Brad Marchand believes the Boston Bruins' run as one of the most consistent teams in the NHL is due, in part, to the players taking contracts below market value.

"Guys have tried to take less to win because we know that it bleeds through the lineup," Marchand said Wednesday ahead of Boston's matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs, per Sportsnet.

"If you can have six guys that make lower salary (rather) than three, it's a lot harder to play against. And that's why we've been so good for so long."

The Bruins possess some of the most team-friendly contracts in the league. Marchand, who's been a first- or second-team All-Star in four of the past six seasons, is under contract for two campaigns beyond 2022-23 with a $6.125-million cap hit. Marchand signed his eight-year pact in September 2016 - right before he blossomed into one of the game's best wingers.

Additionally, captain Patrice Bergeron, who's vying for his sixth career Selke Trophy at age 37, re-signed with the Bruins on a one-year, $2.5-million agreement in the offseason. Second-line center David Krejci, who's collected 41 points in 45 games this season, makes just $1 million on the salary cap.

Leading scorer David Pastrnak also comes with a bargain $6.67-million cap hit, but he could cash in this offseason as a pending unrestricted free agent.

The Bruins have missed the playoffs just four times in the salary-cap era, making three trips to the Stanley Cup Final in that span, winning once in 2011. They sit atop the NHL standings this season with a 38-7-5 record.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets claimed forward Lane Pederson off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, the team announced.

Pederson recorded a goal and two assists in 11 games with the Canucks this season while averaging 12:50 per contest. The 25-year-old winger has tallied two goals and six helpers in 55 career NHL games between the Canucks, San Jose Sharks, and Arizona Coyotes.

The Canucks acquired Pederson and defenseman Ethan Bear from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a fifth-round pick in October.

The Blue Jackets placed forward Gustav Nyquist on injured reserve in a corresponding move. The veteran winger is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without superstar center Auston Matthews for at least three weeks as he deals with a knee sprain suffered Wednesday against the New York Rangers, the team announced.

More to come.

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Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar says he's good to go Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks after missing the last four games with an upper-body injury, according to The Athletic's Peter Baugh.

The reigning Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe winner has 43 points in 42 games this season and leads the league with 27:09 of average ice time.

Colorado went 4-0-0 without Makar. The team is riding a six-game winning streak and crawled its way back into a playoff spot despite a myriad of injuries.

Several other key players have missed time this season, including Nathan MacKinnon. The club is still without captain Gabriel Landeskog and defensemen Bowen Byram and Josh Manson, among others.

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The Arizona Coyotes signed defenseman Juuso Valimaki to a one-year contract extension, the team announced Tuesday.

The deal is worth $1 million, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Valimaki has registered two goals and 10 assists in 43 games this season while averaging 14:59 per contest. He's also added 41 shots, 37 blocks, and 24 hits. His 47.77% expected goals share at five-on-five leads all Coyotes defensemen, per Natural Stat Trick.

Arizona claimed the 24-year-old off waivers from the Calgary Flames in October. The Flames originally selected him 16th overall at the 2017 draft.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs filled the net Monday in a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders, but Mitch Marner was unable to find the scoresheet, ending his franchise-record home point streak at 20 games.

Marner was even reunited with Auston Matthews in the contest after the team came out flat in the first period, but it was the second line of John Tavares, William Nylander, and Calle Jarnkrok that did most of the damage. Nylander collected four points, Tavares notched a goal and an assist, and Jarnkrok bagged a goal.

Darryl Sittler previously held the club record for most consecutive games at home with a point at 18, set in 1977-78. Marner broke the record Jan. 17 with a pair of assists against the Florida Panthers, then added to it with a goal in Toronto's next home game two nights later against the Winnipeg Jets.

Monday's contest was only the second time all season Marner didn't record a point at home. In total, the playmaking winger's tallied 32 points in 25 games at Scotiabank Arena this season, including 29 during the streak.

Marner set the Maple Leafs record for 19 straight overall games with a point earlier in the campaign. He padded his record to 23 before it was snapped, making it the NHL's fourth-longest streak in the last 30 years.

In total, the 25-year-old has registered 56 points in 48 games this season.

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Paul Maurice is a little lighter in the wallet Thursday.

The Florida Panthers head coach was fined $25,000 for his comments about the officiating after a 5-4 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

"I don't know what the hell those guys were doing tonight, but it wasn't Florida Panther-friendly," Maurice said postgame regarding the officiating.

Maurice was particularly upset with one call against defenseman Radko Gudas, who was assessed four of Florida's 18 penalty minutes in the game.

"Gudas hits as clean a hit as you can level," Maurice explained. "Stick on stick, body on body. Not a charge; they're both going in the same direction."

Here's a look at the play Maurice is referring to.

Maurice thinks his history with one of the officials was the reason he believes the calls didn't go his team's way.

"I just explained to them it had nothing to do with my players, it had to do with me and a relationship that I have with one of the referees," he said. "That's what that was all about."

Maurice was fined $5,000 while coaching the Winnipeg Jets in 2016 for blasting referee Francois St-Laurent after he didn't call a penalty for a hit to the head on Bryan Little. St-Laurent and Pierre Lambert were the refs Tuesday.

The Maple Leafs converted on two of their seven power-play opportunities in the contest, while the Panthers scored on one of their three chances with the man advantage.

Maurice's first campaign in Florida hasn't gone as hoped. The 21-20-5 Panthers find themselves outside the playoff picture a year after winning the Presidents' Trophy with a franchise-record 122 points under Joel Quenneville and Andrew Brunette.

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Matt Dumba is taking a seat Thursday.

The Minnesota Wild are making the veteran defenseman a healthy scratch against the Carolina Hurricanes, head coach Dean Evason announced.

"We had a real good meeting," Evason said, per The Athletic's Michael Russo. "He knows why he's sitting out tonight."

Dumba said he was surprised and that "it's an organization decision."

Alex Goligoski will take Dumba's place in the lineup.

Dumba has endured a down year by his standards, with four goals and eight assists in 43 games. He's also averaging 21:12 of ice time per game, his lowest since 2016-17. Additionally, his underlying numbers are poor.

The 28-year-old has been the subject of trade rumors. Recent reports indicated that the Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators are interested in Dumba's services.

Dumba carries a $6-million cap hit this season and is a pending free agent. The 2012 No. 7 pick has spent his entire 10-year career in Minnesota.

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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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