With Brian Elliott ruled out five-to-six weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery, Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall is prepared to ride Michal Neuvirth rather than look to add a goalie prior to the trade deadline.

That's the immediate plan, at least.

"Well, the deadline is two weeks away. I guess things can change between now and then, but we like our team, we like what we've done. In saying that, we've got to keep going here, we've got to keep pushing," Hextall said Tuesday.

"Neuvy is very capable, again, he's played some real good games for us this year, some other ones that haven't been that great, but if he can get on a roll here and get some consistency and do a good job for us, we will be fine."

Heading into Tuesday's game against New Jersey, the Flyers sat third in the Metropolitan Division, with a five-point cushion in the race for a playoff spot.

Hextall added Alex Lyon may be called upon to play, but with points so precious at this point in the season, he reiterated the hope is Neuvirth will step up in Elliott's absence.

In 18 appearances this season, Neuvirth has posted a record of 7-7-2 with a .917 save percentage.

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

Seattle appears to be one step closer to housing the next NHL expansion team.

Oak View Group Seattle submitted its application for an NHL expansion franchise, Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan announced on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the NHL also confirmed it had received the application, according to Chris Daniels of K5 News.

The application includes a down payment of $10 million, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Related: Is the name of Seattle's potential NHL team on this list of website domains?

Seattle has been under serious consideration for expansion by the NHL ever since it was announced that OVG plans to redevelop KeyArena back in December.

The next steps for the group will be a review of the application, a submission of additional information, league due diligence, review with the Executive Committee, and a recommendation to the Board, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

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

John Tortorella is a man of few words. But, when he chooses to string a few together, it's usually worth paying attention.

Such was the case Tuesday when Torts was asked his opinion on the upcoming men's Olympic hockey tournament.

"I'm not for going to the Olympics, as far as pro athletes. We have a bunch of money stuffed in our back pockets," Tortorella said, according to Steve Gorten of the Columbus Dispatch.

"You might go over and play for a few days here ... but I don't think it's the true meaning of Olympics. A lot of people disagree with me but I've always felt that way."

Tortorella has previously been behind the bench internationally for Team USA, serving as an assistant for the 2008 World Championship and as head coach for the 2016 World Cup, but has never coached in the Olympics.

However, he is obviously not a fan of having current NHL players take part, a fact that he reiterated Tuesday.

"It should be all amateur athletes," said Tortorella, per Gorten.

The men's portion of the Olympic hockey tournament kicks off on Wednesday.

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

The Dallas Stars should have defenseman Marc Methot back in the lineup on Friday when the club takes on the St. Louis Blues.

"Unless he has a setback, he is good to go Friday," head coach Ken Hitchcock said, according to Mark Stepneski of Inside Edge.

The 32-year-old has been out since Jan. 4 and has missed 41 games overall this season with a knee injury, but is on pace to return after missing the team's last 15 contests.

"I feel okay. It's been really long. I've never dealt with anything like this before, so it is just something I've had to be patient with," Methot said. "I'm here working my tail off every day, so I'm hoping that when I do come back, I'll be prepared and well-conditioned."

Methot has been limited to just 16 games - having gone pointless - since being plucked from the Ottawa Senators by the Vegas Golden Knights during the expansion draft before he was flipped to the Stars.

If practice lines stay true, Methot will slot in on the third pairing alongside Stephen Johns.

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

The Dallas Stars should have defenseman Marc Methot back in the lineup on Friday when the club takes on the St. Louis Blues.

"Unless he has a setback, he is good to go Friday," head coach Ken Hitchcock said, according to Mark Stepneski of Inside Edge.

The 32-year-old has been out since Jan. 4 and has missed 41 games overall this season with a knee injury, but is on pace to return after missing the team's last 15 contests.

"I feel okay. It's been really long. I've never dealt with anything like this before, so it is just something I've had to be patient with," Methot said. "I'm here working my tail off every day, so I'm hoping that when I do come back, I'll be prepared and well-conditioned."

Methot has been limited to just 16 games - having gone pointless - since being plucked from the Ottawa Senators by the Vegas Golden Knights during the expansion draft before he was flipped to the Stars.

If practice lines stay true, Methot will slot in on the third pairing alongside Stephen Johns.

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

The Montreal Canadiens have signed goaltender Charlie Lindgren to a three-year contract extension, the club announced Tuesday.

It's a one-way agreement and will kick in July 1, keeping him with Montreal through the 2020-21 season.

Lindgren was signed as a free agent in 2015 and has played 11 games over the last three seasons, posting a 6-4-1 record with a .929 save percentage.

The 24-year-old has spent this season with the AHL's Laval Rocket where he's gone 7-13-1 with a 3.15 goals-against average and .893 save percentage.

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

The Montreal Canadiens have signed goaltender Charlie Lindgren to a three-year contract extension, the club announced Tuesday.

It's a one-way agreement and will kick in July 1, keeping him with Montreal through the 2020-21 season.

Lindgren was signed as a free agent in 2015 and has played 11 games over the last three seasons, posting a 6-4-1 record with a .929 save percentage.

The 24-year-old has spent this season with the AHL's Laval Rocket where he's gone 7-13-1 with a 3.15 goals-against average and .893 save percentage.

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

Philadelphia Flyers netminder Brian Elliott will miss the next five-to-six weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery Tuesday, the team announced.

Elliott was injured during a shootout win Saturday over the Arizona Coyotes. He played the entire 65 minutes and faced the first two shootout skaters before taking Clayton Keller's stick to the mask in the third round and falling awkwardly.

With Elliott now out for the majority of the playoff drive, the Flyers' postseason hopes lay in the hands of career backup Michal Neuvirth, who will temporarily form a tandem with Alex Lyon who was recalled from Philadelphia's AHL affiliate Tuesday.

In Elliott's first season with the Flyers, he's posted a respectable 21-11-7 record go along with a 2.72 goals-against average and .908 save percentage through 41 games.

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

Philadelphia Flyers netminder Brian Elliott will miss the next five-to-six weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery Tuesday, the team announced.

Elliott was injured during a shootout win Saturday over the Arizona Coyotes. He played the entire 65 minutes and faced the first two shootout skaters before taking Clayton Keller's stick to the mask in the third round and falling awkwardly.

With Elliott now out for the majority of the playoff drive, the Flyers' postseason hopes lay in the hands of career backup Michal Neuvirth, who will temporarily form a tandem with Alex Lyon who was recalled from Philadelphia's AHL affiliate Tuesday.

In Elliott's first season with the Flyers, he's posted a respectable 21-11-7 record go along with a 2.72 goals-against average and .908 save percentage through 41 games.

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

Vancouver Canucks forward Markus Granlund's ankle injury is severe enough to warrant surgery to repair it, head coach Travis Green said Tuesday.

Related: Canucks' Markus Granlund out at least a month with ankle injury

Granlund was injured last week during Vancouver's loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning when he landed awkwardly on his ankle after getting hit along the boards by Ryan Callahan.

The Finnish centerman hasn't played since last Thursday against Tampa, and despite the severity of the injury and pending surgery, Green isn't ready to rule out Granlund for the remainder of the season.

Granlund has registered eight goals and four assists in 53 games played.

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