St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko will make his season debut Saturday night against the Los Angeles Kings, head coach Craig Berube announced.

In a corresponding move earlier Saturday, the Blues placed defenseman Colton Parayko on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

Tarasenko has been recovering from the third shoulder surgery of his career in late August.

"It was a long period without playing hockey, but most important, we needed to get it fixed and get it done and get it healthy again," Tarasenko said.

He added, "The three surgeries is in the past, there is some speculation still, but it was a different injury, not the same injury three times. Now it's healthy, I feel strong and ready to come back and can't wait until I step on the ice."

The sniper hurt his shoulder in October 2019, which resulted in his second surgery. After spending the majority of the 2019-20 regular season recovering, he returned for the playoffs. Tarasenko only appeared in four contests before undergoing the third procedure.

The 29-year-old led the Blues in goals for five straight seasons prior to the 2019-20 campaign. Since 2013, he ranks 13th in the NHL with 214 tallies.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar thinks superstar Nathan MacKinnon will miss additional time after sitting out Friday's tilt against the Anaheim Ducks.

"I'm assuming he's going to miss a couple games," Bednar said after the Avalanche's overtime win, according to The Athletic's Peter Baugh.

MacKinnon missed the final 12 minutes of Tuesday's game after taking a hit to the head from San Jose Sharks rookie Joachim Blichfeld.

The Avalanche said Friday afternoon that MacKinnon would play Friday but subsequently ruled him out shortly before puck drop in an effort to avoid further injury.

Blichfield received a two-game suspension for the hit.

MacKinnon has posted 22 points in 19 games this season.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Tom Wilson may soon receive a call from the NHL's Department of Player Safety.

The Washington Capitals enforcer delivered a high hit on Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo against the glass late in the first period Friday night.

Here's a closer look at the play:

Referees didn't call a penalty on the hit.

Carlo stayed down on the ice before being helped to the dressing room by Boston's medical staff. The Bruins announced during intermission that the blue-liner wouldn't return to the game due to an upper-body injury.

After the contest, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters Carlo was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. He described the hit as "completely unnecessary" and "dirty," according to The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa.

Wilson was forced to answer the bell in the second period, and dropped the gloves with Bruins blue-liner Jarred Tinordi.

Boston scored three goals with Wilson in the box en route to a convincing 5-1 victory.

Wilson has been suspended four times in his career, most recently in 2018 when he was handed a 20-game ban for a hit to St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist's head.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon is out with an upper-body injury Friday, the team announced.

The club said earlier in the day that MacKinnon would be in the lineup against the Anaheim Ducks.

San Jose Sharks rookie Joachim Blichfeld caught the forward with a hit to the head Wednesday night. The NHL suspended Blichfeld for two games Thursday.

MacKinnon missed the final 12 minutes of Colorado's 4-0 win, but head coach Jared Bednar said postgame the perennial Hart Trophy candidate seemed to be fine.

The 25-year-old is tied for the club lead with 22 points and has posted a team-high 17 assists in 19 games.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Mark Pavelich, a member of the "Miracle on Ice" 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey team and veteran of 355 NHL games, has died at 63.

"We send our condolences to his family, friends, and the countless young players who he and his 1980 Team USA teammates inspired to play our game," the league said in a statement.

The playmaker for Team USA recorded seven points in seven games at the Olympics in Lake Placid, and Pavelich assisted on Mike Eruzione's famous game-winning goal that defeated the Soviet Union in the semifinals.

Pavelich died at a residential treatment center in Minnesota, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He was there under civil commitment after a violent assault on his neighbor in 2019.

Following the assault, Pavelich was deemed mentally ill and dangerous, and his family is convinced he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Pavelich's cause of death is unknown, and the degenerative brain disease can only be diagnosed posthumously.

In addition to starring for Team USA, Pavelich also logged five seasons with the New York Rangers, notching 133 goals and 185 assists over 341 games. He set a rookie franchise record with 76 points in 1981-82.

He also briefly played for the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Buffalo Sabres are in the midst of yet another disappointing season, and general manager Kevyn Adams expressed his frustration with the team's lack of progress.

"I'm angry. I would hope all of you are," Adams said, according to Buffalo News Sport's Mike Harrington. "I would hope all our fans are because that means you care. ... I've been empowered by Terry and Kim Pegula to fix this and that's what I'm going to do."

The Sabres made a number of big moves during the offseason, including the additions of top free agent Taylor Hall and depth piece Eric Staal. Many expected those acquisitions to finally push Buffalo to contender status, but the team once again finds itself near the bottom of the standings.

With a 6-12-3 record, the Sabres rank third-last in the league in points percentage and goals per game (2.19). Head coach Ralph Krueger is in his second year at the helm, and Adams didn't dismiss the notion that his job may be in jeopardy.

"Everything is being evaluated. (Krueger) understands the situation we're in is unacceptable," Adams said when asked why a coaching change hasn't been made yet, according to Harrington. "The players do. Everybody does. It's just flat-out not good enough."

The general manager is reportedly aggressively trying to make a trade to improve his club. Franchise center Jack Eichel has expressed his displeasure with the club's performance in the past, but Adams said he hasn't requested a trade, according to Harrington.

The team's top players have struggled to produce so far in 2021. Eichel and Hall have just two goals apiece, and Jeff Skinner has collected just one assist while also being a healthy scratch for several games.

Buffalo hasn't reached the postseason since 2011.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Thursday's bets weren't looking great early, but the Flyers and Rangers both erased deficits for comeback wins, padding our bankroll in the process. I added the Stars as a play on Twitter, which was a loser. So we didn't quite sweep, moving to 70-54 (+17.16 units).

Here's what I'm looking to bet this weekend:

Blues (-135) @ Kings (+115)
Mar. 5, 9 p.m. ET

Initially, I had the Kings down as a bet for Saturday, with these teams scheduled for a back-to-back series to begin the weekend. But it turns out Ville Husso will start on Friday for the Blues, with Jordan Binnington going on Saturday. So we're betting the Kings tonight!

There's excellent value on Los Angeles here with Husso in net for the visitors. The 25-year-old is really struggling this season, allowing four-plus goals in three of his five starts. Over seven appearances he's posted a miserable 3.82 goals-against average and a .879 save percentage while ranking 58th out of 59 goalies in both GSAA/60 and GSAx/60 (minimum five outings).

The Blues simply aren't playing well enough to justify this price with Husso in net. They've managed just 47.01% of the expected goal share at five-on-five over their last seven games while generating only 2.08 xGF/60, ranking 24th and 26th, respectively, in those categories during that span. Conversely, the Kings have posted a respectable 51.44% mark over the same stretch.

There's also a strong chance Cal Petersen starts for the Kings after Jonathan Quick was in the crease for Wednesday's loss. He's been a top-five goaltender this year by just about every metric, and Petersen's presence would make this an even bigger bargain than it already is with Husso between the pipes for St. Louis.

Pick: Kings (+115)

Rangers (-120) @ Devils (+100)
Mar. 6, 1 p.m.

If you tailed Thursday's article then we cashed together on the Rangers, and while it was a 6-1 drubbing, we were a bit fortunate. The Devils were dominant in the first half of this game, leading 1-0 and outshooting the Rangers 17-6 when Chris Kreider's power-play goal evened the score.

The goal seemed to deflate the Devils, who didn't recover. However, New Jersey dominated the underlying metrics, owning 62.15% of the expected goal share at five-on-five, and posting a 64.32 CF%. Igor Shesterkin was excellent as usual, while it was simply an off night for MacKenzie Blackwood, who allowed four goals on just 15 shots before Aaron Dell gave up two on four in relief. The Rangers scored six goals on just 1.83 expected.

Generating offense has been an issue for the Rangers without Artemi Panarin, as they've managed just 1.93 xGF/60 over their last three games. For perspective, the Red Wings rank 30th in the NHL this season with a mark of 2.35 xGF/60. The Rangers will regress, while the Devils are in for a much better day here if they replicate their five-on-five success.

Alexandar Georgiev is also starting for the Rangers after Shesterkin was hurt toward the end of Thursday's game. Combine the downgrade in goal for the visitors with a much better outing for Blackwood after a sure outlier on Thursday, and we're getting good value with the hosts in a big revenge spot. Let's just hope and pray New Jersey can stay out of the box.

Pick: Devils (+100)

(Odds source: theScore Bet)

Alex Moretto is theScore's supervising editor of sports betting. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, despises how the NHL handles starting goalie announcements, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning says head coach Travis Green's job is safe for now.

Green is in the final year of his contract and has guided the Canucks since 2017-18. Vancouver currently sits second last in the North Division at 10-15-2 while having played more games than all of their Canadian opponents.

Benning also addressed the possibility of making a trade to improve the club Friday. He added his team has to "figure this out from within," as new players would have to quarantine for two weeks and then get their conditioning back, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

The GM said in November he'd begun negotiating a contract extension with Green but the COVID-19 pandemic was limiting their ability to finalize it.

Vancouver missed the playoffs in Green's first two seasons behind the bench but made it in 2020, bouncing the Minnesota Wild out of the qualifying round before knocking out the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues in the next stage.

The Canucks came within one win of reaching the Western Conference Final, losing their second-round series to the Vegas Golden Knights in seven.

Green has a record of 112-118-30 behind the Vancouver bench.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.