In the fourth edition of theScore's Norris Trophy Power Rankings, a veteran blue-liner chasing his first Norris enters the fold.

5. Shea Weber

Weber stays on this list despite an ice-cold January that's seen him register just a pair of assists in his last 11 games. His overall body of work at both ends of the ice remains impressive, and there's no player worthy of dethroning him with Dougie Hamilton out indefinitely. The Canadiens' expected goals share drops three percent without their captain on the ice.

4. Alex Pietrangelo

Pietrangelo cracks this list for the first time this campaign. In a contract year, he's peaking at the right time: The Blues captain is on pace for career highs in goals, assists, points, and power-play points. Pietrangelo has been especially hot of late, tallying 11 points in 11 games since the last edition of these rankings.

3. Victor Hedman

Get used to seeing Hedman on this list. The Lightning blue-liner has been a finalist for the Norris in each of the last three seasons - winning it in 2017-18 - and there's a strong chance he finishes in the top three once again this year. Hedman's combination of size and speed is unmatched by any player in the league, let alone by any defenseman.

2. Roman Josi

Josi is enjoying a fantastic season and holds a 14-point lead atop the Predators' scoring list. He's continued his strong play even while partner Ryan Ellis has been sidelined with a concussion, tallying 10 points in his last 11 games. Josi has been the runner-up in all four editions of this list, and though his performance this season would likely be good enough to win the Norris in any other year, one man continues to stand above the rest in 2019-20.

1. John Carlson

Carlson is still in a league of his own, remaining on pace for over 95 points during his historic campaign. For those who think he's simply the beneficiary of dishing passes to Alex Ovechkin on the Capitals' powerplay, it's important to note he leads all rearguards in even-strength points, too. Carlson's not only running away with the Norris, but he should garner plenty of Hart Trophy consideration as well.

Honorable mentions: Ryan Suter (Wild), Kris Letang (Penguins), Erik Karlsson (Sharks), Cale Makar (Avalanche)

(Advanced stats source: Natural Stat Trick)

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Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk wasn't trying to do anyone a favor when he decided to drop the mitts with Edmonton Oilers winger Zack Kassian during his club's 4-3 shootout win Wednesday night.

“I just didn’t like getting kinda pummelled at home like I did," Tkachuk said following the game, according to Flames reporter Wes Gilbertson. "A lot of people didn’t want me to do it, but I wanted to. It was a way for me to stick up for myself. It wasn’t anything to do with owing anybody. I was just doing it for myself.”

Tkachuk laid some heavy hits during the last meeting between the two sides Jan. 11, which resulted in Kassian pounding the Flames forward before calling him out postgame for refusing to fight back. Kassian was subsequently handed a two-game suspension for his actions.

This time, however, Tkachuk was more than willing to settle the score, and the Oilers forward appreciated his rival answering the bell.

“He wanted to fight right away, but I wanted to keep him guessing a little bit," Kassian said, according to the Edmonton Sun's Rob Tychkowski. "I respect him for stepping up. I told him before we even dropped the gloves. Now it’s over. I wish this would have happened in the first place and then it would have been done.”

The Battle of Alberta continues Saturday when the Flames and Oilers meet again in Calgary.

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The Edmonton Oilers have inked forward Zack Kassian to a four-year contract extension worth $3.2 million annually, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

The deal keeps the 29-year-old in Edmonton through the 2023-24 campaign. He was scheduled to become an unrestricted agent at the end of this season. With Kassian signed, the Oilers now have $1.26 million in projected cap space for 2019-20, according to CapFriendly.

Kassian has recorded 13 goals and 28 points through 44 games this season, and he's on pace to shatter career bests in each category. He also leads the team with 123 hits while averaging a career-high 16:15 of ice time per game.

The 6-foot-3 winger has missed the club's last two games after being suspended for an incident on Jan. 11 involving Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk. He returns to the Oilers' lineup on Wednesday in a rematch with their Alberta rival.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have looked into Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

However, Toronto's search for blue-line help extends past Dumba, as one NHL executive told Friedman the Leafs are "investigating every good defenseman on the market."

Dumba is in the midst of one of his worst seasons, as he's collected just 16 points through 50 games - a far cry from the 50-point campaign he had in 2017-18, or the 57-point pace he played at last year before a torn pectoral muscle ended his season after 32 games.

The 25-year-old would give the Leafs a much-needed right-handed shooting defenseman with term, as he's signed for three more years after this season with a $6-million cap hit. Toronto's right side currently features Tyson Barrie, Justin Holl, and Cody Ceci, but only Holl is signed beyond this season.

Minnesota drafted Dumba seventh overall in 2012, two picks after Toronto selected Morgan Rielly.

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Today is bounce-back day.

After sweeping the board Monday we settled for a 1-2 record Tuesday, thanks to an insanely frustrating finish in Buffalo.

We had some limited options with just two games on the schedule - something we definitely don't have to worry about Wednesday.

GOATs and scapegoats

Ryan O'Reilly played a starring role for the St. Louis Blues (+105) Tuesday, assisting on the game-tying goal in the third period, doing a masterful job on the penalty kill in overtime, and scoring a beauty in the shootout, helping us salvage a winning end to the night.

The reason we had to salvage something was because of a putrid Buffalo Sabres' penalty kill. The Ottawa Senators went 3-for-3 on the power play for the first time all season. We needed Jack Eichel to finish with a positive plus-minus, and he was on track to in the dying minutes, sitting at plus-one thanks to his goal. However, the Sabres were also losing late because of that pathetic excuse for a penalty kill, and Eichel was on the ice trying to tie the game when Ottawa scored into an empty net. Perfect.

Wednesday's bets

Nashville Predators/Washington Capitals over 6.5 (-105)

Alex Ovechkin returns to the ice tonight having served his one-game suspension for skipping the All-Star Game, and I'd imagine he's got a bit of an on-ice statement prepared. The Capitals can score in bunches and so can the Predators, who also struggle to keep pucks out of their net. The over is 5-0 in Nashville's last five games as underdogs, as well as 5-0 in the last five meetings between these teams.

Anaheim Ducks (+110)

The Arizona Coyotes were putting together a strong season but were largely flying under the radar as the small-market team they are. That all changed when Taylor Hall was acquired. The bandwagon started to fill up after the trade, but the Coyotes are just 7-8-1 since bringing in the former MVP. They've also lost four consecutive on the road (scoring just four goals) and six of their last seven. This is a team struggling to win and score outside of the desert, now facing one of the world's best goalies in the Ducks' John Gibson, who has remarkably better numbers in Anaheim this season.

Los Angeles Kings' team total under 2.5 (-120)

The game under could also be a play here, but there's always the risk of the Tampa Bay Lightning scoring six on their own. The Kings have scored two or fewer goals in six of their last eight home games and have been held to one or fewer in each of those games against teams of comparable skill level to Tampa. The Lightning are allowing just 1.8 goals per game in 2020 and the Kings are 30th in the NHL in goals scored all season. Trust Tampa's resurgence tonight in Los Angeles.

Best bet

Dallas Stars (-115)

The Toronto Maple Leafs' road numbers under Sheldon Keefe are impressive. They're 11-4 outside of Toronto since he took over, as well as 8-1 on the road against Western Conference teams. But the Stars are an entirely different beast. They're 16-5-1 at home since Oct. 18 and have some of the best underlying numbers in the NHL. They're a fundamentally sound hockey team that is more equipped to take advantage of the Leafs' defensive frailties.

As hard as it might be to overlook Toronto's road numbers, trust in the better team to get the job done tonight on home ice.

Trend of the night

The Vancouver Canucks have lost eight of their nine games against the San Jose Sharks in California over the last four seasons (including this one).

Even more remarkably, the Canucks have scored a meager 16 goals in those nine games, and just 11 in the eight losses. But how seriously should we take Vancouver's struggles in San Jose considering both teams are significantly different this season than they were over the last three? The Canucks are drastically improved and sitting atop the Pacific Division, while the Sharks, perennial Stanley Cup contenders, are near the basement of the Western Conference. Because of that I'm not putting as much stock into this trend, and it's a no-play for me.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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Edmonton Oilers forward Zack Kassian is downplaying the chance of fireworks in Wednesday's highly anticipated rematch with Matthew Tkachuk and the Calgary Flames.

"Hey, listen. I thought I got enough good shots in there," Kassian told Sportsnet's Mark Spector, referring to the last meeting between the two clubs.

"This isn't the 80s. We're not just going to line brawl. Look at the standings. It's going to be a hard-fought, intense game. But we really have to play between the lines."

After the Jan. 11 incident, Kassian - who received a two-game suspension - and Tkachuk got into a highly publicized war of words, and even though Kassian's stance appears to have mellowed, he won't pass up a chance to take a shot at his nemesis if it's within the rules.

"I thought, what happened on the ice, I handled it for the most part," Kassian said. "I got punishment, and that's that. Obviously we don't like each other. Obviously, if Tkachuk has the puck and I can hit him clean, I'm not going to pass on it, right? But that's the game of hockey. I don't think anyone is going to pass on a hit - especially in the Battle of Alberta."

The Oilers enter Wendesday's game one point back of the Flames for second place in the Pacific Division with two games in hand. The two clubs will face for a second time this week on Saturday night.

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