Andrew Shaw planted to Canadiens bench after needless penalty

Montreal Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw didn't see a single shift after taking an unnecessary interference minor Thursday in a 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

While pivoting on the blue line to remain onside with Montreal in possession, Shaw reached out and needlessly twisted Nick Cousins to the ice.

Claude Giroux tied the game on the corresponding power play, and the Flyers tacked on two more unanswered goals.

Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien had this explanation for keeping Shaw planted to the bench for the remainder of the game.

"We can't accept to take that type of penalty as a team," he said, according to TSN's Dan Robertson. "Pretty simple."

Shaw declined to speak with the media after the game.

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Senators beat Lightning, move 10 points clear in Atlantic

TAMPA, Fla. - Mark Stone had two goals and an assist, Mike Condon made 19 saves and the Ottawa Senators beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on Thursday night.

The Senators, second in the Atlantic Division, also got goals from Kyle Turris, Mike Hoffman and Chris Kelly.

Ottawa coach Guy Boucher was behind the bench in Tampa for the first time since being fired by the Lightning midway through the 2012-13 season. He led Tampa Bay to the Eastern Conference finals in 2011.

''It was such a great experience. It was so positive,'' Boucher said, after Thursday's morning skate, about his time with the Lightning. ''For me coming back, it just brings a great smile.''

Tyler Johnson and Brayden Point scored for the Lightning, who have lost 11 of 14 (3-9-2). Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 shots.

After Johnson opened the scoring 3:39 into the second, Ottawa went up 2-1 on goals by Stone (6:33) and Turris (11:03) on the power play. Turris has 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 23 games against Tampa Bay.

Hoffman made it 3-1 early in the third with a power-play goal.

Point's second goal in two games after missing 14 due to a hand-wrist injury midway through the third pulled Tampa Bay to 3-2.

Stone's nifty redirection, coming 1:36 after Point scored, gave Ottawa a 4-2 lead. He has seven goals in 11 games against the Lightning.

Kelly had a late empty-netter.

Condon, who is 4-0 against Tampa Bay, made a pair of strong saves on Nikita Kucherov in the second period.

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Watch: Marleau becomes 45th NHLer to reach 500 goals

There it is.

San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau scored the 500th goal of his career Thursday night in Vancouver, becoming the 45th player in NHL history to accomplish the feat.

Marleau, drafted second overall in 1997, is only the 18th player ever to amass 500 goals with one team, and the first in Sharks history to break the threshold.

The 37-year-old had logged 1,462 games entering Thursday's contest, and with a release like that, it's no wonder Marleau got into the exclusive club.

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Flyers neutralize Canadiens again, limiting them to season-low shot total

Bottled up.

Limiting the Montreal Canadiens to 16 shots in a 3-1 win Thursday night, the Philadelphia Flyers are now responsible for the Atlantic Division leader's two fewest shot totals on the season. In those two outings, they reduced Montreal to a combined 33 shots, or as many as the Flyers allowed in their first contest this season.

It was, however, the Flyers' first win over the Canadiens in three tries. Michal Neuvirth, who earned the victory on Thursday, allowed five goals on 17 shots in the team's Nov. 5 loss in which they outshot Montreal 38-17.

The Canadiens are one of seven teams averaging more than three goals a game, but their output hasn't been the product of a steady onslaught. They rank just below the league average with 29.7 shots per game.

They remain a top-10 team in total attempts, but were limited to just 44 versus the Flyers, and out-produced in all three periods.

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Watch: Hossa dashes through Coyotes’ defense en route to slick snipe

Vintage Marian Hossa.

The 38-year-old Chicago Blackhawks winger showed he still has quite a bit of giddy up left, exploding past Arizona's defense - if you can call it that - before tucking home his 19th goal of the season.

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What could the Senators realistically fetch for Lazar?

This isn't the classic case of a top prospect failing to find traction, and change in scenery being the only practical recourse.

But it's trending that way.

Ottawa Senators former first-round draft selection Curtis Lazar can't crack Guy Boucher's lineup, can't produce when he does dress - either for the big club or the farm - and seems in danger of circling the NHL drain.

Lazar has diminished in the final season of his entry-level deal, contributing one assist in 27 appearances with the Senators, and just three goals and four points in 13 games at minor-league Binghamton.

He has 12 goals and 36 points in 170 games since the Senators spent their first draft pick - and the 17th overall selection - on the Edmonton Oil Kings forward three years ago.

Chosen to be a top-six contributor for many seasons, Lazar has instead offered 0.80 points per 60 minutes at five-on-five. There's merely a handful of active players, essentially each stone-handed checkers, producing at a similarly meager rate.

Still, teams have apparently inquired about his status in the trade market. It raises the question: What could the Senators possibly receive in return?

It's hard to pinpoint a comparable, because he's hardly formed an NHL identity. His stats compare to players he isn't billed to be, and his development seems stunted by the negligible ice time he's logged - which has fallen to just over eight minutes a night under Boucher.

But if we base his value on the market, an inference can be made from the Edmonton Oilers' extrication of the quintessential draft bust in the salary-cap era: Nail Yakupov.

The Oilers accepted a conditional third-round pick and a warm body in a trade with the St. Louis Blues for the former first overall draft selection. Their return will be upgraded to a second-round draft selection if Yakupov scores 15 goals this year.

He's got three.

Even still, Yakupov has twice as many goals, as well as almost double the points Lazar has mustered, in the 170 NHL games they've each played across the last three seasons.

Though Edmonton's desire to cut bait certainly factored into the return for Yakupov, the deal suggests that Lazar's current market value isn't anything greater than a late-round pick.

If the Senators are offered a deal comparable to the Yakupov trade, they might be wise to jump at it. But because Lazar has little value, less leverage, and many seasons of control, it's hard to imagine a scenario where he's dealt before the March 1 deadline.

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Watch: Nesterov blasts 1st goal as member of Canadiens

With plays like this, it wont take long for Montreal Canadiens' fans to warm up to Nikita Nesterov.

The new guy in town, acquired last week from the Tampa Bay Lightning, wired his first goal as a Hab - and fourth of the year - on Thursday in his second game with the club, giving the Canadiens a 1-0 lead.

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Shaw among NHL’s You Can Play ambassadors

Montreal Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw was announced as an ambassador for the You Can Play Project on Thursday as part of NHL's "Hockey is for Everyone" initiative in February.

The month is directed in part by the You Can Play Project, a nonprofit lending support to the LGBTQ community and dedicated to fighting homophobia in sport. Each of the NHL's 30 teams have named a You Can Play ambassador who will "lead the way" in combating homophobia in their markets.

The entire list can be found here.

Last spring, when Shaw was a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, he was suspended for directing a homophobic slur at an official.

The You Can Play Project contacted the NHL, condemning Shaw's actions, but also expressing desire to work with and educate Shaw.

Shaw seemed contrite when he apologized for the incident, and now he's supporting that remorse with what will hopefully be meaningful action.

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Wild sign Alex Stalock to 2-year contract extension

The Minnesota Wild have signed goaltender Alex Stalock to a two-year contract extension.

The deal will be one-way in 2017-18, and a two-way contract for 2018-19, carrying a $650,000 cap hit at the NHL level.

As has become a trend this season, the contract carries expansion draft implications.

Stalock, 29, has posted a record of 14-10-4 with a 2.56 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage, and two shutouts in 29 games with the AHL's Iowa Wild this season.

Devna Dubnyk remains signed with the team long term, while Darcy Kuemper is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end.

If Stalock - who has a .911 in 62 career NHL games, all with San Jose - is not selected by Vegas, he'll be locked in as the team's backup.

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Report: IOC, IIHF presidents to attend Olympic meeting with NHL

A quartet of hockey organizations will reportedly be represented at Friday's meeting regarding the NHL's potential involvement with the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in South Korea.

The NHL, NHLPA, IIHF, and IOC will all be accounted for at the discussion in New York City, and IOC president Thomas Bach and IIHF president Rene Fasel will be among the participants, TSN's Bob McKenzie confirmed following a report by Sportsnet's John Shannon.

As for the purpose of the meeting, a source told ESPN's Pierre LeBrun that while no resolution to the ongoing negotiation is expected Friday, there will be "frank discussion of where things stand."

The issue of expenses has been a sticking point since the IOC implied it would stop paying for the players' travel costs and for contract insurance, but Fasel said last weekend that the IIHF has figured out a way to cover those.

"Yes, we worked really hard and I would like to thank all our member federations," Fasel told LeBrun.

If an agreement can't be worked out, McKenzie says there is a potential backup plan in the works.

Olympic participation was barely discussed when the NHL's board of governors met during All-Star weekend in Los Angeles.

A decision was originally expected come some time in January, although no hard deadline has been announced.

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