Nashville Predators forward Ryan Johansen was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for spearing Vancouver Canucks defenseman Erik Gudbranson between the legs Friday night.

Here's a look at the incident:

From the footage, it appears Johansen intentionally lifts his stick into Gudbranson's sensitive area. Ouch.

Johansen isn't a repeat offender, but it's not out of the question he could receive supplementary discipline from the Department of Player Safety for his actions.

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Don't look now, but the Florida Panthers are red hot and narrowing the Columbus Blue Jackets' lead for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

With their 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres Friday night, the Panthers have won five straight games, and are now 12-3-0 since the All-Star break. As of now, the cats are a point out of a playoff spot:

*Note: Blue Jackets are in action Friday night in Anaheim

Even if the Blue Jackets are victorious Friday night, the Panthers will be no more than three points out of the second wild-card spot with three games in hand, and with the ROW (regulation plus overtime wins) tiebreaker in their back pocket.

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Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty left Friday's game against the New York Islanders with a lower-body injury and did not return.

Pacioretty fell awkwardly in the offensive zone during the second period and was seen soon after walking down the tunnel to the locker room. It was later announced he would not return.

This season has been a huge disappointment for both the Canadiens and Pacioretty, as the team is languishing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and the captain has only 37 points in 64 games.

Unfortunately for Montreal fans, the bad injury news didn't stop there, as defenseman Victor Mete was also hurt and did not return.

Head coach Claude Julien told reporters postgame that Mete suffered a hand injury and will be sent back to Montreal tomorrow once the team arrives in Boston. As for Patches, his injury is considered less serious and will be re-evaluated on Monday, according to Arpon Basu of The Athletic.

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A Calgary judge has dismissed a $10.25-million lawsuit against former Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman, TSN's Rick Westhead reports.

The suit, filed by NHL referee Don Henderson, came in response to an on-ice incident in January 2016 when Wideman hit Henderson from behind:

Wideman was suspended 20 games as a result of the incident. An appeal later reduced it to a 10-game ban.

By the time the appeal was announced, Wideman had served 19 games, and was subsequently compensated for the lost games.

Henderson has not officiated since the incident, while his suit claims he now suffers from a host of neck, back, and shoulder injuries, in addition to headaches, anxiety, and depression. Henderson was concussed on the play.

According to Westhead, the judge ruled that the case should be dealt with by an NHL arbitrator.

Wideman, 34, is an unrestricted free agent.

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He's back.

Mike Fisher will make his season debut with the Nashville Predators on Friday, just seven months after he had announced his retirement.

The former Predators captain called it quits after the team's run to the Stanley Cup Final last season.

In late January, Fisher announced his comeback. He officially signed with the team prior to the Feb. 26 trade deadline, a move that keeps him under contract for the remainder of the season.

Fisher, 37, tallied 42 points in 72 games with Nashville last season.

As for the Predators, the team has won six games in a row, and will look to make it seven against Vancouver.

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The NHL season has entered the stretch drive.

With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, the schedule has reached its most critical point, as teams in both conferences claw for final playoff positions.

Here's how the coming schedule breaks down for 10 teams on the bubble:

Eastern Conference

Columbus Blue Jackets (32-27-5, 69 Points)

Games remaining: 18

Series records:

• vs. Metropolitan Division: 12-10-3
• vs. Eastern Conference: 22-17-4
• vs. Western Conference: 10-10-1
• vs. Hurricanes: 3-1-0
• vs. Panthers: 2-0-0 (Mar. 22 vs. FLA)
• vs. Islanders: 3-1-0

Carolina Hurricanes (28-25-11, 67 Points)

Games remaining: 18

Series records:

• vs. Metropolitan Division: 7-8-5
• vs. Eastern Conference: 18-15-6
• vs. Western Conference: 10-10-5
• vs. Blue Jackets: 2-0-2
• vs. Panthers: 2-0-0 (Apr. 2 @ FLA)
• vs. Islanders: 1-2-0 (Mar. 18 @ NYI)

Florida Panthers (30-25-6, 66 Points)

Games remaining: 21

Series records:

• vs. Atlantic Division: 9-5-1
• vs. Eastern Conference: 17-12-5
• vs. Western Conference: 13-13-1
• vs. Blue Jackets: 0-1-1 (Mar. 22 @ CBJ)
• vs. Hurricanes: 0-1-1 (Apr. 2 vs. CAR)
• vs. Islanders: 1-0-1 (Mar. 26 @ NYI)

New York Islanders (29-28-7, 65 Points)

Games remaining: 18

Series records:

• vs. Metropolitan Division: 10-9-1
• vs. Eastern Conference: 17-19-2
• vs. Western Conference: 12-9-5
• vs. Blue Jackets: 1-3-0
• vs. Hurricanes: 2-1-0 (Mar. 18 vs. CAR)
• vs. Panthers: 1-1-0 (Mar. 26 vs. FLA)

Western Conference

Los Angeles Kings (36-24-5, 77 Points)

Games remaining: 17

Series records:

• vs. Pacific Division: 10-10-3
• vs. Western Conference: 17-15-4
• vs. Eastern Conference: 19-9-1
• vs. Stars: 1-1-0 (Apr. 7 vs. DAL)
• vs. Ducks: 2-2-0 (Mar. 30 @ ANA)
• vs. Blues: 1-1-0 (Mar. 10 vs. STL)
• vs. Avalanche: 1-0-0 (Mar. 22 @ COL, Apr. 2 vs. COL)
• vs. Flames: 1-1-1 (Mar. 26 vs. CGY)

Dallas Stars (36-23-5, 77 Points)

Games remaining: 18

Series records:

• vs. Central Division: 10-11-0
• vs. Western Conference: 22-18-0
• vs. Eastern Conference: 14-5-5
• vs. Kings: 1-1-0 (Apr. 7 @ LAK)
• vs. Ducks: 0-1-0 (Mar. 9 vs. ANA, Apr. 6 @ ANA)
• vs. Blues: 2-2-0 (Mar. 3 vs. STL)
• vs. Avalanche: 2-3-0
• vs. Flames: 3-0-0

Anaheim Ducks (31-21-12, 74 Points)

Games remaining: 18

Series records:

• vs. Pacific Division: 10-6-7
• vs. Western Conference: 16-11-9
• vs. Eastern Conference: 15-10-3
• vs. Kings: 2-0-2 (Mar. 30 vs. LAK)
• vs. Stars: 1-0-0 (Mar. 9 @ DAL, Apr. 6 vs. DAL)
• vs. Blues: 2-0-0 (Mar. 12 vs. STL)
• vs. Avalanche: 0-2-0 (Apr. 1 vs. COL)
• vs. Flames: 1-2-0 (Mar. 21 @ CGY)

St. Louis Blues (35-26-4, 74 Points)

Games remaining: 17

Series records:

• vs. Central Division: 9-9-2
• vs. Western Conference: 17-17-3
• vs. Eastern Conference: 18-9-1
• vs. Kings: 0-2-0 (Mar. 10 @ LAK)
• vs. Stars: 3-1-0 (Mar. 3 @ DAL)
• vs. Ducks: 0-2-0 (Mar. 12 @ ANA)
• vs. Avalanche: 3-0-0 (Mar. 15 vs. COL, Apr. 7 @ COL)
• vs. Flames: 1-2-0

Colorado Avalanche (34-24-5, 73 Points)

Games remaining: 19

Series records:

• vs. Central Division: 7-9-1
• vs. Western Conference: 16-14-4
• vs. Eastern Conference: 18-10-1
• vs. Kings: 0-0-1 (Mar. 22 vs. LAK, Apr. 2 @ LAK)
• vs. Stars: 3-2-0
• vs. Ducks: 2-0-0 (Apr. 1 @ ANA)
• vs. Blues: 0-3-0 (Mar. 15 @ STL, Apr. 7 vs. STL)
• vs. Flames: 1-2-0

Calgary Flames (32-24-9, 73 Points)

Games remaining: 17

Series records:

• vs. Pacific Division: 9-7-3
• vs. Western Conference: 20-14-15
• vs. Eastern Conference: 12-10-4
• vs. Kings: 2-0-1 (Mar. 26 @ LAK)
• vs. Stars: 0-3-0
• vs. Ducks: 2-1-0 (Mar. 21 vs. ANA)
• vs. Blues: 2-1-0
• vs. Avalanche: 2-1-0

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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Gary Bettman made it clear he wasn't trying to directly threaten the Calgary Flames on Friday, but he continued to insist the club's apparent financial woes are only getting worse.

The NHL commissioner once again said during a visit to Calgary that he believes the Flames require a new arena above all else, even though neither the team nor the city has shown a desire to resume negotiations.

"I'm not here to issue any threats," Bettman said, via TSN. "It's clear that this is the oldest building in the league. It's clear that the team needs a new building. Calgary's a great market, (there are) great fans here, but the building is as important a factor as anything else."

The Flames will remain at the Scotiabank Saddledome, which is indeed the NHL's oldest unrenovated building, for the foreseeable future after the team decided to stop pursuing a new arena last September.

Nothing has apparently changed on that front.

"We completely concur with the position that the Flames have assumed because I don't see any point either in there being any talks," Bettman said.

The commissioner also reiterated a familiar refrain that Calgary was once a team with a surplus of revenue but is now a revenue-sharing recipient.

"(It) used to write a cheque for revenue sharing, but for the last couple of years, they have been receiving cheques," he said. "The cheques are getting bigger, which means the situation financially continues to deteriorate, and that will affect ultimately the competitiveness of the organization, but they have said they're going to do the best they can for as long as they can."

Both the club and the city traded barbs last year over the various proposals made during the discussions, which ended after months of negotiating both privately and through the media.

In September, Bettman said, "At some point, I envision without a new building there will be consequences that everybody is going to have to deal with."

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Mike Babcock doesn't even want to think about the possibility that the Stadium Series game between his Toronto Maple Leafs and the Washington Capitals might be jeopardized by the weather.

"(On Saturday,) we're gonna get up, there's going to be no wind and we're going to have a good game (Saturday) night. That's just the way it's gonna be," the Leafs head coach told reporters Friday, according to The Athletic's Jonas Siegel.

"These things have a way of working themselves out," Babcock added, via Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press.

On Thursday afternoon, both the Capitals and Maple Leafs cancelled their Friday outdoor practices originally scheduled for the ice surface at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md., opting to move them indoors.

The high winds did indeed arrive Friday, gusting up to 80 mph, per TSN's Kristen Shilton.

The Capitals took the ice instead at their usual practice facility, the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va., while the Leafs held their session at McMullen Ice Arena in Annapolis, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.

While Babcock didn't seem fazed by the potential conditions, Toronto forward Mitch Marner appeared to be a little more concerned.

"It's not going to feel good on your body," he said, according to Whyno.

There is a high-wind warning in effect for the area, but as of now, it's only in effect until 6 a.m. ET on Saturday.

The game is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

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