Just like the good ol' days.

Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov sent Matt Duchene for a ride on Tuesday night, leveling the speedy forward with a vintage hip-check.

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The Washington Capitals honored Braden Holtby's recent Vezina Trophy win with a pregame ceremony Tuesday that featured highlights from 2015-16 and messages from teammates and family members.

Hotlby, who was getting the night off in lieu of backup Philipp Grubauer, is off to a 1-0-1 start with a .942 save percentage this season, and recently became the third-youngest goalie in NHL history to record 150 wins.

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Andrew Shaw and the NHL's Department of Player Safety have become well acquainted through his six seasons in the league.

The agitating Montreal Canadiens forward most recently met with DOPS vice president Stephen Quintal to discuss his latest mishap, a slew foot on Buffalo Sabres forward Johan Larsson in the Habs' season opener.

"He knows the type of player I am," Shaw said of Quintal, according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. "I play on that edge. I play on that line. He wants to make sure I don't cross it. I'll continue to do what I do to have success, but I want to make sure everyone is safe out there."

Shaw's been suspended his fair share, but didn't believe his stunt versus Buffalo warranted supplemental discipline.

"“Yeah, I tripped the guy, but it wasn’t vicious," Shaw said. "No one got hurt."

While it might be to save face among many fans and teams around the league, Shaw doesn't want the reputation of a dirty player.

"I don’t want that rep. I’m not that kind of guy," Shaw said. "I play hard, I play an in-your-face kind of style, but if you got to know me, I’m a pretty nice guy. I don’t want to hurt anyone out there. I want to learn. I want to get better from it."

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As the Winnipeg Jets play on, defenseman Jacob Trouba awaits a solution to his trade demand stalemate.

In order for the 22-year-old to be eligible this season, Trouba must be dealt before Dec. 1, a seemingly imposing deadline.

Apparently not for his agent, Kurt Overhardt.

"There's obviously a lot of time between now and then, Overhardt told The Winnipeg Free Press. "We’re going to continue to keep working in good faith and try helping to facilitate a positive transaction so everyone can benefit.

"It's not really an issue at this point."

While nothing substantial has developed on the trade front, Overhardt iterated that confidential negotiations between his client and the Jets are ongoing.

"We have to contemplate everything, but it’s not something we are going to discuss as it involves our client and it’s a private matter," Overhardt said. "Any of the conversations we have with (the Jets) are very amicable and those are private, too."

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Coming off a 6-5 loss to Colorado on Saturday, Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff is tinkering with his lineup.

Most notably, Ruff will deploy Jason Spezza on the wing Tuesday versus Nashville, flanking a line featuring Radek Faksa and Antoine Roussel.

Ruff insists the move isn't a demotion.

"For me, I got some great play out of playing him on the wing last year," Ruff said, according to Mike Heika of The Dallas Morning News. "He should be a good fit over there."

Spezza, held pointless through the opening two games, is hoping the move will result in some consistency in the offensive zone.

"I'm fine with it," Spezza said. "Two years ago, I would have been asking myself why I'm playing the wing, but I understand. One, Faksa is a really good player, so it's great to play with him. And two, I think our line has been a little too perimeter. I'm minus-four, but I actually think the defensive part of my game has been the best part. We have been bad offensively, we've created no shot attempts, no possession, and we can't play that game. I think he's looking to fix that more than anything defensively."

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Ryan Miller will be unavailable for Tuesday's contest against the St. Louis Blues.

The Vancouver Canucks netminder showed up to the rink suffering from tightness, but after skating alone after practice to stretch things out, it was announced that University of British Columbia netminder Matt Hewitt will serve as Jacob Markstrom's backup.

Miller has dressed in just one game this season, but was perfect in a 2-1 shootout win over the Calgary Flames, with the lone goal coming when Loui Eriksson put a puck into his own net during a Flames delayed penalty.

Meanwhile, Markstrom has gone 1-1-0 with a 3.00 GAA and a .864 save percentage.

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Jiri Hudler will not be in the lineup Tuesday when the Dallas Stars play the Nashville Predators, the team announced.

Stars coach Lindy Ruff previously confirmed that Hudler is battling an illness.

Hudler, 32, has appeared in two games with the Stars this season, but has been held off the scoresheet in both matches. The Czech winger signed with Dallas as a free agent this summer.

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Skill kills - just ask the many goaltenders who've suited up early this season.

The 2016-17 campaign is nearly two weeks old and early on teams are scoring in bunches. Teams are averaging 3.25 goals per game, a mark not seen since the 1992-93 campaign.

So what's the deal? According to Tampa Bay Lighting head coach Jon Cooper, the league's abundance of skilled youth are the culprits.

"The one thing, I think if you look at the youth that has been injected into the National Hockey League and the skill, that in itself is going to raise the scoring and coaching is not going to be able to take that out of it because the guys are too good," Cooper told reporters.

"So I believe in that sense there is going to be more scoring just because of the talent level that these young kids possess, It's unreal to watch.

"But eventually when the goalies start getting into their rhythm - they're a big part of why goals aren't scored - and when that starts to roll goal scoring is going to go down. I don't expect it to dip (like) last season, I expect it to be on the rise."

Goaltending has certainly been a question mark early this season. After goalies matched a league record by averaging a .915 save percentage last season, netminders are averaging an .898 mark through 36 games - the worst mark since the 1995-96 season.

Meanwhile, the league average 3.02 goals-against per game is also the highest mark since the '95-96 campaign.

However, the season is still early and numbers are sure to even out, even if Cooper and his coaching colleagues must take it upon themselves to do so.

"I think defense is lax, what really happens is myself and the 29 other coaches in the league will just suck the fun out of the game and play 'D' and then games will be 2-1," said Cooper.

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Alexei Kovalev is making a comeback of sorts.

The one-time NHL sniper will suit up for the Visp EHC of the Swiss B League, according to Szymon Szemberg of Elite Prospects.

Kovalev, 43, has not played pro hockey in two years. He last appeared in the NHL in 2012-13 with the Florida Panthers, scoring five points in 14 games.

The Russian-born Kovalev had a decorated career that included stops with the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, and two stints with both the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring 1,029 points in 1,316 games.

Kovalev won the Stanley Cup with the Rangers in 1994.

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Edmonton Oilers coach Todd McLellan has juggled his lines, and it appears that 2016 fourth overall pick Jesse Puljujarvi will not be in the lineup when the Oilers play the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, according to TSN 1260's Jason Gregor.

The Finnish winger did not participate in line rushes Tuesday morning.

The 18-year-old Puljujarvi scored in his NHL debut versus the Calgary Flames, but has been held off the scoresheet in the following two games.

In the Oilers' last game against the Buffalo Sabres - in which McLellan derided his team's "stupidity" following a 6-2 loss - Puljujarvi tallied two shots and was a minus-one in 12:16 of ice-time.

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