During the first period of their Tuesday night meeting with the Dallas Stars, the Montreal Canadiens announced forward Brendan Gallagher will miss the next two-to-three weeks with a lower-body injury.

The 23-year-old left the game after doing the splits and suffering an apparent groin injury, according to Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette. He finished with just 4:52 of ice time.

Gallagher has 18 goals and 17 assists in 49 games this season. He joins a crowded injury list for the Canadiens, who are already without a number of key players.

So Habs injured list tonight is: Price, Gallagher, Eller, Petry, Beaulieu, Gilbert, Desharnais, Carr and Flynn. That's nine players.

— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) March 8, 2016

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New York Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello took his sweet time circling in the neutral zone during a first-period power play in Tuesday's game against the Buffalo Sabres, and his patience paid off.

The Norwegian winger found a teammate sneaking behind both Sabre defensemen and fed Derick Brassard a perfect pass, springing him on a breakaway where he buried his team-leading 24th goal of the season.

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The Los Angeles Kings and forward Milan Lucic have apparently taken the first steps toward a contract extension.

Both sides have exchanged contract proposals, ESPN's Pierre LeBrun said during Tuesday's TSN "Insider Trading" segment.

Related: Lucic: 'I would love nothing more than to remain a King'

According to LeBrun, it's very early in the process, and he expects talks could take a while, noting the length of Anze Kopitar's negotiations with the club. However, there's reportedly mutual interest in keeping Lucic in L.A.

Lucic is enjoying his first season with the Kings since being dealt by the Boston Bruins. He has 15 goals and 40 points in 64 games.

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Though the NHL was quick to shut down reports the league had made a decision on expansion Monday, the general managers are expected to discuss an important part of that process at meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., beginning March 14.

"They're going to talk about the expansion draft rules," Pierre LeBrun reported during TSN's "Insider Trading" segment on Tuesday.

"I'm not sure that this is an issue that's making GMs lose sleep at night. More than that, they want to get an idea of how this might work. If the NHL expands, the league is expected to give them a general parameter of how an expansion draft might look, even though that's not finalized yet."

The league has not held an expansion draft since 2000, when the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild joined the league. At that time, teams were allowed to protect either one goalie, five defensemen, and nine forwards, or two goalies, three defensemen, and seven forwards.

Then-recent league additions the Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers were given full protection for their rosters during that draft.

Las Vegas and Quebec City are the two candidates currently going through the NHL's formal expansion process.

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BUFFALO, N.Y. - New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault says goalie Henrik Lundqvist's neck spasms have subsided and he's on track to return by this weekend. And forward Rick Nash shouldn't be far behind. Vigneault provided the updates befo...

New York Rangers defenseman Dylan McIlrath will miss "a couple weeks" of action with a knee injury, head coach Alain Vigneault announced Tuesday.

The 23-year-old was re-evaluated after originally being listed as day-to-day. He was injured as the result of a hit by forward Cal Clutterbuck during Sunday's loss to the New York Islanders.

The Rangers recalled defenseman Brady Skjei from their AHL affiliate in Hartford with both McIlrath and Marc Staal (back spasms) out with injuries.

McIlrath has three points and 60 penalty minutes in 31 games this season.

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The Chicago Blackhawks signed forward Marcus Kruger to a three-year contract extension, the team announced Tuesday.

The 25-year-old was set to become a restricted free agent this summer. The deal will pay Kruger $9.25 million, an average of just over $3 million per season, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

Kruger is having a forgettable season as he has battled injuries, limiting him to just 33 games and just one assist. He was placed on injured reserve Dec. 28 and has not suited up in a game since Dec. 17.

The Swedish Olympian amassed 28 goals and 85 assists in 320 career games, all with the Blackhawks.

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The Carolina Hurricanes continue to galvanize their prospect pool.

The club agreed to a two-year entry-level contract with forward Andrew Poturalski, the team announced Tuesday.

Poturalski is enjoying an excellent sophomore season at the University of New Hampshire, where he ranks second in NCAA scoring with 22 goals and 52 points in 37 games.

"Andrew had an outstanding season with New Hampshire and attracted interest from numerous NHL teams, so we are thrilled that he chose Carolina to start his professional career," general manager Ron Francis said in a release. "He’s a smart hockey player with really good speed and skill."

The deal will pay the 22-year-old $700,000 at the NHL level or $70,000 in the American Hockey League next season and $832,500 in the NHL or $70,000 in the minors during the 2017-18 season, along with a $185,000 signing bonus.

Poturalski will report to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, where he'll finish the season on an amateur tryout.

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Jared Cowen is looking ahead, not back.

Physically able to play but effectively shut down by the Toronto Maple Leafs after being acquired as part of the Dion Phaneuf trade, the defenseman will not file a grievance against the club, choosing rather to take steps towards rehabilitating both his ailing hip and his professional hockey career.

"We’re going to take the time to get Jared right," Cowen's agent, Rick Valette, told Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. "He’s not injured, but he’s not right. Any doctor would clear him to play. But there are compensation issues when your hip isn’t 100 percent, other parts of your body are affected.

"Rather than having him sit as a healthy scratch with the Leafs or the Marlies, we’re going to have him go see some people and get healthy."

The Maple Leafs plan to buy out the remaining year of a contract that carries a $2.15-million cap hit, and have allowed him to speak to other teams about his next contract, but Cowen's taking a step back, with a view to taking several steps forward.

"He’s 25 years old," Vallette said. "We’ve got six months to get him back to being a good player. That’s our game plan for now."

Cowen, drafted ninth overall by Ottawa in 2009, appeared in only 37 games for the Senators this season prior to the trade, recording four assists in almost 17 minutes of ice time a night.

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