Toronto Maple Leafs star William Nylander's absence from the lineup is due to a migraine so severe that the club's medical staff tested him to see if he had a concussion, sources told Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Team doctors have been unable to diagnose Nylander's exact condition, Friedman adds.

The productive winger missed the first three games of the Maple Leafs' first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins, in which Toronto trails 2-1 following a 4-2 loss in Game 3 on Wednesday night. He played all 82 regular-season games and matched his career high of 40 goals while setting new personal bests in assists (58) and points.

Nylander's absence from Game 1 was only the second time he'd been forced out of the lineup due to injury and the first such instance since November 2016.

The Swede, who'll turn 28 on May 1, revealed in September 2022 that he switched to a tinted visor because of recurring migraines he endured one season prior.

Toronto is sorely missing Nylander's contributions in the postseason. He has 17 goals and 23 assists in 50 career playoff games, including four tallies and six helpers in 11 such contests last spring.

Nylander is in his ninth season with the Maple Leafs, who drafted him eighth overall in 2014.

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National NHL broadcasts on Monday nights will air exclusively on Amazon Prime Video for the next two seasons, the technology company jointly announced with Rogers Communications on Thursday.

All national regular-season games on those evenings will stream on "Prime Monday Night Hockey," marking the NHL's first exclusive national broadcast deal with a digital-only streaming service in Canada.

Prime Video has partnered with Rogers since the start of this season, when Sportsnet launched the streaming service's channels north of the border. The NHL has worked with Amazon Web Services on in-game analytics and video highlights since 2021.

Rogers remains the NHL's primary rightsholder for national broadcasts in Canada. The telecommunications corporation's 12-year deal with the NHL will expire in 2025.

Amazon has secured the rights to numerous sports properties in recent years, including Thursday Night Football, NASCAR, the New York Yankees, the WNBA, and UEFA Champions League broadcasts in the United Kingdom.

It has also produced several original series on hockey including "All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs" and "Saving Sakic."

Sportsnet has aired national Monday night NHL games since 2014-15.

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The Chicago Blackhawks secured the services of defenseman Alex Vlasic for six more seasons at a $4.6-million cap hit, the team announced Thursday.

Vlasic was a pending restricted free agent whose current pact carries an average annual value of $1,491,667 and a cap hit of $916,667, according to CapFriendly. He would've been eligible for arbitration.

The Illinois-born blue-liner produced two goals and 14 assists while averaging 21:29 of ice time over 76 games in his first full NHL campaign. He also blocked 148 shots, tying Colorado Avalanche superstar Cale Makar for 43rd in the NHL.

The Blackhawks rearguard, who'll turn 23 on June 5, finished the season playing on Chicago's top pairing alongside Seth Jones. Vlasic was also paired with Jones on the club's top penalty-killing unit. He and Jones will both represent the United States at the World Championship next month in Czechia.

Vlasic made his NHL debut in March 2022, playing 15 games for the Blackhawks down the stretch after signing out of Boston University. He then spent 2022-23 primarly with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs, suiting up for 56 games with them along with six contests with Chicago.

The Blackhawks drafted Vlasic 43rd overall in 2019.

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Peter DeBoer insists he isn't underestimating the Vegas Golden Knights despite the fact that the Dallas Stars' opponents came into the playoffs as a wild-card team.

"They're the Stanley Cup champions, they've got everyone figured out," the Stars head coach said postgame. "They figured out everyone last year, too, right? So we're not alone in that boat."

Vegas defeated Dallas 3-1 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series. The Golden Knights won both games on the road and head home with a chance to sweep the Stars, the Western Conference's top seed.

DeBoer admits the Stars are in a state of disbelief after the first two games given how the two teams fared in the regular season.

"Yeah, for sure, I mean (we're) disappointed. I thought (in) Game 1, we probably deserved better, but you have to find a way to win that game. Tonight, the margin is like that," he added while pinching his thumb and index finger together.

The Dallas bench boss - who coached Vegas for parts of three seasons from 2019-20 to 2021-22 - gave further credit to the Golden Knights by suggesting they improved upon the championship-winning squad they boasted in 2022-23.

"They're a very good hockey club for a reason," he said. "I think they've got a deeper roster than they had last year if you look at their entire lineup including their scratches."

Vegas added Noah Hanifin, Tomas Hertl, and Anthony Mantha before the trade deadline and got captain Mark Stone back for Game 1 of this series after he missed the final two months of the regular season with a lacerated spleen.

The Golden Knights have now beaten the Stars in six straight games, including all three regular-season meetings in 2023-24 and a 6-0 shellacking in the decisive Game 6 of last spring's Western Conference Final.

Game 3 of their first-round matchup is scheduled for Saturday night in Vegas.

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Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett will miss seven days or more after absorbing teammate Brandon Montour's shot with his hand Tuesday night, head coach Paul Maurice said Wednesday.

Maurice likened Bennett's relatively short recovery timetable to hearing his car was in an accident but discovering it was only a fender bender, according to team reporter Jameson Olive.

“Got to the rink and got great news,” the bench boss added.

Montour's shot hit Bennett in the left hand in the second period of Game 2 of the Panthers' first-round playoff matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Bennett immediately departed and didn't return.

The Panthers referred to Bennett's ailment as an upper-body injury.

Bennett had been centering the Panthers' second line between Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk.

The injured center opened the scoring and then drew the primary assist on Vladimir Tarasenko's goal that gave Florida a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 overtime victory.

Bennett produced 20 goals and 21 assists over 69 games during the regular season. He's in his third full campaign (and fourth in total) with the Panthers, who acquired him in a trade with the Calgary Flames in April 2021.

The Ontario-born pivot, who'll turn 28 on June 20, also racked up 173 hits in 2023-24.

Florida holds a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday at Tampa's Amalie Arena.

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Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar praised goaltender Alexandar Georgiev for bouncing back in a Game 2 victory after struggling significantly in their series opener against the Winnipeg Jets.

Georgiev stopped all but two of the 30 shots he faced in a 5-2 win that tied the first-round playoff series Tuesday night after turning aside only 16 of the 23 shots the Jets mustered when they prevailed 7-6 in Game 1 on Sunday.

Bednar described Georgiev's response as "fantastic" before elaborating.

"If you give up seven as a goalie - what type of things you read online, what you're hearing from everyone - everyone just goes immediately to doubt and criticism," Bednar said. "So to be able to put that aside, focus on his process just like we would with the team, be mentally strong, resilient, and then go out and prove people wrong in Game 2? That's a tough job to do."

The head coach noted that the Avalanche weren't significantly more effective as a group in the second game, except for the netminder.

"He deserves all the credit," Bednar said. "Because our team was better, but it wasn't that much better. He was much better, and he gave us a chance to win, and we did win. Now, we've got to go repeat it.”

The Avalanche fired twice as many shots on goal as the Jets in Game 1, finishing with a 46-23 edge in a losing effort. Colorado outshot Winnipeg 32-30 in Game 2.

Game 3 of the series is scheduled for Friday night in Denver.

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Elias Pettersson took responsibility for a performance he feels cost his Vancouver Canucks a chance to win Game 2 against the Nashville Predators.

Pettersson made a couple of plays he regretted in the 4-1 loss. He hit the side of the goal with a wide-open cage and a golden opportunity to tie the game in the final seconds of the first period.

"I just knew I had an open net, and I think the puck stood on high edge, but either way, I've got to score," he said postgame.

Later, the Swede coughed up the puck at his own blue line, and Colton Sissons made him pay to give the Predators a 3-0 lead.

"I put us in a bad spot with my mistake on their third goal, (that) can't happen," Pettersson said before reiterating his regret about the open-net miss. "If I score in the first period, and it's a 1-1 game, maybe it's a different outlook."

Pettersson put the defeat squarely on his shoulders.

"I'm always my biggest critic, and I take a lot of blame for this one," he said.

Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet defended Pettersson but also offered some constructive criticism of the talented forward.

"He's a young kid," the bench boss said. "This is his first taste of pressure ... this is good for him ... He's got to dust himself off and be ready for Game 3. He's got to be very decisive with the puck. I want to see him shoot the puck ... but I think he'll be fine."

Pettersson will have a chance to redeem himself on Friday night when the Predators host the Canucks with the series tied at one game apiece.

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Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko wasn't in the crease for Game 2 of their first-round series against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night due to injury. Veteran backup Casey DeSmith started in his place.

Demko is questionable for the rest of the series, reports Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.

Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet added that Demko's latest ailment "wasn't the old injury" but a day-to-day issue, according to NHL.com's Adam Kimelman.

Despite not being the same injury, it involves the same knee that caused him to miss 14 games late in the regular season, reports TSN's Farhan Lalji. Demko returned for the final two contests of the schedule, earning a win over the Calgary Flames last Tuesday and losing to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.

Demko didn't take part in the Canucks' optional skate Tuesday and didn't practice Monday. He also wasn't made available to reporters following Vancouver's Game 1 victory Sunday because he was receiving treatment.

Demko is a Vezina Trophy candidate this season. He posted a .918 save percentage while going 35-14-2 in 51 contests.

DeSmith went 12-9-6 with an .896 save percentage across 29 games in 2023-24. His only playoff experience to date was the "Spicy Pork and Broccoli" game in May 2022, which he exited with an injury, forcing Louis Domingue to come in and ultimately win for the Pittsburgh Penguins in triple overtime.

Rookie Arturs Silovs, the Canucks' other goalie, played five NHL games last season and four more this campaign. The 23-year-old Latvian went 3-0-1 with an .881 mark over his four appearances in 2023-24.

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The Philadelphia Flyers have inked backup goaltender Ivan Fedotov to a two-year contract extension at an average annual value of $3.25 million, the club announced Tuesday.

Fedotov joined the Flyers in late March after CSKA Moscow terminated his KHL pact. He got into three games in April, going 0-1-1 while allowing 10 goals on 53 shots. The Russian only started one of those contests, giving up four tallies in a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on April 5.

His new cap hit will be nearly $2 million more than that of Samuel Ersson ($1.45 million), according to CapFriendly. Ersson took the reins as the Flyers' No. 1 netminder this season. Ersson signed a two-year extension of his own last August.

Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said upon Fedotov's arrival that Ersson was still the starter. While their roles for 2024-25 remain unclear, Fedotov's new deal all but guarantees he'll be part of the tandem going forward.

CSKA inked Fedotov to a two-year contract last July before terminating the agreement with one year remaining. He simultaneously had a pre-arrival pact with the Flyers after signing a two-year deal with them in May 2022. That made him a pending unrestricted free agent before he re-upped with Philadelphia on Tuesday.

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Sheldon Keefe believes his Toronto Maple Leafs simply weren't disciplined enough in their 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series Saturday.

"Two high sticks, that's just carelessness," he said postgame, according to 98.5 The Sports Hub's Ty Anderson. "This time of year, you can't allow your stick to get up like that."

Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi was called for a high stick on Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm late in the first period, and Auston Matthews was penalized for one on blue-liner Charlie McAvoy in the second. Toronto escaped the first unscathed, but Jake DeBrusk scored his first of two goals in the game to make it 3-0 with Matthews in the box.

Keefe also criticized Max Domi for slashing Bruins winger Brad Marchand on the wrist, saying Domi "can't do that," according to The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa.

The Bruins went 2-for-5 on the power play in the game. DeBrusk netted his second of the contest less than three minutes after his first on Domi's infraction.

Toronto was 0-for-3 with the man advantage, and Keefe said postgame his power-play units were "not good."

The Bruins ranked 14th with the man advantage in the regular season, while the Leafs slotted in seventh. Boston had the seventh-best penalty kill over the 82-game schedule, and Toronto ranked 23rd.

Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Monday night at Boston's TD Garden.

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