We split our shot totals on Thursday night. Max Pacioretty posted his lowest shot total of the season, but, luckily, Joel Eriksson Ek came through for us.

We now sit at 76-61 (+13.56 units), heading into the weekend.

Jason Zucker over 2.5 shots on goal (+105)

Jason Zucker let us down last time out, but we're going right back to the well tonight. Zucker has been a consistent shot generator at home. He is just one shot back of Evan Rodrigues for the Penguins' team lead on home soil and has recorded at least three in 10 of the 14 games in Pittsburgh.

With an implied chance of 48.8%, there's a big edge in backing Zucker to go over the number, even more so when you factor in the top-tier spot he finds himself in.

On the road, the Sabres are dead-last in shots on goal against (per 60) at five-on-five this season. There are no personnel reasons to expect much improvement, especially in the latter half of a back-to-back.

Roope Hintz over 2.5 shots on goal (+115)

Roope Hintz has been one of our favorite targets all season, particularly when he's playing at home.

He's recorded three shots or more in 10 of his 12 games at American Airlines Center, averaging nearly 3.2 shots per contest compared to just 2.25 on the road.

It just so happens the Stars are at home tonight in a sneaky favorable matchup.

The Blues are typically a strong defensive team, but COVID-19 and injuries have taken some important players out of the lineup, and their numbers are trending downward as a result. At five-on-five, St. Louis ranks 28th in shots against per 60 over its last 10 games.

The Blues are giving up a substantial volume of shots, and Hintz is arguably the best bet to take advantage of that.

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

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All Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, and Florida Panthers games have been postponed until at least Dec. 27, the NHL announced Friday.

All three teams are dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks. Cases across the league have risen substantially over the past two weeks.

Here's a look at the affected games on each team's schedule:

The Flames have already had three games postponed this week. All three teams are tentatively scheduled to play their respective contests when the league returns from its Christmas break on Dec. 27.

As of right now, the NHL isn't planning a league-wide shutdown, reports Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.

Saturday's clash between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens was also called off, and capacity limits have been implemented in some Canadian markets as the league navigates the increase of COVID-19 cases.

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Jason Spezza's suspension has been reduced to four games, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced Friday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs veteran was initially handed a six-game ban for kneeing Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk. Spezza is now eligible to play in Toronto's next game, scheduled for Saturday versus the Vancouver Canucks.

Spezza had an in-person hearing for his hit and then appealed the league's decision. He has no prior suspensions in his 19-year career, which played a factor in Bettman's decision.

"In the unusual circumstances presented here, I believe that the conduct at issue was a serious, but isolated, aberration from Mr. Spezza’s consistent style of play over nearly two decades and that a four-game suspension is sufficient to ensure that the conduct will not be repeated," Bettman wrote in a statement.

Before Spezza retaliated, Pionk kneed Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin, resulting in a two-game suspension of his own. Pionk entered concussion protocol and missed three games in total before returning to the Jets' lineup.

Spezza has notched seven goals and four assists in 26 games for Toronto this season.

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Paul Maurice has resigned as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets, the team announced Friday.

Assistant coach Dave Lowry will take over duties on an interim basis. Winnipeg is 13-10-5 this season.

Maurice's departure is a personal decision, reports TSN's Darren Dreger.

He will address the media Friday morning, followed by Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff.

The 54-year-old took over as Jets head coach in 2014. He's overseen 600 games for the franchise, accumulating a 315-223-62 record and five postseason appearances.

Maurice ranks sixth in NHL history with 775 victories.

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The NHL has postponed Saturday's marquee matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins, the league announced Friday.

A makeup date hasn't been confirmed, but the Canadiens are scheduled to play on Dec. 20 versus the New York Islanders. Montreal played at home Thursday without fans due to rising COVID-19 cases.

The Bruins are dealing with an ongoing outbreak that's sidelined superstars Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, among others. Boston could only dress 17 skaters in its loss to the Isles on Thursday.

The NHL has postponed several games in recent weeks as there has been an increase in players landing in COVID-19 protocol.

The Bruins haven't visited Montreal since November 2019. The longtime archrivals met once this season in Boston, with the home side taking a 5-2 victory.

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Warning: Story contains coarse language.

Vegas Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault believes the New Jersey Devils could've avoided the brouhaha that occurred between the two clubs at the end of Thursday night's game.

With 25 seconds left in the game and the Golden Knights leading 5-3, Devils head coach Lindy Ruff lined up 6-foot-4, 227-pound defenseman Mason Geertsen at forward for the ensuing faceoff.

Here's what went down:

Geertsen and Vegas captain Alex Pietrangelo started the skirmish, leading to lots of pushing, shoving, and grabbing. Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner swung his stick at a New Jersey player who appeared ready to scrap. Lehner, Pietrangelo, and Geertsen were all handed 10-minute misconducts.

"I think it was some bullshit. (Ruff) was probably just mad that Jack Hughes got hit there and nothing happened in the moment," Marchessault said, referring to Zach Whitecloud's open-ice hit on the Devils phenom earlier in the contest:

"At the end of the day (Geertsen) is the one who gave up that fourth goal, so I think it's kind of gutless," Marchessault said. "You put a defenseman, a tough guy, to line up at forward when there's 25 seconds left. That's shitty, but that's what those older, veteran coaches do sometimes."

Geersten took himself out of position to make a hit on Pietrangelo earlier in the game, leading to Nicolas Roy's game-winning goal.

The blue-liner entered Thursday with zero points and 41 PIMs in nine career NHL games. Geersten's recorded three AHL seasons of 100-plus PIMs and only one with double-digit points.

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Even at just 29 years old, Tyler Seguin is aware he isn't the same player he used to be.

The Dallas Stars center was limited to just three games last season after undergoing a hip arthroscopy and labral repair in November 2020 and a knee scope one month later. He said in May that he basically had to rebuild his entire quad muscle.

The injuries appear to have caught up to Seguin, as he's recorded just seven goals and four assists in 26 games this year. The 34-point pace would mark his worst NHL campaign since he was a 19-year-old rookie with the Boston Bruins in 2010-11.

"Sometimes, you get a little frustrated not having the same kind of game I have in the past," Seguin said, according to The Dallas Morning News' Matthew DeFranks. "Some things that used to click in my head and the opportunities I would get, I haven’t really seen this year."

Seguin isn't generating the chances he used to, with his shots and individual expected goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five both plummeting to career lows, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Knowing his limitations, the veteran forward is trying to find new ways to be productive.

"That’s all I know how to do, is when things aren’t going a certain way, it’s 'Okay, let’s grease it up. Let things go off you. Go to those dirty areas,'" he said. "I’m still trying to find that balance of muck-and-grinder and finding that fluid style to my game that I’ve had."

The grind mentality should be music to the ears of head coach Rick Bowness, who was highly critical of some of his players during Tuesday's loss to the St. Louis Blues.

Bowness understands Seguin is still getting back up to speed.

"Through time, it’ll come back to where it was," Bowness said. "It’s not there yet. He just has to keep working hard in the gym and he has to keep pushing his pace in practice."

The injuries' impact has served as a harsh reality check for Seguin.

"I’ve had people close to me tell me it could take a little bit just to get it all back," he said. "I didn’t believe them, and I still haven’t fully until the last week or two."

Seguin is Dallas' highest-paid player, and he's signed through 2026-27 with an annual cap hit of $9.85 million, according to CapFriendly.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are trying out a new moniker in the locker room.

"We kinda joke, you know, 'we're the Tampa Bay Find-A-Ways,'" captain Steven Stamkos said after Thursday's 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. "We just find a way to win and find a way to get points. Just munch them away until we can get healthy. It's certainly been a great run."

The start of the 2021-22 season hasn't been smooth sailing for Stamkos' squad. Nikita Kucherov played just three regular-season games before being dealt another long-term injury; young phenom Brayden Point played in 16 contests before being sidelined by an upper-body ailment.

Despite all of that, the Lightning sit at the top of their division with a record of 19-6-4. Since Nov. 21, the first game the Lightning were without both Kucherov and Point, the team has gone 10-2-1.

Stamkos said the Bolts miss Kucherov and Point the most on the power play.

"We have guys that are capable of making plays, but we have to be realistic here. You're talking about probably the best power-play guy in the world in (Kucherov) and one of the best shooters from the hole ... in (Point)," he said. "No one's gonna replace those guys. It's gotta be by committee. It's gotta be guys willing to get out of their comfort zone a little bit."

The 31-year-old pointed to defenseman Victor Hedman as someone who has stepped up on the man advantage. The Swede scored the game-winner on the power play against the Senators on Thursday night.

The Lightning will take on the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.

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