Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner has returned to Las Vegas due to a health issue with one of his family members, the team announced.Vegas, which is currently on the road, is scheduled to play the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.It's not known when Lehner could rejoin the team. The Golden Knights added that they're looking forward to him returning "as soon as possible."Vegas is in a tight playoff race with seven games remaining on its schedule. The club is one point behind the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division.Lehner, 30, has a 23-16-2 record this season with a .907 save percentage and 2.82 goals-against average.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The independent review into the NHLPA regarding its response to Kyle Beach's allegations that he was sexually assaulted by ex-Chicago Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich was made public Friday.The review conducted by law firm Cozen O'Connor concluded the NHLPA, its executive director Donald Fehr, and the league's substance abuse and behavioral health (SABH) program should not be held responsible for their handling of Beach's allegations."In sum, after a thorough examination of the contemporaneous record, the policies and practices in place at the union at the time, and the recollections of each of the parties of the contacts with the NHLPA or the SABH program, we cannot identify any individual wrongdoing or institutional failures of policy or procedure by either Fehr, NHLPA personnel, or the SABH program concerning the handling of Beach's reports," the statement reads."Beach's warnings about Aldrich were not addressed on account of miscommunication and misunderstanding, rather than any individual or systemic failure."Fehr recommended in November the NHLPA hire an independent firm to conduct an investigation into how it handled Beach's allegations.The NHLPA's executive board, which is made up of a player representative from each of the league's 32 teams, voted in favor of releasing the findings to the public.Beach came forward in late 2021 and said he was sexually assaulted by Aldrich during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs with the Chicago Blackhawks. Beach said at the time he was disappointed in Fehr for his lack of action."I know I reported every single detail to an individual at the NHLPA, who I was put in contact with after. I believe two different people talked to Don Fehr," Beach said in October. "And for him to turn his back on the players when his one job is to protect the players at all costs, I don't know how that can be your leader. I don't know how he can be in charge."The independent review attributed its conclusion to miscommunication between all parties involved."Ultimately, the failure to act on Beach’s reports stems from a failure of communication. All parties involved managed to walk away from these interactions under some misapprehension."Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New York Islanders legend Mike Bossy has died at the age of 65, the team announced Friday.Bossy stepped away from his role as an analyst with TVA Sports, a Quebec-based sports channel, in October after being diagnosed with lung cancer.The Hall of Famer is known as the greatest pure goal scorer in NHL history. He enjoyed a prolific 10-season career, all with the Islanders. Bossy is still the top scorer in the franchise record books with 573 goals in 752 contests, while his 1,126 points rank second overall in Islanders history.The Montreal native won four consecutive Stanley Cups as a key member of the Islanders' dynasty from 1980-83. He logged 85 goals and 75 assists in 129 career playoff games and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP in 1981-82."The New York Islanders organization mourns the loss of Mike Bossy, an icon not only on Long Island but across the entire hockey world," Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said in a statement. "His drive to be the best every time he stepped on the ice was second to none. Along with his teammates, he helped win four straight Stanley Cup championships, shaping the history of this franchise forever."Bossy produced at a 1.50 point-per-game clip, the third-highest rate in league history, and he's in rare company as one of the few players to score 50 goals in 50 games. He put up 60 goals or more five times in his career and had nine straight 50-goal seasons.The Islanders drafted him with the 15th overall pick in 1977. Bossy took home the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1977-78 as the league's top rookie after scoring 91 points in 73 games. He was also awarded the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct three times.NHL commissioner Gary Bettman released a statement honoring one of the game's "all-time greats.""Though containing him was the obsession of opposing coaches and checking him the focus of opposing players, Bossy's brilliance was unstoppable and his production relentless throughout his entire career," he wrote.Bettman added: "He thrilled fans like few others."Wayne Gretzky took to social media to mourn Bossy's death.

Brian Elliott is sticking around in Tampa Bay.The Lightning have re-signed the veteran goaltender to a one-year, $900,000 contract, the team announced Friday.Elliott signed with Tampa Bay in July and would have been an unrestricted free agent this offseason.The 37-year-old has been steady in a backup role for the Lightning this season, registering a .921 save percentage and 2.23 goals against average across 16 appearances.Barring injuries, Elliott likely won't factor into many of the Lightning's postseason contests as they chase a coveted three-peat. Andrei Vasilevskiy started every playoff game for Tampa Bay en route to its two Stanley Cup victories.Elliott has played for six teams - the Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, and Ottawa Senators - over his 518-game NHL career.He owns a career 2.52 goals against average and .911 save percentage.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

To fully grasp Moritz Seider's brilliance - and thus understand his Calder Trophy candidacy - it's best to follow a three-step evaluation process.Step 1: Review the basic statisticsSeider, who turned 21 earlier this month, averages 23:09 of ice time per game to lead all Detroit Red Wings skaters - 18:18 at even strength, 2:56 on the power play, and 1:55 shorthanded. Both the high TOI and all-situations usage are notable. They indicate Wings head coach Jeff Blashill trusts the blue-liner.In 74 games, Seider has accumulated six goals and 41 assists - 20 primary, 21 secondary - for 47 points. Among all rookies, he ranks first in assists by four; among rookie defensemen, he ranks first in points by a whopping 16. The native of Zell, Germany, has showcased serious offensive punch.Step 2: Study the game tapeSeider is a physical specimen. He's listed at 6-foot-4 and 197 pounds, though he may as well be 6-foot-9, 250 pounds (i.e. Zdeno Chara) based on the way he tosses bodies around the rink. And his hits tend to serve a purpose, whether it be protecting the puck or knocking the opposition off of it. He rarely takes himself out of position to issue a check.Heck, of Seider's 129 hits - the second-most on the Wings - at least a handful can be categorized as "reverse hits." He's extremely stable on his skates.Seider has racked up 30 penalty minutes. That may seem like a decent amount, but he's also rocking a plus-five penalty differential, inducing 20 minors while taking 15 of his own. The gap in calls can be attributed to his fantastic positioning, which is powered by smooth skating and a careful stick.Blashill says young players often fall into the trap of trying to please the coaching staff. This can lead to bonehead mistakes and a loss of confidence. One of Seider's many redeeming qualities is that he doesn't overthink things."Great players go out there and do what they think is right. He's already doing that at a young age," Blashill told theScore earlier this season. "It doesn't mean he's not coachable. He's very coachable. But he doesn't play in a way where he's afraid of what the coaches want and don't want from him. He does what he thinks is right in every situation. His instincts are really, really good."

Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Matthew Knies has informed the club that he will return to the NCAA next season, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman."Minnesota and coach (Bob) Motzko have a great program, so we know he will continue to develop as he has," Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun. Dubas added that his team's pitch wasn't too aggressive because the option to go back to Minnesota "was a great one."The 19-year-old just wrapped up his freshman year with Minnesota, which lost in the semifinals of the Frozen Four. He managed 15 goals and 18 assists in 33 games during the regular season.Knies’ advisor Matt Federico said that Toronto has no reason to be concerned about his future with the organization, Friedman added.The Maple Leafs selected Knies with the 57th pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. He also represented the U.S. at the Olympics and the world juniors this year.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews wants to sit down with general manager Kyle Davidson and the coaching staff as the team's losing streak continues."I just think sometimes it helps me to hear their honesty," Toews explained to reporters Thursday, according to the Chicago Tribune's Phillip Thompson. "I just think it helps to have that line of communication, to know what they expect out of me and I know what they need and I know what my job is as a player, as a captain in the locker room."He added: "It'd be good to know exactly what's going on in some detail to a certain extent. Then I can control what I can control and just go about my job."The Blackhawks lost their eighth straight game Tuesday, falling 5-2 to the Los Angeles Kings.For Toews, his team's recent performances haven't inspired much confidence."Across the board, the last few outings have been pretty embarrassing, I would say. Regardless of the score, regardless of whether it was a win or loss, the effort just wasn't there," he said, per the Chicago Sun-Times' Ben Pope. "There's no connection in our team game and not valuing what we have."Chicago made a splash in the offseason by acquiring veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and defenseman Seth Jones, but things fell apart quickly both on and off the ice.Davidson stepped in as general manager after Stan Bowman resigned following an independent investigation into former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich's alleged sexual assault of Kyle Beach in 2010. Head coach Jeremy Colliton was fired after leading the team to an abysmal 1-9-2 start to the season, with Derek King taking over on an interim basis.The Blackhawks have a chance to snap their skid Thursday against the San Jose Sharks.Chicago sits seventh in the Central Division with a 24-38-11 record.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Wednesday was solid for our shot props. Patrik Laine and Cale Makar both came through and made up for Zach Werenski's loss to ensure a profitable night.We'll look to keep the momentum going for Thursday's massive slate.Teuvo Teravainen over 2.5 shots (-112)We've consistently targeted Teuvo Teravainen on home soil. He's registered at least three shots in 23 of 36 games, good for a rock-solid 64% success rate.He continues to hover around even money on a nightly basis, which makes him an attractive pick against anyone. He's an even better choice when he has a plus matchup, which is the case Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings.The Red Wings are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Their numbers this season aren't good, and they don't look any better when you isolate the last 10 contests. They rank 24th in attempts against per 60 minutes at five-on-five and across all game states during that time.Detroit also gives up a lot of shots. That's a bad recipe when going against Teravainen and the Carolina Hurricanes. Only the Florida Panthers generate shots at a higher rate on home soil, and Teravainen, obviously, is a big part of that for the Hurricanes.Leon Draisaitl over 3.5 shots (-105)Leon Draisaitl is scorching hot right now. He's registered at least four shots in seven of the last 10 games, averaging a whopping 4.7 shots per contest.Now he draws a sneaky good matchup against the Nashville Predators. They've allowed shots at a higher clip of late, particularly to centers. Only four teams have given up more shots per game to the position over the last month.Draisaitl also has a history of success against the Predators. He's piled up 10 shots and 15 attempts through two meetings versus Nashville while going over the 3.5 number in each contest.Josh Norris over 2.5 shots (-106)The Boston Bruins are a strong defensive team that doesn't allow a lot of shots to centers. So why am I interested in Josh Norris?For one, his recent form is very good. Norris has hit in seven of his last nine games and fell just one shot short in the two exceptions. His attempt numbers are also way up since Drake Batherson returned to the lineup, and he's hit against some good teams like the Panthers.Perhaps the most important factor is that Norris is the trigger man on Ottawa's power play. Boston spends a lot of time killing penalties. In fact, no team has been down a man more often over the last 10 contests.That should be music to Norris' ears. He's established himself as a lethal power-play finisher and Ottawa's unquestioned top option on the man advantage. He has nine power-play points (five goals) over the last 15 games and leads Ottawa in PP shot attempts by 10 during that span.The Senators should have plenty of time to work on the power play, which bodes well for a red-hot Norris.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek defended Trevor Zegras when asked about the young forward's lacrosse-type goals.Verbeek acknowledged the phenom's skillful individual plays wouldn't have gone over well when the GM was a player, but the executive has changed his stance on the issue."From my perspective, if you would have done that in my era, it's frowned upon. Right? Very frowned upon," Verbeek told The Athletic's Eric Stephens on Tuesday."So, I think there's still a little bit of that mentality out there. Now, we've gotten a lot of feedback. A lot of people (think) it's a positive thing. I think people light up when you watch (Connor) McDavid run through and totally undress players. ... Through the neutral zone with the speed and the skill. The ability to be able to handle the puck with speed and do that. For me, people love that. I love watching that."Now, when I watch Trevor, this is just another unreal skill set and creative way to score goals. I guess what I'm trying to do, I'm trying to really stick up for my player in the sense that there's people that really think this is hot-dogging, or it's not respecting the game. I don't feel that way anymore."Verbeek added: "He respects the game, and he respects the traditions of the game."Zegras has captivated the hockey world with his on-ice ingenuity, but not everyone approves.Arizona Coyotes broadcaster and former NHL enforcer Tyson Nash was criticized for essentially saying Zegras deserved the cross-check he received from Coyotes veteran Jay Beagle late in a game in early April. Zegras scored a lacrosse-style goal earlier in that contest."That's the problem sometimes with these young players," Nash said during the incident, in which Beagle also initiated a fight with Ducks youngster Troy Terry. "You want to embarrass guys? You wanna skill it up? You better be prepared to get punched in the mouth."The broadcaster later tried to clarify his comments during a podcast interview but doubled down on his original opinion. Nash admitted he should have said "hot dog" instead of "skill it up." However, he added that he didn't like the way Ducks players smiled and smirked after scoring goals and said the Coyotes' response in that game "is what you have to be prepared for."Zegras called it "humiliating" that Beagle went after and pummelled Terry, the Ducks' leading scorer.The Coyotes weren't the first in the hockey community to take issue with Zegras. Former NHL head coach John Tortorella questioned whether the Ducks star's "Michigan" goal was good for the game after Zegras pulled it off for the first time in the NHL back in December.Verbeek racked up 522 goals and 541 assists over 1,424 games in his 20-year playing career, which ended in 2001-02.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Boston Bruins finally know who they'll face in the 2023 Winter Classic at Fenway Park.The Pittsburgh Penguins will be shipping out to Boston for the Jan. 2 outdoor showdown, the visitors confirmed Wednesday.Pittsburgh had been the Bruins' expected opponent ever since the NHL announced in February that Boston would host. Fenway Sports Group, the company that owns Fenway Park and the Red Sox, purchased the Penguins in December 2021.This will be the Penguins' sixth outdoor game in franchise history and the Bruins' fifth. It will also be the second Winter Classic at Fenway Park. Boston beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 in overtime during the first contest at the iconic ballpark back in 2010.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The winningest bench boss in NCAA hockey history is calling it a career.Jerry York retired Wednesday after 50 seasons in Division I coaching. He guided Boston College for the last 28 campaigns after spending 15 with Bowling Green and seven at Clarkson.The 76-year-old set the record for coaching wins in 2012 and leaves the game with 1,123 victories, including an all-time best 41 in the NCAA tournament. York led Boston College to four national championships (2001, 2008, 2010, and 2012) after claiming his first with Bowling Green in 1984. The late Michigan head coach Vic Heyliger holds the record for most national men's hockey titles with six.York is one of only three coaches in NCAA history to win national titles at two different schools.The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted him as a builder in 2019.York molded many players who ultimately established themselves in the NHL. Calgary Flames superstar Johnny Gaudreau and New York Rangers sniper Chris Kreider are the most notable on a list that also includes Thatcher Demko, Spencer Knight, Alex Tuch, Kevin Hayes and his late brother Jimmy, Cam Atkinson, Brian Boyle, and Brian Gionta.

Barring any new developments, Dallas Stars goaltender Braden Holtby could miss the remainder of the regular season, head coach Rick Bowness announced Wednesday, according to The Athletic's Saad Yousuf.Holtby hasn't been skating and last started a game on March 4 against the Winnipeg Jets. A lower-body ailment has sidelined Holtby since then and has limited him to just 24 appearances this season. He's posted a .913 save percentage and 2.78 goals-against average while enjoying a solid bounce-back campaign.Dallas placed the 32-year-old on long-term injured reserve on March 21.The Stars entered the 2021-22 campaign with depth in the crease. However, their situation thinned out considerably after Ben Bishop retired in December and Anton Khudobin underwent season-ending surgery in March.Jake Oettinger has performed admirably since taking on the bulk of the starting duties. He's recorded a .914 save percentage across 42 appearances this season.Dallas acquired goaltender Scott Wedgewood from the Arizona Coyotes prior to the trade deadline. He's been solid for the Stars across four showings and pitched a 25-save shutout against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.The Stars currently hold the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. They're one point back of the Nashville Predators and three points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Our best bets Tuesday resulted in a disappointing split. The Los Angeles Kings took care of business for us in Chicago, but the Vegas Golden Knights couldn't get it done in Vancouver despite a 17-shot advantage.We'll aim for better as we look at the best bets for Wednesday's three-game slate.Kings (+215) @ Avalanche (-265)The league-leading Colorado Avalanche are at home to a Kings team that has dropped three of four and finds itself in the latter half of a road back-to-back. However, the value lies with Los Angeles in this game.The Kings lost both prior meetings but don't let that fool you. They've played the Avalanche tough this season. L.A. had more chances in the first contest and then lost the expected goal battle 2.12-1.97 at five-on-five in the last game. Put another way, not much separated the two sides.It's also encouraging to know the lineups will look much different this time around. Nazem Kadri isn't healthy for Colorado, and Viktor Arvidsson, Dustin Brown, and Matt Roy were just a few of the important pieces that didn't play in the previous game for the Kings. Those guys make Los Angeles a much better and deeper team.I think the Kings can play the Avalanche tough at five-on-five, and their power play is where the potential separation can be found.L.A. has been extremely dangerous on the man advantage, generating high-danger chances at a more efficient clip than every team in the league over the last 10 games. That could spell trouble for Colorado as it sits 29th in high-danger chances against over that same period. Those struggles are nothing new. The Avalanche rank dead last this season when it comes to preventing high-danger chances.Yes, Colorado has fresh legs. Yes, it has more talent. But L.A. has some edges in this game that should allow it to keep things close.Back the Kings on the puckline.Bet: Kings +1.5 (-120)Canadiens (+140) @ Blue Jackets (-165)Goals, goals, goals. That's what we should expect when the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets square off. In particular, we should see fireworks in the opening frame.The Canadiens have given up shot attempts and shots on goal at a higher rate than every team in the league over the last 10 games. Their inability to suppress shots and chances naturally leads to a lot of goals against. Not to mention, they've been slow starters all season long.Montreal has conceded 89 first-period goals through 73 contests. That's 1.22 goals against per first frame, which ranks dead last in the NHL.The Blue Jackets haven't fared much better. They've given up 82 goals in the opening period this season. That's 1.12 goals against per first frame, and only the Canadiens and New Jersey Devils have allowed more.With both teams consistently giving up goals early and snipers like Patrik Laine and Cole Caufield piling up shots, we have the necessary means for plenty of action.Bet: 1st period over 1.5 (-155)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Upsets in the NHL pop up all the time - by nature, when you least expect it.On Tuesday, the Sabres beat the Maple Leafs as +350 underdogs. It wasn't the first time Buffalo got the best of Toronto; it was actually their third straight victory in the QEW rivalry. In our opening-line guide earlier this week, we found 12% value on Buffalo, which was in line with what the market was bearing before their previous matchups.On Thursday night, the pricing for one game jumps off the board. The Devils make their lone visit to Denver to take on the Avalanche in a meeting between two teams that have had opposite results relative to their play this season.The following table provides the five-on-five expected goals (xG), both for and against, for each team (according to Evolving-Hockey). We'll contrast that with their overall moneyline record and goal differential.TEAMxGFxGAML RECORDGOAL DIFF.Devils2.622.5126-47-44Avalanche2.572.2852-20+77There's nothing particularly strange about the Avalanche, though their five-on-five expected goal share per 60 minutes is eighth in the NHL. That's relatively low for a team atop the standings with a 72.2% moneyline win percentage.The Devils' goal differential and moneyline record suggest they're bad, but they've created more expected goals than expected goals against, which is the fundamental aim of any hockey team. Three main issues could be sinking them in the standings:

Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman has been fined $4,250 for unsportsmanlike conduct after giving Edmonton Oilers winger Evander Kane the middle finger during Tuesday night's contest.Hartman wasn't having any of Kane's antics during the Wild's 5-1 victory. Kane went after Wild star Kirill Kaprizov late in the contest, which drew a crowd. Hartman came to Kaprizov's defense and got mixed up with Kane.

We have just three contests on the docket tonight after the NHL postponed the scheduled game between the Winnipeg Jets and Seattle Kraken. Luckily, there's still plenty of value on the board with player props.Let's look at three targets that stand out from the rest.Patrik Laine over 3.5 shots (+115)Patrik Laine is heating up. The Finnish sniper has shot the puck quite a bit lately, generating at least four shots in six of 10 games overall and seven of his last 10 at home.He finds himself in a mouthwatering matchup Wednesday night by playing host to the Montreal Canadiens. They've conceded more shot attempts and shots on goal than every team in the league over their previous 10 contests.The Canadiens are struggling defensively. It just so happens that left-wing is the position they're having the most trouble with. Since the beginning of March, Montreal ranks 31st in shots allowed and 32nd in points allowed on a per-game basis. That's a 20-game sample.Given Laine's recent form, especially at home, there's real value backing him at +115.Zach Werenski over 3.5 shots (+115)Yes, we're double-dipping against the Canadiens. If there's a team to target with multiple players, it's the one bleeding shots at a higher rate than any club in the NHL.Like Laine, Zach Werenski has shot the puck a ton lately and even more so at home. Forget four shots; Werenski has fired the puck five times on net in five of his last 10 games played in Columbus. He's attempted a ton of shots in that time, and the number is only rising. Werenski has at least 10 shot attempts in three of his last four contests. That kind of volume makes a four-shot ask very reasonable in such a smash spot.It's also worth noting that Werenski hit in both prior meetings, which were on the road. He generated 12 shots and 16 attempts over those two games.Look for more of the same tonight.Cale Makar over 2.5 shots (-139)Cale Makar is shooting the lights out right now. On a team that features the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen up front, it's Makar leading the pack in shot generation over the last 10 games. He's attempted 73 shots and hit the net 41 times over that span, both a team high.He's gone over his shot total (2.5) seven times in that 10-game span, falling just one shot shy in each of his three defeats. He's regularly hitting and in the mix to do so every time out.The Los Angeles Kings are a strong shot suppression team. However, they're in the latter half of a road back-to-back, and Makar plays so many minutes (averaging 28 minutes of ice time over the last 10 contests) that he doesn't need to be efficient with his time.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch found the perfect two words to describe defenseman Owen Power's NHL debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night."Smooth. Poise," Tuch told reporters after the Sabres' 5-2 victory. "Right away, there's no panic in his game. I feel like he's been in the league for 10 years already in his first game. ... It seems like a really easy game out there for him."Power admitted he had to shake off some nervousness under the bright lights of Toronto's Scotiabank Arena, but the 19-year-old said it went away pretty quickly."I knew it (the NHL) was obviously going to be a step, but I think at the end of the day, it is just hockey but against better players," he said.Power played almost 20 minutes against the high-flying Maple Leafs and spent a sizeable portion of that time matched up against the league's leading scorer, Auston Matthews.The 2021 first overall pick showed off his poise when he defended a two-on-one between Matthews and blue-liner Mark Giordano in the first period.

The milestones can come fast and furious for young NHL forwards.First contract. First training camp. First game. First goal. First full season.Ottawa Senators forward Drake Batherson hit two in succession earlier this year. First, he played in his 100th game. Then, with the blessing of a veteran leader, he skated helmetless in a pregame warmup for the first time."I had only gone to two NHL games in my life before I played in one. From watching on TV, guys going helmet off, I thought it was the coolest thing ever," Batherson told theScore Tuesday afternoon during a phone interview."It kind of gives the fans a close-up look of you in warmup," he added. "I don't know, it wakes me up a bit too, I find. Fresh air on the face, right?" Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesPractically speaking, taking warmup without a helmet is nothing more than a fun little perk to Batherson. But, from afar, it signals something significant for a late bloomer chosen 121st overall in the 2017 draft. It means he's no longer a newcomer and won't be going anywhere anytime soon.Batherson, who turns 24 on April 27, is enjoying a breakout season, although health-related issues have stalled his momentum three times.The Nova Scotia product missed five games in the fall for COVID-19 protocol, another 28 contests midseason after suffering a high-ankle sprain thanks to goalie Aaron Dell, and three more over the past week due to a non-COVID illness."Cold sweats, pounding headache, couldn't eat for four or five days, lost almost 10 pounds. It was pretty rough," Batherson said prior to scoring his 15th goal of the season in Ottawa's 4-1 road win over the Detroit Red Wings.Despite the stops and starts, Batherson has recorded a career-high 39 points in 37 games. We picked Batherson's brain about his breakout, his rise through the ranks, teammates Tim Stutzle and Josh Norris, the Sens' future, and more.Breaking through NHL Images / Getty ImagesBatherson, a right-handed playmaker, admits he's not the type to burst onto the scene. There's always been a "feeling-out process" every time he's graduated to a higher league - from Junior A to major junior, major junior to the AHL."Same in the NHL," he said. "First full year, some growing pains, still produced pretty solidly. And then, coming into this year, I knew what I could do because I did the best I could all summer to prepare. I wanted to be an impact player every night. I think I was doing a pretty good job of that (before the injury and illness), and that's the level I want to get back to down the stretch here."Fresh off signing a six-year contract extension, Batherson arrived at camp feeling "really lean." He credits Andy O'Brien, the Halifax-based trainer of Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, for getting him down to 198 pounds."We did a lot of mobility stuff, which I think I needed," Batherson said. "I had a huge growth spurt when I was 17, so I feel like I'm just kind of maturing into my body. I was even still growing as a second-year pro. I grew half an inch."The 6-foot-3 winger dazzled in the opening stretch of 2021-22, recording a team-high 13 goals and 21 assists in the first 31 games. He was named an All-Star, but the ankle injury kept him from attending the Las Vegas event. John Russell / Getty ImagesBatherson notes that Crosby, who battled through a high-ankle sprain early in his career, offered perspective and encouragement during his recovery."You can't get too frustrated, or else you'll drive yourself a little crazy," Batherson said of a roller-coaster season headlined by three four-point performances. "You've got to go with the flow and have a positive mindset."Batherson is a hockey geek, that guy on the Sens who'll watch multiple games from his couch on a day off. He'll study playmaking wingers like Mitch Marner, Artemi Panarin, Patrick Kane, and, particularly of late, Filip Forsberg."He's really explosive," Batherson said of Nashville's Forsberg. "He can pass. He can score. He's competitive. I like every aspect of his game, and I feel like every time he has the puck in the (offensive) zone, he's making something happen. I've played against him a few times now, and I don't know, he's just a dangerous player, a big guy who protects the puck. And I've also seen him score some great goals in the playoffs. He's able to do it in the postseason."I'd love to be like him one day," he added. "For sure."Hockey over golfAt 16, while his future NHL buddies plied their trades 12 months a year, Batherson had a decision to make: Hockey or golf. He probably could have landed a Division I scholarship as a better-than-scratch golfer back then.His passion for hockey - he obsessed over it as a teen, too - was too strong."I realized I can spend hours on the ice practicing, whereas golf I just wanted to go to the course and play and then go home. I didn't like going to the range," he said. "Right then and there, I knew I should stick with hockey." Kevin Hoffman / Getty ImagesBatherson was never a can't-miss prospect. He was hardly a superstar in minor hockey, a sixth-round pick in the QMJHL draft, and a fourth-rounder in the NHL. So, when did he know he was going to make a career out of his passion?"The world juniors," Batherson said of the 2018 U20 tournament, putting up seven points in seven games to help Canada win gold. "My team was full of first-round picks, second-round picks. I felt like I had a good tournament there, so I said, 'I think I can do this.' A year later, I played 20 games in the NHL."Batherson, trying to avoid injury ahead of contract negotiations, declined an invite to last year's world championships. However, with the Sens missing the playoffs again, he'd be thrilled to pull on the Canadian jersey in May at the 2022 worlds."If I get the opportunity, I'd absolutely love to go," he said.As for the state of his golf game ... "I only play once or twice a week," he said with a short laugh. "I'm probably around a four-handicap." Huh, not bad.Supporting Stutzle Andre Ringuette / Getty ImagesThe 27-40-6 Sens aren't just one player away from being a threat in the NHL. It's clear the rebuild isn't over. What's also clear is that the young core is tight.With that in mind, what did Batherson think about Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher accusing Stutzle - the third overall pick in the 2020 draft and one of Batherson's linemates - of diving not only during last week's Habs-Sens game but in previous meetings between the two clubs?"I feel like guys are always saying stuff to the media to get in other teams' heads or individuals' heads," Batherson said. "Talking to Timmy, he kind of laughed and shook it off. It didn't bother him at all. That's just Timmy."He added, "I love Timmy as a guy, I love him as a player, so if (Gallagher) wants to try to get into Timmy's head, go ahead. But I know that's not going to stop Timmy from doing his thing out there. Timmy's a feisty player."In his rant, Gallagher went as far as saying, "If I was a teammate of (Stutzle's), I'd tell him to smarten up. It's just not a good look. Very talented player, very good player. He needs to stop laying on the ice. It's embarrassing."It's safe to say Batherson and his teammates aren't taking Gallagher's advice."There's refs in the league who've been around 20, 30 years. They've seen it all," he said. "If they see that he's flopping, they'll call him on it. That's not the case, so we'll just let it go, and he'll just keep doing his thing out there. He's not afraid to get his nose dirty, so I've got all the respect in the world for him." Rich Lam / Getty ImagesBatherson, Stutzle, Norris, Brady Tkachuk, and Alex Formenton are all 23 or younger. They're the present and future of Ottawa's top-six up front.Norris, who has potted 32 goals over 57 games in 2021-22, and Tkachuk, the highly-skilled, heart-and-soul captain, are also amid career seasons.Batherson on Norris: "He's a full 200-foot player with great hockey IQ and an unbelievable shot. He's shown it this year. Anytime he gets a second, he can absolutely rip it. For me, when I play on his line, I just have to find an opening and hit him with a pass, whether it's in the slot or coming down on the rush."Batherson on Tkachuk: "Sometimes I forget he's a year younger than me. Great leadership qualities. When we're (bonding as a group) off the ice, he wants everyone on the team to be involved. He brings a ton of energy, and you feed off guys like that. He really leads the way, coming to play every night."Senators' futureBatherson has become a fan favorite. Sens supporters love his congeniality, sense of humor, on-ice production, and commitment to the franchise.Yet, even if Batherson continues his upward trajectory, the fan base will judge him and the rest of the core solely by wins and losses at some point."Next year we're looking forward to everyone coming in healthy, getting through preseason healthy, and coming out the gates better," he said. "There's going to be no excuses to not do (well). We're going to have a ton of young guys, and a ton of guys like myself, who have been around for two or three years. There's no reason why we can't play for a playoff spot next year." Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesThe 2022-23 season will be the first full campaign since the passing of Eugene Melnyk, who owned the team for nearly two decades. Melnyk died in March at the age of 62. Batherson attended his funeral in Toronto last week.Batherson, who didn't know Melnyk well, called his passing "terrible news.""He gave me my new contract," he said. "He changed everything for me and my family, so I couldn't thank him enough for all he did for me."Hopefully," he later added, "we can bring the Stanley Cup here one day."John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

With the Vancouver Canucks in the middle of a dogfight for a spot in the postseason, their current four-game win streak couldn't have come at a better time.Star forward Elias Pettersson has his eyes on something bigger, though."We feel good now, we're four in a row, but it doesn't mean shit ... if we don't continue on this wave and playing good hockey," he said after Vancouver's 5-4 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday. "We're still behind, we still gotta win games. Just thinking of the next one."

The injury-plagued Vegas Golden Knights finally have their captain in the lineup for the first time since February.Mark Stone returned against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night after missing nearly one-third of the 82-game schedule with a back injury.The star Golden Knights winger collected eight goals and 20 assists over 28 contests before sustaining the ailment.Vegas moved goaltender Laurent Brossoit along with forwards William Carrier and Nolan Patrick to injured reserve, clearing enough cap space to activate Stone. The Golden Knights moved the trio to LTIR to facilitate the move, according to CapFriendly.That brings the team's current number of players on LTIR to seven, the most by any NHL club in a season simultaneously since at least 2015.

Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl likes the way his club is rounding into shape as the Stanley Cup Playoffs approach."We know when we play our game, and we stick to what we're good at, we're a really hard team to beat," Draisaitl said Tuesday. "We obviously have a lot of offense, but if we stick to the way we want to compete defensively and stick to our details ... I wouldn't want to play us in the first round or in the playoffs in general."He added: "It is important, with that being said, that we do stick to our details and take pride in doing the little things right."The Oilers have been one of the league's top teams since Jay Woodcroft replaced Dave Tippett as head coach on Feb. 10. Since the switch, Edmonton sits third in the NHL with 41 points across 29 games, and have seen improvements in many five-on-five metrics over that span:StatisticTotal (league rank)GF%56.72% (7th)CF%53.88% (7th)xGF%53.91% (8th)SF%53.64% (7th)SV%.920 (12th)(Analytics source: Evolving-Hockey)The turnaround under Woodcroft has helped the Oilers' playoff odds jump from a coin flip to a near certainty. With 90 points and nine games remaining, Edmonton holds a 98.3% chance to qualify for the postseason entering Tuesday's clash with the Minnesota Wild, according to MoneyPuck.The Oilers also have a strong chance to secure home-ice advantage in the first round, currently holding a four-point cushion on the Los Angeles Kings for second place in the Pacific Division with a game in hand.Draisaitl, as expected, has played a central role in the Oilers' surge. The 2020 MVP is up to 101 points this season, and has 17 goals and 20 assists since the coaching change.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen and defenseman Justin Barron will miss the remainder of the season due to injuries, the team announced Tuesday.Both players are expected to be available for the start of fall training camp.Allen is on the shelf with a groin injury. He sustained the ailment during the first period of Saturday's showdown against the Toronto Maple Leafs and was unable to return to the contest. Allen was limited to just 35 games this season and missed about nine weeks after suffering a lower-body injury in January.The 31-year-old performed admirably on a struggling Canadiens squad, logging a .905 save percentage and 3.30 goals against average.Barron, 20, is dealing with an ankle injury that won't require surgery. Montreal acquired him from the Colorado Avalanche at the deadline in a move that sent Artturi Lehkonen out west. Barron suited up for just five games as a Canadien before getting hurt, putting up one goal and one assist.Meanwhile, forward prospect Emil Heineman, who the Canadiens acquired from the Calgary Flames as part of the Tyler Toffoli trade, has an upper-body injury. There's no timeline for his return.The Canadiens previously announced that they shut down Jonathan Drouin as well after he underwent wrist surgery.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Rangers and Flyers meet Wednesday night, with each team playing the second game of a back-to-back. The Flyers will have played in Washington, while the Rangers will have hosted the Hurricanes. Although Philadelphia is the host, both teams will have an element of overnight travel going into the game. That should cancel out the marginal adjustment we make for teams playing back-to-back games.The next variable we use to make our own moneylines is home-ice advantage. While we rely on a larger sample size to calculate that, let's take a glance at what each team has done at home versus on the road this season.TEAMHOME MLROAD MLHIA DIFFERENTIALRangers24-1123-150.08Flyers13-2410-250.07Based on this season's results, the Rangers are 8% less likely to win a road game, while the Flyers are 7% more likely to win at home.In a neutral situation, the Flyers' season-long metrics suggest they're closer to the Rangers than we'd think. However, we know better, having followed the two teams this campaign.The Flyers have gotten progressively worse throughout the season, recording just four wins since dealing their captain, Claude Giroux. Between the pipes, Carter Hart (minus-1.5) and Martin Jones (minus-5.5) have been subpar in goals saved above average.Conversely, the Rangers have ridden the back of Vezina-favorite Igor Shesterkin (35.5 GSAA) to a 34-14 moneyline record in his starts.The key element in pricing this game relates to its back-to-back nature - but not due to rest. Instead, with the Rangers facing another playoff team in the Hurricanes on Tuesday night, they're likely to play Shesterkin at home and then go with backup goaltender Alexandar Georgiev (12-11 on the moneyline this season) in Philadelphia.By the time moneyline prices open Tuesday night, we'll know who's in net for New York and have a better idea of how likely it is Philadelphia repeats what it managed to do April 3 - beat the Rangers.The recipeBefore the 2021-22 campaign, we devised a three-part series on how to use the regular-season point-total market to create team ratings, how to interpret home-ice advantage, and then how to use those to create your own moneylines.This season's on-ice predictive metrics make up 85% of our total rating. Basing 15% of the ratings on preseason "priors" allows us to emphasize team metrics without going all-in on what's happened during this campaign, which is still a relatively small sample size that includes some tainted results from when COVID-19 ravaged lineups.I also have a 5% win probability consideration for a side playing in the second game of a back-to-back with travel and 3% without travel.How to use the guideWhat follows is my fair price on the matchups (true moneyline) and the moneyline price I would need to bet on each side. I just 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. You can establish your own threshold - you may decide on a higher cutoff for bigger underdogs, like 6%-7%. On games I've projected could be a near coin flip, a 2.5% edge is enough to make a wager worthwhile.Wednesday, April 13GAMEWIN PROB.(%)TRUE MLPRICE TO BETMTL@CBJ43.5/56.5+130/-130MTL +153/CBJ -125NYR@PHI52.7/47.3-111/+111NYR -107/PHI +131SEA@WPG39.5/60.5+153/-153SEA +181/WPG -147LAK@COL37.8/62.2+165/-165LAK +196/COL -158Compare the "Price to Bet" column with the prices the market offered. From there, compile a list of bets. After you make your bets, come back before puck drop on game night to see if line moves created a valuable bet that wasn't there before. At that point, compare the price of your opening bet to its late price to see how much closing-line value you may be getting.Matt 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 © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Monday night was very quiet in the NHL world, with just one game - played between a pair of non-playoff sides - on the schedule.It's a much different story Tuesday, as we have a whopping 14-game slate to look forward to.We'll use our best bets to focus on a pair of road teams that desperately need points. Let's dive in.Kings (-145) @ Blackhawks (+120)The Los Angeles Kings are in the midst of a three-game losing streak, which is far from ideal considering they're fighting for their playoff lives.Luckily for them, they're in the ultimate get-right spot against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks dropped eight of their last 10 games, posting some truly putrid underlying numbers.At five-on-five, they've conceded 14.93 high-danger chances per 60 minutes, placing them ahead of only the lowly Montreal Canadiens in that time. Their share of the high-danger chances sits below 40%.That spells trouble against this Kings team. Los Angeles generated high-danger chances at a more efficient rate over the last 10 than everyone but the Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins, and Edmonton Oilers. Its share of the high-danger chances sits at over 51% - nearly 11% clear of Chicago.While the Kings' goaltending has been a problem of late, the same can be said for the Blackhawks. Chicago will turn to journeyman netminder Collin Delia, who's posted a mediocre .905 save percentage in the AHL this season. He'll likely have a tough time given how effective Los Angeles has been at generating top-tier scoring opportunities.Look for the Kings to get back on track.Bet: Kings (-145)Golden Knights (-140) @ Canucks (+115)Not long ago, the Vegas Golden Knights were in a cold spell that seemed destined to cost them any chance of a playoff spot. They've righted the ship to get back within striking distance, winning six of the last seven games.They're full value for their recent success, controlling upward of 54% of the expected goals and more than 57% of the high-danger chances at five-on-five. Those are powerhouse numbers.The Vancouver Canucks have loosely hung around in the playoff race as well, but they don't have much more to offer than capable goaltending right now. Their share of the expected goals sits below 50% over the last 10 games, and they've controlled only 44.8% of the high-danger chances.Vegas should be able to get the better of Vancouver at five-on-five, just as it did in each of their two previous meetings this month.Captain Mark Stone has a realistic chance of rejoining the lineup for this game, which would make the red-hot Golden Knights even better at both ends of the ice and further increase the gulf between these two teams.Thatcher Demko is more than capable of keeping the Canucks in games they don't belong in, however, which is why I'm electing not to go with a regulation play.Bet: Golden Knights (-140)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL is back in full force with 28 teams set to hit the ice tonight.That means there's an obnoxious number of player props to comb through. We're going to take a closer look at three of my favorites.Jonathan Huberdeau over 2.5 shots (-139)Huberdeau failed at home last time out against the Sabres, but we're going right back to him Tuesday as the Panthers play host to the Ducks.Huberdeau has registered at least three shots in 25 of his last 29 games in Florida, good for an 86% hit rate. He hasn't registered less than three shots in consecutive home games since October.I don't see the Ducks being the team that forces the exception. They have been one of the league's worst shot suppression sides for a while now, and Huberdeau tallied three shots against them on the road in their previous meeting.Look for him to enjoy the same kind of success while getting cushy usage at home.Kirill Kaprizov over 3.5 shots (-114)Kaprizov is another guy with insane home splits. He has a 64% hit rate on the season - compared to 35% on the road - and has registered at least four shots in eight of the last nine games in Minnesota.Kaprizov has proven to be matchup proof. In that nine-game span, he has gotten the job done against the Bruins, Avalanche, Penguins, and Kings - four playoff-bound teams with strong defensive metrics.While the Oilers have played well since swapping coaches, they're not a team we have to avoid, especially with left-wingers. They have been below average at suppressing shots versus that position since March 1, with just 11 teams conceding more.This isn't a mouthwatering matchup, but it isn't one we have to avoid either. Given Kaprizov's home success, there's plenty of value in backing him at this price.Nico Hischier over 2.5 shots (+100)Hischier is a player who needs a premium matchup to confidently back. It just so happens he has one against the Coyotes.Arizona has been putrid defensively all season. The Coyotes give up shots in bulk on a nightly basis, conceding the most to opposing centers. They've allowed 12.25 shots per game to centers since the beginning of March, which ranks them 30th in the NHL.New Jersey is missing a number of key forwards, including star center Jack Hughes. That leaves even more on Hischier's plate offensively. He hit against the Coyotes the last time they met, and I expect a similar result this time around.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Shortly after Auston Matthews scored for the second time Saturday night, nonchalantly bumping his 2021-22 goal tally to 58 through 67 games, veteran teammate Jason Spezza rotated his head on the Toronto Maple Leafs' bench.Spezza, a former NHL star and noted hockey savant, then flashed Sheldon Keefe a dumbfounded look. At that moment, the Maple Leafs head coach later recalled, Spezza's eyes conveyed the equivalent of, "Wow, this is something special.""I was surprised (Matthews) stopped at two, to be honest," Keefe, himself amazed, told reporters following Toronto's 3-2 win over Montreal. "With the way that he was playing, it felt like he was going to have a serious night." Mark Blinch / Getty ImagesMatthews' production has been so prolific of late that his performances are graded on a curve. A "serious night" for all but a handful of NHLers is a goal, maybe two. Matthews, who on Saturday became only the 13th player in history to score 50 over a 50-game stretch, has four hat tricks since Dec. 1.On the year, Matthews is averaging 0.87 goals per game, which ties him with legends Phil Esposito (1971-72 and 1973-74) and Jari Kurri (1985-86) for the 20th-highest rate all time, minimum 50 games. The 24-year-old center is on pace for 67 tallies in 77 contests, which would be the greatest goal-scoring campaign since Mario Lemieux's preposterous 69 in 70 games in 1995-96.With Matthews scorching hot and the Leafs' regular-season schedule winding down, there's no better time than now to dive into what makes the MVP favorite such an unstoppable force. To do so, we rewatched all 58 of his goals and assessed his statistical profile to find compelling trends and patterns.Here's what stood out:1. Attack mentality Glenn James / Getty ImagesMatthews' default setting is attack mode.The 2016 first overall draft pick first showed this mode during his four-goal NHL debut six years ago, and he's certainly called upon it many times. But in 2021-22, Matthews seems extra hungry.He'll march through the neutral zone with purposeful strides, blitzing the open ice with the puck glued to his stick and his jersey flapping in the air. He'll beat an opponent to a loose puck in the offensive zone thanks to his excellent skating ability and tireless motor. He'll welcome physical play and sometimes initiates contact if there's a decent chance he can gain possession.The puck, in his mind, is Auston Matthews' puck - nobody else's.This attack mode was definitely initiated on his 24th goal of the season:Notice how Matthews doesn't settle for a scoring chance from the top of the circle or go wide on the defender. Instead, he skates into the opponent's orbit, manufacturing a screen on the goalie before firing a bullet into the top corner.Not many NHLers have the audacity to do that. Matthews does it regularly.Defensive players simply can't afford to play him loosely. And no matter the situation - whether he's on his forehand or backhand, square to the goalie or at a sharp angle - the chances of No. 34 going for it are very high.Matthews ranks first in the NHL in shots on goal with 320 and trails only shot volume king Alex Ovechkin and David Pastrnak in attempts with 542.What's most impressive about Matthews' attack mentality is how he deploys his energy and enthusiasm in a responsible manner. At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, he could be a wrecking ball on the ice. He prefers to pick his spots.There's a grace and finesse to his playing style. He's in command of his body and the puck while skating downhill - a testament to his next-level agility, balance, and puck control - and he has soft hands and a cool head in traffic.2. All-purpose sniper Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesMatthews' skill set is terrifying. From the size and strength, to the intelligence and skating, to the puck skills and finishing ability, he's truly the complete package.Knowing which tool to pull out of his toolbox in any given scenario is a vitally important - and often overlooked - part of his genius as a goal-scorer.Of Matthews' 320 shots on goal, 176 have been wrist shots - no surprise for the man armed with the NHL's quickest, most deceptive release. He's also recorded 43 slap shots, 41 snap shots, 31 backhands, 16 tips, nine wraparounds, and four deflections. He's scored on 27 wrist shots, eight snaps, eight backhands, seven tips, six slaps, and two wraparounds.Matthews showcased his tipping talent on Goal No. 27:The possibilities seem endless.More than 400 games into his career, that patented catch-and-release shooting technique continues to baffle goaltenders. He can blast a puck just as well mid-crossover as standing still. He can one-time the puck top corner after a give-and-go, turn a change of possession into a goal in the blink of an eye, deke out the goalie in tight, score off one foot, and so on and so on.This versatility vaults Matthews from 40-goal territory to the 60-goal sphere.Matthews has outperformed MoneyPuck's expected goals model by 20 goals this season. That's a stunning gap, and the distribution of his offense reveals even more: Matthews' 38.1 expected goals are split fairly evenly, with 14.1 in the high-danger area, 13.5 medium danger, and 10.4 low danger.As illustrated below, Matthews prioritizes the high-percentage areas of the offensive zone yet generates offense from basically everywhere. (Green dots represent shots on goal, the red are missed attempts, and the yellow are goals.) Watching his goals, it was mildly surprising to see Matthews bury so many pucks in and around the crease. Given how deadly he is from range, it's easy to forget he also consistently puts himself in position to tap in the 2-foot putt.In other words, the understated moments, when he's lurking in the shadows, balance out the wow moments, when the degree of difficulty is off the charts.3. The Marner effect Kevin Sousa / Getty ImagesMatthews' goals are rarely fluky, as he beats goalies cleanly almost every time.The vast majority can be attributed to his brilliance as a sniper. The rest can mostly be linked back to the ace playmaking of Mitch Marner.Marner, who's been on the ice for 896 of Matthews' 1,374 minutes this season, leads all Leafs with 24 assists on Matthews' goals. (Michael Bunting, the third member of Toronto's elite top line, has 17 assists in 844 minutes together, while defenseman Morgan Rielly is third with 13 assists in 714.)Half of Marner's 24 helpers are primary assists, including this nifty centering pass against the Colorado Avalanche for Matthews' 11th goal:The Avs' defensive-zone coverage leaves plenty to be desired in that clip. However, without Marner's deft work below the dots, Matthews doesn't get a prime scoring chance. It takes a cerebral and crafty player like Marner to quickly identify the opportunity and then deliver the puck.When Marner weaves through the offensive zone with the puck, defenses tend to shift some of their focus off Matthews. This allows him to creep into open pockets of ice. And, since Marner is one of the best in the world at threading the needle, Matthews often ends up with the puck on his stick, unguarded, and geared up to whip home a pretty goal.Given his size and resume, it seems laughable that opponents would ever "lose" Matthews. Yet they do all the time. His chemistry with the wizardly Marner - along with the rookie Bunting and Rielly - is a primary reason why.4. Pocket-pickerThe NHL, unfortunately, doesn't officially track the wingspans of its players. If it did, Matthews would surely rank highly among the top goal scorers.His reach is a huge asset in keeping opponents at bay on the offensive side of the puck, and it's equally crucial to his contributions as a Selke Trophy-caliber defensive player. Every once in a while those two worlds collide as Matthews picks the pocket of an opponent and then scores. Exhibit A:That puck-stripping element of his game has become another signature over the past three years. A ferocious backchecker and sneaky stick-lifter, he's already accumulated a career-high 82 takeaways this season. He's the only forward in the league's top five.Of course, not every steal leads to a goal. But a takeaway gives the Leafs possession of the puck, and Toronto's underlying numbers are superb when Matthews is on the ice. Mix in 53 blocked shots and a 56.3% faceoff success rate and Matthews is in the conversation for best two-way forward.Matthews' steady defensive improvements underline one final trend from the tape review and statistical deep dive: He earns most of his goals. Only 15 of 58 have come on the power play, with the remaining 43 at even strength against shutdown lines. He has nine game-winners, five more than his empty-net tally.Matthews is in a class of his own right now as a goal-scorer. And, with 10 games remaining, he's not done yet.John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty underwent successful wrist surgery on Monday and will miss the rest of the season, the team announced.Los Angeles expects him to make a full recovery and be ready for next season.Doughty has been out of the lineup since March 7. He was enjoying a solid campaign for the Kings, scoring seven goals and adding 24 assists in the 39 games he skated in.Injuries have hampered the Kings all season long, with defensemen Mikey Anderson and Sean Walker currently on long-term injured reserve.L.A. is in the thick of the playoff race in the Pacific Division despite the injury battle. The club is currently in third place with a 38-26-10 record.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Buffalo Sabres will finally get to see Owen Power in NHL action on Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.The first overall pick of the 2021 draft and Mississauga native is even more excited that he gets to make his debut in his hometown."I think it's extremely special. Anyone's NHL debut is a really special moment, but to be able to have it in my hometown with all my family here, I think just makes it that much better," Power said Monday, according to TSN."I think just go out there and play my game. Like I said, I know it's gonna be an adjustment, but I don't think I need to change the way that I play. I think I'll adjust on the fly and just go out there, play my game, and have fun."Power just wrapped up his second season at Michigan, where he scored three goals and added 29 assists in 33 games. He also represented Team Canada at the Olympics, managing one assist in five games.Sabres head coach Don Granato noted how incredible he feels to see how Power's jumped from team to team over the past couple of years and stayed on the top of his game. He also represented Canada at the world juniors and world championship."If you think of how many teams he's been on in the last two years and the pressure's he's had on him or the hype he's had on him for the last two years, it just rolls off him," Granato said. "He handles it pretty well - especially when he puts his hockey gear on."This is how the team's defensive pairings looked at practice Monday:

Two weeks remain in the NHL season, and the entire Eastern Conference is playing out the string with a 15-point gap between the final playoff team and the first team out. How that great divide will affect games between now and April 29 is anyone's guess, so bettors should tread lightly.Meanwhile, things are heating up out west. With eight points separating six teams fighting for the wild card spots, it won't just be bettors keeping an eye on scoreboards. Tuesday night's feature in the wild Western Conference is a matchup between the Golden Knights and Canucks.The Canucks took three out of four available points in a home-and-home with Vegas earlier in April and have won three straight to bolster their playoff hopes. However, the Golden Knights are 7-3 on the moneyline in their last 10 games.Before even looking at the metrics, the situation and the way these two teams are fighting to climb the standings suggest a game that could go either way and should be priced as something of a coin flip.The Canucks will continue a sweep-able homestand after Tuesday's matchup, while the Golden Knights will carry on to Alberta for games against better teams. What happens during this section of the schedule will drastically affect both clubs' playoff hopes. On Tuesday night, with each side needing to amplify its play from regular season to "playoff hockey," we'll get a strong indication if bettors can find value trusting or fading these two teams going forward.The recipeBefore the 2021-22 campaign, we devised a three-part series on how to use the regular-season point-total market to create team ratings, how to interpret home-ice advantage, and then how to use those to create your own moneylines.This season's on-ice predictive metrics make up 80% of our total rating. Basing 20% of the ratings on preseason "priors" allows us to emphasize team metrics without going all-in on what's happened during this campaign, which is still a relatively small sample size that includes some tainted results from when COVID-19 ravaged lineups.I also have a 5% win probability consideration for a side playing in the second game of a back-to-back with travel and 3% without travel.How to use the guideWhat follows is my fair price on the matchups (true moneyline) and the moneyline price I would need to bet on each side. I just 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. You can establish your own threshold - you may decide on a higher cutoff for bigger underdogs, like 6%-7%. On games I've projected could be a near coin flip, a 2.5% edge is enough to make a wager worthwhile.Tuesday, April 12GAMEWIN PROB. (%)TRUE MLPRICE TO BETPHI@WSH42.4/57.6+136/-136PHI +160/WSH -130STL@BOS41.5/58.5+141/-141STL +167/BOS -135CAR@NYR48.7/51.3+105/-105CAR +116/NYR +105ANA@FLA34.4/65.6+190/-190ANA +228/FLA -182BUF@TOR33.8/66.2+196/-196BUF +235/TOR -187PIT@NYI49/51+104/-104PIT +115/NYI +106OTT@DET44.1/55.9+127/-127OTT +149/DET -122EDM@MIN50.6/49.4-102/+102EDM +108/MIN +113SJS@NSH40.1/59.9+149/-149SJS +177/NSH -143LAK@CHI53.9/46.1-117/+117LAK -112/CHI +137SEA@CGY39.4/60.6+154/-154SEA +182/CGY -148TBL@DAL47.1/52.9+112/-112TBL +132/DAL -108NJD@ARI52/48-108/+108NJD +102/ARI +120VGK@VAN48.8/51.2+105/-105VGK +116/VAN +105Compare the "Price to Bet" column with the prices the market offered. From there, compile a list of bets. The only reason not to make a bet is if our team ratings don't account for something - like a star player being a surprise scratch - or if you've put a team on the "Do Not Bet" list.After you make your bets, come back before puck drop on game night to see if line moves created a valuable bet that wasn't there before. At that point, compare the price of your opening bet to its late price to see how much closing-line value you may be getting.Matt 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 © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Sidney Crosby achieved a career benchmark and joined some impressive company Sunday when he scored in overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins over the Nashville Predators.The Penguins captain skillfully tapped home a slap pass from Rickard Rakell in the extra frame.

The Seattle Kraken have their first-ever first-round pick under contract.Matty Beniers agreed to a three-year, entry-level pact, the Kraken announced Sunday.The 19-year-old is expected to practice with Seattle on Monday and travel with the club on its upcoming road trip to Western Canada.The Kraken selected Beniers second overall in last year's entry draft. The Massachusetts-born forward was named one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award last month after racking up 20 goals and 23 assists over 37 games in his sophomore season with Michigan.Beniers' NCAA career ended Thursday when the eventual national champion Denver Pioneers defeated his Wolverines in overtime.The skilled two-way player has already represented the United States at the World Junior Championship, the World Championship, and the Olympics. He came up in the U.S. National Team Development Program.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Fresh off of helping Denver win a national championship, forward Bobby Brink has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, the team announced Sunday.Philadelphia selected Brink 34th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. The 20-year-old led all college hockey players with 57 points this season, logging 14 goals and 43 assists as a junior.Brink was also named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, which is given out annually to the top college men's ice hockey player."Bobby possesses a high compete level combined with terrific hockey sense and offensive skill that has led him to succeed at every level he has played in his young career," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said.The Minnesota native has also represented the United States at two World Junior Championships, winning a gold medal in 2021 after pitching in with six points in seven games.Brink will end his college career with 27 goals and 65 assists in 84 contests.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are heading back to the postseason.Toronto clinched a playoff berth for the sixth straight year with a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at home Saturday night. The club is second in the Atlantic Division with a 47-19-6 record.Auston Matthews scored twice in the contest, with his initial tally making him the first player since Mario Lemieux in 1996 to score 50 goals in 50 games. John Tavares also added one marker."I don't really have too many words for that," Matthews said of being in the same conversation as Lemieux, according to The Canadian Press. "It's pretty surreal. He's one of the best players to ever play."Head coach Sheldon Keefe and Jason Spezza shared a moment on the bench after Matthews scored his second goal just 27 seconds after his historic first."Spezz turned around and gave me the eyes like, 'This is something special,'" Keefe said. "(Matthews) was great tonight."The fans at Scotiabank Arena broke out into "MVP" chants for Matthews midway through the game. The 24-year-old is up to 58 goals and 41 assists in 67 contests."You get chills in your bones," Matthews said of hearing the crowd.The Maple Leafs became the fifth team in the NHL to clinch a playoff spot, joining the Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, and New York Rangers.Toronto hasn't won a postseason series since 2004. The team has played in the playoffs six times since.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko is in the lineup against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant confirmed, according to The New York Post's Mollie Walker.Kakko last played Jan. 21. He missed the previous 31 games with an upper-body ailment. Gallant said in February that the issue had been bothering Kakko for a week or two prior to his extended absence.The 21-year-old came into Saturday's contest with five goals and nine assists in 37 games this season. New York selected Kakko with the second overall pick in the 2019 draft.Forward Kevin Rooney is also returning Saturday for the Rangers. He missed the last 18 contests with an upper-body issue.New York is sitting pretty in second place of the Metropolitan Division with a 46-20-6 record entering Saturday's tilt.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New York Islanders forward Casey Cizikas has been suspended one game for boarding Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brendan Smith during Friday night's contest, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Saturday.The incident occurred during the opening minute of the third period in the Islanders' 2-1 victory. Cizikas finished a check to Smith's back in the Hurricanes' zone, sending him into the boards.Cizikas received a minor penalty for boarding on the play. Smith left the game and did not return. There was no update on his status after the game.The league posited that the onus was on Cizikas to avoid the check or deliver a legal hit, arguing that he had plenty of time to change course before making contact.Cizikas will forfeit $12,500 in salary due to the ban. The 31-year-old has never previously been fined or suspended in his 653-game NHL career.The Islanders take on the St. Louis Blues on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New Jersey Devils forward Miles Wood and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler have been shut down for the remainder of the season, head coach Lindy Ruff announced Saturday.Wood played just three games in 2021-22 after a preseason hip injury derailed his campaign. He underwent surgery in November and made his season debut on March 27. He played his last matchup on April 5.The 26-year-old has 65 goals and 56 assists in 326 career NHL games, all with New Jersey.Siegenthaler, meanwhile, is out after suffering a broken hand during Thursday's contest against the Montreal Canadiens.The 24-year-old enjoyed a strong season with the Devils, logging one goal and 13 assists in 70 games while averaging 20:34 of ice time per contest.New Jersey has 11 games remaining after failing to make the playoffs for the fourth straight season.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Owen Power, the Buffalo Sabres' first overall pick in 2021, is headed to the NHL.The 19-year-old defenseman signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Sabres on Friday.Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams said Power will meet the club in Tampa Bay on Saturday, and he'll likely make his debut on Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, the GM noted the exact date of Power's first NHL game isn't set in stone."We'll see how the next few days go, (and) we'll have conversations, but that's kind of the tentative plan," Adams said. He added that he believes Power will benefit from skating with the team for a couple of days and watching Sunday's game before he officially suits up.The Sabres are currently on the road and have three games left on this trip: Friday against the Florida Panthers, Sunday versus the Lightning, and then Tuesday in Toronto, not far from Power's hometown of Mississauga.Power put up three goals and 29 assists in 33 games with Michigan this season and led the team with 50 blocked shots. The Wolverines fell to Denver in the Frozen Four semifinals on Thursday.He's going to wear No. 25 with the Sabres.

Kent Johnson is going pro.The Michigan forward signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets and is expected to join the team Monday.Johnson will likely make his NHL debut Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline."Kent Johnson is a remarkable young man both on and off the ice," Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "He is a highly skilled and creative player who can bring you out of your seat whenever he's on the ice. We're thrilled that he is taking the next step in his career and look forward to his growth and contributions as a Blue Jacket for years to come."The 19-year-old registered eight goals and tied for the team lead with 29 assists in 32 games for the Wolverines this season. Michigan fell to Denver in the Frozen Four semifinals Thursday.The Blue Jackets drafted Johnson fifth overall in 2021. The youngster played for Canada at the 2022 Beijing Games and hopped on the scoresheet with five points in five contests.He also represented Canada at the 2022 world juniors, which ended up being rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Joining Johnson in Columbus is University of Michigan captain Nick Blankenburg. The 23-year-old defenseman signed a one-year, entry-level pact with the Blue Jackets and will also meet up with the team Monday.Blankenburg sparkled for the Wolverines this season, putting up a career-best 14 goals and 15 assists in 38 games."We watched Michigan a lot this season and each time came away more and more impressed by Nick and the way he plays the game," Kekalainen said. "He is a talented, smart, really competitive player with great leadership qualities and we are thrilled to welcome him to our organization."Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

After what'll be a busy weekend in the NHL, we'll have an opportunity to evaluate how our bets do Monday, with just one game on the slate. Most astute bettors track their wins and losses to see how they do over the long term, which isn't the same as evaluating bets.The two Canadian franchises in the Original Six went on the road Thursday night and found victory, albeit in different ways.The Toronto Maple Leafs went to Dallas and outshot the Stars 41-18. Social media buzzed about Auston Matthews having more shots on goal than the entire Dallas team at one point. The Stars forced overtime, which Matthews won during three-on-three play. If you didn't know any better - or if you still swear by 1990s "metrics" - you'd think the Leafs dominated and should have won handily.An evaluation of the advanced metrics suggests that their narrow win was a fairer result based on expected goals.SCORING CHANCES XG 5-ON-5 TOTAL XGMaple Leafs271.382.64Stars201.41.76Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens went to New Jersey and racked up a season-high seven goals in a 7-4 win. Regardless of whether you look at the old-school shots-on-goal tally or peek into the advanced metrics, the play on the ice suggests a different story.SCORING CHANCESXG 5-ON-5TOTAL XGCanadiens261.821.82Devils372.433.09Aside from a few goaltenders having career years, there isn't much separating most goalies on a game-to-game basis. Juuse Saros is seventh in the NHL with a save percentage of 92.07. Jake Allen is 29th with 90.6%. That 1.47% gap equates to less than half a goal per game.Andrew Hammond got his second start for the Devils - against the team that gave him his first start in three years earlier this season. He's 98th in save percentage this season out of 107 goaltenders who've seen the crease.The Devils' skaters and bettors deserved better, but when a team starts a goaltender who isn't NHL quality, this type of thing can happen. Coincidentally, the New Jersey heads to Dallas on Saturday. Who the Devils have between the pipes will matter more than usual.The recipeBefore the 2021-22 campaign, we devised a three-part series on how to use the regular-season point-total market to create team ratings, how to interpret home-ice advantage, and then how to use those to create your own moneylines.This season's on-ice predictive metrics make up 80% of our total rating. Basing 20% of the ratings on preseason "priors" allows us to emphasize team metrics without going all-in on what's happened during this campaign, which is still a relatively small sample size that includes some tainted results from when COVID-19 ravaged lineups.I also have a 5% win probability consideration for a side playing in the second game of a back-to-back with travel and 3% without travel.How to use the guideWhat follows is my fair price on the matchups (true moneyline) and the moneyline price I would need to bet on each side. I just 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. You can establish your own threshold - you may decide on a higher cutoff for bigger underdogs, like 6%-7%. On games I've projected could be a near coin flip, a 2.5% edge is enough to make a wager worthwhile.DATEGAMEPROJ. ML (%)TRUE MLPRICE TO BETApril 9NJD@DAL42.2/57.8+137/-137NJD +162/DAL -131WSH@PIT45/55+122/-122WSH +144/PIT -117FLA@NSH48.7/51.3+106/-106FLA +117/NSH +105OTT@NYR38.5/61.5+160/-160OTT +190/NYR -153MTL@TOR35.3/64.7+183/-183MTL +219/TOR -175CGY@SEA56.6/43.4-130/+130CGY -125/SEA +154CBJ@DET47.2/52.8+112/-112CBJ +132/DET -108ANA@PHI46/54+118/-118ANA +138/PHI -113NYI@STL43.1/56.9+132/-132NYI +156/STL -127SJS@VAN41.2/58.8+143/-143SJS +169/VAN -137COL@EDM44/56+127/-127COL +150/EDM -122ARI@VGK37.5/62.5+167/-167ARI +199/VGK -160April 10BOS@WSH57.8/42.2-137/+137BOS -132/WSH +162NSH@PIT42.9/57/.1+133/-133NSH +157/PIT -128LAK@MIN45.4/54.6+120/-120LAK +142/MIN -116BUF@TBL33.8/66.2+196/-196BUF +236/TBL -187ANA@CAR34.6/65.4+189/-189ANA +227/CAR -181DAL@CHI50.9/49.1-103/+103DAL +107/CHI +114WPG@OTT54.5/45.5-120/+120WPG -115/OTT +141April 11WPG@MTL50/50+100/+100WPG +110/MTL +110Matt 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 © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

For New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin, the best way to break out of a frustrating stretch was to pitch a 30-save shutout against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night."Obviously, the last few games didn't go as planned, and I was really trying to get my grasp on the game," he told reporters via a translator after the Rangers' 3-0 victory. "But we'll keep moving forward from there. I'll work with the coaches, and we'll try to move on."Heading into Thursday's contest, Shesterkin went 5-4-1 in his previous 10 appearances while logging a .902 save percentage and 2.88 goals above average. Both metrics were far below his overall season averages of .935 and 2.10, respectively. During that run, his save percentage dipped below .900 on five different occasions.However, Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant wasn't fazed by the star netminder's dip in performance."People were worried about him. I wasn't. He played real well tonight, made some real key saves at key times," he said postgame.Gallant added, "He's had a so-called 'tough stretch' a little bit lately - more the team for me than it was him. Tonight, he made three or four outstanding saves."Teammate and fellow Russian Artemi Panarin has had a front-row seat to Shesterkin's greatness this season, but he joked that he wants to see even more from the Vezina Trophy contender."If he learned how to score as well, I think he'd really be there, but right now, we'll keep him at the salary he's got," Panarin said through a translator.Shesterkin was quick to reply."(Panarin) promised that if I started scoring, he'd share a little bit of his contract," Shesterkin said.The 26-year-old leads all NHL goaltenders with 36.88 goals saved above average and 34.87 goals saved above expected at all strengths this campaign, according to Evolving-Hockey.The Rangers have 10 games left in the regular season for Shesterkin to cement his case as the league's top goalie.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We have a jam-packed weekend of hockey ahead with 17 games over the next two days.Let's take a look a closer look at three games as we dive into our best bets.Sabres (+350) @ Panthers (-450)

Auston Matthews established a new Toronto Maple Leafs record for markers in a single campaign when he scored his 55th goal of this season in the second period against the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

The Chicago Blackhawks will retire Marian Hossa's No. 81 next season, the team announced Thursday.He'll be the eighth player in Blackhawks history to receive the honor, joining Glenn Hall, Pierre Pilote, Keith Magnuson, Bobby Hull, Denis Savard, Stan Mikita, and Tony Esposito.Hossa signed a one-day contract earlier Thursday to retire as a Blackhawk.

The Hart Trophy race has featured a crowded field for much of this NHL campaign. But as the league nears the end of the regular season, the MVP chase is now more competitive than it's been throughout 2021-22.Jonathan Huberdeau and Cale Makar warrant some consideration. However, they haven't been as critical to their ultra-deep teams' success as the players on this list. Alex Ovechkin was in the mix all season long until recently, as his contributions have diminished along with his ice time in the second half.Here are our top five Hart candidates as we approach the playoffs, with a pair of American dynamos at the forefront:5. Roman Josi David Berding / Getty Images Sport / GettyGPGAATOIxGF%68196825:1651.91Makar is the Norris Trophy favorite over Josi, but - as noted in our Norris rankings - the Nashville Predators defenseman deserves more Hart consideration because he's provided superior value. His team would be lost without him.Josi is on a ridiculous tear from a production standpoint, and he has a legitimate shot at cracking 100 points this season. A blue-liner's done that only 14 times in NHL history and a rearguard hasn't completed the feat since 1991-92. Even if he's not a front-runner, it'll be difficult to exclude Nashville's captain from the MVP discussion if he hits that benchmark.The 31-year-old is doing more than just piling up points, too. He's among the league leaders in average ice time. Josi has done a good chunk of his damage on the power play, but his five-on-five numbers are commendable considering his heavy workload. The Swiss veteran boasts favorable expected goals for, scoring chances for, and expected goals against percentages.Josi has notched a point on more than one-third of the Predators' goals in 2021-22 (37.7%), and he leads all Nashville skaters in assists and points by wide margins. All of these numbers illustrate how important Josi has been to his team's success. The Preds wouldn't be battling for a playoff spot if not for his performance, especially lately.4. Igor Shesterkin Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyGPRecordSV%5-on-5 GSAx5-on-5 GSAA4733-10-4.93520.4619.38Shesterkin declined a bit since our last edition, but the New York Rangers goaltender still deserves consideration for more than just the Vezina Trophy.We've previously talked at length about why he belongs in the MVP conversation, and those reasons still apply. He's excelling despite the Rangers' inability to control the share of scoring chances and expected goals at five-on-five and their reliance on an elite power play.The netminder allowed at least four goals in a game three times in March after not letting that happen once since Dec. 29. However, he still holds a .918 save percentage in the 12 contests since our last edition, and his season-long numbers speak for themselves.Shesterkin leads the entire NHL - including skaters - in wins above replacement and tops every netminder in GSAA in all situations (36.88) by a ridiculous margin of 12.36. Aside from Chris Kreider's unexpected offensive explosion, Shesterkin's rock-solid play is why the Rangers are a surprise contender.3. Connor McDavid Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / GettyGPGAATOIxGF%71426622:1058.93McDavid is still a prime candidate to claim the Hart for several reasons. The Edmonton Oilers captain sits on top of the league in the Art Ross Trophy race and leads all skaters in points per contest. He also boasts a 15-game point streak in which he's racked up 29 since March 9.The 25-year-old has registered at least a point on 43.2% of the Oilers' goals, exceeding the other three skaters on this list. McDavid also has a superior primary points per game rate (1.169) than two of those three counterparts, and he ranks among the NHL leaders in both even-strength goals and even-strength points.Production isn't everything, and the 25-year-old continues to prove his worth in other areas. As usual, McDavid possesses excellent underlying numbers with superb xGF% and SCF% figures. The reigning MVP also ranks among the game's best skaters in both WAR and GAR. Those trends reinforce his overall value.Leon Draisaitl's gaudy offensive numbers could dissuade some voters from taking McDavid, but the two-time winner deserves to remain firmly in contention regardless of his teammate's output.2. Johnny Gaudreau Gerry Thomas / National Hockey League / GettyGPGAATOIxGF%71346518:2159.85Gaudreau's line has been one of the NHL's best, but the Calgary Flames star is providing ample evidence that he deserves MVP buzz for his personal exploits.The 28-year-old American is among the league's points leaders, but his contributions go far beyond that. Gaudreau leads the NHL in even-strength points by nine, and his total in those situations (78) accounts for a remarkable 78.8% of his output.While McDavid's performance and workload are impressive, Gaudreau's production is even more notable considering he gets far less ice time - an average that ranks 80th among forwards.The gifted Flames winger's underlying numbers are also stellar. In addition to his favorable possession figures, Gaudreau sits second in the NHL in both WAR and GAR.1. Auston Matthews Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images Sport / GettyGPGAATOIxGF%66564120:3063.19Matthews is dominating at both ends of the ice to a greater degree than any other NHL player this season, leaving no doubt that he remains the most valuable. The Toronto Maple Leafs superstar is on track to repeat as the "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner, and he's amassed his impressive goal total in fewer games than any of the others in the hunt.Matthews became the first player since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96 to net 46 goals over 47 regular-season contests. He's also averaging the most goals per game (0.85) by anyone since Lemieux's pristine mark of 0.99 in that same campaign, and he set two other records Thursday night.Matthews leads the NHL in even-strength goals by eight and ranks second in even-strength points. And the 24-year-old has more primary points per game (1.227) than any skater on this list.His underlying numbers show he's far more than just an ultra-potent scorer in 2021-22. Matthews leads all NHL skaters in WAR, GAR, expected wins above replacement, and expected goals above replacement. Only Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand hold higher xGF% rates at five-on-five among those who've played at least 700 minutes in those situations, and Matthews has logged nearly 300 more minutes than both of them.The Toronto center sits second only to Bergeron in SCF% with that same criteria. Matthews has also been a puck-stealing machine. He ranks first among NHL forwards and second overall in total takeaways, as well as second in takeaways per 60 minutes among skaters who've played at least 50 games.(Analytics sources: Natural Stat Trick, Evolving Hockey)Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

If there's one axiom we've tried to push in this space, it's "You just never know."You'd be hard-pressed to find a more impressive back-to-back result than what the Detroit Red Wings pulled off Tuesday and Wednesday. It was also the most unlikely.The Wings (+160) were gracious hosts when, after six straight losses, they spotted the Bruins a pair of first-period goals at Little Caesars Arena.But to say the Red Wings flipped a switch and ran the Bruins off the ice would be disingenuous. Although Detroit scored the next four goals on the way to a 5-3 skid-snapping victory, the star of the game was goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, who made 47 saves.It's easy to write that off as a hot goaltender stealing a win, and with the Red Wings playing in Winnipeg the next night, the schedule spot seemed problematic. That was reflected in their +230 moneyline price, which was only a 6% value on our +175 fair-price projection.Seven points out of a playoff spot with 12 games to go, the Jets should be desperate. Perhaps that narrative caused the small overcorrection in valuation.The Jets were probably the better team in terms of creating scoring chances, but it was Thomas Greiss' turn to backstop the Red Wings to victory. While the score was 3-1, the expected goals suggested a slight edge to the Jets. At the big moneyline payout, win or lose, Detroit was a good bet. The hard part was ignoring the factors that would convince you not to make it.The recipeBefore the 2021-22 campaign, we devised a three-part series on how to use the regular-season point-total market to create team ratings, how to interpret home-ice advantage, and then how to use those to create your own moneylines.This season's on-ice predictive metrics make up 80% of our total rating. Basing 20% of the ratings on preseason "priors" allows us to emphasize team metrics without going all-in on what's happened during this campaign, which is still a relatively small sample size that includes some tainted results from when COVID-19 ravaged lineups.I also have a 5% win probability consideration for a side playing in the second game of a back-to-back with travel and 3% without travel.How to use the guideWhat follows is my fair price on the matchups (true moneyline) and the moneyline price I would need to bet on each side. I just 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. You can establish your own threshold - you may decide on a higher cutoff for bigger underdogs, like 6%-7%. On games I've projected could be a near coin flip, a 2.5% edge is enough to make a wager worthwhile.Friday, April 8GAMEWIN PROB.(%)TRUE MLPRICE TO BETBOS@TBL48/52+108/-108BOS +120/TBL +102NYI@CAR49.2/50.8+103/-103NYI +114/CAR +107BUF@FLA26.9/73.1+272/-272BUF +337/FLA -259MIN@STL50.9/49.1-104/+104MIN +107/STL +115COL@WPG54.5/45.5-120/+120COL -115/WPG +141Compare the "Price to Bet" column with the prices the market offered. From there, compile a list of bets. The only reason not to make a bet is if our team ratings don't account for something - like a star player being a surprise scratch - or if you've put a team on the "Do Not Bet" list.After you make your bets, come back before puck drop on game night to see if line moves created a valuable bet that wasn't there before. At that point, compare the price of your opening bet to its late price to see how much closing-line value you may be getting.Matt 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 © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Doug Wilson is stepping down as general manager of the San Jose Sharks, he announced Thursday."These past 19 years ... have been a privilege and one of the most fulfilling and enjoyable periods of my life," Wilson said. "I have been incredibly fortunate to work for and with some of the most talented and passionate people in the game of hockey."The 64-year-old has been on medical leave since November. Assistant general manager Joe Will will continue to serve as interim GM until a new hire is in place."While I have made great progress over the last several months, I feel it is in the best interest of the organization and myself to step down from my current duties and focus on my health and full recovery," Wilson said. "I look forward to continuing my career in the NHL in the future."Since Wilson took over as GM in 2003, the Sharks have earned 14 playoff berths, five division titles, and one Stanley Cup Final appearance. Only the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins won more regular-season games than the Sharks during Wilson's run, and only the Bruins, Pens, and Tampa Bay Lightning won more postseason contests.Wilson made several savvy moves during his tenure, including one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history. In November 2005, he acquired Joe Thornton from the Bruins in exchange for Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart, and Wayne Primeau. Thornton went on to win the Hart Trophy that season and holds the franchise record for most assists.Some of Wilson's other notable moves include drafting future captain Joe Pavelski in the seventh round in 2003 (his first draft as GM) and trading Charlie Coyle, Devin Setoguchi, and a first-round pick to the Minnesota Wild in 2011 for future Norris Trophy winner Brent Burns and a second-rounder."If there's one name you could think that's built this franchise from the bottom up, it's Doug Wilson," Sharks head coach Bob Boughner told NBC's Sheng Peng.Sharks owner Hasso Plattner stated he'll immediately lead "an extensive, external search" for a new GM alongside Will and team president Jonathan Becher. No timeline has been set.The Sharks missed the playoffs just once in Wilson's first 15 seasons but currently sit seventh in the Pacific Division and are on track to miss out for a third straight year. Veteran defenseman Erik Karlsson said the team should feel "uneasy" in light of Wilson's decision."If they bring in someone new, we all know what that means," Karlsson said, according to The Mercury News' Curtis Pashelka. "We're in a position right now where we haven't done very well for an extended period of time. ... Things are going to change, things are going to have to change."Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We have a juicy 10-game slate to look forward to Thursday night. Believe it or not, there's plenty of value in backing a pair of 40-win teams against bottom-dwellers.Sabres (+270) @ Hurricanes (-340)The Hurricanes have dropped consecutive games, including a 4-2 defeat to these Sabres just a couple of days ago. Carolina rarely gets stuck in lengthy losing streaks, and I don't think that'll start now. Unfortunately, there isn't much value in backing the Canes for the entire game.That means we're going to get creative and back the Hurricanes to win the opening period. With the Rangers hot on their tails, I think they know the importance of this game and will come out strong to get back on track.If Buffalo's opening periods to date are any indication, Carolina's early efforts should be fruitful. The Sabres have conceded 76 goals in the first period this season, which is more than all but the Canadiens, Blue Jackets, and Devils.The Sabres have also struggled offensively out of the gate. They've netted just 52 first-period goals, tying them with the Blackhawks for 26th. This hardly feels like the spot for a breakout, as no team has conceded fewer goals in the opening period than Carolina.Given Carolina's first-period excellence, Buffalo's struggles, and the importance of this game, I expect the Hurricanes to come out and get an early lead on home soil.Bet: Hurricanes 1st period -0.5 (-105)Predators (-165) @ Senators (+140)The Senators have played very mediocre hockey of late. They've won five of the last 10 games and controlled just 49% of the expected goals at five-on-five during that span. Those are OK numbers, but nothing to write home about.While the Predators haven't posted great underlying numbers of late either - especially on the road - this is a get-right spot for them.As mentioned, this Ottawa team is nothing to be scared of, especially with its current injury situation. Tim Stutzle's status for tonight is in serious question following a knee injury suffered against Montreal on Tuesday. Drake Batherson is doubtful for the game as well.Ottawa is a very top-heavy team. They go as their top players go, so these absences will be devastating. Stutzle is playing the best hockey of his career, having picked up 16 points over his last 16 games, while Batherson has developed into a very good top-line winger.Suffice to say, the Senators will heavily miss those two players. Nashville's playoff spot is by no means secure. The Preds need all the points they can get and need to take advantage of this opportunity.I don't think Nashville will blow Ottawa out of the rink, but they should take care of business within 60 minutes.Bet: Predators in regulation (-110)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Some nights, when Connor McDavid's really dialed in, his highlight reel resembles a Cirque du Soleil show. A generational talent with an entertainer's skill set, McDavid is a high-flying circus act in the absolute best possible way.Conversely, seeing Patrice Bergeron do his thing for a full NHL game is akin to watching a woodworker construct and assemble a custom table from scratch.You won't gasp in awe as Bergeron stretches out to eliminate a passing lane on the penalty kill. You won't jump out of your seat as the Boston Bruins captain applies back pressure on the power play. You won't bat an eye as the perennial Selke Trophy candidate wins a neutral-zone faceoff at even strength.By the end of the game, though, you will appreciate Bergeron and his craftsmanship. Like the woodworker drilling perfect holes for the table legs or sanding the tabletop flawlessly smooth, Bergeron is meticulous and efficient. His superpower isn't speed or puck skills; it's his attention to detail. Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesThere's been plenty of digital ink spilled this season on the individual accomplishments of McDavid, Jonathan Huberdeau, Leon Draisaitl, Auston Matthews, and Roman Josi. The hype is warranted, too; these offensive dynamos have raised the league-wide scoring rate to a 25-year high.With less fanfare, Bergeron has put on a show of his own. At 36 years old, the Bruins' longest-tenured player and first-line center is the clear front-runner for the Selke Trophy, which is awarded annually to the forward who "best excels in the defensive aspects of the game." If Bergeron receives a finalist nod, it'll be the 11th straight year (!) he's finished in the top three in voting. If he wins, he'll break away from Bob Gainey and stand alone in hockey history with five Selke honors.As usual, what makes Bergeron's case compelling is the strong correlation between the eye test and his underlying numbers. His unrelenting motor, exemplary positioning, ability to force turnovers, and prowess in the faceoff circle - smaller details that frustrate opponents - also show up in the data.With Bergeron on the ice at five-on-five, the 2021-22 Bruins have suppressed shot attempts, shots on goal, goals, and expected goals at elite levels. So elite, in fact, that Bergeron's on-ice defensive metrics tower over the 239 other forwards who've logged 700 minutes or more at five-on-five this season.Seriously, Bergeron's in the 96th-to-100th percentile in all four categories:There's no doubt Bergeron benefits from skating alongside stars. Brad Marchand has been on his wing for 621 of 771 five-on-five minutes. His next most common wingers - David Pastrnak, 362 minutes; Craig Smith, 192 - are no slouches. Yet the degree to which the ice tilts in Boston's favor when Bergeron's between the boards, no matter his linemates, is staggering.Case in point: Bergeron ranks first among all NHLers - minimum 700 five-on-five minutes - in Corsi For Percentage Relative, according to Natural Stat Trick. It's a metric that aims to measure the gap in shot share when a player's on the ice versus when he's off it. The Bruins, generally an above-average possession team, see their share of attempts jump by a whopping 15.1% when Bergeron is patrolling all three zones. (For context, McDavid's at 6.4%.)The stats suggest offenses typically go from generating a decent amount of scoring chances against the Bruins to almost none once No. 37 steps onto the ice. Bergeron kills that many opportunities.Talking strictly goals for and against, Boston has potted 41 and allowed 22 with Bergeron on the ice at five-on-five. That's a 65% goal share. (In all situations, they're even better: 86 for, 41 against, or a 68% share.) Bergeron, who averages 18:18 of ice a night, largely against the opposition's top players, is also a key contributor to the NHL's eighth-ranked penalty kill. Steve Babineau / Getty ImagesOf course, Bergeron's gaudy underlying numbers are old news. He's been a dominant NHLer for a decade. What's special about 2021-22 is that he's on pace to set new personal bests in several defensive metrics despite being in his mid-30s and while contributing 54 points in 62 games. To boot, he's plus-334 in the faceoff circle for a league-leading 62.4% success rate.Bergeron, a second-round pick of the Bruins in 2003, has never been fleet of foot. His so-so skating is offset by his next-level intelligence, hand-eye coordination, and stamina. Nobody plays mistake-free hockey, but he's close.Marchand has written that former Bruins coach Claude Julien once told him to "look at Patrice and do everything exactly like he does it. You're not going to be the best player on the ice every single night, because Patrice is going to be the best player on the ice every single night. So, I want you to be the second-best."Watching Bergeron do his thing, with a Stanley Cup, four Selkes, and nearly 1,400 total NHL games to his name, you can't help but wonder if we're witnessing arguably the greatest defensive forward of all time play the best defensive hockey of his career. At 36. In what's possibly his final season.The answer may be "yes." At worst, he's crafted a bulletproof Selke case.John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We have 10 games to look forward to on Thursday night, which means there is plenty of value on the board.Let's zero in on three of my favorite shot totals to attack.Teuvo Teravainen over 2.5 shots (-103)Teravainen has cooled down a little bit, but his home numbers remain remarkably strong. He has registered at least three shots in 21 of 33 games in Carolina, good for a 64% success rate.One of those home dates came against these same Buffalo Sabres. Unsurprisingly, it was a successful night at the office; Teravainen generated four shots on target.The Sabres have tightened up defensively since that meeting but can still be targeted with shots. The Hurricanes generated 34 against them just a few days ago. I expect Carolina will hover around that number again in this game, which should be more than enough volume for Teravainen to come through.Josh Norris over 2.5 shots (-139)Norris has hit another level since Drake Batherson returned to the Ottawa Senators' lineup. He has registered at least three shots on goal in five consecutive games, averaging 7.2 attempts per contest. That's well above his season average of 4.7.One of those five hits came against the Nashville Predators, and it's no coincidence. The Preds have struggled mightily against centers of late, allowing 11.31 shots per game to the position since March 1. Only the Montreal Canadiens, Arizona Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, and Detroit Red Wings have fared worse during that period.Look for Norris to stay hot at home and extend his streak to six.Anze Kopitar over 2.5 shots (+100)Kopitar and home shots go together like burgers and fries. They're a truly wonderful combo.The Los Angeles Kings captain has been money at home all season, generating three or more shots in 24 of 37 games (65%). Of late, he's hit against the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, so it's not as if he has just picked on the weak.If you're worried about how well the Edmonton Oilers are playing, fear not. Kopitar has gone up against the Oilers three times this season; he totaled 11 shots and went over his total in each contest.With the Kings in the thick of a heated playoff race, they're really leaning on Kopitar in close and important games. This one definitely profiles as such, so a few extra shifts could be heading Kopitar's way, making him an even more attractive option at +100.Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Buffalo Sabres didn't play Wednesday night, but they still managed to set a dubious historical benchmark.The Sabres were officially eliminated from playoff contention when the Washington Capitals beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3. Buffalo has now failed to qualify for the postseason in a league-worst 11 straight seasons.They haven't suited up for the playoffs since 2011 when the Philadelphia Flyers knocked them out in the opening round.Entering the 2021-22 campaign, Buffalo was tied with the Florida Panthers (2001-11) and Edmonton Oilers (2007-16) for the longest postseason drought in NHL history. The Sabres seemed doomed to break the record thanks in part to being in the brutally tough Atlantic Division.It wasn't an entirely lost season for the Sabres, though. Buffalo was finally able to resolve the Jack Eichel saga, trading the former captain and a third-round draft pick in early November to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, a first-round selection, and a second-rounder.Tuch, who grew up rooting for the Sabres, quickly endeared himself to the fan base both on and off the ice. The talented forward has logged nine goals and 22 assists in 39 games as a Sabre, and he's signed for four more seasons.Meanwhile, Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin are both having strong seasons. Thompson, 24, leads all Sabres with 55 points in 67 contests and has lit the lamp 31 times so far, blowing by his previous career high of eight goals.Dahlin, 21, has 44 points in 69 games this season, good for third on the Sabres. He also leads all Buffalo skaters in ice time while averaging almost 24 minutes per contest. The 2018 first overall pick has shown promise while taking on increased responsibilities this season. He was also named to his first All-Star Game.The Sabres currently sit 25th in the league with a 26-34-11 record but are 6-1-3 in their last 10 games.Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.