Wild sign top prospect Matt Boldy to entry-level contract

The Minnesota Wild signed forward Matt Boldy to a three-year, entry-level contract starting this season, the club announced.

Boldy will report directly to the AHL's Iowa Wild to begin his professional career.

The Wild selected the 19-year-old with the 12th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. He tallied 11 goals and 20 assists in 22 games with Boston College this season. Boldy was recently named a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.

Boldy played a pivotal role on the gold medal-winning American squad at the 2021 world juniors, finishing tied for the team-lead with five goals while adding two assists in seven games.

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Laine: ‘I’m not even getting chances’ during slump

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine says there's something unfamiliar about his current slump.

The struggling sniper has managed just four points in his last 16 games.

"I've always told everybody: I'm not worried as long as I'm getting chances," Laine told The Athletic's Aaron Portzline. "So I feel like this is kind of new. I'm not even getting chances. That's something I've never had before. I guess that's just the way it goes sometimes.

"(I) still have to play the same way, play just as hard, and hopefully find a way to do your best and hopefully score every now and then."

Laine's play has tailed off considerably since he first arrived in Columbus from the Winnipeg Jets. In his first 10 games with the Blue Jackets, he registered six goals and four assists.

The 22-year-old has been benched on multiple occasions in his short stint under head coach John Tortorella, and he admitted earlier in March that he was battling a lack of confidence.

Laine's managed 17 points in 27 games in 2021, the least productive showing of his five-year career. He's a restricted free agent at season's end.

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By the numbers: A closer look at the Sabres’ historic 18-game slide

The Buffalo Sabres took a 3-0 advantage into the third period against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, with the end of their 17-game winless streak on the horizon. By the end of overtime, however, the Sabres skated off the ice without a victory for the 18th consecutive game, tying the all-time NHL record set by the 2003-04 Pittsburgh Penguins.

So much has gone wrong for a team that was never particularly strong on paper, to begin with. Buffalo battled a COVID-19 outbreak in early February and later lost captain Jack Eichel and starting netminder Linus Ullmark to long-term injuries.

The club fired head coach Ralph Krueger earlier this month, but the change hasn't done anything to spark better results. Offseason addition Taylor Hall has been a complete shell of himself, $9-million man Jeff Skinner still can't find the net, and the team looks like it's simply waiting for the season to finish.

With the Sabres at risk of setting the longest winless streak in NHL history on Wednesday night, we take a look back at some eye-popping statistics the club has endured throughout its slide.

Minus-45: The Sabres' goal differential during the skid. They've been outscored 75-30 and allowed at least three goals in every game, conceding an average of 4.11. Mikko Rantanen, the NHL's leading scorer since the Sabres' last win, has 26 points of his own to the Sabres' 30 goals.

.878: Buffalo's team save percentage over the 18 games. With Ullmark injured, the trio of Carter Hutton, Jonas Johansson, and Dustin Tokarski were absolutely shelled. Ullmark was back in goal for the two most recent losses, so the 27-year-old should help the team snap the slide soon.

5: The Sabres have been shut out five times amid the slump. The Detroit Red Wings are the only other team to be blanked five times this season, and those came in their 36 total games.

8: Sam Reinhart's team-leading point total since the Sabres' last win. Reinhart ranks 167th among all players in that span. Only six forwards have netted more than one goal, and Hall isn't one of them.

0.08%: The Sabres' dreadful power play has been almost non-existent. Buffalo has just three goals with the man advantage, and two of those tallies came in the first of the 18 losses back in February.

7: Buffalo has lost multiple games to all seven teams in the division except for the Washington Capitals, who have had the fortune of playing the Sabres only once.

11: The total number of losses by three-plus goals. The Sabres haven't even been close to winning the majority of games throughout the losing streak.

13: The number of times Buffalo allowed the first goal, which leads all NHL teams during the 18-game span.

1 - Plus/minus is an overused stat, but it's worth noting that just one player has avoided the dreaded dash throughout the losing streak. Congratulations to Tobias Rieder for his even rating, though the German winger has appeared in just 12 of the 18 outings.

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Flyers place Gostisbehere on waivers

The Philadelphia Flyers placed Shayne Gostisbehere on waivers Tuesday, the team announced.

Gostisbehere, 27, has two years beyond this season remaining on his current deal, which carries an annual cap hit of $4.5 million.

The 5-foot-11 blue-liner ranks third on the Flyers in average ice time this season (20:01) and has contributed five goals and 11 points through 25 outings. He missed the opening two weeks after testing positive for COVID-19.

Gostisbehere stormed onto the scene with a 46-point rookie campaign in 2015-16 to finish second in Calder Trophy voting. He ranked eighth among all defensemen in goals (37) and ninth in points (150) between then and 2017-18.

He's seen his game slip in recent years, however, particularly in the defensive end, according to Hockey Viz's isolated impact tool. (Red, or positive, is good in the offensive zone, while blue, or negative, is good in the defensive zone.)

The Flyers, who rank 30th in goals against per game (3.56), have won consecutive contests after losing five of their previous six.

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Marleau passes Messier for 2nd-most games played in NHL history

San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau appeared in his 1,757th game Monday night against the Minnesota Wild, passing Mark Messier to claim sole possession of second place on the all-time games played list.

The veteran now sits 10 contests behind Gordie Howe, who has held the record since retiring in 1980.

Marleau, 41, also maintains an ironman streak of 888 games, which is the fourth-longest in NHL history.

He made his NHL debut in 1997 with San Jose and has spent the majority of his career playing with the Sharks, logging brief stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins.

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Jarry being evaluated for upper-body injury after exiting vs. Islanders

Pittsburgh Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry is being evaluated for an upper-body injury after leaving Monday's game versus the New York Islanders, head coach Mike Sullivan announced.

"I don't really have a lot of details for you at this point," Sullivan said. "I can't even pinpoint when it happened. It was something the medical staff felt strongly enough to take him out of the game."

The 25-year-old started the contest, but he didn't return after the first intermission. Casey DeSmith entered the game in relief and stopped 19 of 20 New York shots as Pittsburgh secured a 2-1 victory.

Jarry entered Monday's game with a 14-8-2 record and a .909 save percentage in 2021.

The Penguins are dealing with several injuries to key players, as Evgeni Malkin, Brandon Tanev, and Kasperi Kapanen are all sidelined.

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