Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy left Saturday's game in the first period against the Montreal Canadiens with a lower-body injury and is not likely to return, the team announced.

McAvoy left the game just 37 seconds in after appearing to be tripped by Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher.

An injury of any severity would be a big blow to the Bruins as the 20-year-old sits second in team scoring among defensemen with 32 points in 58 games.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Steven Stamkos was red hot Saturday, as the Tampa Bay Lightning captain picked up a career-high five points in a 7-6 shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Stamkos wasn't the only member of the Lightning with the hot stick, either.

Linemate Nikita Kucherov, who returned to the lineup after a two-game absence, tallied three assists, including a perfect set up on a two-on-one break with Stamkos that fooled Flyers netminder Petr Mrazek.

Stamkos then added to his afternoon by sealing the shootout winner.

Tampa Bay blue-liner Victor Hedman also notched four points.

The Lightning's next game comes Tuesday against the Florida Panthers.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Dan Carcillo isn't happy with Gary Bettman's claim that the NHL is making an effort to address traumatic brain injuries.

The former pugilist criticized the commissioner for remarks he made when Sportsnet 960's Rob Kerr asked Bettman about concussions and the league's apparent lack of progress in addressing them.

The NHL is the only North American professional sports league that still denies a link between hits to the head and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease that has been known to cause depression and dementia.

Carcillo last played in the league with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2014-15.

He started a charity called Chapter 5 that aims to help players transition into life after hockey. The initiative was created in memory of Steve Montador, a former teammate of Carcillo's who was found dead at age 35 and subsequently diagnosed with CTE.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Wind or no wind, the show will go on as scheduled.

Saturday night's Stadium Series game between the Washington Capitals and the Toronto Maple Leafs at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md., will begin at the original start time of 8 p.m. ET, the NHL confirmed in the afternoon.

There's been some concern about windy conditions there this week. Friday's practices that were originally intended to be outdoors were moved inside and to other locations, and neither team took part in a morning skate on the open-air ice surface Saturday.

Winds gusted up to 80 mph Friday, but conditions improved significantly Saturday afternoon.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is ready to go.

The Edmonton Oilers forward is set to return to the lineup Saturday against the New York Rangers after missing 18 games with an upper-body injury, he confirmed to David Amber of Hockey Night in Canada.

In line rushes Saturday, Nugent-Hopkins was paired with wingers Mike Cammalleri and deadline addition Pontus Aberg.

In 46 games this season, Nugent-Hopkins has tallied 16 goals and 15 assists.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty has returned to Montreal for further evaluation after he sustained a lower-body injury against the New York Islanders on Friday.

The injury will keep Pacioretty out of the lineup for Saturday's contest against the Boston Bruins. It will mark the first game he has missed this season.

Pacioretty has recorded 17 goals and 20 assists in 64 games.

Also headed back to Montreal for evaluation is rookie defenseman Victor Mete, who injured his hand Friday.

Mete has tallied seven points in 49 games this year. He was also a key contributor in Canada's gold medal win at the world juniors.

No timetable has been announced on when either will return to the lineup.

The Canadiens sit third-last in the Eastern Conference with a 25-29-10 record in 64 games.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Nikita Kucherov is in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Tampa Bay Lightning superstar missed two games after suffering an injury his club would only classify as an "upper-body" ailment against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.

Kucherov is the NHL's points leader with 82 in 63 games.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Steve Mason is ready to return to game action and will get a chance to get back up to speed with a conditioning assignment with the AHL's Manitoba Moose.

The Winnipeg Jets netminder has been sidelined for the past 20 games due to a concussion. His last appearance came Jan. 9 against the Buffalo Sabres. It was the second head injury Mason has suffered this season.

No timetable has been announced on when Mason will rejoin the Jets, but conditioning assignments are only permissible for a maximum of two weeks.

Mason has posted a 3-6-1 record with a .897 save percentage in 11 games this season. He has not suited up for an AHL contest since 2008-09 when he appeared in three games with the Syracuse Crunch.

The 29-year-old is under contract through 2018-19, carrying a $4.1-million cap hit.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New York Rangers aren't playing for much anymore, but Henrik Lundqvist clearly hasn't given up on the season.

He made 50 saves on Friday night in a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames, becoming only the third goaltender in NHL history to make that many stops in consecutive appearances since shots on goal became an official statistic in 1955-56.

Legendary netminder Gump Worsley accomplished the feat with the Rangers in 1963 and Al Rollins did it with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1955.

Lundqvist also made 50 saves (albeit while allowing five goals) in a 6-5 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.