Boston Bruins forward David Backes has been suspended three games for his check to the head of New Jersey Devils forward Blake Coleman during Thursday's game, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced.

Here's the hit that earned Backes the ban:

The collision occurred during the third period of the Devils' 5-2 road win.

Backes - considered a repeat offender by the league - also received a minor penalty on the play for an illegal check to the head. He will miss the 2019 Winter Classic between the Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks at Notre Dame Stadium on New Year's Day.

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Warning: Story contains coarse language

Dallas Stars CEO Jim Lites is far from impressed with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn this season, and went on the record Friday with a profanity-laced rant to describe their recent performances.

“They are fucking horseshit, I don’t know how else to put it,” Lites said, according to The Athletic's Sean Shapiro. “The team was OK. But Seguin and Benn were terrible.”

Surprisingly, the comments came after the Stars beat the Nashville Predators 2-0 on Thursday, a game in which Benn and Seguin were held pointless for the second straight night.

“We are a stars-driven league, and our stars aren’t getting it done,” Lites added, urging Shapiro to publish his comments. “It’s embarrassing, and no one writes it. Write it!”

Frustration within the organization first boiled over Thursday morning when head coach Jim Montgomery described the team's first skate back after the Christmas break as "fucking embarrassing."

“These guys are not good enough. They’re not good enough for me, they’re not good enough for the owner, and they’re certainly not good enough for the general manager," Lites continued.

"These guys were signed to big contracts because they were the third- and sixth-leading scorers in the National Hockey League over the past five years. They get their money, we expect them to not be outplayed every game we play in."

Seguin leads the Stars with 32 points in 38 games and has an eight-year, $78.8-millon contract that kicks in next year.

Benn has the fourth-highest salary in the NHL at $13 million (cap hit of $9.5 million) and has 30 points this season.

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The Ottawa Senators will be without Craig Anderson for the near future, as the goaltender suffered a concussion before the Christmas break and will miss at least two games, general manager Pierre Dorion announced Thursday.

Anderson has started in 30 of the Senators' 37 games this season, posting a 14-13-3 record and 3.58 goals-against average. He was pulled in his last start against the New Jersey Devils after allowing five goals in two periods.

The Senators play the New York Islanders on Friday before returning home to face the Washington Capitals the next night.

Ottawa recalled goalie Marcus Hogberg from the AHL's Belleville Senators to fill Anderson's spot.

Dorion also announced defenseman Justin Falk suffered a concussion before the break and won't play this weekend.

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New Jersey Devils forward Taylor Hall will miss Thursday night's road contest against the Boston Bruins with a lower-body injury and is considered day to day, according to Chris Ryan of NJ.com. It's the same ailment that forced the 27-year-old to miss two games earlier in December.

Hall has suited up for 33 of the Devils' 35 games this year, leading his team in scoring with 11 goals and 26 assists. He notched 93 points in 76 games last season en route to winning the Hart Trophy as league MVP.

His absence leaves a huge gap in the lineup for the struggling Devils. New Jersey sits last in the Eastern Conference with 31 points and only has three wins in its last 10 games.

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San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson has been handed a two-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head of Los Angeles Kings forward Austin Wagner on Saturday night, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced.

Here's the collision that landed Karlsson his first career suspension:

The hit knocked Wagner out of the game - which the Kings won 3-2 in overtime - but went uncalled by officials.

The suspension was handed out quickly as the Sharks take on the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday before the NHL's Christmas break.

Karlsson recorded two assists in Saturday's contest to reach 26 points in 37 games with San Jose.

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Former Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen was forced to retire from the NHL three years ago due to concussions and has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, as he battles with depression, severe anxiety, and panic attacks.

"Sometimes my whole world falls apart and I can't see the light in the end of the tunnel," Franzen told Gunnar Nordstrom of SportExpressen. "All I can do then is to sleep and lay in my bed. I take antidepressants and try to feel better again. But it quickly gets dark. Very dark."

The 39-year-old's last NHL contest was Oct. 10, 2015, which was the second game of an attempted comeback from a concussion he sustained in January of the same year.

Franzen has continued to feel the effects of that head trauma in the years since.

"Most of the time I think I am moving in the right direction, but when I have the down periods there is nothing positive. I almost give up then, and it is even worse because you think you have been better for a while," he said.

"It's embarrassing. I can speak to one person and the next day I've forgotten his or her name."

His wife, Cissi, wrote a blog in May about her husband's struggles, describing living with him as "not easy" and "like a rollercoaster."

Franzen believes moving back to his native Sweden from Detroit could help ease some of his pain

"I used to go to the mountains. As soon as I see a mountain I feel better."

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled forward Trevor Moore from the AHL's Toronto Marlies on an emergency basis, the team announced.

Moore will fill a hole in the Leafs' lineup left by Tyler Ennis, who suffered a broken ankle during Saturday night's win over the New York Rangers.

The 23-year-old is expected to make his NHL debut when the Leafs take on the Detroit Red Wings Sunday night, according to The Athletic's Jonas Siegel.

Moore signed with Toronto in 2016 as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Denver. He's recorded 17 goals and seven helpers in 27 games with the Marlies this season, and was a part of their Calder Cup-winning team last year.

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After a scary incident Saturday night, Buffalo Sabres broadcaster Rick Jeanneret is doing well and resting at Buffalo General Medical Center, the team announced in a statement.

"Sabres broadcaster Rick Jeanneret, who was hospitalized at Buffalo General Medical Center last night, is resting and doing well," the statement read. "On behalf of Rick and his family, we'd like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Rick looks forward to being back in the booth after the break."

Jeanneret was taken away from KeyBank Center in a stretcher during the third period of Saturday night's game against the Anaheim Ducks. He was feeling light-headed and stopped talking during the broadcast.

The 76-year-old also texted The Athletic's John Vogl Sunday morning to update his status.

Jeanneret has been with the Sabres since 1971 and was honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Foster Hewitt Award for outstanding broadcasting in 2012.

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The Minnesota Wild will be without Matt Dumba for "a significant time" as the defenseman is expected to have surgery for an upper-body injury next week, general manager Paul Fenton announced Friday.

Dumba left Saturday's game versus the Calgary Flames after playing only five minutes. He got into a fight with Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk forty seconds into the contest.

Fenton could not confirm the injury occurred during the fight.

"When the player says, 'I don't know when it happened,' that's what I'm going on. He does not know when it happened," Fenton said, according to Sarah McLellan of the Star Tribune.

Fenton added Dumba "is in a state of shock," according to The Athletic's Michael Russo. "He's visibly upset."

A timeline for Dumba's return is unclear but now that surgery is likely his season could be in jeopardy, sources told Russo.

The 24-year-old blue-liner has suited up for 32 games with the Wild this season, notching 12 goals and 10 assists. He missed seven games in the past three years prior to this injury.

The Wild sit 11th in the Western Conference with a 17-15-2 record.

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Edmonton Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock hopes to get more out of Jesse Puljujarvi and believes slotting him alongside Connor McDavid on the team's top line may be the solution.

"I feel like his next step is to get his tempo higher," Hitchcock said after moving Puljujarvi to the top unit during the Thursday's practice. "So why not play him with the fastest player on the team, and maybe even in the league and see if he can keep up."

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was the other member of the Oilers' first line after Hitchcock's changes.

Puljujarvi, 20, has played in 24 games with Edmonton this season, recording three goals and an assist. He also suited up for four games with the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL.

The 2016 fourth overall pick has yet to live up to the high expectations of being selected shortly after Auston Matthews and fellow Finn Patrik Laine. He's recorded 32 points in 117 career games.

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