Darryl Sutter questioned the effort of several of his players following Tuesday's crucial loss to the Chicago Blackhawks - without naming names, of course.

"Just to sum it up, when you can see the fatigue, or you don't have great legs, you just got to keep your game really simple," the Calgary Flames head coach said after the 4-3 defeat. "Some of us didn't manage the puck very well.

"I just don't know that the energy was there," Sutter added. "Some of our guys looked like they had flat tires."

Flames forward Mikael Backlund wondered if the team had prepared more for Wednesday's clash with the Winnipeg Jets than Tuesday's tilt with the lowly Blackhawks.

"Maybe too many of us were thinking about tomorrow's game and thinking too far ahead," Backlund said.

Backlund's teammate, Nazem Kadri, committed a pair of costly giveaways that led to goals. On Chicago's second tally, he recovered a Blackhawks dump-in but then coughed the puck up behind the net with a one-handed tap to opposing winger Boris Katchouk, who shoveled it to Jujhar Khaira for a backhand goal in the final minute of the opening frame.

"(I) just turned it over, (they) made a nice play," Kadri said. "The ice was getting a little chippy there at the end of the period. We've got to simplify our game, and we can't make those mistakes."

The Flames haven't been eliminated from playoff contention, but they lost all three games against Chicago this season. The Blackhawks entered Tuesday sitting dead last in the NHL and have been at or near the bottom of the standings for most of the campaign.

Winnipeg has two more points than Calgary with a game in hand. The Jets occupy the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

The Flames have four more contests on their regular-season schedule. After battling the Jets on the road Wednesday, they'll travel to Vancouver to play the Canucks on Saturday before finishing up by hosting the Nashville Predators on Monday and the San Jose Sharks on April 12.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning will face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight year.

Tampa Bay clinched a postseason berth with a 5-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday night.

The Bolts vanquished the Leafs in seven games in 2022. They reached the Cup Final, losing in six to the Colorado Avalanche. Tampa got to the championship round for the third time in as many years after winning back-to-back titles.

Home-ice advantage for the upcoming series hasn't yet been determined. Toronto sits second in the Atlantic Division, four points ahead of the third-place Lightning with two games in hand. Both clubs earned shutout wins Saturday, as the Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-0.

Toronto clinched a playoff spot Monday when the Senators beat the Florida Panthers. The Leafs have qualified for seven straight seasons but will be looking to win a series for the first time since 2004.

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Aaron Ekblad doesn't seem ready to forgive Brooks Koepka for chirping him mercilessly last weekend.

"We're not buddies," the Florida Panthers defenseman said Wednesday, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "(We'll) never be buddies."

The former top-ranked golfer in the world and current LIV member used an insulting prop at the Panthers' game against the New York Rangers on Saturday.

In case there was any doubt it was Kopeka, he was at the game with some friends and they were all wearing track suits as an apparent nod to Italianfest, the evening's theme.

Koepka later explained his behavior.

"I did not bring the cone," he said, according to GolfWRX's Matt Vincenzi. "He gave up a bad goal. It was a bad pass in the third. I'm a die-hard (Panthers) fan, and he gave up a bad goal."

Koepka grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida, and lives in Jupiter, which is about an hour's drive from FLA Live Arena in Sunrise. He's attended several Panthers games this season. The 32-year-old is in the area for the LIV tournament that will run from Friday through Sunday in Orlando.

Ekblad isn't having his best season for the underachieving Cats, who are in danger of missing the playoffs one season after winning the Presidents' Trophy. The 27-year-old ranks 20th-worst in the NHL with 2.9 expected goals against per 60 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick. He also entered Wednesday with 31 points in 63 games, his lowest per-game rate since 2018-19.

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Rick Bowness didn't name names, but the Winnipeg Jets head coach criticized more than one of his players after the lowly San Jose Sharks shut them out Tuesday night.

"The inconsistencies of some of our players is hurting us," Bowness said following the 3-0 defeat. "If some of these guys think they're giving everything in their tank, they're dreaming. We've got a lot of guys in there giving us everything they can, and we just need a few more guys to jump on board."

The Jets are clinging to the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames in hot pursuit. The Predators sit three points back with two games in hand, while the Flames trail the Jets by two points and have played the same number of games.

Tuesday's result is the second time Winnipeg lost to San Jose this month, falling to the Sharks in overtime on March 6. The last-place club in the Pacific Division has only two wins in its last 16 games, but both came over the Jets.

The Central Division's lone Canadian squad outshot San Jose 41-30 Tuesday. The Jets also dominated in scoring chances for (64.06%) and expected goals for (59.9%) at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

"There comes a point where their personal pride has to take over," Bowness added postgame. "If someone has to go in there and point that out to them, then there's a big problem right there."

Winnipeg is 5-5-0 over its last 10 games and has only seven left in this regular season.

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Boston Bruins superstar Brad Marchand recently deleted his Twitter account, and he explained why Thursday.

"It's strictly because I'm not paying for Twitter," he said, according to Boston.com's Conor Ryan.

"They took my two-step verification, so I was like, you know what - I'm going to get out now while I can," Marchand continued.

"I'm sure I'll be back on at some point - if I'm bored and want to make fun of someone," he said.

Marchand has long been one of the most active NHLers on social media. He's made waves numerous times responding to criticism and even got into feuds with rival clubs.

Twitter recently removed two-factor authentication via text message for users who aren't signed up for its Twitter Blue subscription service - one of the company's relatively new policy decisions - which costs $8 per month.

Marchand's Bruins have been the NHL's best team by a wide margin this season. Boston entered Thursday at 54-11-5 and with a 20-point lead on the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division.

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The Ottawa Senators agreed to a three-year, entry-level pact with defenseman Tyler Kleven, the club announced Thursday.

Kleven is expected to join the Senators on Friday. The 21-year-old posted eight goals and 10 assists over 35 games in his recently concluded junior season with North Dakota.

Ottawa drafted Kleven 44th overall in 2020. The Fargo-born blue-liner represented the United States at the World Junior Championship in 2021 and 2022, helping the Americans win gold alongside current Senators rearguard Jake Sanderson in the first of those two years.

Kleven produced 20 goals and 15 assists across 95 career college contests. He tied the Fighting Hawks' all-time record among defensemen with eight game-winning goals.

North Dakota didn't qualify for the NCAA Tournament this year. The school went 18-15-6 and lost 3-2 to St. Cloud State in the semifinals of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff tourney last Friday.

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The results of the annual NHLPA Player Poll are in, and while most of the responses were predictable, there were a few eyebrow-raising trends.

Many of the top picks went back-to-back. Patrick Kane again earned the most votes for best stick-handler, Leon Draisaitl repeated as the best passer, Marie-Philip Poulin was once again considered the best women's hockey player, and Montreal's Bell Centre remained the most popular choice as the arena with the best ice.

The full poll can be viewed here. The players responded to 14 questions in total, down from 15 in 2021-22. Here are some of the results:

If you need to win one game, who's the goalie you'd want on your team?

Vasilevskiy nabs most coveted goalie honors for the second straight year, increasing his vote share from 37.4% last season. Both the win and the increase are a bit surprising considering the Tampa Bay Lightning puck-stopper is being outplayed by numerous netminders in 2022-23.

In a must-win game, which forward do you think would be most impactful?

No surprise here with McDavid destroying the field of forwards given his dominance both in 2022-23 and in his career as a whole. The NHLPA phrased this one as "which skater" last year, with McDavid and Crosby finishing one-two in that as well. But McDavid's total increased from the 42.2% he received in 2021-22, while Crosby's fell from 17.4%.

Who's the top defenseman in the game?

The results are pretty much as expected, with blue-liners getting their own separate query this time. Makar is having another outstanding campaign after claiming the Norris Trophy, the Conn Smythe Trophy, and the Stanley Cup last season.

Who's the most complete player?

Crosby also earned this distinction in 2021-22. Bergeron leapfrogged Barkov after placing third last year.

Who's the most underrated player?

This question wasn't asked in 2021-22. Barkov's win by a wide margin is well-deserved, and it's notable to see Zibanejad and Bratt cracking the top six.

Which player do you least enjoy playing against but would like to have on your team?

The NHL's most prominent pest claims this one for the second consecutive year, with McDavid and Wilson finishing right where they did one season ago as well. Marchand got more votes this time after garnering 26.4% in 2021-22.

Which NHL player is the best guy in the locker room?

This question wasn't asked last year, either. It was by far the most divisive this time around, with 181 different players earning votes. The range of responses - and Fleury's status as the game's most beloved player, for that matter - isn't shocking. But it's a bit unexpected to not see a player like Ryan Reaves get more love, especially considering he's now with his fifth team.

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Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen sustained a broken finger in Monday's victory over the Montreal Canadiens, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said postgame, according to AltitudeTV.

Lehkonen will undergo surgery, per NHL.com's Sean Farrell.

The 27-year-old was enjoying a career year with the defending champions, who acquired him in a trade with the Canadiens on deadline day in 2022.

Lehkonen got a warm welcome in his return to Montreal on Monday as the Bell Centre crowd gave him a standing ovation right before he scored the first of his two goals in the first period. However, the Finnish winger exited and didn't return after playing four shifts in the second frame.

He added an assist in the win, bringing his totals up to 20 tallies and 29 helpers in 62 games this season. Lehkonen had been playing on the top line until recently.

Colorado has dealt with a slew of injuries this season and is still without captain Gabriel Landeskog, who's missed the entire campaign following knee surgery.

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Erik Karlsson doesn't resort to projectiles very often, so he was clearly bothered by a missed call during Tuesday night's game between his San Jose Sharks and the Colorado Avalanche.

The officials handed the bleeding Sharks defenseman a 10-minute misconduct for tossing his headgear in frustration after Avalanche forward Alex Newhook's high stick to Karlsson's face went unpenalized early in the third period of Colorado's 6-0 win.

Karlsson was also given a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The 10-minute misconduct was the first of his 14-year career, according to The Mercury News' Curtis Pashelka.

The Norris Trophy favorite said postgame he felt slighted by the officials, though he did apologize for letting his emotions get the best of him.

Karlsson is having a vintage campaign with 19 goals and 63 assists in 65 contests for the rebuilding Sharks. He entered Wednesday leading the NHL in even-strength points with 62.

Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar and forward Valeri Nichushkin collected a goal and three assists apiece in Colorado's blowout victory Tuesday night.

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Cale Makar was back in the Colorado Avalanche lineup for Saturday's road game against the Dallas Stars.

Makar had spent the last five games in concussion protocol after experiencing delayed symptoms for a second time following a hit to the head last month.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jeff Carter caught him up high during a win over the Avalanche on Feb. 7. Makar left the game but cleared protocol and returned. However, he then had delayed symptoms and missed the next four contests before returning for a victory over the Blues on Feb. 18.

Makar exited that contest after colliding with Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko, returned to the game, but then landed back in concussion protocol.

The reigning Norris and Conn Smythe Trophy winner leads the NHL in average ice time at 26:57. Though he's been limited to 46 games this season, Makar ranks among the top blue-liners in points per game with 0.98 by virtue of his 13 goals and 32 assists.

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