Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jared Boll will have a hearing Thursday for interference on Philadelphia Flyers forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Wednesday.

Boll caught Bellemare with a late, high hit early in the second period of Tuesday's game. Boll received a five-minute major and a game misconduct on the play.

Bellemare appeared to escape serious injury, as he remained in the game.

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The New York Islanders signed goaltender Eamon McAdam to a three-year, entry-level contract Wednesday.

The 21-year-old is coming off his third season with Pennsylvania State University, where he compiled a record of 13-8-1 with a .913 save percentage and a 2.98 goals-against average.

McAdam - who was drafted by the Islanders 70th overall in 2013 - will join the club's American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and finish the season on an amateur tryout.

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Not everyone was celebrating after the Washington Capitals ensured themselves a playoff berth Wednesday night.

Related: Capitals clinch Metropolitan Division, No. 1 seed in Eastern Conference

"We weren't the better team tonight, and that was pretty evident," goaltender Braden Holtby told reporters following a 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post.

"Got some goals, finished early. It was kind of the opposite of what we've been doing lately (by having) a good start and (tailing) off (for) the rest of the game. I think we're all kind of sick of the way we've played at times (for) the last couple of months. You can tell it's starting to turn, just everyone's realizing we have kind of hit that bottom. Tonight, you could kind of tell. That's where we turn around now."

The Capitals had allowed the first goal in seven of their previous eight games, but they jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the first intermission Tuesday. The Senators made a game of it in the final 40 minutes, cutting the deficit to one before T.J. Oshie's empty-netter.

"We know we haven't played as well as we've needed to," Washington head coach Barry Trotz said. "We've got some work to do, there's no question. But we haven't played a real meaningful game for a while here."

Securing home-ice advantage doesn't mean much, as far as Nicklas Backstrom is concerned.

"It's nice to be a No. 1 seed in the East, but at the same time, it doesn't really matter, to be honest with you," the center said. "It's nice to start at home, but it's so tough. We've seen many times before that the No. 8 seed is as good as the No. 1 seed. ... We have 10 really important games. We haven't played our best hockey since after Christmas, so we have some areas we have to get better on and make sure we play a full 60-minute game."

The Capitals still hold the NHL's best record and goal differential by a comfortable margin, and haven't lost consecutive games in regulation all season.

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The Chicago Blackhawks appear to be limping towards the finish line as the regular season concludes.

The club was dismantled 6-2 at the hands of the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, marking Chicago's sixth loss in its last seven games. However, with eyes still on a Stanley Cup repeat, the team remains confident it can hit the brakes on the current skid.

"Hopefully we can look back on this and say, 'It's better it happened now than in a month or so,'" Patrick Kane told Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago. "But we have to shake out of it.

"It seems to be the same old story where we get behind and we're playing catch-up the rest of the game."

The Blackhawks have averaged just two goals a game over their last seven contests, and while they may have come up just short on two occasions - losing two games to the shootout - captain Jonathan Toews doesn't think they can wait for their luck to improve.

"You can't blame it on bad luck," said Toews. "You just need to work through some of these games we're not getting the bounces."

The Blackhawks are sure to be back in the playoffs for the eighth straight season, and maybe then things will start to turn around. The team has been the picture of postseason success, winning three Cups while amassing a playoff record of 73-44 since the 2008-09 season.

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Who's the NHL's best left-winger - Alex Ovechkin or Jamie Benn? Cast your vote on the banner below.

C | LW | RW (3/23) | D (3/24) | G (3/25)

Alex Ovechkin is the NHL's best left-winger

Project his statistics for the lockout shortened 2012-13 campaign out over 82 games and Ovechkin would have finished with 54 goals. That would give him three consecutive seasons of 50-plus goals - no other player's put together a 50-goal campaign in that span. Still at the top of his game at age 30, Ovechkin's on pace to win his fourth consecutive Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the league's leading goal-scorer. Unlike Benn, whose rise to fame has been flanked by an All-Star centerman, Ovechkin's ascent to stardom has been less reliant on the quality of his linemates.

Jamie Benn is the NHL's best left-winger

Playing alongside Tyler Seguin has certainly helped propel Benn's game to new heights, but his skill set as a goal-scorer, playmaker, and physical force are undeniable. He's a throwback to a dying breed: a true power forward. A powerful skater with a big frame, Benn contributes at both ends of the ice, using his body to separate opposing players from the puck and create offense from defense. He's been better than a point-per-game player for the Stars over the last three seasons, and at 26 years of age, is only now entering his prime.

Who do you think is the NHL's best left-winger - Alex Ovechkin or Jamie Benn? Cast your vote on the banner below.

Related: Harden v Thompson: Who's the NBA's best shooting guard?

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Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' nightmare season continued Tuesday night in the desert.

The forward was forced from the Edmonton Oilers' game against the Arizona Coyotes with an undisclosed injury, the club announced.

The 22-year-old took a high stick in the first period but was able to stay in the game, but was rocked by a big hit later in the game, with Connor Murphy nailing him with a shoulder to the head.

Injuries have derailed Nugent-Hopkins' fifth season. He went into Tuesday's game with 33 points in 51 games. He played 9:20.

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