcomer Mattias Ekholm making the team more stable defensively, an already strong Oilers side is as deep and talented as its been at any point this season.The Oilers have averaged nearly 4.70 goals per game over the past couple of weeks, which ranks them second in the NHL.They're scoring at will, and I don't see any reason why that'll change against a Sharks team in its worst form of the campaign.Look for the Oilers to make easy work of the Sharks on home soil.Bet: Oilers -1.5 (-145)Blackhawks (+380) @ Avalanche (-500)The Blackhawks have picked up seven points over eight games since the trade deadline but don't let that fool you; they aren't playing well.Whether you look at shot, chance, or expected goal differentials, they're laboring across the board - just as they have all season.The reason they've found some success of late: unsustainably high percentages. The Blackhawks are among the league leaders in shooting percentage and save percentage over the past couple of weeks.It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know a team with their talent - or lack thereof - isn't going to keep company with the likes of the Bruins and Rangers over the long haul. It makes sense for those teams to shoot the lights out and/or get great goaltending. The same can't be said of the Blackhawks.I think they're due to hit a wall sooner rather than later, and a road date against the Avalanche is the perfect time for that regression to kick in.The Avs are 6-2-1 since deadline day and are full value for their record, having controlled better than 57% of the expected goal share.They're dominating their opponents and generally starting fast, as has been the case all season. Despite all the injuries faced, the Avs are top 10 in first-period goals for and top five in first-period goals against.Meanwhile, the Blackhawks are 31st in opening-period goals for and 29th in goals conceded. They struggle mightily at both ends of the ice.Expect their slow starts to continue at altitude against a significantly better opponent.Bet: Avalanche first period -0.5 (-120)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We have a small but fun five-game slate on the menu for Monday night. Let's take a look at a few of the best ways to attack it.Nathan MacKinnon over 4.5 shots (-145)MacKinnon is shooting the lights out right now. He's gone over his total in six of the past nine home games, over which time he's averaged just under eight shot attempts per contest.Of the three games he's gone under, two were against very structured, slower-paced teams in the Flames and Kraken. I don't think the Blackhawks fit those criteria.Only two sides have conceded five-on-five shots at a higher rate than Chicago since the trade deadline. This is a very strong matchup for Colorado in that game state, and its elite power play can be expected to make noise against anybody. MacKinnon should generate plenty in all situations.It's also worth noting the Blackhawks rank 31st in shots against per game to centers over the last 10. That's their worst ranking against any position.Even juiced, I see plenty of value in backing MacKinnon at home in this spot.Kris Letang over 2.5 shots (-125)Letang continues to fire from anywhere and everywhere on home ice. The veteran Penguins blue-liner ranks third in shot attempts (81) across the entire NHL over his past 10 home games.The only two players who rank ahead of him, Jason Robertson and Roman Josi, always have shots lines set at 3.5, and they're often juiced toward the over. Yet Letang is priced at 2.5.Letang has hit in eight of his last 10 in Pittsburgh and attempted no fewer than five shots in any of those games. He's generating enough volume to get the job done every single night.Although the Senators are a competent defensive side in preventing shots, their numbers are much worse on the road. I think they can be had; expect Letang to generate his fair share of shots.Connor McDavid over 3.5 shots (-115)I love, love, love, McDavid in this spot. Love him. He's gone over his shot total in 66% of his games this season, including a ridiculous 74% hit rate on home ice.If we isolate the last 20 home dates, he's registered at least four shots on 16 occasions, falling one shy in all of the exceptions. He's cooking.Now a scorching-hot McDavid draws a putrid Sharks team that's seen the bottom fall out since the deadline. San Jose has won only once in eight tries, its five-on-five numbers have plummeted, and the team has been taking a ton of penalties.I don't think the Sharks have the depth or defensive prowess to hold up at five-on-five. Their recent tendency to parade to the box should also serve McDavid well considering he leads the Oilers in power-play shots this season.There's a ton to like about McDavid in this spot. Quite frankly, I think this price would be better served attached to 4.5 shots, not 3.5.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson opened up about the frightening injury that's kept him out of the lineup since Christmas.The 33-year-old was struck in the head by a Brenden Dillon slap shot in a Dec. 23 matchup with the Winnipeg Jets, which caused a skull fracture and a severed temporal artery."I just got struck by lightning," Carlson said, per The Athletic's Tarik El-Bashir. "That’s the only way to describe it."He added: "There’s always close calls. There’s always a lot of, 'Oh man, that could have hurt or that could have been bad' times. This was bad. It’s a one-in-a-million thing - and it happened to me."Carlson was taken to hospital for evaluation after the game, and the Capitals ruled him out indefinitely the following day."It was bleeding so much," Carlson said. "The only way I could describe it is, just survival."Carlson is back skating and is on the verge of returning to Washington's lineup. An exact date hasn't been identified yet, but the club's top blue-liner is adamant on playing again this season despite the Capitals being all but out of the Eastern Conference playoff race."It was a lot of work and time put in," he said. "At three months, medically, there’s no more healing that can happen. This is what I do, this is what I want to do. So that’s the decision."Carlson has spent his entire 14-year career in D.C. after he was drafted 27th overall in 2008. He's been top five in Norris Trophy voting three times, and is the franchise's all-time leader in points by a defenseman with 614.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer didn't wear the team's Pride jersey in warmups for Saturday night's game against the New York Islanders.Reimer did not participate in warmups and dressed as the team's backup for the contest."For all 13 years of my NHL career, I have been a Christian - not just in title, but in how I choose to live my life daily," Reimer said in an official statement.He added, "In this specific instance, I am choosing not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions, which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in my life."I strongly believe that every person has value and worth, and the LGBTQIA+ community, like all others, should be welcomed in all aspects of the game of hockey."The Sharks emphasized their "values and dedication to an inclusive, welcoming, and safe environment for all guests" in an official statement addressing Reimer's decision."We also acknowledge and accept the rights of individuals to express themselves, including how or whether they choose to express their beliefs, regardless of the cause or topic," the statement continues. "As an organization, we will not waver in our support of the LGBTQIA+ community and (will) continue to encourage others to engage in active allyship."After Saturday's game, Reimer further explained his decision and cited his relationship with former Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Nazem Kadri. Reimer used the Calgary Flames forward as an example of the goalie not antagonizing someone over a difference in their beliefs but added that even so, he wouldn't show support for Kadri's religion if the situation called for it."I don't know exactly the extent of his faith, but he's a Muslim, right? And I think you could talk to him and ask him if I treated him any different," Reimer said. "I loved him, I competed with him on the ice, we joked around, (and) we did life together. And yet, I think that people would understand that I wouldn't be able to wear a Muslim jersey in warmups promoting the Muslim faith, being a Christian and a follower of Christ, and I think (Kadri) himself would fully understand that."Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov refused to wear his team's Pride jersey during warmups in January. Later that month, the New York Rangers didn't wear the Pride warmup jerseys they'd advertised beforehand and were originally scheduled to wear.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

EDMONTON - For nearly 20 years, Jim Cuddy's made an annual tradition out of what many have dreamed of but few will experience: he laces up his skates and steps onto the ice with the who's who of the hockey world.The frontman for legendary Canadian country rock band Blue Rodeo has organized a charity game since 2004 called the JUNO Cup, which pits musicians against hockey's elite, including Paul Coffey, Sarah Nurse, and Brad Dalgarno. As one of the rare annual events that brings together elite performers from such different public spheres, it shows both sides the similarities in their careers."The greatest part is the overlap of the disciplines - how much discipline it takes to do it, and how effortlessly you have to make it seem," said Cuddy, who's racked up 15 platinum and gold albums in Canada since his band formed in 1984.Jim Cuddy and Paul Coffey horse around at the 2007 game. Jim Ross / Getty ImagesCuddy's aware that a charity game doesn't bring out the athletic best in the hockey players, and even at half strength, there's a staggering gulf between the pros and his team of musicians."The difference between Paul Coffey and even the most inspired amateur - there is no connection," Cuddy says.It was this vast difference that prompted Cuddy to one day ask Coffey just why he was so much faster than anyone else - what made him great?"He gave a little explanation, but it wasn't much of an explanation," Cuddy said. "It was just something he knew how to do naturally."Cuddy said he's had similar conversations with some of the best musicians he knows."If you ask a lot of musicians how they do what they do, they couldn't really tell you," he said.Cuddy's been amazed over the years at the mutual fascination between hockey players and musicians. It might be because they both have a profession, lifestyle, and identity built on some intangible talent that sets them apart from the general public."The thing I've found the most interesting is how much the hockey players admire musicians and how much the musicians only want to hear about hockey," he said.Cuddy and former NHLer Mark Napier in 2011. David Cooper / Toronto Star / Getty ImagesAs part of the annual event, Cuddy hosts a private jam session for musicians and athletes."There's the same gulf between their (athletes') campfire skills and the professional musicians in the room," he said, although he did note that Delgarno can do a decent rendition of "The Fisherman's Blues.""I'm a passionate guitar player, so this weekend and getting to know musicians, it's like my fantasy camp," said Delgarno, who spent 10 years playing for the New York Islanders before retiring in 1996.Cuddy added: "When I sing that song around Jim and the boys, they do the harmony and backups."For Delgarno, music provided an escape that sports couldn't offer him."A lot of years, difficult years in the NHL, it saved me in terms of having a place or helping me get through some stuff," he said.While both disciplines require a certain amount of technical mastery on the path to greatness, turning pro in either discipline can also make for some similar challenges."When we do concerts, when we listen to music, it's a novel experience for us," retired NHL goalie Ben Scrivens said. "But musicians are kind of washing, rinsing, and repeating. It's largely the same set list night after night."That's really not too different from what my lifestyle was like in the NHL. You go on the road for four games, you're trying to execute the same game plan night after night. It can feel a bit like "Groundhog Day," especially on Game 62."Ben Scrivens playing for Montreal in 2016. Harry How / Getty ImagesBut during each night, whether it's on ice or on stage, Scrivens says the pressure is on for both groups to show up and be ready to perform."The person who's watching that night, that might be their only chance to see you," he said.But with all the similarities, there's one major difference that Cuddy likes to point out every year to his hockey friends."I always bug my NHL friends by saying, ‘You happened to pick the trade that you had to stop by the time you're 40. Look at Willie Nelson. We can keep going until we're 90. You picked the wrong door,'" he said.Jolene Latimer is a feature writer and video producer for theScore.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We have a jam-packed day of action ahead of us Saturday, with 26 of the NHL's 32 teams in action.Let's take a closer look at a couple worth backing.Jets (-140) @ Predators (+120)

The Buffalo Sabres signed goaltender Devon Levi to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced Friday.Levi will be with the Sabres for the rest of the season once he completes the immigration process, general manager Kevyn Adams said, according to beat reporter Joe Yerdon.The executive added that the plan is to get Levi into some practices and didn't rule out him seeing game time, per The Buffalo News' Lance Lysowski.Levi, 21, registered a 17-12-5 record this season for the Northeastern Huskies and led the NCAA with a .933 save percentage while ranking third with six shutouts across 34 starts. He was named the Hockey East Player of the Year for his efforts and was tabbed one of the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award for a second consecutive season.Northeastern's season ended Saturday following the quarterfinal of the Hockey East Tournament. Levi made 32 saves in the Huskies' 2-1 overtime loss to the Providence Friars.Levi also put up gargantuan numbers in 2021-22 and took home the Mike Richter Award, which recognizes the top collegiate goalie. He posted a .952 save percentage, tying him with current Winnipeg Jets stalwart Connor Hellebuyck for the second-best single-season mark in NCAA history.The promising prospect also stunned on the international stage while helping Canada capture a silver medal at the 2021 World Junior Championship. Levi owned a .964 save percentage - the highest ever at a single tournament - and a 0.75 goals-against average in seven appearances.In 66 games over two seasons with the Huskies, Levi owns a .942 save percentage and 1.90 goals-against average, as well as a .742 win percentage.The Florida Panthers drafted Levi in the seventh round in 2020 but sent his rights and a 2022 first-round pick to the Sabres in exchange for forward Sam Reinhart in July 2021.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Less than four years ago, Sinclair Broadcasting purchased Fox Sports' regional sports networks (RSNs) from Disney for $9.6 billion. Funded by debt, Sinclair spun off a subsidiary called Diamond Sports Group as the owner.Late Tuesday afternoon, severely underwater because of that debt burden and rapidly changing patterns in people's TV viewing habits, Diamond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.The filing was expected and came less than a month after Diamond defaulted on a $140-million interest payment to its creditors.But what does this mean for Diamond, the teams for which it holds broadcast rights, and fans of those teams? The new baseball season is only two weeks away, while hockey and basketball are in the regular-season stretch drives.To help understand what this filing means and what happens next, theScore spoke with former Las Vegas bankruptcy judge and Northwestern University bankruptcy law professor Bruce Markell."What Chapter 11 allows is for a company to keep operating while it is negotiating how to divide up its value, and it does that through the automatic stay," Markell said. Rich von Biberstein / Getty ImagesThe automatic stay is perhaps the most powerful tool afforded to the bankrupt company. The protection allows Diamond to maintain its assets, most notably its TV sports rights, to keep its business afloat as it attempts to figure out a way to pay its creditors, reduce its expenses, potentially raise more cash, and fulfill, amend, or shed their TV contracts with clubs."Once you file bankruptcy, no one can take any action to collect a debt against you unless you go get court permission," Markell said. "The goal of Chapter 11 is for there to be a plan of reorganization, which is a document detailing who gets what, and who does what."The automatic stay also means that creating that plan takes a while to play out. "Dealing in bankruptcy, a lot of times, is getting used to watching slow-motion crashes," he said.Diamond said in a statement on Tuesday that it expects to work out a restructuring agreement that will allow it to become a standalone company. Diamond said its top-tier secured creditors will not lose anything in the deal, while secondary and unsecured creditors will wind up with an equity stake in the new company.In court filings on Wednesday, the Athletic reported that Diamond said it expected the restructuring to wind up by the end of 2023.It all means that the lights are not at risk of going out, at least not immediately, on Bally RSN channels in most affected markets this baseball season. The situation in Cleveland, Cincinnati, San Diego, and Arizona is a little more muddled, but more on that later.Most Bally broadcasts could very well go on as usual throughout the season."Lots of companies file Chapter 11 and go on their merry way working on their debt without anyone really noticing," Markell said. "Sears filed Chapter 11. GM filed Chapter 11. Chrysler filed chapter 11. Schwinn Bicycle filed chapter 11. Even Chuck E. Cheese filed Chapter 11."The moment you shut down the business, you lose so much value, and it costs so much to start up again with so much uncertainty. The (reason) why you have Chapter 11 is to reduce the loss in value among the stakeholders."Even if MLB wanted to take back all the rights that Diamond holds, the Chapter 11 protection means the league cannot do that."Even though the contract itself might say, 'If you don't pay we terminate' ... you are stayed from doing it," Markell said. "(MLB) would have to get court permission to do that, and a court is not likely (to award that), especially in the early stages of a case."When I was a judge (from 2004-13), people would say, 'Well, they didn't pay me!' I'd say, 'Well, look around. This is the land of broken promises.' Everyone in bankruptcy has not been paid in one way or another, so that's not a particularly good argument to make in terms of why you should be able to take back rights, or exercise rights, because bankruptcy is where that all gets worked out." Greg Fiume / Getty ImagesMaking this situation more complex is the collection of different rights that Diamond holds. It has broadcast and streaming rights to all 16 of its NBA clubs and 12 NHL teams, but it only holds streaming rights to five of the 14 MLB clubs that it has cable deals with. The nine other MLB clubs own their own streaming, in-market rights.MLB cannot stream in-market games where Diamond holds cable-only rights because of the exclusivity of its broadcasting rights, a league source confirmed."The idea is to get the rights back and have an option available for linear and also for streaming (in-market)," the source said Tuesday. "And to do that kind of across the board as a model of the future. It's going to take a little while to get there."MLB is concerned about the current erosion of its overall reach, the league source said. It's not just because the U.S. cable subscriber base declined from a peak of 100 million in 2014 to 70 million at the end of last year but because Diamond has failed to reach agreements with a number of cable and satellite providers to carry its RSNs.The league source said the concept of eventually having more centralized control over local, in-market options and to combine those with out-of-market games on the existing MLB.TV streaming platform or a third-party distributor has been discussed at owners' meetings."Exactly what that is going to look like, and the options available, I think it is TBD at this point, but that is the general idea ... using our MLBTV service to eventually have that in-market option," the source said. "As a longer-term matter, we also see it as a solution to the blackouts, which for years has been a thorn in our side."But first, MLB must wait on Chapter 11 to play out with Diamond. It will take time to cobble together rights for a robust in-market, direct-to-consumer product. And Diamond and its creditors might not want to surrender all rights.Chapter 11 provides another big help beyond the protection of assets: Diamond can cherry-pick the assets it wants to keep, or "assume" in legal language, and the assets it wants to shed, or "reject."That usually means hanging on to the most valuable or profitable assets and cutting ties with the least profitable.Josh Kosman of the New York Post reported Diamond intends to reject the cable rights for the Cleveland Guardians, Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, and San Diego Padres.The Athletic also reported Wednesday that the Texas Rangers filed notice last week that they would seek to get out of their deal with Diamond if the company filed for bankruptcy. Diamond asserted that it had not missed any payments to the Rangers and will fight to retain the rights.Any of these moves under Chapter 11 requires court approval since creditors are also represented. But Markell believes that ought to be "fairly easy" for Diamond to relinquish the rights to the four teams if both sides are agreeable to that plan. Even if the paperwork was filed immediately, he estimates a court hearing would not be arranged for about 45 days.Assuming those rights are relinquished sometime early this season, those four clubs' games could be streamed in-market on MLB.TV, and teams could also deal directly with other broadcasters to find an in-market television home. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has said such a scenario will result in a revenue hit for clubs. Michael M. Santiago / GettyMLB released a statement Tuesday night, assuring fans it intends to broadcast games in any market where cable broadcasts are disrupted, saying it is "ready to produce and distribute games," and has hired additional "media professionals" to help fill in potential voids with broadcasts personnel.The expected contract rejections are potentially similar to the situation with the AT&T Sportsnet and Root Sports RSNs, which hold the cable rights to four other MLB clubs - the Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros, as well as NHL and NBA teams.AT&T Sportsnet's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is exiting the business of live sports and is spinning off its RSNs on April 8. It's negotiating to return those rights to the clubs, but if it cannot, another bankruptcy filing is likely.What that means is eight MLB clubs could take back their cable rights and be without a guaranteed linear cable home at some point this season - but the games would at least be available to stream on MLB.TV.As for Diamond, even if it can emerge from Chapter 11 holding its more profitable RSNs, it won't exactly be in great shape.According to their last public financial filing through Sept. 30, Diamond had $9.1 billion in outstanding liabilities on the balance sheet against $4.4 billion in total assets. It said in its statement Tuesday it has about $425 million in cash.The cord-cutting trend is also picking up pace. Comcast, the largest cable provider in the U.S., reported subscriber losses of 11% in 2022. Borrowing money is also more expensive in this environment of higher interest rates."They've yet to be able to present a plan that makes us feel confident there is a way out for them," the league source said.MLB signed its first two streaming deals with third party distributors - Apple TV+ and NBC's Peacock - last year. Vivien Killilea / GettyHow it ultimately ends, Markell said, includes a wide "variance of recoveries" of dollars lent and owed."The rule in bankruptcy is owners (in this case Diamond and Sinclair) do not take anything until creditors are paid in full, that means the full $9 billion," Markell said. "Some Chapter 11s will pay 100 cents on the dollar (of debt and contractual obligations). But there are few of those."What's going on now, I imagine, is lots of negotiations where Sinclair and Diamond are talking to primarily the bondholders and the sports teams and saying, 'Listen, our business model doesn't make sense anymore. We cannot pay you what we used to,'" Markell said. "For you and I as consumers, that's usually deadly."For businesses (saying), 'We can't pay you,' the next question is, 'What can you pay us?' And that's what they are working out now ... and that's usually a back-and-forth negotiation. 'Pay us less now or pay it up on the back end,' or, 'Give us some equity in the business.' All sorts of negotiations are on the table."(In Chapter 11) you are reorganizing expectations as much as you are reorganizing debts and liabilities."Ultimately, club owners and Diamond creditors will likely take hits in the short term while MLB and the other leagues figure out how to pivot to a new model to deliver games to fans."All cases are unique, but there's always a pattern: There is a business, but the pricing is off," Markell said. "Someone is going to make money by bringing visual games to people who want to sit on their chairs in their house and watch. The question is, how do you do it?"Travis Sawchik is theScore's senior baseball writer.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Thursday night was a good one for our shot props. Carter Verhaeghe and Jared McCann breezed past their totals, ensuring a profitable night despite a dud of a performance from Jason Robertson.We'll happily take the 2-1 night and look to build upon it with three more plays as we begin the weekend.Jakub Vrana over 2.5 shots (+115)To say Vrana has hit the ground running with the Blues would be an understatement. The highly skilled winger has played inside the top six, as well as on the top power play, and has taken full advantage of it.Vrana has scored three times over three games while generating nine shots on goal and 17 attempts. With just under six attempts per game, Vrana is creating more than enough volume to hit his shot total on a consistent basis.He finds himself in a juicy matchup Friday night against the Capitals. Not only is it a chance to make some noise against one of his former clubs, but the Capitals enter this game playing some of their worst hockey this season.At five-on-five, they are bleeding shots and rank 31st in expected goals against per 60 since the trade deadline. We've also seen a healthy uptick in penalties, which means extra time and space for Vrana to go to work.Vrana has gone over his total in two of three games since debuting with the Blues. Given he's being centered by a strong playmaker in Pavel Buchnevich and is being used in every key offensive situation, I expect him to come through once again.Tage Thompson over 3.5 shots (-110)After finding himself a bit of a rut, Thompson is heating up. He has hit in back-to-back games, generating eight attempts or more in each.That not so coincidently aligns with the return of top line winger Alex Tuch. With Tuch back in the fold, the Sabres' top line possesses more punch and is able to spend additional time on the attack. Clearly, it's paying off.While we have seen an uptick from Thompson since Tuch's return, it is worth noting he also leads the team in attempts, shots, and chances over the past 10 games. He was still generating plenty as the go-to shooter.Every point is crucial for the Sabres right now and that is reflecting in Thompson's usage, as he's played 21 minutes or more in two straight contests. So long as this game against a feisty Flyers team remains relatively close - I expect it will - Thompson will get all the ice he can handle.Troy Terry over 2.5 shots (-125)Terry is quietly having a productive shooting year, at least on home ice. The skilled winger has averaged 2.9 shots per game in Anaheim and gone over his shot total 57% of the time; including six of his last nine.He has feasted on underwhelming competition in that span, getting the job done most recently against the Coyotes, Blackhawks, Predators, and Islanders.Luckily for Terry, he has another mouthwatering matchup in front of him Friday.The Blue Jackets rank dead last in the NHL and have conceded shots at a higher rate than every other team since their deadline sell-off. They are awful.I think this is a generous price for Terry at home against the worst defensive team he'll see all season.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The QMJHL is expected to ban fighting to start the 2023-24 season, pending ratification of the proposed rule change.A league spokesperson confirmed the plans to The Hockey News on Wednesday."The QMJHL is planning to have a rule in place that will ban fighting, making it black and white that it is no longer a part of our game," the spokesperson said. "The punishments have not been decided as of yet. We will be looking to have a rule in place in June when the next general annual assembly of the members of the board of governors takes place."QMJHL officials already cracked down on fighting in 2020 to enhance player safety, adding a 10-minute misconduct to the usual five-minute major for the infraction. The extra punishment worked, as the league recorded only 0.07 fights per game last season.The OHL and WHL, the two other minor leagues under the Canadian Hockey League's umbrella, have also introduced changes in recent years to decrease fighting. The OHL enforces a three-fight rule, in which players who exceed that total are suspended for two games for every additional tussle. The WHL issues a misconduct to any player who tries to remove their or their opponent's helmet in a fight.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Ottawa Senators have fallen short of the hype following an offseason that saw them bring in goaltender Cam Talbot, two-time 41-goal-scorer Alex DeBrincat, and veteran Claude Giroux, but general manager Pierre Dorion says his team is "pretty much" where he expected it to be."We're playing meaningful games," Dorion said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "The best thing for our team is the growth of our young core this year and that's what's happening with all these young players. ... They're growing through this run of trying to get into the playoffs."He added, "You've never heard me say make the playoffs from the get-go because I knew where we were and I knew where we needed to be. I think if we do make the playoffs it's a bonus, but the growth of this team was the most important thing this year."Heading into Thursday's slate, the Senators are eight points behind the New York Islanders for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but Ottawa has three games in hand.The Senators, however, are riding a three-game losing streak following a nightmare trip through western Canada. They were outscored 16-6 against the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and Edmonton Oilers.Despite the roller coaster that has been the Senators' campaign, Dorion believes this season can be a turning point for Ottawa's core, which now includes Jakob Chychrun. The executive acquired the 24-year-old defenseman prior to the trade deadline."The last few years we weren't in it, no one takes us seriously, and we're just going in playing carefree," he said. "Now the games matter and I really think ... when we look back in a few years, we're going to say to ourselves that we made a lot of progress, and we learned what competing for the playoffs is all about."That carries over when you get into the playoffs, too."The Senators have missed the postseason in each of the last five seasons after making the Eastern Conference Final in 2017.Ottawa's next chance to snap its losing skid comes Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Our lone side of the night suffered defeat in crushing fashion Wednesday. The Sabres led 2-0, 3-1, and 4-2 in Washington but blew it in the dying seconds of the game before eventually losing in a shootout. Gross!We'll aim to get that taste out of our mouth with a pair of plays for Thursday's 11-gamer. Let's get right to them.Kraken (-175) @ Sharks (+150)The Sharks are in it to win it. The Connor Bedard sweepstakes, that is.They have underperformed based on their five-on-five process for much of the season due to unfathomably bad goaltending. Now that they've traded star winger Timo Meier, as well as depth forwards Nick Bonino and Matt Nieto, the team is underwhelming across the board. The process is bad and the goaltending is more likely to throw San Jose an anchor than a life raft.As a result, we are seeing truly miserable hockey from the Sharks post-deadline.They've won one of just six games since March 3. They rank 30th in expected goals against and dead last in goals against on a per 60-minute basis in that span.It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know a bad goaltending tandem is not going to hold up behind a team bleeding chances. That's what we're seeing right now.While these games don't matter one iota to the Sharks, they're crucial for the Kraken. They're in a heated wild-card race and still fighting to move up a slot or two in the Pacific Division. With a win tonight, and some help, they could wake up tomorrow just four points behind the Kings for a slot that would earn them home-ice advantage.The Kraken are a deeper and more talented team with a lot to play for. I expect that to shine through in this game as they take care of business inside 60 minutes.Bet: Kraken in regulation (-110)Flames (-115) @ Golden Knights (-105)I thought the wrong team was favored at open, and the market seems to agree, with the Flames now being slight favorites in Vegas. I still see value on them at this price, though.Although it may sound crazy to say the 30-win Flames should be favored on the road against the 42-win Golden Knights, the latter is something of a paper tiger right now.The Golden Knights own an impressive 6-1 record since the deadline. That doesn't mean they've played well.At five-on-five, they rank dead last in expected goal share and have conceded xGA at a higher rate than every team in the league. Vegas also slots in the bottom five in high-danger chances against, surrounded by teams like the Blue Jackets and Capitals. Not ideal.The Golden Knights generated more than 30 shots just once during this 6-1 stretch. They have simply shot the lights out - their shooting percentage sits just under 14% - while the goaltending has been great at the other end.The opposite is true of the Flames. They are routinely outplaying their opponents, dominating the run of play and generating chances in bulk. They just can't put the puck in the net.Even if their style of play isn't conducive to high shooting percentages, I think there's room for positive regression there, especially when going up against Adin Hill or Jonathan Quick.If the desperate Flames can come out and generate, say, 10 more shots than they give up against a Golden Knights side getting cratered at five-on-five, I'm happy to take my chances it'll lead to a positive result.Quick getting the start here would be ideal - aside from the last couple of games, he has struggled mightily all year - but I see an edge on the Flames regardless.Bet: Flames (-115)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We split our player props on Wednesday night. Tage Thompson came through against the Capitals; however, Noah Dobson missed the net three times while falling one short to close out the night.We'll look to get back in the win column with three more plays for Thursday night's huge slate of games.Carter Verhaeghe over 3.5 shots (-105)Verhaeghe is sizzling at home. He registered at least four shots on goal in 12 of his last 14 games in Florida, over which time he's averaged 6.36 shot attempts per game.He let us down last time we backed him, but I love his chances of rebounding Thursday night against the Canadiens.They are giving up a ton of shot volume right now, especially on the road. Only the Ducks have allowed more shot attempts, and shots on target, per game over their last 10 road dates.Verhaeghe will benefit mightily from a mouthwatering matchup at five-on-five and on the power play. It just so happens he was recently moved up to the Panthers' top unit. That should afford him an extra shooting opportunity or two, which he probably didn't need.The Panthers fire shots at will every night. With a juicy matchup and every point crucial, Florida won't take its foot off the gas in this one. Look for Verhaeghe to be very involved offensively.Jason Robertson over 3.5 shots (+105)Robertson has teed off on the Oilers this season. Through two meetings, he's produced a whopping 16 shots. No, not attempts; that alone would be fairly impressive. I'm talking shots on goal. He attempted 23 shots over those two games, hitting double digits each time out.The Oilers are generally a pretty strong shot-suppression team. Their Achilles' heel is taking penalties, and that's where Robertson makes his hay. Only David Pastrnak, Alex Ovechkin, and Mika Zibanejad have recorded more shots on the power play this season, and all three of them have played at least 27 more minutes on the man advantage than Robertson.He's as efficient as it gets. With the Oilers being one of the league's most penalized teams - on the season and over the last 10 games - Robertson should benefit from plenty of opportunities to go to work.Jared McCann over 2.5 shots (-135)Despite their poor record, the Sharks were a pretty good five-on-five team for much of the year. That has completely changed since their deadline sell-off.In six games since, they've conceded more shots on goal per game than anyone but the Coyotes and Blackhawks. They've also given up a ton of high-quality chances and taken penalties at an increased rate.All of that is music to the ears of Jared McCann, the Kraken's top weapon. He went over his shot total in six of the past seven games, only failing against a stout Stars team.McCann not only hit, but smashed in matchups against weaker opponents like the Red Wings and Blue Jackets. I expect that will be the case once again versus the Sharks.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Thursday for roughing/unsportsmanlike conduct on Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman, the league announced.Binnington lost his cool after Hartman collided with him following Minnesota's fifth goal of the night in what was ultimately an 8-5 win for the Wild. The netminder erratically charged the Wild's celebration, threw a punch at Hartman, and then the officials had to break up a potential goalie fight with Marc-Andre Fleury.

Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews is having a down year by his lofty standards but revealed Wednesday that a hand injury has played a part."It was bothering me," Matthews told The Athletic's Jonas Siegel. "It just felt like something was off. I just felt like ... I wasn't able to do exactly what I wanted to at times."Matthews is still having a productive season but isn't at the level the hockey world has grown accustomed to. He's recorded 31 goals and 67 points in 59 games after tallying 60 goals and 106 points in 73 contests a year ago when he won the Hart Trophy.His 0.53 goals per game is his lowest since his rookie campaign when he took home the Calder Trophy, and his 4.22 shots per game is also down from 4.77 last season. Matthews' faceoff win rate is also down from 56.2% in 2021-22 to 53.2%.Matthews missed a pair of games in January with an undisclosed injury then missed five contests later that month and into February with a knee sprain.But the two-time "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner appears to be rounding into form of late, as he's racked up five goals and five assists over his last seven games."I think my hand and everything has been feeling a lot better, just stronger," Matthews said.The Maple Leafs will need Matthews in peak form if they hope to advance past Round 1 of the playoffs for the first time since 2004 and perhaps even win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1967.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Montreal Canadiens forward Christian Dvorak will miss the remainder of the campaign after undergoing knee surgery Wednesday, the team announced.Dvorak is expected to make a full recovery before the start of next season.He missed the Canadiens' last four games due to a lower-body injury.The 27-year-old put up 10 goals and 18 assists in 64 games during his second season in Montreal. Dvorak has two seasons remaining on his current pact at a cap hit of $4.45 million.Dvorak isn't the first Canadiens player to have their 2022-23 season cut short: Cole Caufield was ruled out for the remainder of the year because of a shoulder injury in January and Arber Xhekaj joined him on the sidelines after undergoing season-ending surgery on his right shoulder in late February.Forward Kirby Dach is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, while Brendan Gallagher and Juraj Slafkovsky, the 2022 first overall pick, haven't played since January.The Canadiens are in the basement of the Atlantic Division with a 27-35-6 record.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Eeli Tolvanen admitted the Nashville Predators' decision to place him on waivers in December was "kind of a shock," but he's certainly enjoying his time with the Seattle Kraken so far."You never want to go on waivers - means you're doing something wrong or you're not producing," the forward said, according to Seattle Sports' Andy Eide. "I look at it as things didn't go as planned, and I was kind of really happy about the fresh start, getting a new city, new team, new guys, a new coaching staff, off to (a) new organization."I was really excited to come here and, you know, it was the best stuff for me and I've been happy every second."That happiness has translated well on the ice.After putting up two goals and two helpers in 13 games with Nashville this campaign, Tolvanen has been a valued member of the Kraken's attack. Since making his debut Jan. 1, he ranks fifth on Seattle with 22 points and second with 12 goals in 33 games.The 23-year-old is seeing just over two more minutes of ice time per game on the league's newest franchise than he did in the Music City this campaign.Predators general manager David Poile conceded that the decision to waive Tolvanen "could be a mistake" after the Finn fired off five points in his first five games with the Kraken.Only three Predators have more points than Tolvanen since the calendar flipped to 2023, while none have scored more goals.Nashville selected Tolvanen with the 30th overall pick in 2017.Tolvanen will get his first chance to exact his revenge on his former team when Seattle visits the Predators for a couple of games on March 23 and 25.The Kraken are pursuing their first playoff appearance and currently sit in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a 37-23-7 record.The Predators, meanwhile, were in sell mode at the deadline earlier this month, parting ways with forwards Mikael Granlund, Nino Niederreiter, and Tanner Jeannot, as well as veteran blue-liner Mattias Ekholm.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We're in the twilight of the 2022-23 campaign and there's plenty of excitement just around the corner.The NHL announced key dates for the remainder of the season on Wednesday. The winner of the Connor Bedard sweepstakes will be determined during the draft lottery on May 8 at 7 p.m. ET, while the playoffs will kick off April 17. The start date for the Stanley Cup Final may be moved up depending on how long it takes for the previous rounds to be played.Here are the other priority events:DateEventApril 17Start of the 2023 Stanley Cup PlayoffsMay 8NHL Draft Lottery (7 p.m. ET)June 3Tentative start of Stanley Cup FinalJune 4-10NHL Scouting CombineJune 262023 NHL AwardsJune 28Round 1 of 2023 NHL Draft (7 p.m. ET)June 29Rounds 2-7 of 2023 NHL Draft (11 a.m. ET)Though NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has denied that teams tank to improve their odds in the draft lottery, Bedard has the potential to be a generational talent for one lucky franchise. He has 61 goals and 125 points in 51 contests with the WHL's Regina Pats this campaign.The Columbus Blue Jackets sit in last place entering play Wednesday with a 21-38-7 record and a .371 point percentage.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Tuesday night was a solid one on the ice, as we split our best bets while going 2-1 on player props to turn a profit.We'll look to keep things moving in the right direction with three more plays for Wednesday's four games.Sabres (+100) @ Capitals (-120)Leading up to the trade deadline, the Washington Capitals punted on the season by shipping away a handful of quality contributors in exchange for assets to better serve them in the future. Boy, has it showed.Since deadline day, the Capitals controlled a putrid 38.54% of the expected goal share at five-on-five. That ranks dead last in the NHL.Those numbers stem mostly from an inability to defend. With John Carlson and Nick Jensen injured - and Dmitry Orlov now playing for the Boston Bruins - Washington just doesn't have the horses defensively to limit shots and chances at anywhere close to the level it did previously.For all their faults, the one thing the Buffalo Sabres can really do is put pressure on defenses with a dangerous run-and-gun offense.Be it at five-on-five or across all game states, the Sabres rank third in goals per 60 minutes this season.Led by Tage Thompson, Jeff Skinner, Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, and Alex Tuch - who just returned to the lineup last time out - the Sabres can do severe damage offensively against teams that aren't up for the challenge.They should significantly benefit from a date with an injury-plagued Capitals team that can't defend a lick.Charlie Lindgren's presence between the pipes for Washington in a back-to-back situation will be a nice little bonus. He held up well for the first half of the season, but his play tailed off significantly since the calendar flipped.Lindgren ranks 64th among 69 eligible netminders in save percentage (.877) in 2023. Suffice to say, he's going to have his hands full against a desperate Sabres team with a lethal offense.Look for the Sabres to claim another much-needed two points.Bet: Sabres (+100)Tage Thompson over 3.5 shots (+110)Thompson hasn't hit the over as regularly of late, but his shot volume remains consistently high. He's still the Sabres' primary shooter, leading the team by a healthy margin of 11 in shot attempts over the last 10 games.It just so happens one of Thompson's best games of late came versus the Capitals. At the end of February, he amassed seven shots on goal and 11 attempts against a Washington team that was less thinned out than it is now.With every point crucial, the Sabres will no doubt be giving Thompson a full workload in this spot. I expect he'll play 19-20 minutes Wednesday night, which should be more than enough for him to take advantage of such a strong matchup.Noah Dobson over 2.5 shots (-125)I generally want two things when backing Dobson: home ice and a good matchup. While we don't have the former, the latter more than makes up for it. The Anaheim Ducks are a dream opponent for shooters - especially on the backend.They've allowed 11.51 shots per game to blue-liners this season, which is good for 32nd in the NHL. Their standing isn't much better over the last 10 games, as they slot 30th.Dobson leads the New York Islanders in attempts (61) over the past 10, recording 12 more than the closest teammate in that span. He's shooting a lot.With his average volume, we'd only need Dobson to hit the net on half of his attempts to get the job done. It's possible - and perhaps likely - we'll see an uptick in such a strong matchup.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Winnipeg Jets newcomer Nino Niederreiter took ownership after he and the rest of the top line were benched for a significant chunk of Tuesday's loss to the Carolina Hurricanes."We didn't deserve to play," Niederreiter said, per Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press. "We simply weren't good enough."He added: "We weren't engaged. We weren't doing the job we were supposed to do. We definitely deserved that. (Coach Rick Bowness) made that message pretty clear. We've got to be better. We've got to show up, especially this time of year, and yeah. It was definitely unacceptable."Niederreiter began the game on the right side of the Jets' top attacking unit with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. The trio was shellacked five-on-five, failing to register a single shot attempt while being on for three goals against.Carolina finished the game with a 12-0 Corsi advantage up against Niederreiter and Co. while out-chancing them 7-0, according to Natural Stat Trick.Scheifele and Connor declined to speak after the 5-3 defeat.The Jets acquired Niederreiter from the Nashville Predators prior to the trade deadline. He's been a terrific fit in Winnipeg so far, registering four goals - including one Tuesday after Winnipeg's lines were jumbled - in eight games.Winnipeg has won only three of its past 10 contests, and is locked in a fight for playoff seeding in the Western Conference. After their latest loss, the Jets hold the second wild-card spot with 79 points and 14 games remaining.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Punctuated by the lengthy saga that led to head coach Bruce Boudreau's firing, the Vancouver Canucks have been one of the league's most entertaining sideshows for large swaths of this season.Veteran forward J.T. Miller said he believes his squad is leaving all the chaos behind."This wasn't too fun of a place to be in the beginning and mid-part of the year," he said Tuesday, per TSN's Farhan Lalji. "It was a bit of a shitshow … it really was. A lot of distraction. I think we've moved on, we understand who we're going to be moving forward. It's fun to come to the rink again."He added, "I thought we've come together a lot as a team over the last couple of weeks. We've got to make sure we stay focused and try not to get off script here because everything we've been doing lately seems to be working for us."The Canucks went 18-25-3 with Boudreau at the helm this campaign and won only three of Rick Tocchet's first nine games behind the bench after Vancouver made the personnel switch on Jan. 22.However, the Canucks have gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 contests since Feb. 18, and their .750 point percentage in that span is tied for the fourth best in the league. Vancouver has also rattled off four straight wins, its longest streak of the season.That's a far cry from where the Canucks were earlier in the campaign. They set a dubious mark to start the season by becoming the first team in NHL history to lose four consecutive games while conceding a multi-goal lead in each. Miller said after the second contest that he felt "irrelevant."Despite the recent turnaround, a surprise playoff berth is virtually out of the question. The Canucks sit 18 points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a 28-32-5 record."We're playing well as a group," Miller said. "It's not about wins or losses at the end of the day right now, it's about enjoying the process of getting better as a group and having good habits and being accountable. We're starting to do that, and I think the results are showing as well."Miller, who turned 30 on Tuesday, ranks third on the team with 36 assists and 60 points. His seven-year, $56-million extension will kick in next season.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Carolina Hurricanes star Andrei Svechnikov will undergo season-ending reconstructive surgery on his right ACL on Thursday, the team announced.He'll miss the remainder of the regular season as well as the entirety of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.Svechnikov was injured Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights.The 22-year-old power forward is a key cog in Carolina's offensive attack. He ranks third on the team in goals (23) and assists (32) and leads the club in shots (205) and hits (140). He also averages the third-most minutes (18:03 per game) among Hurricanes forwards.The Canes are also without Max Pacioretty for the remainder of the campaign and playoffs. The veteran offseason acquisition appeared in just five games this season before tearing his Achilles for the second time in five months.Trade deadline pickup Jesse Puljujarvi may be one of the forwards asked to step up in Svechnikov's absence. The Edmonton Oilers' fourth overall pick in 2016 played on the top line alongside Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis during Sunday's 3-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils. He and Aho were linemates when Finland won gold at the 2016 World Junior Championship.Carolina selected Svechnikov second overall at the 2018 draft. He's collected 264 points in 347 career games.The Hurricanes are tied with the Devils atop the Metropolitan Division.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong defended the trade that sent Jakob Chychrun to the Ottawa Senators earlier in March despite heavy scrutiny over Arizona's return.Chychrun had been on the trade block since January 2022, but Armstrong argued that the defenseman's injury history and poor play last season made him difficult to move."I was reading an article on how we buffooned it. The big saga, and how we blew this. But people skim that, they don't really understand that Jakob was injured for eight months," Armstrong said on the Cam and Strick Podcast.Chychrun was sidelined with a lower-body injury at the 2022 trade deadline and missed the final 24 games of the campaign. He then missed the opening 16 contests of the 2022-23 season with a wrist issue.Armstrong also argued that Chychrun's subpar performance in 2021-22 affected the trade."It's hard to trade a player when he's coming off a season he was minus-20. He was terrible," Armstrong said. "And then you throw his injury history from before, and then you throw his injury history now, and he's out for eight months."Armstrong said one club made a push to land Chychrun at the 2022 draft, but "Jakob didn't want to go there." He added that the return wasn't as good as the one the team received from Ottawa.Chychrun's contract, which carries a $4.6-million cap hit through 2024-25, doesn't contain no-trade protection until a 10-team no-trade list kicks in next season. However, the interested team became hesitant to acquire Chychrun upon learning he wasn't interested in joining it, according to Armstrong."We could've crushed it, and we would've got two late first-rounders, and we would've had to take money back. Up from $3.1 million to $5.1 million back," he said. "Why would we do that for two late firsts?"Armstrong ultimately dealt Chychrun to the Senators for a top-five protected 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 conditional second-round pick (originally from the Washington Capitals) that becomes a top-10 protected first-round pick if Ottawa makes the 2023 Eastern Conference Final, and a 2026 second-rounder.The Coyotes architect argued that getting a first-rounder likely in the 11-15 range - and potentially as high as sixth overall - plus two second-rounders, is more valuable than two late firsts.Arizona possesses over $15 million in cap space - the second-most in the league. However, Armstrong said he wants to maintain flexibility to either sign free agents this offseason or take on more bad contracts in exchange for assets, as the Coyotes have often done since he was hired in September 2020.Chychrun, 24, recorded 28 points in 36 games with the Coyotes this season. He has two goals and two assists in six contests with the Senators.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Monday night was a good one for our best bets, as we won both our side and our player prop.We'll look to keep the train on the track Tuesday night with another couple of bets.Red Wings (+130) @ Predators (-150)The Predators are 7-2-1 over their last 10 games and are ever so slightly hanging around in the wild-card race as a result. I'm not buying what they're selling, though.They are lacking high-end talent offensively, and their team defense isn't nearly as potent without Mattias Ekholm. I think a lot of their recent success stems from who they've played.Over the last five games, for example, the Predators have faced the Blackhawks, Canucks, Coyotes, Ducks, and Kings (minus Kevin Fiala). Getting results during that stretch is hardly impressive.While the Red Wings don't exactly offer a big step up in competition, that doesn't need to be the case to see value at this price point.Nashville isn't a good team. The Preds weren't when healthy to begin with and certainly aren't now, having sold off several key pieces while playing without a couple of others.This Red Wings team undoubtedly has more depth and firepower up front. Ville Husso is no slouch in goal, either, ranking 11th among 42 eligible netminders in save percentage since Jan. 18.Opportunistic finishing and Husso helped lead the Red Wings to an upset win over a historically good Bruins team just a couple of days ago. It's well within the realm of possibility that they follow it up with another victory against this thin Predators lineup that has overachieved of late.Bet: Red Wings (+130)Islanders (+110) @ Kings (-130)The Kings are playing lights-out defense right now. They have conceded only 79 high-danger chances at five-on-five over the past 10 games, which slots them second in the league.With Jonathan Quick - who struggled all year long with the Kings - gone and Joonas Korpisalo in the mix, the Kings have two reliable netminders who can give them competent goaltending on a nightly basis.Factor in their defensive prowess, and it's no coincidence the Kings have conceded two or fewer goals in five straight games. They are a very difficult team to generate offense against.I expect the Islanders will struggle in that regard on Tuesday night. They're not a great offensive side at the best of times, and their numbers really tail off on the road.Their expected goal share sits at 48% over the last 10 road dates, and they've net just 2.02 goals per 60 at five-on-five. That ranks them 27th in the league.With the way the Kings are suppressing chances, this hardly seems like the spot where New York will be able to jumpstart its attack - especially without Mathew Barzal.Having Fiala in the lineup would certainly be preferable. He's had a very productive year, and the Islanders are most vulnerable conceding shots and chances to wingers.That being said, the Kings still have plenty of talent there in Adrian Kempe, Viktor Arvidsson, and Gabriel Vilardi, among others.Look for the Kings to come through in what should be a slower-paced, grind-it-out affair.Bet: Kings (-130)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, the team announced Tuesday.Kulikov labored to the bench after blocking a shot from Patrick Kane in the second period of Pittsburgh's 3-2 overtime victory over the New York Rangers on Sunday and didn't play in the final frame.The 32-year-old rearguard saw just 8:13 of ice time during the contest, logging one block and two takeaways.The Penguins acquired Kulikov from the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline in exchange for forward Brock McGinn and a 2024 third-round pick.Kulikov has one assist in four games as a Penguin while averaging just under 13 minutes of playing time. He has three goals and 13 helpers in 65 games this campaign, split between Pittsburgh and Anaheim.The Penguins are Kulikov's eighth NHL team. He's also spent time with the Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres, Winnipeg Jets, New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers, and Minnesota Wild. Selected by the Panthers with the 14th overall pick in 2009, Kulikov has 214 points in 870 career NHL games.It's been a rough go for Pittsburgh's trade deadline acquisitions. Forward Nick Bonino is also considered week-to-week with a lacerated kidney.Head coach Mike Sullivan offered a diplomatic response to the Penguins' recent injury woes."I just don't think we have the luxury of frustration," he said, according to NHL.com's Wes Crosby. "We're trying to put a lineup on the ice every night that's going to give us a chance to win. The reality is that injuries are part of the sport. Every team has them."The Penguins currently hold the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 34-22-10 record.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We hit our lone player prop Monday night, successfully backing Mikko Rantanen to record an assist at plus money. We'll look to build on that with three more plays for Tuesday night's 12-game slate.Jack Hughes over 3.5 shots (-120)Hughes is one of the hottest shooters in the league, especially when playing on home ice. The Devils' young superstar recorded four shots or more in nine of his last 10 games in New Jersey, falling one shy in the lone exception. Hughes attempted seven shots in that game and missed the target on four occasions, so it very easily could've been another hit.Although a date with the Lightning hardly seems ideal on the surface, Tampa Bay has gone through some issues defensively of late. The Lightning are especially bad on the road, allowing five-on-five shots on goal at a higher rate than all but the Ducks and Blackhawks over their last 10 games.Hughes has the ability to get the job done against any opponent. He hit the over against the Rangers, Golden Knights, Kings, Maple Leafs, and Hurricanes during this hot streak at home.With the Lightning laboring defensively and Hughes set to get advantageous matchups, I expect he'll get the job done once again.Kris Letang over 2.5 shots (-115)Letang hasn't been a frequent target this year, but his recent numbers have certainly caught my attention.He registered three shots or more in seven of the past 10 games, and seven of the last nine when playing in Pittsburgh. His volume at home, in particular, has been nothing short of remarkable. Letang averaged 8.22 shot attempts per game over the past nine home dates.Tonight, Letang finds himself in a juicy spot against the Canadiens, a bad defensive team at the best of times. Now they're playing in a road back-to-back against a Penguins side in the thick of a heated playoff race.When playing on the road, only the Ducks conceded shots at a higher rate than the Canadiens over the last 10. They're giving up a ton of volume, and Letang - the Penguins' leading shot generator of late - figures to be the prime beneficiary.Miro Heiskanen over 2.5 shots (-132) Heiskanen is quickly becoming one of my favourite blue-liners to back. It doesn't seem to matter who he's up against or, more recently, whether he's at home or on the road. He simply gets the job done.The Stars defenseman just completed a two-game set against a low-event, stingy defensive team in the Kraken. He generated 12 attempts over that span while hitting the over each time out.Normally not as efficient on the road, Heiskanen quietly generated at least five attempts in nine of his last 10 away from home. That seems to be his magic number - Heiskanen owns a 37-8 record (82% hit rate) when attempting five shots or more this season.The Canucks have given up a little more volume of late and been a below-average team in limiting shots to defensemen over the past 10 games.Even in a back-to-back, Heiskanen stands out as someone worth backing.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen will miss at least four-to-six weeks after suffering a broken finger Monday against the Montreal Canadiens, head coach Jared Bednar announced Tuesday, according to Altitude TV's Vic Lombardi."It'll be four-to-six weeks. Maybe more," Bednar said. "It's a huge loss."Bednar added: "Good thing is it's his finger. It's his top hand, and he can continue to train."Colorado's final regular-season game is on April 14, so Lehkonen may be able to suit up before the playoffs begin. He could miss most of the first round if his recovery is closer to six weeks.Bednar isn't certain when the winger got hurt but said it happened at some point when Lehkonen was struck by a shot, according to the Denver Post's Bennett Durando.The 27-year-old was enjoying a career year with the defending champions, who acquired him in a trade with the Canadiens on deadline day in 2022.Lehkonen got a warm welcome in his return to Montreal on Monday as the Bell Centre crowd gave him a standing ovation right before he scored the first of his two goals in the first period. However, the Finn exited and didn't return after playing four shifts in the second frame.He added an assist in the win, bringing his totals up to 20 tallies and 29 helpers along with what would be a career high in average ice time (20:45) in 62 games this season. Lehkonen had been playing on the top line until recently.Colorado has dealt with a slew of injuries this season and is still without captain Gabriel Landeskog, who's missed the entire campaign following knee surgery.Lehkonen played his first five-plus seasons with the Canadiens, who drafted him 55th overall in 2013.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe backed goaltender Matt Murray following another rocky outing Monday in a loss to the Buffalo Sabres.Murray faced a modest 29 shots in the defeat but allowed four goals for the third consecutive start since returning from an ankle injury that forced him to miss 17 games."I think he's been great," Keefe said, per Sportsnet. "The numbers look terrible, but again, here tonight, I thought he looked really good. I mean, it's four tap-ins. They're three feet or less in front of the crease."The Leafs held a 2-0 advantage early in the second period but allowed four consecutive goals and were heavily outshot from that point on. Keefe didn't think Murray was to blame."Our second period was our worst period by far, maybe of the season, to be honest," he said, according to the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan.Murray was acquired from the Ottawa Senators last offseason for future considerations. His tenure with the Maple Leafs began with a 7-2-2 record and .924 save percentage, but the two-time Stanley Cup winner has only five wins in 11 starts with a .877 clip since, according to Sportsnet Stats.He's also comfortable with where his game is at."I felt pretty good, especially through two periods," he said, per TSN's Mark Masters. "I think that third period, they get a couple good looks and capitalized on them. I just got to make an extra save there, but I felt pretty good for the most part."Toronto has relied primarily on Ilya Samsonov between the pipes this season due to Murray's injuries. The former Washington Capital is 23-8-2 on the season with a .915 save percentage and 2.84 goals against average.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov is out indefinitely with a knee injury, the team announced.Svechnikov suffered the ailment Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights.The Hurricanes are awaiting a clear diagnosis from doctors before providing a timeline for his potential return. He underwent an MRI on Monday.Svechnikov was unavailable for Sunday's loss to the New Jersey Devils, his first absence of the season. The 22-year-old has collected 55 points in 64 games this campaign while also chipping in 205 shots and 140 hits across 18 minutes per contest.A long absence for Svechnikov would be a big blow for the Hurricanes' attack, which is already missing winger Max Pacioretty due to an Achilles injury.Carolina is in pursuit of its second consecutive Metropolitan Division crown. The Hurricanes are currently tied with the Devils at 94 points but have a game in hand.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's been a difficult 12 months for Brock Boeser.The Vancouver Canucks forward lost his father, Duke, in May after a long battle with dementia and cancer. Boeser also found himself in trade rumors ahead of the deadline, and on the ice, the sniper has struggled to find the back of the net this season."Definitely, some mental stuff that I'm still working through on a personal level," he told The Province's Ben Kuzma. "I have a guy outside our team that I've been working with - kind of a life (coach) guy. With the things I've gone through and last year while still trying to play, it was really hard."From that aspect, I'm just trying to get back to my true self and being the hockey player I was before. And get back to that mindset of coming to the rink and getting better every day - scoring goals and having that confidence."Boeser, a four-time 20-goal scorer, has found twine just 12 times in 57 games this season. His 0.21 goals per game is a career low, and his 9.8% shooting percentage is well below his career mark of 13.2% entering the season."I really felt that I've lost that over the last couple of years, just dealing with stuff, and I'm just trying to find that swagger," he said. "It's important to make sure you're good mentally."Boeser admitted that seeing his name in the rumor mill affected his performance as well. He specifically reflected on one outing where the stress got the better of him."When it really affected me was right before that Dallas game (a 5-4 win on Feb. 27 against the Stars)," he said. "I had a terrible game (minus-2, no shots, 15:01 of ice time). I couldn't get dialed in, and that's when it affected me the most, and I was pretty stressed and really thought about it."Boeser added that it was a big "sigh of relief" when he knew he'd be staying put in Vancouver. He's in the first season of a three-year deal with a $6.65-million cap hit. He can become a free agent in 2025.The Canucks selected Boeser 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. He was the Calder Trophy runner-up in 2017-18 after tallying a career-high 29 goals in 62 games.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.