Columbus Blue Jackets forward Gustav Nyquist is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury, the team announced Wednesday.

Nyquist was injured on Jan. 25 against the Edmonton Oilers and placed on injured reserve later that week. His ailment doesn't require surgery.

With the Blue Jackets out of the playoff race, Nyquist was a potential trade chip for the March 3 deadline as a pending unrestricted free agent.

The veteran winger collected 10 goals and 12 assists in 48 games this season before hitting the shelf.

Nyquist has spent the past three seasons in Columbus. His career started with an eight-year stint with the Detroit Red Wings before a brief spell with the San Jose Sharks. All in all, the 33-year-old Swede has registered 423 points in 700 games.

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We only have two games on our final slate in advance of the All-Star break. Thankfully, they're good ones.

Let's dive into the best way to attack them.

Hurricanes (-150) @ Sabres (+130)

The Hurricanes are sizzling hot right now. They've won six consecutive games, eight of nine, and picked up at least a point in 10 of the last 11.

As well as they're playing, the Sabres offer good value to snap the Hurricanes' lengthy winning streak on Wednesday night.

The Sabres are quietly playing some fantastic hockey of their own. They own a 6-2-2 record over the last 10 games and have dominated opponents in that span, controlling 55% of the expected goal share. That's a top-five rate.

It's their offense that has been leading the charge, which is nothing new, especially on home soil. They've netted a whopping 3.78 goals per 60 minutes in Buffalo. Only the Lightning (4.04 per 60) have scored more efficiently at home in 2022-23.

Although the Hurricanes are a strong defensive team, I think they're going to have a hard time slowing down the Sabres in this spot.

They find themselves in the latter half of a road back-to-back, their third game in four nights, and the expectation is Antti Raanta will get the nod in goal. He owns an .897 save percentage this season and is probably the closest thing the Hurricanes have to an Achilles' heel.

Raanta will be tested plenty against this Sabres team - particularly if Jaccob Slavin is unable to play again - and I have concerns he can hold up.

With a win, the Sabres would find themselves in a playoff spot heading into the All-Star break. This is a big game for them, and that should shine through in their performance.

Bet: Sabres (+130)

Bruins (-125) @ Maple Leafs (+105)

The Bruins are in the midst of an epic slide - by their standards, anyway. They dropped just nine of their first 47 games and have since lost three in a row. Unthinkable!

While a road game prior to a 10-day vacation probably isn't the ideal time to bank on a team to really dig in, the Bruins aren't an ordinary team. Their roster is veteran-heavy, and they take their business seriously. I expect them to come out angry and determined to get a result, finishing the unofficial first half on a high.

More important than anything else, though, is the fact Auston Matthews won't play for the Maple Leafs. As much talk as there has been about Matthews not being as lethal as a season ago, he's still producing at a 92-point pace and ranks sixth among all NHLers in average game score.

Matthews leads the league in five-on-five goals since entering and is a lethal shooter on the man advantage. Suffice to say, the Maple Leafs will feel his absence against the No. 1 team in preventing goals at five-on-five and on the penalty kill.

Boston's top six has more juice than Toronto's sans Matthews, the Bruins are arguably the league's best defensive side, and Linus Ullmark leads the NHL in Goals Saved Above Expected.

There appear to be plenty of edges for the Bruins in this spot. I expect they'll be able to parlay those - along with some extra urgency - and get back in the win column.

Bet: Bruins (-125)

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

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Anthony Beauvillier is looking forward to having a clean slate now that he's been traded to the Vancouver Canucks.

"Honestly, I think (the) timing is perfect," Beauvillier told NHL.com's Kevin Woodley on Tuesday.

"Having a new coach and new (assistant) coaches, I feel like it can start a new page for everyone. Having the chance to start from scratch with everyone, it's exciting. I feel like everyone wants to play good for the new coaches and staff with the changes they made, so it's definitely exciting."

On Monday, the New York Islanders dealt the forward to the Canucks as part of the package that landed Bo Horvat. Beauvillier joined Vancouver along with 20-year-old center Aatu Raty and a conditional first-round pick in this year's draft.

Despite Beauviller's optimism about his change of scenery, he lamented having to leave Mathew Barzal. He met Barzal in 2012 and roomed with him at Canada's under-18 camp three years later before the Isles selected both in the first round of the 2015 draft, with Beauvillier going 28th overall.

"It's been a hell of a ride with him, and he's going to stay one of my best friends forever," Beauvillier said. "It's very emotional and sad to leave these guys, but at the same time, (you) don't want to beat yourself up too much because there's something exciting ahead."

Beauviller, who spent seven seasons with the Islanders, has yet to live up to the expectations placed on him as a first-rounder and former QMJHL star. The Quebec-born winger failed to carve out a consistent top-six role during his New York tenure, posting career highs of 21 goals (in 2017-18), 22 assists (last season), and 39 points (in 2019-20).

The 25-year-old's collected nine tallies and 11 helpers over 49 contests throughout this campaign while averaging his lowest ice time (15:47) since playing 14:39 per game in 2018-19. However, he should have an opportunity to nail down a top-six role with the retooling Canucks, who fired head coach Bruce Boudreau and replaced him with Rick Tocchet on Jan. 22.

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Monday was a solid night for our best bets. The Winnipeg Jets bested the St. Louis Blues in regulation and Pierre-Luc Dubois came through with three shots. Unfortunately, Jordan Kyrou missed the net six times and finished one shot shy of giving us a perfect 3-0 night.

We'll try our luck at perfection again with a pair of bets for Tuesday's slate of games.

Senators (-190) @ Canadiens (+160)

The Ottawa Senators are unlikely to make the playoffs once again - they would have to leapfrog too many teams in the second half of the season - but they could close the gap to as little as six points with a win tonight.

All signs point towards them getting one against a putrid Montreal Canadiens team.

Ottawa is in far better form at five-on-five, having controlled more than 54% of the high-danger chances over the last 10 games. That's a top-five rate in the NHL.

Comparatively, Montreal has posted a 43% high-danger chance share over the same period. That's a bottom-five rate.

The Senators are likely to have a significant edge in terms of controlling the run of play. That should prove fruitful given the talent advantage at hand.

They have Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Alex DeBrincat, Thomas Chabot and Claude Giroux, among others, while an already thin Canadiens lineup is without its biggest scoring threat in Cole Caufield.

Not to mention, the top dogs on the Senators get to shoot on an ice-cold goaltender in Jake Allen. He has dropped eight of his last nine starts and conceded four goals or more in all but one of them. He owns a .877 save percentage in that span, ranking 63rd among 67 eligible netminders.

While Anton Forsberg hasn't been lights out, his .903 save percentage over that same period is actually above league-average. He should give the Senators an edge between the pipes and make it hard on the Canadiens to compensate for a lack of talent throughout the roster.

I like the Senators to take care of business inside 60 minutes.

Bet: Senators in regulation (-110)

Capitals (-210) @ Blue Jackets (+180)

We are going to get a little creative with this one. It is not a side - nor a game total - that stands out in this game. No, it is a first period market.

The Washington Capitals are a structured, slower-paced veteran team that sort of feels its way into games. That leads to very few goals in the opening frame, as they've netted just 35 through 52 affairs. Only five teams have scored fewer times in the first period this season, all of whom are near the basement of the NHL.

Unsurprisingly, the Columbus Blue Jackets are one of those teams. They have scored only 29 times in the opening period this season. That's more than the Chicago Blackhawks and nobody else.

They are a very shallow team that has to try and play things tight to the vest to hang around in games for any amount of time. They've done a good job of that against Washington this season, as the two sides faced off twice this month and neither meeting featured more than a goal in the first period.

I like that Washington is a structured defensive side that doesn't tend to have glaring defensive breakdowns. I like that the Blue Jackets are essentially a one-line team that struggles to score on a nightly basis. I also like that we're getting an ideal goaltending matchup.

Darcy Kuemper has quietly played very well for the Capitals in his debut season with the team. He has appeared in 34 games and owns a rock-solid .915 save percentage.

While Joonas Korpisalo lags a little behind, his numbers are strong as well. He has a .909 save percentage to date and has saved 3.8 goals above expected. In comparison, his tandem-mate Elvis Merzlikins has conceded 23.9 goals more than expected. That's an unfathomably large swing.

I don't see a ton of chances being traded early in this game and the goaltending should be competent at both ends. Expect a slower start in these teams' last game before the All-Star break.

Bet: Under 1.5 first period goals (+115)

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

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We have three games to look forward to on the last big slate in advance of All-Star weekend. Let's dig deeper into a few player props that stand out.

Thomas Chabot over 2.5 shots (-132)

The Ottawa Senators' top blueliner is sizzling hot. Chabot has generated at least three shots in five of the last six games and is tied with Brady Tkachuk - one of the highest volume shooters in the NHL - for the team lead in attempts over the last 10 games (65).

Chabot is playing a ton of minutes in all situations, giving him every opportunity to take advantage of plus matchups. He certainly finds himself in one Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens.

They rank dead last in shot suppression - at five-on-five and on the penalty kill - over the last 10 games. Unsurprisingly, they have given up a lot of volume to defenders in that span.

Chabot generated four shots on six attempts last game out against this same Canadiens team. I expect a similar effort this time around.

Claude Giroux over 2.5 shots (+115)

Giroux is not someone I routinely target for shots but there is a lot to like with him right now.

First and foremost, he has been shooting the puck a lot since being placed on Ridly Greig's wing. Giroux has attempted more than 23 shots per 60 minutes with Greig as his center, essentially double his season average of 11.60. We're still dealing with a small sample size but that is a substantial uptick and very encouraging.

The other thing that really stands out is the mouthwatering matchup. The Canadiens are giving up shots at a higher clip than every team in the league right now and Giroux feasted on them just a few days ago, recording three points and four shots in a blowout victory.

Big games against Montreal are nothing new for Giroux, who has registered at least three shots in six straight head-to-head meetings.

Look for that streak to continue.

Alex Ovechkin over 4.5 shots (-115)

Alex Ovechkin continues to chug along like a well-oiled machine. The 37-year-old superstar has piled up 91 shot attempts over his last 10 games, which leads the entire NHL. It's not really close, either.

Roman Josi (82) is the only other player with more than 80 shot attempts over the same period of time.

Ovechkin, clearly, is never shy about pulling the trigger. He should have ample opportunity to do so against this Columbus Blue Jackets team. They are absolutely decimated by injuries and, unsurprisingly, that is leading to some treacherous numbers across the board. They get caved in at five-on-five on a nightly basis and are also subpar at preventing shots while killing penalties.

The Washington Capitals faced the Blue Jackets just over three weeks ago. Despite the Capitals getting outplayed in that game - and generating only 19 shots - Ovechkin still hit the over on his total while attempting eight shots.

With the Capitals in need of every point they can get, and the Capitals off until February 11th after this game, Ovechkin should get a full workload and then some.

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

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