After his New Jersey Devils dropped a fifth straight game, head coach Lindy Ruff said it's on him to right the ship.

"The same things happen to our club over and over, ill-advised mistakes that turn into goals against," Ruff said after losing 5-2 to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night, according to team reporter Amanda Stein. "Careless decisions with the puck that turn into goals against."

He added: "All that's on me. That's my responsibility. The way this team plays is my responsibility."

The Devils have dropped nine of their last 10 contests to fall to 10-14-5 this season. After missing the playoffs for the last three campaigns, many expected New Jersey to be more competitive in 2021-22.

While Ruff did take plenty of the blame for the team's recent performance, he also didn't hesitate to call out some of his players.

"Our top (forwards) are the ones that hurt us," Ruff said. "I thought our bottom forwards gave us a good night - (they were) great on the kill, scored the first goal, shorthanded goal, all the good stuff. Our top guys have to be harder to play against."

He continued: "They have to be harder on the puck. They have to win more battles. They have to create more odd-numbered situations themselves, speed, drive in the middle. All those little things add up by the end of the game."

The Devils were missing a number of players Saturday, including Jesper Bratt, P.K. Subban, Nico Hischier, and Ryan Graves, as well as goaltenders Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier.

However, New Jersey has been outscored 44-23 over the past 10 games. Bratt leads the team with 24 points in 28 games, while Andreas Johnsson ranks second with 19 in 29 contests.

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A total of 15 players from across the NHL were placed on the league's COVID-19 protocol list Tuesday.

The Boston Bruins added forward Brad Marchand to the protocol, the team announced.

The New York Islanders announced forward Mathew Barzal also entered the protocol.

Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes placed Ian Cole, Steven Lorentz, Jordan Staal, and Andrei Svechnikov in the protocol after all four tested positive. The surge in cases prompted the postponement of Tuesday night's contest against the Minnesota Wild. Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis were placed in protocol Monday.

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews, Bruins forward Craig Smith, Florida Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg, Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan McLeod, Vancouver Canucks players Luke Schenn and Juho Lammikko, and Calgary Flames players Milan Lucic, Noah Hanifin, and Sean Monahan were all put on the list earlier Tuesday.

The Flames are seemingly in the midst of an outbreak as nine of their players have been placed in the protocol since Monday. The club last played against the Bruins on Saturday night. The NHL has so far postponed three of Calgary's games through Dec. 16.

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Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin was named GM of the 2022 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, USA Hockey announced Tuesday.

New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury was tabbed as assistant GM.

Ex-Chicago Blackhawks executive Stan Bowman was originally chosen to be GM with Guerin serving as an assistant, but Bowman resigned in October amid the Blackhawks' sexual assault scandal.

Guerin said 55 NHL players are being considered for the team, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. Guerin added that he's been in touch with Jack Eichel's agent about the center's availability and won't rule him out.

It remains unclear if NHL players will go to Beijing in February due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in the league and around the world. Commissioner Gary Bettman said last week that the decision will ultimately rest in the players' hands.

It's been reported that players could face quarantine periods of three-to-five weeks if they test positive while in China, which has increased the uncertainty surrounding NHL participation.

Guerin has served as Wild general manager since 2019. He won consecutive Stanley Cups as an assistant GM with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

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The Montreal Canadiens' search for a new general manager has begun, and at least three women are being considered for the position, reports The Athletic's Arpon Basu and Marc Antoine Godin.

A committee has reportedly been formed to conduct the search. It includes owner Geoff Molson, executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton, minority owner Michael Andlauer, and former Canadiens GM Bob Gainey.

The group has already put together an extensive list of potential candidates but doesn't appear to be in a rush to make a hire, Basu and Godin add.

Marc Bergevin was fired in November after nearly a decade as general manager. Molson then hired Gorton as VP of hockey operations, and while Gorton only speaks English, Molson insists he will hire a bilingual GM.

A woman has never held a GM position in the NHL. Kim Ng became the first woman to be named general manager in one of North America's four major sports leagues when the Miami Marlins hired her in 2020.

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The Dallas Stars placed goaltender Anton Khudobin on waivers Monday, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

The Stars entered the season with a logjam in net after adding veteran Braden Holtby during the offseason. With Jake Oettinger playing well and Ben Bishop recently deciding to retire, Khudobin now appears to be the odd man out in Dallas.

Khudobin, 35, has one year left on his contract after this season with a $3.33-million cap hit. He's struggled in the seven games he's appeared in so far in 2021-22, recording an .873 save percentage and 3.73 goals against average.

Oettinger, 22, has a sparkling .951 save percentage and 1.52 goals against average in seven contests, while Holtby seems to have found his game again as he leads the way in Dallas with 13 starts, paired with a .923 save percentage.

Khudobin had a brilliant run with the Stars during the 2020 playoffs, where he led the team to the Stanley Cup Final. He came back down to earth a bit last season, managing a .905 save percentage in 32 contests.

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The Calgary Flames have postponed at least their next three games after six players and one staff member entered the NHL's COVID-19 protocol over the last 24 hours, the league announced Monday.

Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, Brad Richardson, Adam Ruzicka, Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov are the players that were put on the COVID-19 list, the team announced.

The Flames were scheduled to play on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night and then versus the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Calgary was concerned about border issues as its players may have had to face lengthy quarantine requirements upon returning to Canada if they tested positive, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Calgary's home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night has also been postponed.

The Flames are the third NHL team to have games postponed due to COVID-19, following the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators, and eight games in total have had to be rescheduled.

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The injuries continue to pile up for the Colorado Avalanche.

Gabriel Landeskog is expected to miss two weeks or so with a lower-body injury, head coach Jared Bednar announced Sunday.

The Avs captain suffered the injury during Friday's 7-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings.

Nazem Kadri, who missed Friday's contest, won't return Sunday versus the Florida Panthers after getting hurt against the New York Rangers on Wednesday.

Colorado will at least get one player back from injury against the Panthers, as goaltender Pavel Francouz just finished a conditioning stint in the AHL and is set to back up Darcy Kuemper for the first time this season.

Landeskog ranks second on the team with 27 points in 22 contests this season. Only four players on the roster have appeared in all 24 games - Tyson Jost, Erik Johnson, Logan O'Connor, and Darren Helm.

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Montreal Canadiens forward Tyler Toffoli is expected to miss eight weeks after undergoing hand surgery, the team announced Saturday.

Toffoli suffered the injury on Dec. 4 against the Nashville Predators. He was initially projected to be out for a few weeks.

The Canadiens are battling an inordinate amount of injuries while struggling to earn wins this season as they sit 31st in the league standings. The club started the campaign with Shea Weber and Paul Byron on long-term injured reserve, and the team currently has Jeff Petry, Josh Anderson, Joel Edmundson, and Toffoli on injured reserve. Brendan Gallagher and Sami Niku are also sidelined due to COVID-19.

Toffoli has recorded five goals and 12 assists in 26 games this season. He ranks second on the Canadiens with 17 points.

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Anaheim Ducks star Trevor Zegras took the hockey world by storm Tuesday with one of the best assists the NHL has ever seen. It turns out everyone except for John Tortorella enjoyed it.

"It's tremendously skilled. For Sonny Milano even to yell 'Michigan' in the middle of a play in a game is skill. That's a skilled play. My position, though, is it good for the game?" Tortorella said during ESPN's broadcast Friday night.

"I'm not so sure. And again, I'm not trying to be a fool here, but I'm just not so sure it's great for the game. If you did that back in 2000, late '90s, 2000, you'd get your head taken off. It's cool, it's cool to watch and all that, but I'm not so sure it's good for the game."

Zegras was alone behind the net when he lifted the puck onto his stick and appeared to be attempting the lacrosse-style Michigan move but instead flipped the puck over for Milano to bat it out of the air for a goal.

Video of the goal has recorded over 50 million views on various social media channels, including 33.9 million views on ESPN's Instagram post, according to ESPN's John Buccigross.

Tortorella said Zegras' move strays too far from how hockey should be played, adding he'd be upset if one of his players did it while he coached.

"I'd have a talk with the people - I would - after the game," Tortorella said. "Again, I'm not trying to be difficult about it. It's fun to watch, it's really cool. I just think our game has gone so far away from what the game should be. A hard game, an honest game. It's almost gotten too showman. I know you need to have it, you need to sell the game. But I'm just from the ilk that it's still a hard game to play, and a good, honest hockey game needs to be played. I think some of this stuff here we get carried away."

The former NHL coach and two-time Jack Adams Trophy winner made headlines earlier in November when he called out Connor McDavid for needing to change his game to win a Stanley Cup.

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is pouring cold water on the recent rumors that the Arizona Coyotes could leave the Phoenix area.

"The Coyotes aren't going anywhere," Bettman said following the Board of Governors meeting Friday, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

The city of Glendale announced in August that it'll opt out of its lease agreement for Gila River Arena after this season, which means the Coyotes need to find a new home building.

On Wednesday, it was reported that the city of Glendale was planning to lock the Coyotes out of the arena Dec. 20 due to $1.3 million in unpaid state and city taxes. On Thursday, the club said it settled the debt.

Bettman argued Friday that Glendale has it out for the Coyotes and reiterated that the league has no problems with the club itself.

"There's no issue with the Arizona Coyotes," Bettman said, according to TSN's Rick Westhead. "It's clear the city of Glendale has either an agenda or an edge in the way they are dealing with the Coyotes."

There hasn't been an update on the Coyotes' plans for next season in months. However, the team did file a bid for land in nearby Tempe to be the construction site for a new arena.

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