Ottawa Senators forward Matt Duchene will make his return Friday against the New Jersey Devils, the team announced.

Duchene missed the Senators' last six games after leaving their Dec. 6 tilt against the Montreal Canadiens with a groin injury.

At the time of his injury, he was leading the Sens with 34 points in 29 games. He is still on pace to pass his career high of 70 points from the 2012-13 season with the Colorado Avalanche.

In Duchene's absence, the Senators went 3-2-1 and currently sit 11th in the Eastern Conference with 34 points.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Former Ottawa Senators assistant general manager Randy Lee pleaded guilty to a harassment charge stemming from an incident in May involving a hotel shuttle driver, the Canadian Press reported.

Lee entered the plea Thursday before his nonjury trial was set to begin.

The 57-year-old had been charged with making lewd comments and rubbing the shoulders of a 19-year-old male driver at the NHL's pre-draft scouting combine in Buffalo. He originally pleaded not guilty.

For his guilty plea, Lee was sentenced to time already served - one night in jail - and paid a surcharge of $120.

He was suspended by the Senators in June and later resigned in August after spending 23 years with the organization.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said Thursday that chasing down the Tampa Bay Lightning, who lead the NHL with a 26-7-2 record, will be extremely difficult.

"It looks to me like Tampa's better than us," Babcock told Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. "It looks to me like they're better than everybody."

With 54 points, the Lightning lead every other team by at least eight. And they've been even hotter in recent weeks, going 9-0-1 across their last 10 games, including a 4-1 win over second-place Toronto.

"I'm not saying they're deeper, I'm not saying they're more talented," Babcock added of the Lightning, according to Joshua Clipperton of the Canadian Press. "But their maturity level to play every night and find a way to win seems to be there."

As Babcock alluded to, Tampa Bay's will to win has been on display this season, as the team went 12-2 while star netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy was sidelined with a broken foot.

Babcock and the Leafs will have three more cracks at the Lightning in 2018-19 - two of which are at home - starting with a matchup on Jan. 17.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Edmonton Oilers forward Jujhar Khaira made an early exit from Tuesday night's game against the St. Louis Blues.

Khaira received a five-minute major for cross-checking and a match penalty after hitting defenseman Vince Dunn in the head midway through the third period.

Here is the incident that led to the ejection:

Dunn was also handed a minor penalty for cross-checking.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Vancouver Canucks prospect Olli Juolevi underwent knee surgery on Tuesday and will miss the remainder of the 2018-19 season, the team announced.

The defenseman is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp.

The Canucks medical staff determined that surgery was the best option for the 20-year-old's long-term health.

Juolevi was selected fifth overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. He has yet to make his NHL debut, but has 13 points in 18 games with the AHL's Utica Comets this season.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Jori Lehtera is scheduled to appear in court in January - a specific date has not yet been announced - for his alleged involvement in a Finnish drug ring, according to Sam Carchidi of The Philadephia Inquirer.

Lehtera is reportedly not one of the main suspects in the case, which will begin trial on Dec. 31.

It's unknown if he will miss any time with the Flyers.

The 30-year-old denied any involvement with the cocaine ring in September.

Lehtera has suited up for 24 games this season, recording one goal and two assists.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

After William Nylander's well-documented holdout to begin the year, he's experienced when it comes to contract negotiations, so much so that the Toronto Maple Leafs winger is offering advice to fellow teammates and pending restricted free agents Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

"Just get it done before the season starts," Nylander said to TSN's Gino Reda when asked if he had any words of wisdom. "That's probably the one thing you'd want, to get it out of the way."

Matthews and Marner are both restricted free agents at the end of this season and could find themselves in similar contract negotiations as Nylander if they don't take the Swede's advice.

Nylander missed the Leafs' first 28 games and only has two assists in five contests since returning. He admitted that it'll take a bit longer to feel like his old self.

"Probably another couple more games," Nylander said, according to Reda. "So another week, and I'll feel 100 percent."

The 22-year-old signed a six-year, $45-million deal on Dec. 1 after posting two straight 61-point campaigns.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

After William Nylander's well-documented holdout to begin the year, he's experienced when it comes to contract negotiations, so much so that the Toronto Maple Leafs winger is offering advice to fellow teammates and pending restricted free agents Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

"Just get it done before the season starts," Nylander said to TSN's Gino Reda when asked if he had any words of wisdom. "That's probably the one thing you'd want, to get it out of the way."

Matthews and Marner are both restricted free agents at the end of this season and could find themselves in similar contract negotiations as Nylander if they don't take the Swede's advice.

Nylander missed the Leafs' first 28 games and only has two assists in five contests since returning. He admitted that it'll take a bit longer to feel like his old self.

"Probably another couple more games," Nylander said, according to Reda. "So another week, and I'll feel 100 percent."

The 22-year-old signed a six-year, $45-million deal on Dec. 1 after posting two straight 61-point campaigns.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

After William Nylander's well-documented holdout to begin the year, he's experienced when it comes to contract negotiations, so much so that the Toronto Maple Leafs winger is offering advice to fellow teammates and pending restricted free agents Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

"Just get it done before the season starts," Nylander said to TSN's Gino Reda when asked if he had any words of wisdom. "That's probably the one thing you'd want, to get it out of the way."

Matthews and Marner are both restricted free agents at the end of this season and could find themselves in similar contract negotiations as Nylander if they don't take the Swede's advice.

Nylander missed the Leafs' first 28 games and only has two assists in five contests since returning. He admitted that it'll take a bit longer to feel like his old self.

"Probably another couple more games," Nylander said, according to Reda. "So another week, and I'll feel 100 percent."

The 22-year-old signed a six-year, $45-million deal on Dec. 1 after posting two straight 61-point campaigns.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Philadelphia Flyers have denied a report that head coach Dave Hakstol has been fired and Joel Quenneville hired to be the team's new bench boss, with a spokesperson telling Sam Carchidi of The Inquirer that the organization had "nothing new to report."

Sources told Dave Isaac of the Courier Post on Sunday that the team had decided to move on from Hakstol and turn to the former Blackhawks coach to run the team.

Quenneville told Andy Strickland of FOX Sports Midwest shortly after that the report that he'd accepted the job wasn't true.

Hakstol is in his fourth season with the Flyers and has compiled a 134-101-42 record in 277 games. Under Hakstol, the Flyers have reached the postseason twice - last season and in 2015-16. They were dismissed in the first round in six games each time.

It's not been an easy go for the Flyers in December. They are 2-3-2 in seven games and are returning home after going 0-3-1 during a swing through Western Canada.

The club abruptly fired general manager Ron Hextall in late November and later replaced him with Chuck Fletcher. Since Hextall's dismissal, the Flyers have dropped six of their past eight games.

The club currently finds itself in last place in the Eastern Conference with 28 points in through 31 games.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.