Micheal Ferland's breakout season has hit a speed bump.

The Calgary Flames left winger will miss Sunday's game against Los Angeles while under observation for mumps, the team announced.

Several players around the league have been diagnosed with mumps in recent weeks, most notably in Vancouver and Minnesota.

Ferland's recorded 14 goals and seven assists in 67 games this season, and will be replaced in the lineup by Curtis Lazar, who'll make his debut with the Flames.

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Before maturing into one of the NHL's finest producers, Brad Marchand's name was in headlines among the hockey community generally for the wrong reasons.

Now in the midst of his best professional campaign, the Boston Bruins super pest-turned-offensive dynamo has caught the attention of the NHL world for crafting a flat-out incredible season.

On Sunday afternoon, Marchand sits in second place in the ever-changing NHL scoring race, one point behind Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. His 37 goals trail only Crosby, and since the calendar flipped to 2017, no player has been more productive.

In 32 games since Jan. 1, Marchand leads the league with 27 goals and 48 points, naturally thrusting his name into the mix for the "Rocket" Richard, Art Ross and perhaps even the Hart Trophy.

However, an MVP award isn't on Marchand's mind.

"I'm not even paying attention to any of it," Marchand told CSNNE's Joe Haggerty. "We're at the end of the season, and that's so important. That's the only thing that matters right now."

Marchand and the Bruins are looking to snap a two-year absence from the postseason, and currently hold a three-point cushion for third place in the Atlantic Division heading into Monday's pivotal clash with the pressing Toronto Maple Leafs.

Toronto coach Mike Babcock, who slotted Marchand alongside Crosby and Patrice Bergeron at the World Cup in September to galvanize No. 63's coming-out party, believes Marchand deserves to be recognized as one of the game's top forwards.

"No one's driving his team harder," Babcock told Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. "Marchy's a great guy and he's a real good player, plays hard. He's competitive. He's all-in every day and he does a good job for his team."

Marchand might be in tough to outshine Crosby and McDavid in the eyes of voters, but he can no longer be ignored. Whatever he amounts to over the course of Boston's next 11 games, his presence among the NHL's elite forwards is now firmly cemented.

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Over the final three weeks of the season, the race to watch is atop the Metropolitan Division standings.

What happened Sunday?

With a win over New Jersey, the Columbus Blue Jackets earned their 100th point of the season, and not only matched the Washington Capitals for first in the Metro and the NHL as a whole, but also became the second team to clinch a playoff spot.

Not to be outdone, the Pittsburgh Penguins benefited from a natural hat trick by Sidney Crosby to beat Florida, climbing within one point of both Washington and Columbus.

All three teams, therefore, are in the running for first in the Metro, as well as the Presidents' Trophy as the league's best team in the regular season (the Blackhawks, with 97 points, are the next-best club).

Finishing first in the Metro, however, matters on a much deeper level.

What's at stake?

Based on the NHL's current playoff format, the team that finishes first in the Eastern Conference - which, at this point, will definitely come from the Metro - would be matched up with the second wild-card team in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Meanwhile, the second- and third-place teams in the Metro - and quite possibly the NHL - would meet, with the loser facing the harsh reality of getting bounced in the first round despite one of the league's best regular-season records.

As of Sunday ev, here's a look at the relevant matchups:

• Washington (46-17-8, 100 points) vs. Toronto (32-23-15, 79 points)
• Columbus (47-18-6, 100 points) vs. Pittsburgh (45-17-9, 99 points)

With all due respect to the Maple Leafs and what they've achieved this season, that's a steep drop in quality of opponent for the first-place team.

Washington, Columbus, and Pittsburgh all have 11 games remaining on the schedule. Don't expect any of them to coast into the playoffs when a point or two could mean the difference between a long playoff run with home-ice advantage and an early postseason exit.

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NEWARK, N.J. - Lukas Sedlak and Brandon Dubinsky scored on penalty shots and the Columbus Blue Jackets clinched their third playoff berth in franchise history with a 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.

This was only the third time in NHL history that a team scored twice in a game on penalty shots. Thomas Gradin and Ivan Hlinka of Vancouver did it against Detroit in 1982, and Ryane Clowe and Joe Thornton of San Jose converted against Washington in 2009.

The win was the fourth straight for the Blue Jackets, gave them their first 100-point season and moved them into a tie with Washington for the NHL's best record with 11 games left. Columbus, which joined the league in 2000, last made the playoffs in 2014.

Boone Jenner added two goals, one short-handed and the other into an empty net. Sergei Bobrovsky made 35 saves for Columbus, which is 12-3-1 in its last 16 games.

Adam Henrique scored for the Devils, whose season is all but over after falling to 1-10-2 in its last 13.

Columbus, which was its second game in as many days, jumped to a 2-0 lead with a pair of short-handed goals on the Devils' first two power plays.

Sedlak, who was in the lineup because Alexander Wennberg was hurt on Saturday against the Islanders, was taken down by Devils defenseman Andy Greene on a breakaway a minute after Josh Anderson was sent off for tripping.

On his penalty shot, Sedlak skated to the edge of the right circle, cut toward the middle and beat Cory Schneider with a low shot to the left corner for his seventh goal.

With Matt Calvert off for tripping, Jenner outworked three Devils behind the net to gain control of the puck and eventually knocked the rebound of Jack Johnson's shot off Schneider at 10:23 for his 15th goal.

Henrique got the Devils back into the game just seven seconds later, breaking in after taking a pass from Pavel Zacha and sliding the puck between the legs of Bobrovsky.

Dubinsky converted the second penalty shot at 6:28 of the second period after Anderson was taken down on a breakaway by Dalton Prout. Anderson was hurt on the play and there was some confusion about who would take the shot.

Columbus coach John Tortorella initially sent out Sam Gagner to take it, but the officials ruled that he was not on the ice at the time of the penalty. Dubinsky took it, beating Schneider high to the left corner with a move similar to the one by Sedlak.

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Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby went to work on Sunday with the Florida Panthers in town.

The Kid buried a natural hat trick, giving him a league-leading 40 tallies this season and 10 career three-goal performances. All three of his markers were assisted by linemates Jake Guentzel and Conor Sheary.

With his latest goal, Crosby also moved into a tie with Connor McDavid atop the scoring race with 80 points on the season.

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USA Hockey will sit down with members of the women's national team to discuss wage and inequality issues that have prompted the players to boycott the IIHF World Championship in Plymouth, Mich., later this month, according to the Associated Press' Stephen Whyno.

The meeting, to be held in Philadelphia, will occur two days before the team is scheduled to begin training camp.

It was announced Wednesday that until significant progress is made toward rectifying these disparities, players would not report to the tournament, which is scheduled to begin March 31.

Since that announcement, USA Hockey and the women's national team haven't appeared to be progressing closer to a resolution, trading pointed releases, statements, and tweets.

At the crux of the issue is the lack of compensation the highly successful team receives during non-Olympic years. Players say they earn "virtually nothing" outside the six-month residency program, wherein which they earn as little as $1,000 per month.

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A penalty-shot goal in itself is a rarity in the NHL, but two in the same game? From the same team? Come on.

After Lukas Sedlak converted his opportunity versus the Devils in the first period Sunday, Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky was awarded another free attempt, which he promptly roofed over Cory Schneider.

Dubinsky's tally marked only the third time in NHL history that a team has scored on two penalty shots in a single game.

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Phil Kessel came to Pittsburgh as an elite goal-scorer, but the veteran winger has proven to be far more in his second season with his new club.

Kessel and linemate Patric Hornqvist combined for a gorgeous opening goal Sunday against the Florida Panthers, the former lobbing an alley-oop pass over the net before the latter batted the puck out of midair and into the cage.

The flashy assist was Kessel's 41st of the season, while the goal was Hornqvist's 18th of 2016-17.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins recognized franchise legend and second-leading scorer in NHL history Jaromir Jagr with a video tribute Sunday at PPG Paints Arena as part of the club's 50-year celebration.

Fans in attendance rose to their feet as the video played, and Jagr tapped his chest and waved back in appreciation.

Jagr won two Stanley Cups, five scoring titles, and a Hart Trophy in 11 seasons with the Penguins. He racked up 439 goals and 1,079 points in 806 games, and another 147 points in the playoffs.

He's played for eight NHL franchises since his NHL debut with the Penguins in 1990.

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Curtis Lazar is expected to make his debut with the Calgary Flames on Sunday night with the Los Angeles Kings in town for a divisional clash.

Lazar's expected to replace Micheal Ferland, who has fallen ill.

Sam Bennett and Lance Bouma were Lazar's linemates at the morning skate, indicating he'll slot in there.

Lazar's been held out of the lineup in seven straight games since his acquisition from the Ottawa Senators at the trade deadline. He contributed one assist and recorded 24 shots in 33 games for Ottawa before being acquired for a second-round draft selection.

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