Just because their teams are rivals, doesn't mean David Pastrnak can't show Auston Matthews some love.

"He has an unbelievable shot and skill set and he can find the soft spot," Pastrnak told reporters Tuesday, via TSN. "Every time he's 100% healthy he's showing that, and I just think he's a hell of a player."

During the summer, the Boston Bruins winger predicted that the Toronto Maple Leafs star would win the Hart Trophy this season.

"I don't think there's something wrong with just giving him credit when he deserves it," Pastrnak added. "It's early in the season, he's showing that he can score goals, and he's been showing that since he got here."

So far in 2019-20, Pastrnak is tied with James Neal for the league lead in goals with nine, but Matthews isn't far behind with eight. The two players clashed on Saturday, as Pastrnak scored a goal but Matthews helped set up the game-winner for Toronto in overtime.

The Maple Leafs haven't had a Hart Trophy winner in 64 years. Ted Kennedy won the honor in 1954-55.

The Bruins and Maple Leafs will meet again Tuesday night in Boston.

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Colorado Avalanche superstar Mikko Rantanen took an awkward spill Monday against the St. Louis Blues and needed help to get to the dressing room.

He appeared to get the blade of his skate caught on the ice, causing his leg to twist.

Colorado announced that Rantanen would not return to the game with a lower-body injury. Head coach Jared Bednar offered no update on the forward's status postgame.

The 22-year-old winger had 11 points in eight games entering Monday night.

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Many projected the Columbus Blue Jackets to regress after losing Sergei Bobrovsky, Artemi Panarin, and Matt Duchene in free agency this summer, but the club has collected points in five straight games to improve its record to 4-3-2.

After Monday's 4-3 overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, always candid head coach John Tortorella addressed the pundits who believed his team wouldn't be able to overcome the loss of its three best players.

"We're supposed to suck this year," Tortorella said postgame. "We're just gonna worry about our own business and take it a day at a time."

Tortorella's response stemmed from a question about goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who had big shoes to fill in replacing a two-time Vezina Trophy winner.

Korpisalo stopped 28 of 31 shots against the high-flying Leafs and has now been in goal for all four of the club's victories this season. He owns a .922 save percentage in his last four games.

Columbus' next test will come at home Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

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The Colorado Avalanche suffered their first regulation loss of the season on Monday night, falling to the St. Louis Blues 3-1.

The Avs were the league's final remaining undefeated team in regulation before the defeat.

More to come.

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Hockey Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk is undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with stomach cancer in August.

"For some reason, the Lord put me in this kind of fight and I'm ready to fight it," Hawerchuk told TSN's Rick Westhead in an interview last weekend. "I want to live to tell the story."

Hawerchuk is the head coach of the OHL's Barrie Colts, but the team announced in September he wouldn't be behind the bench to begin the 2019-20 season due to health issues. Details were not revealed at the time.

"The chemo has hit me pretty hard," he said. "I do it one week and it breaks the body down and then the next week I take a break and build my body up so I can do it again. I have to do that for two months. I really struggle to eat and have a feeding tube, but the last few days I've been able to eat a little bit, too. You've got to keep your nutrition up."

Hawerchuk was selected first overall in the 1981 NHL Draft by the original Winnipeg Jets franchise. He became an immediate star, winning the Calder Trophy in his rookie season with 103 points. He reached the 100-point mark in six of his first seven NHL campaigns.

The 56-year-old also played five seasons for the Buffalo Sabres and had a brief stint with the St. Louis Blues before wrapping up his career with the Philadelphia Flyers. He finished his career with 1,409 points in 1,188 regular-season games and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001 - his second year of eligibility.

Hawerchuk has been the head coach of the Colts since 2010-11, capturing four division titles in his tenure.

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Florida Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky paid a hefty price to get his old sweater number with his new team.

Bobrovsky, who wore the No. 72 with the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2013 to 2019, rewarded teammate Frank Vatrano with a bottle of wine, a Rolex watch, and a McDonald's hamburger for surrendering the digits before the start of the season.

Bobrovsky is just the third Panthers player to don the No. 72 following Vatrano and former defenseman Alex Petrovic.

The Russian puck-stopper has had a shaky start to his tenure in the Sunshine State after inking a seven-year, $70-million pact with the Panthers this summer. Through six starts, Bobrovsky has posted a 4.07 goals-against average and .872 save percentage.

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