The bad blood continues to flow.

Late in Game 4 between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, T.J. Oshie quite literally flew into Kris Letang with a body check that resulted in some fisticuffs.

All of this took place as Jake Guentzel was sealing a Pittsburgh win with an empty-net tally.

No penalty was called on the hit, but each player received a five-minute major for fighting.

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

Jake Guentzel's postseason legend continues to grow.

With a goal in Game 4 against the Washington Capitals, the Pittsburgh Penguins winger reached the 20-point mark in only his 10th game of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

As a result, he became the seventh player in NHL history to be that productive so early in the postseason:

Guentzel recorded 22 goals and 26 assists in 82 regular-season appearances, upping his point per game average from 0.58 to 2.

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

Former NHL winger Jeff Parker had advanced chronic traumatic encephalopathy when he passed away last September, according to researchers at Boston University's CTE Center.

“It was fairly advanced, and we called it Stage 3 because it was significant,” Dr. Ann McKee, director of the CTE Center, told John Branch of the New York Times.

CTE is a degenerative brain disease associated with repetitive head trauma, and Parker's was classified as Stage 3 out of four.

McKee added the disease affects "the very important areas for memory and learning" of the brain.

Parker, who was 53 years old when he died, appeared in 141 NHL games between 1986-91, and joins six other former players who were diagnosed with CTE: Reggie Fleming, Rick Martin, Bob Probert, Derek Boogaard, Larry Zeidel, and Steve Montador.

He was also among more than 100 former players who filed a lawsuit against the league, arguing the NHL withheld information about the long-term health risks caused by concussions.

As recently as 2016, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman denied a link between concussions suffered in the course of play and CTE.

Parker recorded 16 goals, 19 assists, and 163 penalty minutes in the NHL, with much of his time in the box coming via fighting majors.

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

In trying to drown out the opposition, San Jose Sharks fans threw off the anthem singer.

As has become tradition, Vegas fans have been yelling "Knight" during the U.S. anthem at the line "Gave proof through the night."

In an attempt to curb that Golden Knights enthusiasm, the home crowd booed at that moment of the song prior to Game 4, causing the singer to follow the line up with "that our star was still there."

Star, of course, should be flag.

Oops.

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

If Dan Carcillo had a say, Tom Wilson would certainly be suspended.

The former NHL enforcer took to Twitter on Wednesday to offer his take on a hit delivered by the Washington Capitals winger on Pittsburgh's Zach Aston-Reese during Game 3, using this angle as a reference point:

From his point of view, Wilson clearly thrusts himself in an upward motion and makes contact with the head, resulting in a concussion and broken jaw for Aston-Reese.

Carcillo hopes Aston-Reese will get the help he needs in the recovery process.

Carcillo racked up 1,233 career penalty minutes and was fined or suspended 12 times over his nine-year career, but he's become an outspoken advocate for concussion research and brain safety since his retirement in 2015, setting up the Chapter 5 Foundation, which is dedicated to helping players who are struggling with post-concussion syndrome, anxiety, or depression.

He also announced he's pledging his brain "to be used for study and furthering understanding of the consequences of traumatic brain injury" when he dies.

Wilson had a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Wednesday.

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

Lou Lamoriello's tenure as ​​​​​​Toronto Maple Leafs general manager was short, but over the course of those three years, the club's fortunes and future shifted dramatically.

Hired by team president Brendan Shanahan on July 23, 2015, the eventual Hall of Fame executive took the helm of a franchise in the throes of a rebuild, a process that many hoped would finally bring the Maple Leafs not only back to relevance, but ultimately rival the great success stories of the NHL's salary cap era.

After bottoming out (with a purpose) in his first year on the job, Lamoriello's Maple Leafs have improved season over season, with certain key moves along the way considered critical to that success, and maybe a couple others seen as potentially burdensome as the club moves on under new management.

An honorable mention off the top: Selecting Auston Matthews first overall in 2016 was obviously a franchise-altering event, but we can't pump Lamoriello's tires too hard for that one. Making that pick is like hitting a hole in one in mini putt where the cup sits directly at the bottom of a narrow funnel.

Time will tell whether the other picks made under his watch in 2016 and 2017 - none of whom have cracked the NHL lineup - will pan out.

Trading Phaneuf to Ottawa

With Phil Kessel having already been jettisoned to Pittsburgh by the previous regime as part of a big move in a different direction, Lamoriello pulled off another seismic deal seemingly out of nowhere with the rival Ottawa Senators.

Gone was Dion Phaneuf and a host of spare parts in exchange for, well, a bunch of other guys who would never suit up for Toronto. In essence, the deal saw Toronto not only part ways with its captain but also shed a boatload of salary while taking on some pieces that would be quickly discarded.

The Maple Leafs went on to finish dead last that season, allowing them to draft potential future captain Matthews.

Locking up Kadri, Rielly

Lamoriello locked up a pair of core, young players, signing defenseman Morgan Rielly and forward Nazem Kadri to six-year contracts.

Rielly's deal is worth $30 million ($5-million cap hit), while Kadri's is set at $27 million ($4.5-million cap hit), both of which have provided excellent value for Toronto, and will for years to come.

Acquiring franchise goalie

Later in 2016, Lamoriello concluded the goalie tandem of James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier wasn't going to cut it, leading him to acquire Frederik Andersen from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a pair of draft picks, including a first-round selection that year.

That pick was used by Anaheim to add forward Sam Steel, who has yet to make his NHL debut.

Andersen was immediately signed to a five-year, $25-million contract extension, and Toronto has ridden him hard over the past two seasons, as no other goalie has faced more shots from the opposition.

If the Maple Leafs are going to reach the promised land anytime soon, it'll be on Andersen's back.

Gotta have grit

Try as they might to navigate the waters of a new speed- and skill-based NHL, the Maple Leafs could not resist committing money and term to tough guy Matt Martin, who was signed to a four-year, $10-million contract on July 1, 2016.

Martin appeared in all 82 regular-season games and six playoff contests in the first year of his deal, but dressed for only 50 this past season, and none in a first-round series loss to Boston. Still, he was protected from the expansion draft, with skilled forward Brendan Leipsic landing in Vegas.

Only two years to go on this one; not Lou's finest moment to be sure.

Extending Zaitsev for a long, long time

Speaking of questionable decisions ...

No Maple Leafs player has a longer-running contract than defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, who signed a seven-year, $31.5-million deal on May 2, 2017 after having completed his rookie season.

Unfortunately for Toronto, the Russian took a step or three back this past season, the first under his new deal.

Zaitsev has a modified no-trade clause that will come into effect beginning in 2019-20 as well, meaning he'll be harder to move over the final five years.

Adding veteran experience

As free agency opened in 2017, Lamoriello announced two big signings on consecutive days.

Fresh off a Cup win in Pittsburgh, defenseman Ron Hainsey was brought aboard on a two-year, $6-million deal, and a day later, forward Patrick Marleau - long in search of hockey's greatest prize - surprised many by making the move from San Jose to Toronto on a three-year, $18.75-million deal after two decades in Northern California.

Both did all that could be asked of them and more during their first seasons in blue and white, and will be counted on to bring the kind of leadership and experience needed to go deeper in the playoffs in 2019.

Team-friendly deals for Hyman, Brown

Also last summer, the Maple Leafs extended a pair of restricted free agents with solid deals for the team: winger Zach Hyman at four years and $9 million, and Connor Brown for three years and $6.2 million.

In order to succeed in the salary cap era, you need secondary scoring on the cheap, and having Hyman and Brown signed to these deals as the likes of Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner come up for big-money deals is huge.

A new GM will be on the job if and when Toronto makes good on years of hope, but Lamoriello's legacy will only be boosted by what he was able to accomplish while working for Shanahan, a player he drafted second overall in 1987 back in his New Jersey days.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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

The Carolina Hurricanes' search for a new general manager is being put on hold, and team president Don Waddell will continue holding down those duties for now, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

This after Carolina was unable to make a deal with Buffalo's assistant GM Steve Greeley, who interviewed twice for the job.

Friedman adds there are no plans to hire anyone in the near term.

Waddell has been sitting in as acting GM ever since Ron Francis was promoted to president of hockey operations.

The Hurricanes were awarded the second overall pick at Saturday's draft lottery, and Waddell said the selection makes the club more appealing to potential coach and GM candidates.

Waddell served as Atlanta Thrashers general manager for 12 years and joined the Hurricanes in 2014.

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

The Buffalo Sabres won the NHL Draft lottery Saturday night, securing the first overall pick.

The Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens also made jumps up the selection board, and will pick second and third overall, respectively.

The three picks were announced during the second intermission of Game 2 between the Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks, with the rest of the lottery results decided earlier in the night.

Related - NHL Draft lottery: Order set for picks 4-15

Here's a look at the entire lottery board:

The Sabres had the best chance of securing the top pick after being the first team to finish 31st overall in NHL history. Interestingly, Buffalo is only the eighth last-place team to retain the top pick in the NHL Draft lottery, according to NHL Public Relations.

Montreal moved up one spot, while Carolina made a big jump after finishing 21st overall during the regular season.

The Sabres will almost assuredly select Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin with the first overall pick, adding a blue-chip player to play with franchise center Jack Eichel.

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

A majority of the NHL Draft Lottery board is set.

Prior to Game 2 between Vegas and San Jose, the NHL revealed the teams that will make selections 4-15.

The order of the remaining three teams - Carolina, Montreal, and Buffalo - will be announced during the second intermission of Saturday night's game.

As a reminder, the Flyers received a first-round pick from St. Louis in the Brayden Schenn trade, while the Islanders got Calgary's pick in the Travis Hamonic deal.

Carolina is the big mover here, finishing 21st overall but leapfrogging into the top three. Montreal made a modest jump as well after finishing 27th.

On the downside, Ottawa and Arizona dropped two spots each, with Vancouver, Chicago, the Rangers, and Edmonton also bumped down one slot apiece.

The NHL Draft will be held June 22-23 in Dallas.

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

The Bruins are moving on.

Boston came out on top of a back-and-forth Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs and will now face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round.

Down 4-3 heading into the third period, the Bruins erupted for four goals over the final 20 minutes, resulting in one of the highest-scoring Game 7 wins in NHL history.

The Bruins and Lightning will now meet after finishing third- and fourth-overall in the regular-season standings, separated by a single point after 82 games.

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