Vancouver Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom underwent a minor lower-body procedure Wednesday and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, general manager Jim Benning announced.

Markstrom was injured in Saturday's victory over the Boston Bruins. Thatcher Demko has taken over as Vancouver's starter and won his first start as the club's No. 1 on Tuesday in Montreal.

The Canucks also acquired Louis Domingue before the trade deadline for some insurance in goal.

Markstrom has been solid for the Canucks this season, posting a 23-16-4 record along with a .918 save percentage. He's an impending unrestricted free agent, although Benning has said he hopes to extend the 30-year-old netminder.

Vancouver enters Wednesday's slate of action in the second spot in the Pacific Division, tied with the third-place Edmonton Oilers at 74 points while holding a game in hand.

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St. Louis Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester won't return this season, but he hasn't decided whether to call it a career.

Bouwmeester suffered a cardiac episode and collapsed on the bench during a game on Feb. 11. A few days later, he underwent a procedure that installed an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. He offered his first public comments since the incident at a press conference Wednesday.

"There's been a lot going on. I think that's something I'm going to definitely have to evaluate," Bouwmeester said to the assembled media when asked about his playing future. "I wouldn't say I've done that fully yet. There's decisions that I'm going to have to make but that will come later."

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong clarified that Bouwmeester will not play again this season or during the playoffs and any long-term decisions will be made this summer.

"Quite honestly, hockey hasn't really been at the front of my mind the last couple of weeks," Bouwmeester said. "It's surreal because right now I feel pretty good, so you can compare it to another injury or something that you've gone through where you're just not playing. But you have to remind yourself of what happened and it puts things into perspective. ... When you put everything in perspective, it's OK to just take a step back right now."

The 36-year-old blue-liner has appeared in 1,240 regular-season games during his 17-year career, tallying 424 points. He's a member of the Triple Gold Club after winning a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, an Olympic gold medal with Canada in 2014, and two World Championship gold medals in 2003 and 2004.

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Peter Laviolette has been named head coach of the U.S. men's national team that will participate in the 2020 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship, USA Hockey announced Wednesday.

Laviolette, who was fired by the Nashville Predators in January, had been head coach of the Predators since the 2014-15 season. He's been a head coach in the NHL since 2001.

"It's great to have Peter as our head coach," U.S. general manager Chris Drury said. "He brings significant international experience, both as a player and a coach, and his passion and desire to win align with our goal of bringing home the gold medal."

Laviolette has an extensive international resume. He served as head coach of the U.S. team at the same tournament in 2014, was an assistant with the 2014 men's Olympic team in Sochi, and was the head coach of the 2006 men's Olympic squad in Torino. This will be his fourth time working as a head coach at the IIHF tournament.

The tournament takes place May 8-24 in Switzerland.

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No excuses after we slumped to a 1-3 night on Tuesday - in maddeningly frustrating fashion.

We've had a bit of tough stretch, hovering at or below .500 for the bulk of the past week following a pretty lengthy winning run. Let's get back to our old ways, starting tonight.

GOATs and scapegoats

Brayden Schenn scored 33 seconds into last night's game, setting the tone for the St. Louis Blues' 6-5 win as their contest against the Chicago Blackhawks sailed over the total for our lone Tuesday win.

It really shouldn't have been our lone win, though. In fact, it's sickening that it was. We had over 5.5 goals for the game in Raleigh. After the Dallas Stars jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead and held a 4-1 advantage just over 10 minutes into the second frame, we needed one goal in the last 27 minutes of action. Literally just one goal. We got nothing, despite the Carolina Hurricanes firing 18 shots on goal in the third period. Thanks a lot, Anton Khudobin.

Wednesday bets

Buffalo Sabres/Colorado Avalanche under 6 (-105)

The Avalanche have changed their approach slightly in the absence of Philipp Grubauer, playing stingier defensive hockey. As a result, the under is 4-1 in Colorado's last five home games. Pavel Francouz has also played well between the pipes. The Czech netminder has posted a .938 save percentage in February while allowing two or fewer goals in each of his starts, with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning the lone exception. With all due respect to the Sabres, Buffalo is no Tampa.

The Sabres have scored just six goals in three road games against Western Conference teams in the 2020 calendar year. The over is 1-1-1 in those contests, but none of those tilts saw more than six goals. This total feels a bit too high.

Best bet

Edmonton Oilers' team total over 2.5 (-110)

This is a tough spot for the Oilers, who are playing the second leg of a back-to-back in Vegas after losing in Anaheim in overtime last night. But it's a spot in which they've managed to excel all season. Edmonton is 5-0-0 in road games played on zero days' rest this season and 6-0-0 on no rest overall, scoring at least three goals in every one of those contests.

The Golden Knights have been playing good hockey, winning six in a row, but they still have issues on defense. Vegas has allowed three or more goals in six of its last eight games. At such a short price, how could you not back the Oilers' streak to continue?

Trend of the night

The Pittsburgh Penguins have scored at least four goals in each of their last four road games against Western Conference teams. They've done the same in six of their last seven on the road against non-conference opponents, and eight of their 11 total contests in that situation this season.

The only Western road games in which Pittsburgh failed to net four tallies were against the Blues, Dallas Stars, and Vancouver Canucks. The Los Angeles Kings, meanwhile, have allowed three or more goals in seven of their last nine home games and are 2-6-1 over that span. You can get the Penguins' team total over 3.5 at -110 if you're feeling up to it.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. 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, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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Montreal Canadiens defenseman Victor Mete will miss the remainder of this season due to a fractured foot, the team announced Wednesday.

Mete suffered the injury during a game against the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 18.

In 51 games with Montreal this season, the 21-year-old managed four goals and seven assists.

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Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin will be out approximately four weeks after suffering a broken hand Tuesday, the team announced Wednesday.

Defenseman Calle Rosen was recalled from the AHL's Toronto Marlies In a corresponding move.

Muzzin exited Tuesday's contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning after taking a shot off his hand in the second period.

The 31-year-old has been one of the Maple Leafs' most important players in 2019-20. He's third on the team in average ice time (21:36), first in hits (109), and first in blocked shots (110). He's also chipped in six goals and 17 assists in 53 games.

Toronto is already without two key defensemen as both Morgan Rielly and Cody Ceci are currently on injured reserve. Muzzin also missed a month earlier this season due to a broken foot.

Muzzin signed a four-year, $22.5-million extension with the Leafs on Monday.

Rosen, who was with the Maple Leafs before being dealt to the Colorado Avalanche last offseason, was reacquired prior to Monday's trade deadline. He's spent the majority of his time in the AHL this season, though he did record two assists in eight games with the Avalanche.

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New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz is a big fan of his team's recent acquisition of forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

"What a great pickup by (general manager) Lou (Lamoriello)," Trotz told reporters postgame Tuesday, according to The Athletic's Arthur Staple. "The (draft) picks are nothing, I can tell you that - a lot of picks never play."

The Islanders were one of the league's biggest spenders at the trade deadline, giving up a conditional first-round pick, a second-round pick, and a conditional third-rounder to add the 27-year-old forward from the Ottawa Senators.

The team immediately signed Pageau to a six-year extension with an average annual value of $5 million. He recorded a goal in his first game with his new club in Tuesday's contest against the New York Rangers.

Only 10 of the 38 players selected by the Islanders in six drafts dating back to 2014 have appeared in at least one NHL game. Of those 10 players, seven were selected in the first round.

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