It sounds as though William Nylander will be with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the rest of the season.

The 19-year-old's played eight games with the big club since his recall from the AHL, and the club will burn the first year of his entry-level contract should he hit the 10-game mark Thursday against the Florida Panthers.

While the ultimate decision doesn't rest with Mike Babcock, the head coach expects Nylander will remain up with the Maple Leafs for their final 14 games, according to TSN's Mark Masters.

Connor Brown's one of the Maple Leafs' prized prospects yet to get the call to the NHL. He impressed with 61 points in his rookie season in the AHL last year and has 24 points in 28 games with the Toronto Marlies in 2015-16. Toronto has one regular AHL call-up remaining, so it's possible Brown could yet make his NHL debut.

Nylander said he hasn't been told one way or another whether he'll be reporting to the Air Canada Centre on Thursday or the Ricoh Coliseum, a short drive away.

"We'll have to see what they decide," he said, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Nylander has two goals in eight games, averaging 16 minutes of ice time. He has a 53.89 percent Corsi For rating, according to War On Ice.

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Olli Maatta's summer is going to look a little different than that of his Pittsburgh Penguins teammates.

The 21-year-old defenseman will execute the military obligation he has to his native Finland when Pittsburgh's season comes to a conclusion, Finnish reporter and PHWA member Juha Hiitela reports.

If the Penguins do not make the playoffs, his service will begin April 18, per Hiitela.

In peacemaking Finland, those able are required to serve their country in a military capacity before turning 28 - displaced professional athletes included.

Hiitela notes that Aleksander Barkov, Rasmus Ristolainen, Teuvo Teravainen, and Kasperi Kapanen are among Finnish-born NHL players who still have an outstanding obligation to their country.

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Buffalo Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly is expected to return to the lineup Wednesday versus the Montreal Canadiens, Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News reports.

O'Reilly skated with Evander Kane and Nicolas Deslauriers at practice Monday, indicating that he's prepared to return after missing nearly a month with a foot injury.

His return will give the Sabres two scoring lines, but also break up one of the hottest units in the NHL. Kane, Jack Eichel, and Sam Reinhart combined for eight goals and 20 points across the last seven games.

Without O'Reilly, Buffalo won just four times in 11 contests.

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From winning a second Stanley Cup to being traded to a retooling franchise and then signing a lucrative long-term extension, it's been a tumultuous last 12 months for Brandon Saad.

The Columbus Blue Jackets goal-scorer, though, doesn't require prompting to help him place the ups and downs of his professional journey into proper perspective.

Saad recently opened up about his family successfully liberating their relatives from war-torn Syria in an exclusive for The Guardian.

"It's definitely an eye-opener with them coming over and getting adjusted to the lifestyle and the new language and things like that," he revealed to Mathias Ask. "It definitely puts things in perspective for you."

Saad, who says that family members both in Syria and those now settled in the Pittsburgh area are safe and free of conflict, has been fortunate to be able to help ease their transition.

"You try to help out as much as you can. My dad has worked hard to be successful so he can help them as well. But any way I can help I'm always here for them," he said. "They know that. I've gotten pretty close with them over the short period of time."

And of course, his professional hockey player status has engendered new fans of the sport, and Saad himself.

"It's pretty funny to interact and kind of see them see things for the first time," he said. "They've definitely all taken an interest in it because of me."

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Jakob Silfverberg had a career night with three goals and an assist, while Frederik Andersen stopped 24 of 25 shots as the Anaheim Ducks ended their three-game losing streak by destroying the New Jersey Devils 7-1 on Monday.

The win also helped their bench boss hit an impressive milestone, as Bruce Boudreau picked up his 200th win with the Ducks to help join an exclusive club of legendary head coaches.

Ryan Kesler and Andrew Cogliano both had a goal and two assists each. Corey Perry scored his 29th of the season, while Nick Ritchie scored the first of his career shortly after in his 25th NHL game.

The win keeps the Ducks within two points of the division-leading Los Angeles Kings, who picked up an impressive 5-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. They will continue their three-game homestand against the New York Rangers on Tuesday.

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After five Anaheim Ducks already beat Keith Kinkaid during Monday's game against the New Jersey Devils, it was only fitting rookie Nick Ritchie would join the party.

Held without a goal in his first 24 NHL games, the 20-year-old finally found the net with a snipe from a tough angle to give his team a 6-1 third-period lead. The 2014 first-round pick now has two points on the season

The sixth goal against forced Devils coach John Hynes to pull Kinkaid, who was named the NHL's third star of the week earlier in the day. He was replaced by Yann Danis.

(Video courtesy: NHL.com)

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The Calgary Flames had just three shorthanded goals in their first 68 games this season, but Michael Frolik nearly doubled that total during Monday's 7-4 win against the St. Louis Blues.

Frolik capped off a four-goal first period between the two teams, tying the game at two with a shorthanded goal after a beautiful breakaway move that fooled starter Jake Allen.

After the Flames scored two more goals midway through the second, Allen was replaced by Anders Nilsson, but Frolik didn't treat the new Blues goalie any different.

He scored on yet another shorthanded breakaway in the third, and later capped off the hat trick with an empty-netter to lead the Flames to a 7-4 victory.

Sean Monahan finished the night with two goals and an assist of his own while Johnny Gaudreau added three assists. Joni Ortio finished the night with 31 saves to pick up his third win in five starts.

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James Neal entered Monday with 23 goals - equal to his output from last season, his first with the Nashville Predators - and went on to build on that total in each period against the Edmonton Oilers.

After Jordan Eberle opened the scoring in the first period, Neal kicked off his night with a breakaway goal, after a beautiful feed from Anthony Bitetto to tie the game at one.

His would tie the game once again in the second, scoring on a wrister from the top of the circle to the left of Oilers goalie Laurent Broissoit.

He'd finish the trick with another wrister in the third, giving his team their first lead of the game, increasing his season goal total to 26.

The 28-year-old has scored at least 20 goals in all eight seasons he has played in the NHL.

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