Oilers’ Draisaitl records 1st power-play point of season

Good things come to those who wait.

Oilers star Leon Draisaitl picked up his first power-play point of the season - an assist - against the Canadiens Saturday night.

Draisaitl had 27 points with the man advantage last season - an average of one every 3.037 games. This season, it took him until his 25th game to notch his first.

Despite the struggles with the man advantage, Edmonton's $68-million man sat tied for 22nd in the league in even-strength points with 19 heading into Saturday's game.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Price pulled after allowing 4 goals on 14 shots

Right now, Carey Price can't stop a beach ball.

The Montreal Canadiens netminder was pulled Saturday night in the second period against the Edmonton Oilers after allowing four goals on 14 shots in just over 20 minutes of ice time.

Backup goalie extraordinaire Antti Niemi replaced Price 2:24 into the second stanza.

After returning from injury on Nov. 22, Price racked up five consecutive wins while registering a .962 save percentage. In the three games since, Price has looked shaky while allowing 11 goals and earning two losses.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Blue Jackets’ Atkinson a healthy scratch vs. Coyotes

Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson will be a healthy scratch Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes, head coach John Tortorella told reporters, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.

Atkinson had a breakout year in 2016-17, tallying a career-high 35 goals and 62 points. This season has been a different story, as he's mustered just six goals and nine points in 25 games.

Tortorella insists the decision is in his best interest.

"For me, it's not a tough call," Tortorella said, according to Brian Hedger of BlueJackets.com. "Cam's a very important guy. If we're going to have any sniff at all of having a chance to play and keep playing, he has to be a huge part of it.

"I know people get all jittery about it. I look at this as part of the process to getting him back. Do you want to go down this road? No. As I've said many times. It's easy to sit a guy out, but you've got to go through the other processes to try to help him. I think I'm helping him. You may think I'm crazy, but I do feel I'm helping Cam, and I'm going to continue to try and help him. I'll put it to you that way."

The benching comes less than a month after the 28-year-old signed a seven-year contract extension with a $5.875-million annual cap hit.

Sonny Milano is expected to take Atkinson's spot in the lineup.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Blue Jackets’ Atkinson a healthy scratch vs. Coyotes

Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson will be a healthy scratch Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes, head coach John Tortorella told reporters, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.

Atkinson had a breakout year in 2016-17, tallying a career-high 35 goals and 62 points. This season has been a different story, as he's mustered just six goals and nine points in 25 games.

Tortorella insists the decision is in his best interest.

"For me, it's not a tough call," Tortorella said, according to Brian Hedger of BlueJackets.com. "Cam's a very important guy. If we're going to have any sniff at all of having a chance to play and keep playing, he has to be a huge part of it.

"I know people get all jittery about it. I look at this as part of the process to getting him back. Do you want to go down this road? No. As I've said many times. It's easy to sit a guy out, but you've got to go through the other processes to try to help him. I think I'm helping him. You may think I'm crazy, but I do feel I'm helping Cam, and I'm going to continue to try and help him. I'll put it to you that way."

The benching comes less than a month after the 28-year-old signed a seven-year contract extension with a $5.875-million annual cap hit.

Sonny Milano is expected to take Atkinson's spot in the lineup.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Canadiens’ Drouin returns after 4-game absence

Jonathan Drouin will return to the Montreal Canadiens' lineup Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers after missing three games with a lower-body injury and an additional game with an illness, the team announced.

The illness apparently wasn't pretty:

Drouin had two goals and two assists in his last three games prior to the illness, so he'll look to pick up where he left off come puck drop.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

X-rays negative on Schwartz after blocked shot

Take a deep sigh of relief, Blues fans.

Jaden Schwartz left Saturday's game against the Red Wings with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot in the first period and didn't return. Fortunately, X-rays came back negative, though he'll be re-evaluated once the Blues return to St. Louis, the team announced.

Schwartz is in the midst of a breakout season, with 14 goals and 35 points in 30 games - both of which rank second on the team.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Avalanche’s Jost, Girard unlikely to play at WJHC

Canada's world junior team is unlikely to get a helping hand from the Colorado Avalanche.

Both Tyson Jost - who suited up for Canada last year - and Samuel Girard are eligible to play in this year's tournament, and while neither have discussed being loaned to the team with general manager Joe Sakic, head coach Jared Bednar insists he would oppose the decision.

"It's not up to me, but if it were I'd say no. They're part of our team and we need them," Bednar said, according to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post.

The other big factor is that neither player has discussed playing for Canada - who named their selection camp roster Wednesday - and while it would be an honor, Jost admits he's focused on playing with the Avalanche.

"I’m just getting in my groove after being hurt so long," Jost said. "I want to be here. Hockey Canada, whenever you can represent your country, it's such an honor. I had my chance last year. Right now, honestly, I'm just focusing on playing on the Avs, focusing on earning the coach's trust and put up numbers. Obviously, I haven't been doing that and I'm trying not to get frustrated because I'm getting my chances and getting that opportunity. It will come. That's what I'm focused on right now and just getting in this rhythm."

Last year, Jost scored one goal and four points en route to a silver medal. This year, he's put up a goal and an assist in 11 games with the Avalanche, while Girard has five points in 18 combined games with the Avalanche and Nashville Predators.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Golden Knights apologize for claiming Predators’ media cheered in press box

For the second time this season, the Vegas Golden Knights apologized for a tweet that was in poor taste.

On Friday night versus the Nashville Predators, the Golden Knights' Twitter account tweeted that when the Predators scored, media members covering the team began clapping.

The tweet was soon deleted, but not before Jim Diamond of the Professional Hockey Writers Association took exception, demanding an apology and retraction of the tweet on behalf of the Nashville media.

He sent this note to the Golden Knights's media relations department:

I'm writing this on behalf of the Professional Hockey Writers Association chapter of Nashville as well as our entire media corps. We take exception to the irresponsible tweet copied below. It's disrespectful to our credentialed media and we would like a public apology and retraction from the Golden Knights' Twitter account.

Claiming that media is cheering in the press box is a serious issue for journalists, as it can bring up questions regarding their ability to remain fair and unbiased.

The Golden Knights apologized for the tweet Saturday:

The team previously apologized for tweeting out a fake Boston Bruins roster including all girl names in a play on a joke from the movie "Ted," ahead of their game against the club Oct. 15.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Watch: Goalie pushes net off pegs during breakaway … again

David Leggio is back to his old tricks.

The former AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers goalie - who was made famous for pushing the net off its pegs in 2014 when he was suddenly faced with a 2-on-0 in order to face a single shooter in a penalty shot - pulled off the cheeky move once again Saturday.

Now playing with Munich EHC in Germany, Leggio once again pushed the net off its pegs as a player broke in on a breakaway.

Leggio's move in 2014 resulted in a rule change, as goalies who now push the net off on purpose during a breakaway receive game misconducts. It will be interesting to see if the German league follows suit.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Julien on Galchenyuk: ‘You never give up on your players’

From the poorhouse to the penthouse.

When the Montreal Canadiens face off against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, they'll do with some new line combinations at the ready.

Among the changes made by coach Claude Julien, forward Alex Galchenyuk will climb to the team's top line alongside Andrew Shaw and Jonathan Drouin.

It should mean a busier night for Galchenyuk, who was limited to a season-low 9:18 of ice time in Thursday's overtime loss to the Calgary Flames.

It marked the second-straight night in which Galchenyuk was held off the scoresheet. Saturday's boost up the lineup is surely a move to get more offense from Galchenyuk, who just three games ago picked up four assists in the Canadiens' 10-1 romp over the Detroit Red Wings.

"We know he's a good player. We know he's got skill ... You never give up on your players," Julien told reporters Friday, courtesy of TSN. "We know that Alex is a young player still. You look at his age and because he played as an underager, if you want to put it that way, we think we expect more, but I think there is still some untapped potential there."

Galchenyuk's status with the Canadiens has seemingly been up in the air since the offseason, when a report indicated he was on the Canadiens' trade block following the acquisition of Drouin.

Adding more fuel to the fire, Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin stated earlier this season that Galchenyuk, a natural center, will spend his time on the wing until he can grasp the responsibilities of playing up the middle of the ice.

The Canadiens drafted Galchenyuk with the third overall pick in 2012.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Remember, we are all Canucks!