Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour knows his club needs to dig deep after dropping its fourth straight game in regulation Saturday against the Ottawa Senators.

"It’s a soul search time for our group," Brind'Amour said following the 4-1 loss, according to FOX Sports Carolinas. "We’re better than what we’re showing right now, for sure, but tonight was not acceptable."

The Hurricanes allowed three first-period goals, including a Senators-record two tallies in four seconds, and they never recovered.

"To come out and play like that at the start is very disturbing," Brind'Amour said. "So, you know, that's what you get in this league if you're not ready to play ... we just weren't focused on what we had to do."

The Hurricanes have been outscored 17-7 during their slide despite outshooting opponents in each of the four losses. Brind'Amour recognizes that the team hasn't gotten the results it's deserved and stressed the importance of staying focused through the tough stretch.

"We lost a couple games that we actually could have won, and we were playing pretty well. This is the one egg that we threw in all year, but when you're in a situation where you're losing games, you can't afford that."

After winning five straight to begin the season, Carolina has posted a 4-6-1 record and sits fifth in the Metropolitan Division.

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Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner has been ruled out for the remainder of Saturday's contest against the Philadelphia Flyers with an ankle injury, the team announced.

Marner got tangled up off the faceoff with Flyers forward Carsen Twarynski during the second period and appeared to be in discomfort as he struggled to the bench.

The Ontario native emerged from the dressing room during a TV timeout to test out his skating ability, but returned to the room without playing a shift.

More to come.

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman remains resistant to the idea of allowing the league's players to participate in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

"I don't want to sound like a broken record on the subject, but I think going to the Olympics is a challenge for us," Bettman said during a press conference Friday at the Global Games in Sweden, according to Sportsnet's Emily Sadler.

The league announced in April 2017 that its players wouldn't participate in the 2018 Olympics. It marked the first time since 1998 that NHL players didn't take part in the Winter Games, and it sounds like Bettman prefers to continue with that approach.

"I know the players love representing their countries, I know that the players like going, I know that the players that don't go like having a break in the middle of the season," he said. "But from our standpoint, we have found going to the Olympics to be incredibly disruptive ... to our season."

Bettman also confirmed that he recently met with International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel but couldn't provide any significant update on their discussions regarding the NHL's Olympic participation.

"We had another meeting. We've had many, many meetings, and there is no news to report," Bettman said. "I would suggest it was more a philosophical and procedural discussion. (NHLPA executive director) Donald Fehr also participated in the meeting, but I have nothing to report on that front."

The NHL traveled to Shanghai for preseason contests in both 2017 and 2018 as part of the China Games. In July 2019, the league sent Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin to China to serve as a league ambassador.

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The Colorado Avalanche went scorched earth on the Nashville Predators during the second period of Thursday's contest, striking for six goals in an eight minute span to turn a 3-2 deficit into an 8-3 lead.

Joonas Donskoi got the ball rolling at the 5:26 mark of the frame, and he punctuated the run with his seventh goal of the season at the 13:26 mark.

Predators netminder Pekka Rinne allowed five goals on 22 shots and was replaced by Juuse Saros following the third tally of the onslaught.

Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, who collected his ninth goal of the season in the opening stanza, added three assists during the second-period rout.

In total, 12 Colorado players picked up at least one point over the eight-minute span. The club's offensive outburst occurred despite not having top talents Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog in the lineup.

The Avalanche's wild run marked a franchise record for the fastest six goals in a game, according to NHL Public Relations.

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San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane is being sued by a Las Vegas casino that claims the 28-year-old failed to pay back $500,000 in gambling markers he received in mid-April.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, which filed the lawsuit Monday, claims Kane took out eight separate credits of varying amounts between $20,000 and $100,000, according to court documents obtained by Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The Cosmopolitan also seeks repayment of legal fees associated with the lawsuit.

Kane and the Sharks were in Las Vegas playing the Golden Knights in the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs around the time he reportedly used the markers.

The Vancouver native is in the second season of a seven-year, $49-million deal he signed with San Jose ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.

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Calgary Flames forward Milan Lucic doesn't agree with the league's decision to suspend him two games for roughing Columbus Blue Jackets winger Kole Sherwood during Saturday's contest.

"I mean, it was pretty clear, (Sherwood) spears, slashes the goalie and I was standing up for him," Lucic said on Tuesday, according to Flames reporter Kristen Anderson. "I'm more than willing to do that. I thought the referees got it right on the ice the first time."

Lucic delivered a sucker punch to Sherwood after the Blue Jackets winger tried to poke the puck free from beneath Flames netminder David Rittich before the whistle. Sherwood was shaken up but returned to finish the contest, and Lucic was handed a double minor for roughing.

Despite the punishment, Lucic says he doesn't plan to change his approach.

"They even got a slashing penalty on the play," Lucic said. "I think even Rittich said it was the second time he got slashed in three games and you have to step up for your teammates and I'm more than willing to do that. This suspension won't change that moving forward."

The 6-foot-3 enforcer isn't alone in his disapproval of the league's decision. Flames general manager Brad Treliving also chimed in on Sunday, saying the club vehemently disagrees with the suspension.

However, Lucic is a repeat offender after being suspended four times and fined on five occasions over his 13-year career.

Treliving acquired Lucic this past offseason from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for forward James Neal in effort to add more toughness to the Flames' lineup. The 31-year-old leads the team this season in hits (31) and penalty minutes (30).

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Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews isn't phased by the negative criticism the team has received throughout a subpar opening month to the season.

"We're 14-to-15 games in and the world's crashing down on us but we're staying positive in this room," Matthews told the assembled media Friday, including TSN.

"It's early. We're still meshing together (with) new guys and new faces, so like I said, we want to take another step here in November and continue to put our best foot forward."

A busy offseason saw the Leafs undergo their largest roster turnover with this core group of players, but with nine of their 14 games in November coming away from Scotiabank Arena, forward Mitch Marner hopes the club can mesh during its time on the road.

"We're more traveling this time around and we're going on road games, we're getting time with each other on the road," Marner said.

"I think it's good we're going to get some time to hang out on the road ... We haven't been able to really do that over this past month and it's always big for your team (to) get chemistry going early. We still have a lot of new guys on this team and this month's going to be big for us."

With team captain John Tavares and forward Zach Hyman nearing a return, Toronto is inching toward having all its regulars healthy for the first time this season.

The Leafs will look to begin November on the right note when they travel to Philadelphia to clash with the Flyers on Saturday.

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Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Doug Gilmour is back with the franchise.

Gilmour announced Friday in an open letter on The Athletic that he's leaving his role as team president of the Ontario Hockey League's Kingston Frontenacs to join the Leafs as a community representative.

"I'm thrilled to be returning to Toronto in a formal capacity at a time when there is so much excitement for a team stacked with incredible talent," Gilmour said.

The 56-year-old is joining former Leafs legends Darryl Sittler, Wendel Clark, Curtis Joseph, and Darcy Tucker in the community role.

Gilmour spent 11 seasons with the Frontenacs. He was initially hired as head coach and served as general manager before assuming the role of president.

As a player, the Ontario native spent seven seasons with the Maple Leafs, serving as captain from 1994-97. In 393 games with the club, he tallied 131 goals and 452 points. During the 1992-93 campaign, Gilmour set single-season franchise records for assists (95), and points (127) while also capturing the Selke Trophy.

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Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin is hiring a lawyer to investigate how his name became associated with a company called Mark.Space and its financial losses, the player's agent, J.P. Barry, said, according to TSN's Rick Westhead.

Russian website Sports.ru reported on Oct. 29 that Malkin invested $4 million in Mark.Space, a virtual reality startup. After delays in development, the company reportedly used an initial coin offering (ICO) - which uses cryptocurrency to crowdfund projects - to raise an additional $10 million by attaching Malkin's name to the project.

That money has since been lost, according to Sports.ru.

Malkin is discussing with lawyers why his name was included in the report by Sports.ru and plans to hire someone to investigate its claims.

Barry said Malkin invested around $2 million in a clothing company that was run by his long-time friend. That company sold clothing online but Malkin wasn't aware it was in the cryptocurrency industry, his agent said.

"This is about two (business) partners going at each other and (Malkin) now has to figure out what happened," Barry said. "A lawyer will have to go in and get all the documents and figure out what happened with the company."

Barry said neither he nor Malkin was contacted at any point by Sports.ru to comment on its findings prior to the report being published.

"No, the internet - it's garbage," Malkin told Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now. "I don't like the internet. ... Right now, it's garbage for me. I know I'm a good guy. I don't know what to say about that, because it's a little bit crazy for me, but I know it's nothing bad."

Malkin, who has been out with a lower-body injury since Oct. 5, returned to practice Monday and is hopeful to play Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers.

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Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Letestu will miss at least six months after being diagnosed with myocarditis, a virus that attacks the heart, head coach Paul Maurice confirmed Thursday to Jets reporter Mitchell Clinton.

Letestu's long-term health is not in question, but the 34-year-old will only be able to take part in light physical activity.

The veteran forward inked a one-year, $700,000 pact with the Jets in July and has appeared in seven games for the club this season.

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