Charlie McAvoy is back in action.

The Boston Bruins rookie blue-liner will return to the lineup Saturday versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, less than two weeks after undergoing a procedure to correct an abnormal heart rhythm.

The Bruins posted a 3-1-0 record in McAvoy's absence and currently sit in second place in the Atlantic Division with 68 points. The Maple Leafs trail the Bruins by three points, despite having played four more games.

McAvoy has been one of the NHL's top freshmen this season, as he's tallied 25 points in 45 games. He ranks third in scoring among rookie blue-liners and sits four points behind teammate Torey Krug for second among Boston defensemen.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will welcome back their top defensive pairing on Saturday night as Morgan Rielly and Ron Hainsey will be in the lineup when the club takes on divisional foe the Boston Bruins, head coach Mike Babcock confirmed, according to The Athletic's Jonas Siegel.

Rielly has missed the Maple Leafs' last six games with an upper-body injury, while Hainsey returns after a two-game absence with an illness.

The two will join a club that is currently playing some of its best hockey of the season. The Maple Leafs have won four straight and are coming off back-to-back shutouts on consecutive nights with 5-0 and 4-0 victories over the New York Islanders and New York Rangers.

With the team's top pairing back in the fold, Justin Holl who scored in each of his first two career games this week, will sit as Travis Dermott and Connor Carrick man the club's third pairing.

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T.J. Oshie will pay the piper.

The Washington Capitals forward was handed a $5,000 fine Saturday, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement, for a cross-check he delivered to Pittsburgh Penguins blue-liner Kris Letang on Friday.

The play occurred during the Penguins' 7-4 win over the Capitals.

It marks the first time Oshie has faced supplemental discipline this season.

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Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask and Torey Krug will be cheering on their Boston-area compatriots the New England Patriots in Sunday's Super Bowl.

Though Rask has become good friends with Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski over the years, the Finnish netminder admits he'll be watching the game just like every other fan on Sunday.

"It's fun," Rask said, according to NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin. "We're just hoping that he makes the kick, like all over New England, everybody else. You're just a fan. But obviously you're just hoping for the best and trusting him that he's going to be the clutch player like he usually is."

As for Krug, growing up in Michigan he's always been a fan of the Detroit Lions, but with few reasons to celebrate in recent years, he's become more of a Patriots fan during his time with Boston.

"The Lions have never won a playoff game since I remember watching, so it's been a long time coming," Krug said. "But it's been refreshing being here and becoming a Patriots fan too because the way that they accomplish things and the way they go about their everyday business is pretty fun to watch."

As far as predictions for Sunday's game go, Krug thinks people shouldn't sleep on the Philadelphia Eagles, but that you can never count out the Patriots - as recent history has shown.

"I just think their strength is their character," Krug said. "They're down but never out. So many comebacks that are indicative of that. I just think that's their biggest strength. Obviously you have (quarterback) Tom Brady leading the way, it's easy to listen to what he says and fall in line and let him be your leader, for sure."

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Zach Aston-Reese is getting his opportunity.

The first-year forward was recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday after the club placed Conor Sheary on injured reserve.

Related: Penguins' Sheary week to week with lower-body injury

A highly sought-after college free agent last offseason, Aston-Reese's potential suitors reportedly included the Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators, and Vancouver Canucks. He ultimately inked a two-year deal with the Penguins.

The product of Northeastern University was a Hobey Baker finalist in 2016-17, as he tallied 63 points in 38 games.

Aston-Reese has registered nine goals and 20 assists across 41 contests this season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Penguins' AHL affiliate.

The 23-year-old could make his NHL debut as early as Saturday, when the Penguins face off against the New Jersey Devils.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins appear to have woken up from their early-season slumber thanks in large part to the most dominant trio of scorers the league has to offer.

Sure, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel recording multitudes of points isn't exactly breaking news at this point in their remarkable careers, but they've all been on a different planet as of late.

In 13 games since the calendar flipped to 2018, including Friday's 7-4 win over the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh's big three forwards have been simply unstoppable.

Additionally, Crosby is currently riding an 11-game point streak, Malkin was recently recognized as the NHL's first star of the month, and Kessel has moved into second in league scoring (62), just two points behind leader Nikita Kucherov.

It's no coincidence that Pittsburgh is one of the NHL's hottest teams, capturing 20 of a possible 26 points so far in 2018 and surging to second place in the Metropolitan Division after sitting in seventh on Dec. 31.

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Henrik and Daniel Sedin will apparently remain with the Vancouver Canucks through the trade deadline.

General manager Jim Benning said Friday that the Canucks organization and the Sedins have agreed to play out the rest of the season and then revisit the matter before the franchise points leaders' contracts expire July 1, according to Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre.

The twin Swedish forwards met with Benning on Wednesday, but didn't provide him with a definitive answer regarding what they want to do when their deals run out in the summer.

"They're still undecided about what the future holds for them," the GM told MacIntyre. "We've all agreed let's just play out these final games and we'll see where we're at. At the end of the year, we'll sit down again and see what they're thinking. We'll tell them what we're thinking and we'll figure it out from there."

Last week, Henrik told TSN 1040 that he and Daniel would try to let the Canucks know by the Feb. 26 trade deadline whether they wanted to either agree to a hypothetical deal to a contender before the deadline, re-sign with the club at season's end, or retire at that point.

Both are pending unrestricted free agents in the final campaign of dual four-year, $28-million contract extensions inked in the fall of 2013.

The 37-year-olds have spent their entire 17-year careers with the Canucks. Henrik ranks first in team history in assists, points, and games played, while Daniel sits first in goals, second in both assists and points, and second in games played.

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Adam Larsson will take as long as he needs before returning to the Edmonton Oilers.

The defenseman will be out indefinitely after the death of his father, Robert, according to NHL.com's Derek Van Diest.

The elder Larsson had a heart attack while visiting Edmonton from Sweden on Jan. 25. He was 50 years old.

The blue-liner left the morning skate that day and didn't play in that evening's game against the Calgary Flames or Thursday night's contest against the Colorado Avalanche.

"Adam is dealing with that, it's affected our room immensely, and we'll continue to support the Larsson family, and you won't see him here for a little while because we're going to give him the time that he needs to spend and take care of things," Oilers head coach Todd McLellan said Friday, according to Van Diest.

General manager Peter Chiarelli and the NHLPA offered their condolences to the Larsson family Friday.

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