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Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson will not face supplemental discipline for his hit on New Jersey Devils forward Brett Seney, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

Wilson was assessed a match penalty and was ejected for this check on Friday night.

Wilson missed the first 16 games of the regular season due to suspension after catching St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist with a blindside hit in preseason. It was his fourth suspension in just over a year.

Fresh off signing a six-year, $31-million contract in the offseason, Wilson is enjoying his best year to date, collecting seven goals and 13 points through his first nine games.

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Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden didn't agree with the ejection of winger Tom Wilson on Friday night.

Wilson was assessed a match penalty for a hit to the head of New Jersey Devils forward Brett Seney late in the second period, but Reirden feels it was hardly worth even a minor penalty.

"I'm still trying to see how it's a penalty," Reirden said, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. "I think any other player, I don't know if -- it's maybe an interference call. Maybe."

Reirden continued to say the play was incidental in nature.

"I'm having a really tough time with this one," he said, according to The Athletic's Chris Kuc. "Because he isn't even intending to make a hit. It's incidental contact.

"This guy is doing everything he can to try to play the right way and this is how things are happening," the coach added. "It's a tough situation. We just had two players that have concussions they don't even call a penalty on."

Seney said postgame that he thought Wilson made contact with his shoulder.

"It was more kind of back of my shoulder," Seney said, according to Khurshudyan. "I don't know if he was intending to do it or what. I haven't had the chance to look at it yet."

Wilson was playing in just his ninth game since returning from a 14-game suspension for a hit on St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist during the preseason.

Seney was able to return for the third period of Friday's contest after going through concussion protocol.

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Alex Ovechkin continued his ascent up the scoring leaderboard and passed a couple of Canadian legends in the process.

The Washington Capitals captain buried an empty-netter late in a 6-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Friday night, as the Capitals won their seventh straight game.

It was his 626th career goal, and it moved him past Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla for sole possession of 15th on the NHL's all-time list.

Ovechkin is now 14 goals behind Dave Andreychuk for 14th, and 30 markers behind Brendan Shanahan for 13th.

The Capitals star accomplished Friday's feat in his 1,028th career contest. Sakic required 1,378 games to collect his 625 goals, and Iginla needed 1,554.

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Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson was assessed a match penalty and ejected for a check to the head of New Jersey Devils forward Brett Seney on Friday night.

The incident occurred late in the second period after Seney made a pass to cycle the puck behind the Capitals' net and was then hit with his back to Wilson.

Seney was helped to his feet by the Devils' training staff but was able to skate off the ice on his own and returned to the game for the start of the third period.

Friday's contest was Wilson's ninth game of the season since returning from a 14-game suspension for a hit to the head of St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist during the preseason.

Wilson has been suspended four times in just over a year.

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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock hasn't been shy expressing his belief that William Nylander will return to the team, but he isn't getting desperate as the stalemate nears a potential conclusion.

Babcock acknowledged Friday that he has spoken to Nylander this season but said, "We're not begging anyone to be a Leaf. That's not what we're doing at all. It's a privilege to be here, for me and for everybody else," according to The Athletic's Jonas Siegel.

Defenseman Morgan Rielly also said Nylander's absence hasn't been a distraction for the team.

"It's not even anything we think about," Rielly told reporters, including TSN's Mark Masters. "It's not anything we really talk about. If he's here in a few days, then great. If not, we're in the same position we are right now, and we feel pretty good about it so we're not overly worried."

Babcock has conveyed his confidence about Nylander multiple times over the last couple weeks. The deadline for the 22-year-old to ink a contract for this season is Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. ET. He'll be forced to sit out the remainder of the campaign if no deal is reached by then.

Nylander has yet to appear in a game this season due to the contract impasse.

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It's still relatively early in the NHL season, but the MVP race is starting to get interesting now that we're past the quarter mark.

A couple of obvious candidates still lead the charge, but some talented contenders have stated their case with dominant play of their own.

Here are five players deserving of Hart Trophy consideration at this point.

5. John Gibson

What Gibson is doing to keep the Anaheim Ducks competitive remains remarkable.

The Ducks came into Thursday's action allowing the second-most shots against per game (35.9) in the NHL, while averaging the fewest shots for in the league (26.4). They've mustered only 2.22 goals per game, which is also second worst.

Despite those unfavorable circumstances, Gibson has the fourth-best save percentage, the fifth-most wins, and is ranked ninth in high-danger save percentage among goalies with at least 10 games played. Plus, only Pekka Rinne and Frederik Andersen have better GSAA figures.

Anaheim would clearly be a cellar dweller without Gibson this season, but they're in the early mix for a postseason berth almost entirely because of him.

4. Mikko Rantanen

Don't dismiss Rantanen's success as a byproduct of playing alongside Nathan MacKinnon. While it's true to a degree, Rantanen has been an absolute force in his own right and deserves some credit for that.

The Colorado Avalanche winger is leading the NHL in points, assists, and points per game, with 17 of his helpers coming on MacKinnon goals.

You can read the latter point one of two ways: Yes, he's benefited greatly by playing with MacKinnon, but on the other hand, MacKinnon might not have many of his 18 goals if not for his linemate. The Finnish forward's significant value should be acknowledged.

3. Jeff Skinner

Skinner was held off the scoresheet as the Buffalo Sabres' 10-game win streak was snapped Thursday night, but he's been carrying the NHL's hottest team and what is the best story in the league so far.

He's been an incredible acquisition and racked up 10 goals and an assist during the streak, including two game-winners in a three-game span.

The winger's 19 goals are more than double that of the next-best teammate, and he's the only Sabres skater in double digits. Skinner has nearly a quarter of Buffalo's goals, and he's figured in on nearly a third of them.

Jack Eichel has 25 assists so far and deserves some credit for Skinner's spectacular play, but the first-year Sabre is the biggest reason Buffalo has one of the NHL's best records.

2. Nathan MacKinnon

Sure, MacKinnon has been aided by Rantanen's breakout campaign, but the 2017-18 Hart runner-up is the biggest catalyst on arguably the most dangerous line in the NHL.

The 23-year-old dynamo poured in four points in a win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night, and he has an eye-popping 15 points in his last six games. All of those were multi-point efforts, and he has nine multi-point performances in his last dozen contests.

MacKinnon is the anchor of Colorado's attack. Only four NHL forwards are logging more ice time, and he's the biggest reason the Avalanche have blossomed from a wild-card team a season ago into a legitimate Central Division contender.

1. Connor McDavid

It's evident most Hart voters prefer players on playoff-contending teams, and the Oilers are currently on the outside looking in, but there's no denying McDavid has had the greatest impact on his club's play out of anyone in the league.

The 2017 MVP has figured in on half of the Edmonton Oilers' goals (34 of 68), and ranks fifth in the points race despite playing for a club that's tied for fifth-worst in goals per game.

McDavid trails only Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov in average ice time among NHL forwards and is the primary reason the Oilers are in the hunt for a wild-card spot.

Honorable mentions: Patrik Laine, David Pastrnak, Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, Elias Pettersson.

ATOI = Average time on ice
SCF% = Percentage of scoring chances generated by the player's team with him on the ice at 5-on-5
CF% = Percentage of shot attempts generated by the player's team with him on the ice at 5-on-5
HDSV% = Save percentage on high-danger shots
GSAA = Goals saved above average (calculated by applying a goaltender's save percentage and total shots faced to the league average save percentage)

(Analytics courtesy: Natural Stat Trick)

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Ron Hextall didn't see it coming.

Fired by the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, to say the former general manager was caught off guard by his dismissal may be an understatement.

"I was shocked," Hextall told Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I was hoping to finish my career here."

Hextall had been on the job since 2014, a tenure which saw him reshape the team's salary cap situation and twice qualify for the playoffs.

He believes internal pressure to take the team to the next level - before it was ready - was ultimately his undoing. The team described Hextall's approach as "unyielding" upon his dismissal.

"I didn't feel we were at go-time," Hextall added. "I didn't feel (like) the Winnipegs and Nashvilles and the Tampas, that we were quite there."

While Hextall was methodical in his attempt to rebuild the Flyers, he rejected the idea that he didn't look at bigger moves to help the team climb the ladder. In fact, those discussions were happening as recently as the days leading up to his firing.

"Was I open to moving prospects and/or young players who could help us this season and beyond? Absolutely," Hextall said. "We had some talks in the works at the time. Whether something would have happened, I don't know. I can assure you I was being aggressive."

With Hextall ousted, the Flyers have begun an extensive search to find his replacement. Former GMs Chuck Fletcher, Ron Francis, and Dave Nonis are reportedly among the candidates.

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