Steven Stamkos is the newest member of the 500-goal club.

The Tampa Bay Lightning captain reached the milestone by redirecting Alex Killorn's feed against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.

Stamkos joins Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby as the only active members of the 500-goal club. He's the 47th player in NHL history to accomplish the feat and the only player to do so entirely in a Lightning uniform.

He wasn't done against the Canucks, either, as Stamkos added his 20th goal of the season and 501st of his career just under 10 minutes later in the first period. He then potted an empty-netter to cap off a hat trick with under two minutes remaining.

Stamkos became the eighth player in NHL history to score his 500th goal and notch a hat trick in the same game, according to Sportsnet.

It's been a season full of milestones for Stamkos, who reached 1,000 points earlier in the campaign. With 965 career games played, he'll also reach the 1,000-game mark by the end of the season if he stays healthy.

The Lightning drafted Stamkos first overall in 2008. He's won both the Stanley Cup and the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy twice in his 15 years with the Bolts.

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The Colorado Avalanche will be without No. 1 defenseman Cale Makar on Wednesday against the Calgary Flames, head coach Jared Bednar said, per The Athletic's Peter Baugh.

Makar is dealing with an undisclosed injury he suffered Monday against the Detroit Red Wings and is considered day-to-day.

Bednar added that Makar did, however, make the trip to his native Calgary with the team. The Avalanche visit the Vancouver Canucks on Friday and the Seattle Kraken on Saturday before heading home for a matchup with the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.

Here are Colorado's projected defense pairings in Makar's absence:

The Avs, who've been hit hard by injuries this season, are also without Josh Manson and Bowen Byram on the back end.

Makar, the reigning Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe winner, has tallied 43 points in 42 games this season.

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Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky will be out three months with a lower-body injury suffered Sunday against the New York Rangers, the team announced Wednesday.

Slafkovsky's injury doesn't require surgery.

A three-month timeline puts Slafkovsky in jeopardy of missing the remainder of his rookie campaign. Montreal plays its final regular-season game on April 13 against the Boston Bruins.

The reigning No. 1 pick has registered four goals and six assists in 39 contests this season.

The banged-up Habs also announced that goaltender Jake Allen and forwards Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia are dealing with upper-body injuries. Drouin and Armia are expected to be out until the All-Star break, while Allen will miss at least a week.

Additionally, forward Jake Evans will miss 8-to-10 weeks due to a lower-body ailment that doesn't require surgery.

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The Ottawa Senators are getting a major piece of the puzzle back Wednesday, as center Josh Norris is returning to the lineup against the Pittsburgh Penguins, head coach D.J. Smith announced, per TSN's Claire Hanna.

Norris missed the last 38 games after suffering a shoulder injury against the Arizona Coyotes on Oct. 22.

"We're going to be a different team with him," Smith said. "In saying that, it'll take him a bit to get going."

The 23-year-old projects to center the club's second line between Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat on Wednesday. Giroux, who's won 60.9% of his draws this year, is expected to take part of the load in faceoffs.

Norris led the team with 35 goals last season despite playing only 66 games. He's tallied 92 points in 130 contests across his four-year NHL career.

Mathieu Joseph, who's been out since Dec. 8 with a lower-body injury, is also eligible to return to the lineup but will be a healthy scratch instead.

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Edmonton Oilers winger Evander Kane is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken, reports Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.

Kane has missed 31 games since his wrist was cut by a skate on Nov. 8 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The 31-year-old power forward tallied 13 points in 14 games before the injury. He recorded 35 goals and 21 assists in 58 contests in 2021-22 (regular season and playoffs) after signing with Edmonton as a free agent midseason.

The Oilers are reportedly expected to move Kailer Yamamoto to long-term injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 11 to become salary-cap compliant.

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The Montreal Canadiens will be without three regulars up front for the foreseeable future.

Forwards Juraj Slafkovsky, Joel Armia, and Jake Evans are out indefinitely and have been placed on injured reserve, the Habs announced Tuesday.

However, defenseman Mike Matheson will return to the lineup Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets after missing the last 13 games with a lower-body injury.

Slafkovsky suffered a lower-body injury Sunday against the New York Rangers. The 2022 No. 1 pick has produced four goals and six assists so far in his rookie campaign.

Armia sustained an upper-body injury against the Rangers. The 6-foot-4 winger has recorded three goals and four helpers in 32 contests this season.

Evans endured a lower-body ailment Saturday against the New York Islanders. The checking-line center has posted a pair of goals and nine assists in 42 games this campaign.

In a corresponding move, forwards Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Rem Pitlick were recalled from the AHL's Laval Rocket on an emergency basis. Pitlick has been among the Rocket's best players this season with 22 points in 18 games.

Additionally, forward Sean Monahan, who's been out since early December with a lower-body injury, was moved from IR to long-term injured reserve. However, he's "progressing well," according to the team.

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Nick Robertson's 2022-23 campaign is over.

The Toronto Maple Leafs winger underwent season-ending shoulder surgery and will be out for six months, the team announced Monday.

Robertson suffered the ailment on Dec. 8 against the Los Angeles Kings. The team initially said he wouldn't need surgery and would miss six-to-eight weeks.

Robertson, 21, finishes his season with two goals and three assists in 15 games with the Maple Leafs. He added another two points in two contests with the AHL's Toronto Marlies.

The 2019 second-round pick has endured bad luck with injuries. He was limited to just 38 games last season (28 with the Marlies, 10 with the Leafs) after breaking his leg in October 2021. Robertson also missed about a month during the 2020-21 campaign with a knee injury.

The Maple Leafs also announced that defenseman Mac Hollowell underwent surgery to repair a fractured kneecap and will miss at least 12 weeks. The 24-year-old has spent most of the season with the Marlies, but he got into six games with Toronto when injuries ravaged its blue line earlier in the season.

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Former NHL tough guy Gino Odjick, best known for his eight seasons with the Vancouver Canucks in the 1990s, died at 52 on Sunday.

Odjick was an immensely popular fan favorite during his time in Vancouver after the club drafted him in the fifth round in 1990. He racked up 98 points and 2,127 penalty minutes in 444 games with the Canucks.

His best season came in 1993-94 when he tallied 16 goals and 13 assists in 76 regular-season contests to help the Canucks reach the Stanley Cup Final. He also led the league with 371 PIMs in 1996-97 - the 11th most in a single season.

The Maniwaki, Quebec, native also enjoyed short stints with the New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, and Montreal Canadiens before his time in the NHL came to an end. He recorded 137 points in his 605-game career and finished with 2,567 penalty minutes, which currently ranks 17th all time.

Odjick announced in 2014 that he was diagnosed with a rare terminal disease called AL amyloidosis.

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The Seattle Kraken may only be in their second season, but they've already etched their name into the NHL record books.

The Kraken became the first team in league history to sweep a road trip of seven or more games by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 8-5 on Saturday.

Here's a closer look at Seattle's run:

The Kraken have outscored their opponents 37-15 during the heater. They also won or tied 18 of 21 periods.

Seattle won its last contest before taking off for the road trip. In total, the team has won eight games in a row, setting a new franchise record.

Jared McCann set the pace Saturday with the second hat trick in club history. The Kraken, who amazingly scored on six of their first seven shots in the contest, also received goals from Daniel Sprong, Matty Beniers, Andre Burakovsky, Eeli Tolvanen, and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

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The Boston Bruins signed forward Pavel Zacha to a four-year contract extension with a $4.75-million cap hit Saturday, the club announced.

The 25-year-old was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the campaign.

Zacha has recorded five goals and 20 assists in 42 games with the Bruins this season. He's posted strong underlying numbers defensively in his first year in Boston.

Boston acquired him from the New Jersey Devils in the offseason in exchange for Erik Haula. The Devils drafted Zacha sixth overall in 2015.

Zacha has largely failed to live up to his lofty draft hype. His best season came in 2020-21 when he notched 17 goals and 35 points in 50 games.

The Bruins still have several pending UFAs, but none bigger than David Pastrnak.

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