Dallas Stars forward Alexander Radulov is out Friday against the Minnesota Wild due to a lower-body injury.

Radulov was originally considered a game-time decision earlier Friday.

Rookie Roope Hintz will play on the top line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin until Radulov returns to full health.

Radulov had been off to a blazing start to the season, racking up four goals and six assists through six games.

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The Vegas Golden Knights signed forward Alex Tuch to a seven-year, $33.25-million contract extension, the team announced Friday. The deal will carry an annual average value of $4.75 million.

The 22-year-old is coming off a stellar rookie season, compiling 15 goals and 37 points in 78 games with the Golden Knights. He's yet to play this season due to a lower-body injury.

Tuch was selected 18th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild, but was traded to Vegas on the condition that the Knights selected Erik Haula at the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.

Tuch brings both size and speed to the table. He spent the bulk of last season in the team's bottom-six forward group, but will likely get a look on the second line upon his return from injury.

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Montreal Canadiens forward Tomas Plekanec is dealing with a lower-back injury and could be out for several weeks, head coach Claude Julien announced Friday, per the team.

The 35-year-old will be placed on injured reserve, creating a roster spot for Nicolas Deslauriers, who's been cleared to play after suffering a facial fracture in the preseason, per TSN.

After being shipped to the Toronto Maple Leafs at last season's trade deadline, Plekanec returned to the Canadiens on a one-year deal over the summer. He recently celebrated his 1,000th career game, but was a healthy scratch for the season's first three contests.

He's scored one goal in three games while logging just under 11 minutes of ice time per game.

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To say that Evgeni Malkin has the Toronto Maple Leafs' number would be a massive understatement.

The Pittsburgh Penguins superstar scored the game-winning goal and added two more points (albeit both on empty netters) during Thursday's 3-0 victory against the Leafs, adding to his gaudy totals against Toronto.

Here's a look at Malkin's career splits:

Malkin averages nearly two points per game against the Maple Leafs. It's widely known that Sidney Crosby has Toronto's number, but even his points per game (1.41) pale in comparison to Malkin's.

The Maple Leafs had been a bottom-feeding team for the better part of Malkin's career, but he's still managed to pile up 10 points in six games against Toronto since its return to relevance in 2016-17.

He won't have to wait long for another matchup with the Leafs, as the two sides will square off Nov. 3 in Pittsburgh.

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It appears the NHL is trending toward adding women to its group of on-ice officials.

"The National Hockey League is 100 percent open to it, it's inevitable, it is going to happen," TSN's Darren Dreger said on Thursday's "Insider Trading" segment. "What we don't have is a timeline as to when it is going to happen."

Dreger notes that women have attended the league's officials combine in the past, but the league is taking the initiative to ask them to participate this year.

"I know that the NHL is putting out the invite to college players, national team women, absolutely, come to this combine, go through the experience and if you're up to pace then we'll find a way to get you in," said Dreger.

If a change is made, the NHL will join the NFL and NBA as major North American professional sports leagues to employ women as referees.

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Jonathan Quick is back.

The Los Angeles Kings' star netminder returned to the crease Thursday against the New York Islanders after a five-game absence due to a lower-body injury.

Quick had played in just one game so far this season, stopping 30 of 33 shots in an overtime loss to San Jose in the Kings' opener before suffering the injury in practice and subsequently going on IR.

Backup goaltender Jack Campbell performed adequately in Quick's absence, going 2-3-0 with a .922 save percentage and a 2.69 goals-against average.

Quick is coming off a Jennings Trophy-winning season in which he went 33-28-3 with a .921 save percentage, 2.40 goals-against average, and five shutouts.

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The Calgary Flames appear to have avoided a substantial scare, as star winger Johnny Gaudreau is feeling "no significant effects" Thursday from the hit that led to his removal from Wednesday's game, reports Sportsnet's Eric Francis.

Concussion spotters pulled Gaudreau as a result of this hit by Boston Bruins blue-liner Charlie McAvoy in the third period of Calgary's 5-2 win.

McAvoy won't face any supplemental discipline for the hit, Francis adds.

Prior to his premature departure, Gaudreau buried his third goal of the season, bringing his total to nine points in six games.

Calgary's next game comes Friday versus the Nashville Predators.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will have their No. 1 netminder back in the crease Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, as Matt Murray has been cleared to start for the first time since being diagnosed with a concussion Oct. 9, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters after the morning skate, per NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger.

Murray missed nine games with a concussion last season. This time, he was ruled out on a day-to-day basis and has served as the Penguins' backup for each of their past two contests without seeing any action.

In his two starts so far in 2018-19, Murray is 1-1 with a .831 save percentage.

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