Arizona Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson is expected to miss three-to-four weeks with a lower-body injury, the team confirmed Monday, according to AZ Central's Jose M. Romero.

Ekman-Larsson suffered the injury late in the third period of Saturday's contest against the San Jose Sharks, taking a hit behind the net from Sharks forward Evander Kane and spilling awkwardly into the boards. He left the game and didn't return.

"You pencil him in every night for 20-plus (minutes). He's a power-play guy, he's a penalty-kill guy. He's a big chunk of our team," Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet said, according to Romero. "We always talk about the old cliche, 'Next man up.' Well, we're going to need five, six men up on defense to help us out."

Ekman-Larsson had three assists against San Jose before exiting. The 29-year-old has averaged 19:22 of ice time across two games this season.

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The Winnipeg Jets will be without Patrik Laine versus the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, as head coach Paul Maurice told Chris Johnston of Sportsnet that the winger is out due to an upper-body injury.

More to come.

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The 2021 men's world championship will no longer be played in Minsk, the IIHF announced Monday.

The tournament - which the IIHF awarded to Minsk and the Latvian capital of Riga in 2017 - is being relocated due to political unrest in Belarus and the ongoing pandemic. Protests against Belarus' government and its authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, have been ongoing since he was re-elected last year.

"It is a very regrettable thing to have to remove the Minsk/Riga co-hosting bid," IIHF president Rene Fasel said in a statement. "During this process, we had tried to promote that the world championship could be used as a tool for reconciliation to help calm the socio-political issues happening in Belarus and find a positive way forward.

"And while the council feels that the world championship should not be used for political promotion by any side, it has acknowledged that hosting this event in Minsk would not be appropriate when there are bigger issues to deal with and the safety and security of teams, spectators, and officials to prioritize."

Last week, Skoda, a car manufacturer and longtime tournament sponsor, threatened to pull out if Belarus remained the co-host.

The IIHF will now consider hosting the event solely in Riga, although Fasel previously said that option isn't on the table.

Last year's tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.

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The emotion in Keith Yandle's emphatic goal celebration Sunday showed it was no ordinary tally.

Yes, it was the 100th career goal for the Florida Panthers defenseman, but he admitted he wasn't even aware of the milestone until he got back to the bench. The tally clearly meant a lot to Yandle, who had his ironman streak put in jeopardy this week when the team initially planned to have him serve as a healthy scratch before changing course.

"Anytime I score I'm pretty excited, but it was definitely a special one," Yandle said postgame, according to Fox Sports. "Seeing the guys and how excited they were for me definitely meant a lot."

Here's a look at Yandle's goal and the celebration that followed:

Yandle added that it was a relief when he was told he was going to play.

"Anytime you get to put on an NHL jersey and be able to represent your team is a special thing," he said.

A report initially surfaced Tuesday that Yandle had fallen out of favor with the Panthers and would eventually be a healthy scratch. Head coach Joel Quenneville confirmed three days later that the veteran blue-liner wasn't expected to play, but he then changed his mind prior to Sunday's contest.

"I was happy for him," Quenneville said postgame, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "And the bench was lit up as well. It's one of those moments where you look back at it and you can have a big smile."

Yandle's run of consecutive games played now sits at 867, which is the longest active streak in the league and the fourth-longest of all time.

The 34-year-old has three years remaining on his contract, which carries an annual cap hit of $6.35 million and includes a full no-movement clause. He's one of the league's most productive offensive defensemen, ranking fifth among blue-liners in points over the last three years. He's drawn criticism for his defensive play, though.

However, the Panthers produced 58.9% of the expected goals while Yandle was on the ice at five-on-five during Florida's 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks - the best among the team's defensemen, according to Natural Stat Trick.

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Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller will be in the lineup Monday night for his season debut versus the Calgary Flames, he confirmed Sunday.

Miller missed the club's first three games due to COVID-19 protocols. He never tested positive, but he wasn't able to take to the ice due to close contact with Vancouver defenseman Jordie Benn, who's still unable to play.

"I followed league and government protocols and I was cleared to return," Miller said. "I'm ready to get back at it ... I'm excited for the game tomorrow."

Miller is entering his second season with the Canucks after a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning. He made an instant impact with Vancouver in the 2019-20 campaign, leading the club in scoring with 72 points in the regular season before a strong playoff showing.

The Canucks are currently 1-2. They were shut out by the Flames and their former netminder, Jacob Markstrom, on Saturday.

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The first Monday of the NHL season treats us to a full day of hockey with the slate beginning at noon ET.

The matinee is the first of 18 games scheduled over the next two days, giving us plenty of options in the betting market.

Here's what we'll be playing:

Hurricanes (-115) @ Predators (-105); Jan. 18, 8 p.m. ET

I honestly couldn't bet this fast enough. When I saw the Hurricanes opened at +105, I raced to the window to secure my ticket. Carolina is an elite team being offered at a significant discount because the market has yet to catch up, and Saturday's loss to the Red Wings is only going to prolong that process.

The Hurricanes owned an absurd 64.62% of the expected goal share at five-on-five in their two opening games against Detroit. Now granted, it's the Red Wings, but that's still an outrageous number from a team that's picking up where it left off last season in that regard.

Meanwhile, despite twice beating the Blue Jackets to open the season, the Predators owned just 43.10% of the expected goal share at five-on-five. Only three teams have managed a worse mark to start the campaign: the Red Wings, Ducks, and Kings. I'd bet Carolina all the way up to -125 here.

Pick: Hurricanes (-115)

Canadiens (-110) @ Oilers (-110); Jan. 18, 9 p.m.

We were on the Canadiens on Saturday night and nothing we saw in that game has scared us off from backing them again here at a short price. There was great value in betting Montreal a day early in Saturday's game at +105, with the line climbing as short as -125 by puck drop. This game should follow a similar pattern, so get your Habs bets in early.

The Canadiens came out flying Saturday night, leading 4-0 after a dominant opening 30 minutes. They put it into cruise control after that with the Oilers piling it on in garbage time, and the advanced stats made the game look much closer than it ever was.

The reality is Montreal poured it on with all four lines, keeping Edmonton hemmed in its own end for much of the first 30 minutes. The Oilers are a very flawed team and have no business being evenly priced against a much deeper, and significantly undervalued, Canadiens club.

Pick: Canadiens (-110)

Sabres (+135) @ Flyers (-155), Jan. 19, 7 p.m.

Be sure to pay attention to the Flyers' goaltending situation for this back-to-back. We're currently expecting to see Carter Hart start Monday with Brian Elliott to follow Tuesday. Philadelphia is being priced the same on both nights despite a massive disparity between the pipes.

The move from Hart to Elliott comes with a decrease of 0.40 goals saved above average per 60 minutes and 0.015 save percentage, according to last season's numbers. There will also undoubtedly be an adjustment period for Elliott in his first appearance in an NHL game since August.

Through their first two games, the Sabres own 59.71% of the expected goal share at five-on-five - fourth in the NHL - despite losing both contests to the Capitals. The Flyers, meanwhile, have managed just a 43.57% share - the sixth-worst mark in the league - despite twice beating the Penguins. There's excellent value in backing Buffalo in the second game of this back-to-back.

Pick: Sabres (+135)

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, loves a juicy puck line, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson will be out "longer-term" with an upper-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan revealed Sunday. There's currently no timeframe for his return to the lineup, Sullivan added.

The 26-year-old was injured during the Penguins' second game of the season against the Philadelphia Flyers and was a late scratch for Sunday's contest. Defenseman Juuso Riikola took his spot in the lineup.

Matheson averaged 15:52 minutes of ice time over the two games he's appeared in.

Pittsburgh acquired Matheson along with Colton Sceviour in exchange for Patric Hornqvist during the offseason.

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