Our lone side of the night suffered defeat in crushing fashion Wednesday. The Sabres led 2-0, 3-1, and 4-2 in Washington but blew it in the dying seconds of the game before eventually losing in a shootout. Gross!

We'll aim to get that taste out of our mouth with a pair of plays for Thursday's 11-gamer. Let's get right to them.

Kraken (-175) @ Sharks (+150)

The Sharks are in it to win it. The Connor Bedard sweepstakes, that is.

They have underperformed based on their five-on-five process for much of the season due to unfathomably bad goaltending. Now that they've traded star winger Timo Meier, as well as depth forwards Nick Bonino and Matt Nieto, the team is underwhelming across the board. The process is bad and the goaltending is more likely to throw San Jose an anchor than a life raft.

As a result, we are seeing truly miserable hockey from the Sharks post-deadline.

They've won one of just six games since March 3. They rank 30th in expected goals against and dead last in goals against on a per 60-minute basis in that span.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know a bad goaltending tandem is not going to hold up behind a team bleeding chances. That's what we're seeing right now.

While these games don't matter one iota to the Sharks, they're crucial for the Kraken. They're in a heated wild-card race and still fighting to move up a slot or two in the Pacific Division. With a win tonight, and some help, they could wake up tomorrow just four points behind the Kings for a slot that would earn them home-ice advantage.

The Kraken are a deeper and more talented team with a lot to play for. I expect that to shine through in this game as they take care of business inside 60 minutes.

Bet: Kraken in regulation (-110)

Flames (-115) @ Golden Knights (-105)

I thought the wrong team was favored at open, and the market seems to agree, with the Flames now being slight favorites in Vegas. I still see value on them at this price, though.

Although it may sound crazy to say the 30-win Flames should be favored on the road against the 42-win Golden Knights, the latter is something of a paper tiger right now.

The Golden Knights own an impressive 6-1 record since the deadline. That doesn't mean they've played well.

At five-on-five, they rank dead last in expected goal share and have conceded xGA at a higher rate than every team in the league. Vegas also slots in the bottom five in high-danger chances against, surrounded by teams like the Blue Jackets and Capitals. Not ideal.

The Golden Knights generated more than 30 shots just once during this 6-1 stretch. They have simply shot the lights out - their shooting percentage sits just under 14% - while the goaltending has been great at the other end.

The opposite is true of the Flames. They are routinely outplaying their opponents, dominating the run of play and generating chances in bulk. They just can't put the puck in the net.

Even if their style of play isn't conducive to high shooting percentages, I think there's room for positive regression there, especially when going up against Adin Hill or Jonathan Quick.

If the desperate Flames can come out and generate, say, 10 more shots than they give up against a Golden Knights side getting cratered at five-on-five, I'm happy to take my chances it'll lead to a positive result.

Quick getting the start here would be ideal - aside from the last couple of games, he has struggled mightily all year - but I see an edge on the Flames regardless.

Bet: Flames (-115)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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We split our player props on Wednesday night. Tage Thompson came through against the Capitals; however, Noah Dobson missed the net three times while falling one short to close out the night.

We'll look to get back in the win column with three more plays for Thursday night's huge slate of games.

Carter Verhaeghe over 3.5 shots (-105)

Verhaeghe is sizzling at home. He registered at least four shots on goal in 12 of his last 14 games in Florida, over which time he's averaged 6.36 shot attempts per game.

He let us down last time we backed him, but I love his chances of rebounding Thursday night against the Canadiens.

They are giving up a ton of shot volume right now, especially on the road. Only the Ducks have allowed more shot attempts, and shots on target, per game over their last 10 road dates.

Verhaeghe will benefit mightily from a mouthwatering matchup at five-on-five and on the power play. It just so happens he was recently moved up to the Panthers' top unit. That should afford him an extra shooting opportunity or two, which he probably didn't need.

The Panthers fire shots at will every night. With a juicy matchup and every point crucial, Florida won't take its foot off the gas in this one. Look for Verhaeghe to be very involved offensively.

Jason Robertson over 3.5 shots (+105)

Robertson has teed off on the Oilers this season. Through two meetings, he's produced a whopping 16 shots. No, not attempts; that alone would be fairly impressive. I'm talking shots on goal. He attempted 23 shots over those two games, hitting double digits each time out.

The Oilers are generally a pretty strong shot-suppression team. Their Achilles' heel is taking penalties, and that's where Robertson makes his hay. Only David Pastrnak, Alex Ovechkin, and Mika Zibanejad have recorded more shots on the power play this season, and all three of them have played at least 27 more minutes on the man advantage than Robertson.

He's as efficient as it gets. With the Oilers being one of the league's most penalized teams - on the season and over the last 10 games - Robertson should benefit from plenty of opportunities to go to work.

Jared McCann over 2.5 shots (-135)

Despite their poor record, the Sharks were a pretty good five-on-five team for much of the year. That has completely changed since their deadline sell-off.

In six games since, they've conceded more shots on goal per game than anyone but the Coyotes and Blackhawks. They've also given up a ton of high-quality chances and taken penalties at an increased rate.

All of that is music to the ears of Jared McCann, the Kraken's top weapon. He went over his shot total in six of the past seven games, only failing against a stout Stars team.

McCann not only hit, but smashed in matchups against weaker opponents like the Red Wings and Blue Jackets. I expect that will be the case once again versus the Sharks.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington found himself in the middle of a fracas once again Wednesday, initiating a huge scrum versus the Minnesota Wild.

Binnington lost his cool after Ryan Hartman collided with him following Minnesota's fifth goal of the night. He erratically charged the Wild's celebration, and then the refs had to break up a potential fight with Marc-Andre Fleury.

St. Louis' cagey netminder was assessed a two-minute penalty for leaving his crease, as well as a five-minute major.

Binnington has sparked controversy with his opponents throughout his entire career. Earlier this season, Blues head coach Craig Berube said his No. 1 goaltender needs to focus on stopping the puck rather than engaging in extracurricular antics on the ice.

The 29-year-old also drew headlines during last spring's playoffs for throwing a water bottle at Nazem Kadri during a postgame interview.

Binnington entered Wednesday's game in the midst of a poor season statistically. In 51 appearances, he owns a 22-24-5 record with a .894 save percentage.

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Less than four years ago, Sinclair Broadcasting purchased Fox Sports' regional sports networks (RSNs) from Disney for $9.6 billion. Funded by debt, Sinclair spun off a subsidiary called Diamond Sports Group as the owner.

Late Tuesday afternoon, severely underwater because of that debt burden and rapidly changing patterns in people's TV viewing habits, Diamond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The filing was expected and came less than a month after Diamond defaulted on a $140-million interest payment to its creditors.

But what does this mean for Diamond, the teams for which it holds broadcast rights, and fans of those teams? The new baseball season is only two weeks away, while hockey and basketball are in the regular-season stretch drives.

To help understand what this filing means and what happens next, theScore spoke with former Las Vegas bankruptcy judge and Northwestern University bankruptcy law professor Bruce Markell.

"What Chapter 11 allows is for a company to keep operating while it is negotiating how to divide up its value, and it does that through the automatic stay," Markell said.

The automatic stay is perhaps the most powerful tool afforded to the bankrupt company. The protection allows Diamond to maintain its assets, most notably its TV sports rights, to keep its business afloat as it attempts to figure out a way to pay its creditors, reduce its expenses, potentially raise more cash, and fulfill, amend, or shed their TV contracts with clubs.

"Once you file bankruptcy, no one can take any action to collect a debt against you unless you go get court permission," Markell said. "The goal of Chapter 11 is for there to be a plan of reorganization, which is a document detailing who gets what, and who does what."

The automatic stay also means that creating that plan takes a while to play out. "Dealing in bankruptcy, a lot of times, is getting used to watching slow-motion crashes," he said.

Diamond said in a statement on Tuesday that it expects to work out a restructuring agreement that will allow it to become a standalone company. Diamond said its top-tier secured creditors will not lose anything in the deal, while secondary and unsecured creditors will wind up with an equity stake in the new company.

Markell suspects Diamond's case will need at least six months for a reorganization plan to be finalized, which would take us through the entire MLB regular season.

That means lights are not at risk of going out, at least not immediately, on Bally RSN channels in most affected markets this baseball season. The situation in Cleveland, Cincinnati, San Diego, and Arizona is a little more muddled, but more on that later.

Most Bally broadcasts could very well go on as usual throughout the season.

"Lots of companies file Chapter 11 and go on their merry way working on their debt without anyone really noticing," Markell said. "Sears filed Chapter 11. GM filed Chapter 11. Chrysler filed chapter 11. Schwinn Bicycle filed chapter 11. Even Chuck E. Cheese filed Chapter 11.

"The moment you shut down the business, you lose so much value, and it costs so much to start up again with so much uncertainty. The (reason) why you have Chapter 11 is to reduce the loss in value among the stakeholders."

Even if MLB wanted to take back all the rights that Diamond holds, the Chapter 11 protection means the league cannot do that.

"Even though the contract itself might say, 'If you don't pay we terminate' ... you are stayed from doing it," Markell said. "(MLB) would have to get court permission to do that, and a court is not likely (to award that), especially in the early stages of a case.

"When I was a judge (from 2004-13), people would say, 'Well, they didn't pay me!' I'd say, 'Well, look around. This is the land of broken promises.' Everyone in bankruptcy has not been paid in one way or another, so that's not a particularly good argument to make in terms of why you should be able to take back rights, or exercise rights, because bankruptcy is where that all gets worked out."

Making this situation more complex is the collection of different rights that Diamond holds. It has broadcast and streaming rights to all 16 of its NBA clubs and 12 NHL teams, but it only holds streaming rights to five of the 14 MLB clubs that it has cable deals with. The nine other MLB clubs own their own streaming, in-market rights.

MLB cannot stream in-market games where Diamond holds cable-only rights because of the exclusivity of its broadcasting rights, a league source confirmed.

"The idea is to get the rights back and have an option available for linear and also for streaming (in-market)," the source said Tuesday. "And to do that kind of across the board as a model of the future. It's going to take a little while to get there."

MLB is concerned about the current erosion of its overall reach, the league source said. It's not just because the U.S. cable subscriber base declined from a peak of 100 million in 2014 to 70 million at the end of last year but because Diamond has failed to reach agreements with a number of cable and satellite providers to carry its RSNs.

The league source said the concept of eventually having more centralized control over local, in-market options and to combine those with out-of-market games on the existing MLB.TV streaming platform or a third-party distributor has been discussed at owners' meetings.

"Exactly what that is going to look like, and the options available, I think is TBD at this point, but that is the general idea ... using our MLBTV service to eventually have that in-market option," the source said. "As a longer-term matter, we also see it as a solution to the blackouts, which for years has been a thorn in our side."

But first, MLB must wait on Chapter 11 to play out with Diamond. It will take time to cobble together rights for a robust in-market, direct-to-consumer product. And Diamond and its creditors might not want to surrender all rights.

Chapter 11 provides another big help beyond the protection of assets: Diamond can cherry-pick the assets it wants to keep, or "assume" in legal language, and the assets it wants to shed, or "reject."

That usually means hanging on to the most valuable or profitable assets and cutting ties with the least profitable.

Josh Kosman of the New York Post reported Diamond intends to reject the cable rights for the Cleveland Guardians, Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, and San Diego Padres.

Fully relinquishing those rights via Chapter 11 still requires court approval, since creditors are also represented. But Markell believes that ought to be "fairly easy" to accomplish with both sides likely agreeable to that plan. Still, even if the paperwork was filed immediately, he estimates a court hearing would not be arranged for about 45 days.

Assuming those rights are relinquished sometime early this season, those four clubs' games could be streamed in-market on MLB.TV, and teams could also deal directly with other broadcasters to find an in-market television home. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has said such a scenario will result in a revenue hit for clubs.

MLB released a statement Tuesday night, assuring fans it intends to broadcast games in any market where cable broadcasts are disrupted, saying it is "ready to produce and distribute games," and has hired additional "media professionals" to help fill in potential voids with broadcasts personnel.

The expected contract rejections are potentially similar to the situation with the AT&T Sportsnet and Root Sports RSNs, which hold the cable rights to four other MLB clubs - the Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros, as well as NHL and NBA teams.

AT&T Sportsnet's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is exiting the business of live sports and is spinning off its RSNs on April 8. It's negotiating to return those rights to the clubs, but if it cannot, another bankruptcy filing is likely.

What that means is eight MLB clubs could take back their cable rights and be without a guaranteed linear cable home at some point this season - but the games would at least be available to stream on MLB.TV.

As for Diamond, even if it can emerge from Chapter 11 holding its more profitable RSNs, it won't exactly be in great shape.

According to their last public financial filing through Sept. 30, Diamond had $9.1 billion in outstanding liabilities on the balance sheet against $4.4 billion in total assets. It said in its statement Tuesday it has about $425 million in cash.

The cord-cutting trend is also picking up pace. Comcast, the largest cable provider in the U.S., reported subscriber losses of 11% in 2022. Borrowing money is also more expensive in this environment of higher interest rates.

"They've yet to be able to present a plan that makes us feel confident there is a way out for them," the league source said.

How it ultimately ends, Markell said, includes a wide "variance of recoveries" of dollars lent and owed.

"The rule in bankruptcy is owners (in this case Diamond and Sinclair) do not take anything until creditors are paid in full, that means the full $9 billion," Markell said. "Some Chapter 11s will pay 100 cents on the dollar (of debt and contractual obligations). But there are few of those.

"What's going on now, I imagine, is lots of negotiations where Sinclair and Diamond are talking to primarily the bondholders and the sports teams and saying, 'Listen, our business model doesn't make sense anymore. We cannot pay you what we used to,'" Markell said. "For you and I as consumers, that's usually deadly.

"For businesses (saying), 'We can't pay you,' the next question is, 'What can you pay us?' And that's what they are working out now ... and that's usually a back-and-forth negotiation. 'Pay us less now or pay it up on the back end,' or, 'Give us some equity in the business.' All sorts of negotiations are on the table.

"(In Chapter 11) you are reorganizing expectations as much as you are reorganizing debts and liabilities."

Ultimately, club owners and Diamond creditors will likely take hits in the short term while MLB and the other leagues figure out how to pivot to a new model to deliver games to fans.

"All cases are unique, but there's always a pattern: There is a business, but the pricing is off," Markell said. "Someone is going to make money by bringing visual games to people who want to sit on their chairs in their house and watch. The question is, how do you do it?"

Travis Sawchik is theScore's senior baseball writer.

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We're in the twilight of the 2022-23 campaign and there's plenty of excitement just around the corner.

The NHL announced key dates for the remainder of the season on Wednesday. The winner of the Connor Bedard sweepstakes will be determined during the draft lottery on May 8 at 7 p.m. ET, while the playoffs will kick off April 17. The start date for the Stanley Cup Final may be moved up depending on how long it takes for the previous rounds to be played.

Here are the other priority events:

Though NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has denied that teams tank to improve their odds in the draft lottery, Bedard has the potential to be a generational talent for one lucky franchise. He has 61 goals and 125 points in 51 contests with the WHL's Regina Pats this campaign.

The Columbus Blue Jackets sit in last place entering play Wednesday with a 21-38-7 record and a .371 point percentage.

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