Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly interview-style podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's national hockey writer.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Spotify.

Former NHL goalie and Vegas Golden Knights TV analyst Mike McKenna joins this week's show to discuss a variety of topics, including:

• That one time the team bus caught on fire
• If we should be labelling goalies "weird"
• The lost art of the poke check
• Golden Knights' recent coaching change
• Watching Marc-Andre Fleury up close

...and more!

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New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider will take teammate Artemi Panarin's place at the upcoming All-Star festivities in St. Louis, the NHL announced.

Panarin missed Tuesday's loss to the New York Islanders with an upper-body injury.

The Rangers superstar ranks among the league leaders in goals and points this season with 26 and 68, respectively, through 47 contests.

Panarin's in his first campaign with New York after inking a seven-year deal worth a reported $81.5 million as an unrestricted free agent back on July 1.

Kreider, a pending UFA himself, has collected 17 goals and 32 points in 48 games in 2019-20.

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New York Islanders star Mathew Barzal was benched for the majority of the third period of Tuesday's contest versus the New York Rangers for putting individual play ahead of the team, head coach Barry Trotz confirmed, per The Athletic's Arthur Staple.

Barzal had one 40 second shift in the final frame, and he sat for nearly 18 minutes as the Isles secured a 4-2 victory over their in-state rivals.

The 22-year-old had two assists in the first half of the game and drew some eyeballs on the highlight reel for a through-the-legs attempt that was thwarted by Rangers netminder Alexandar Georgiev.

The benching doesn't appear to be any sort of grand controversy, as Trotz said he was "ecstatic" the club secured two points in its final game before a break that extends until Feb. 1.

Barzal's recorded 42 points in 49 games this season, and he's headed to St. Louis for the All-Star Game this weekend.

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It's been quite a few years since Joel Quenneville found himself behind the visitors' bench at the United Center.

The Florida Panthers head coach is looking forward to Tuesday's matchup in Chicago, his first game there since serving as Blackhawks bench boss from 2008 until his dismissal in November 2018.

"I think it's going to be a fun night. The memories are so great - the moments, the people, the staff, the organization," Quenneville told NBC Sports Chicago.

He added, "You couldn't ask for a better 10 years of our life, or our coaching experience, or our families, or the opportunity to work with some of the best players to ever play the game."

Quenneville is the only coach in franchise history to capture multiple Stanley Cups, having won in 2010, 2013, and 2015. His 452 regular-season wins with the Blackhawks rank second in club history.

"Chicago's a special place to play and we had one of those memorable runs," said Quenneville, who previously served as head coach of the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche. "It was a privilege to be there. The franchise was the team of the decade and was very deserving."

When asked what he remembers most from his time with Chicago, Quenneville said it was the journey to each championship.

"Obviously the championships were significant achievements, and when you look back how each one was accomplished and how hard they were," the 61-year-old said. "All the things - the ups and downs of winning each one were the things that stand out the most."

In his first year with Florida, Quenneville has led the Panthers to a 27-16-5 record. The team occupies third place in the Atlantic Division entering Tuesday's action.

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The American Hockey League has suspended Bakersfield Condors defenseman Brandon Manning for five games for directing a racial slur towards an opponent during Monday's game against the Ontario Reign.

The Condors are the AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers, while the Reign are the Los Angeles Kings' top farm team.

More to come.

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Drew Doughty isn't accustomed to losing.

The Los Angeles Kings defenseman has won two Stanley Cups, a pair of Olympic gold medals, a World Cup, and world junior gold. He made the playoffs in seven of his first 10 NHL seasons and never missed the postseason in his three campaigns with the OHL's Guelph Storm.

Now, Doughty finds himself on a rebuilding Kings squad in jeopardy of a last-place finish in the Western Conference for the second consecutive season. They entered Tuesday two points back of the Anaheim Ducks for second-last in the West.

"It’s frustrating," he told The Athletic's Lisa Dillman. "Being one of the top guys, I never expected to be (in this position). I always expected that I would be able to help push my team to a playoff spot every single year. But now back-to-back years, being in last place, it’s been stressful and depressing a little bit.

"Sometimes you’ve got to sit back and realize you don’t have the team you once had."

The Kings won Cups in 2012 and 2014. They earned playoff berths in 2016 and 2018, but since then, the club has tried to shift toward a youth movement. Doughty, who is in his first season of an eight-year, $88-million extension signed in July 2018, is in it for the long haul.

"There are times when you see really good things and you can see we’re getting better," he said. “The bottom line is we need to play a full 60 minutes and we didn’t play well (against the Panthers). You didn’t see a full 60 minutes. Vegas, we didn’t play well for two periods. Carolina was a good 60 minutes even though we lost.

“Tampa was ups and downs too. We need to figure out how to play a full 60 minutes. When we have the lead, we need to learn how to (protect) the lead. I know we’ve got a young team, so maybe it’s a little harder now."

While several players from the two Cup-winning teams remain, general manager Rob Blake, who took over in April 2017, has begun putting his imprint on the roster. He dealt defenseman Jake Muzzin to the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, and both Tyler Toffoli and Alec Martinez are rumored to be on the trade block.

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