With assists from William Nylander and Mitch Marner on Monday night in Buffalo, the Toronto Maple Leafs became just the second team in NHL history to feature three rookies with 60-plus points each, joining the 1980-81 Quebec Nordiques, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Toronto's 4-2 win also increased its record to 11-2-1 over its last 14 games.

"This is a pretty good time of year to be heating up," Auston Matthews told Mark Masters of TSN.

Matthews, of course, rounds out the 60-point rookie club in Toronto, and scored again Monday off a beautiful feed from Nylander. That tally gave Matthews 39 goals on the season, setting a single-season NHL record for goals by a U.S.-born rookie and matching Sidney Crosby's rookie total.

The goal was also Matthews' 67th point of the season, passing Peter Ihnacak for the Leafs' single-season record for points by a rookie.

The Leafs currently sit with 93 points - good for second in the Atlantic Division - as the rookie trio attempts to lead the franchise to its first playoff berth in a full 82-game season since 2003-04. The Buds have four games remaining - all at home - against Washington, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, and Columbus.

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Tom Rowe may only have three games left in his tenure behind the Florida Panthers' bench.

Multiple sources told George Richards of the Miami Herald that Rowe will not return as head coach next season.

"This is part of the business," he said after Monday's 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. "I knew coming here, to be part of it, if things didn't go well I would be taking the brunt of it."

Rowe, who is also the Panthers general manager, was appointed interim bench boss one day after the club fired Gerard Gallant in November.

The Panthers have officially said they'll discuss Rowe's future as head coach after their final game of the season Sunday night.

They went 22-25-10 under Rowe after posting an 11-10-1 record to begin the season under Gallant.

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Evgeny Svechnikov had a night he'll never forget.

The Detroit Red Wings rookie scored the eventual winner in a shootout victory over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night, slipping a backhander past Craig Anderson in his first NHL game.

Senators center Colin White, who was drafted two spots after Svechnikov in 2015, came up short on his attempt to extend the shootout, sealing the victory for Detroit.

Svechnikov was recalled Monday morning to make his debut, which was also White's first career contest.

The Red Wings left winger made quite a first impression on the ice, and he did the same with the media postgame.

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Erik Karlsson didn't hide his frustration over the NHL's decision not to take part in next year's Olympics.

The Ottawa Senators star defenseman politely declined to comment when asked if he would play for Sweden regardless and had a one-word answer when asked what he thought of the decision, according to ESPN's Craig Custance.

"Crap," Karlsson said after a loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night.

"Pretty much. I don't understand the decision. We have no say in the matter, it's very unfortunate for the game of hockey around the world that they're going to do this to the sport. I think it's going to hurt a lot if we don't end up going. Whoever made that decision obviously had no idea about what they're doing."

Senators owner Eugene Melnyk said last month that Karlsson would get a "flat no" from him on participating in the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea if the league decided not to officially go, which it did Monday.

Some players have expressed a desire to play regardless, and the NHL is reportedly telling teams not to discuss individual participation with their players before the league rules on the matter.

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The Montreal Canadiens are the Atlantic Division champions once again.

The Canadiens clinched the division title with a 4-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Monday night, ensuring their second Atlantic crown in the last three seasons while officially dethroning the Panthers, who won it in 2015-16.

Montreal, which led the Atlantic nearly from start to finish, holds an eight-point advantage on the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs. While the Leafs have a game in hand, they would need five regulation or overtime wins to tie the Canadiens, but only have four games left.

It's the first division championship for the Canadiens since they went 50-22-10 in 2014-15.

Montreal is 46-24-9 with three games remaining in its regular-season schedule.

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It's easy to criticize someone when you no longer have to answer to them, but Brandon Prust is going after Gary Bettman anyway.

The former NHL forward lobbed a shot at the NHL commissioner after the league announced it will not officially participate in the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea.

Prust is playing this season in Germany with the Nurnberg Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

He last played in the league in 2015-16, contributing a goal and seven points in 35 games for the Vancouver Canucks.

The 33-year-old also spent three seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, three more with the New York Rangers, parts of three campaigns with the Calgary Flames, and 11 games with the then-Phoenix Coyotes.

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Yes, you read that correctly. Jonathan Marchessault is a 30-goal scorer.

The Florida Panthers forward hit the benchmark Monday against the Montreal Canadiens, taking a feed from Michael Sgarbossa, out-waiting goalie Charlie Lindgren and sliding the puck by him to tie the game.

Marchessault, who had eight goals in 49 career games entering this season, leads the Panthers with 30 in 2016-17.

He also ranks third on the club with 51 points. Not bad for a player Florida signed for two years and $1.5 million total last July.

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The men in charge of the Canadian and American hockey programs expressed disappointment with the NHL's decision to forgo the 2018 Olympic Games, but made it clear they're prepping alternate plans.

"Today's statement by the NHL is not what we were hoping for because, ultimately, we want best-on-best at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games which, for us at Hockey Canada, includes the participation of NHL players," Hockey Canada president and CEO Tom Renney said in a statement Monday, according to TSN.

"This does not change our preparation for the Games - we have developed both a Plan A and a Plan B, and will be ready to move forward. However, for the next month, our priority is the 2017 IIHF World Championship, and we will be ready to advance the required plan following that event."

USA Hockey is also readying a backup plan.

"We knew it was a very real possibility for many months and certainly respect the decision of the NHL," executive director Dave Ogrean said in a statement.

"The good news is that because of our grassroots efforts over the course of many years, our player pool is as deep as it has ever been and we fully expect to field a team that will play for a medal.”

“We respect the NHL’s decision and will examine our player pool options and plan accordingly," added Jim Johannson, assistant executive director of hockey operations for the American hockey governing body. "In the end, we’ll have 25 great stories on the ice in South Korea and will go to the Olympics with medal expectations.”

NBC, which has the broadcast rights to the Games, claims the tournament will still be worth watching without near-full NHL rosters.

"The Olympics have been the world's greatest international hockey tournament irrespective of whether professionals or amateurs are playing," the network said in a statement, according to Mike Halford of NBC's Pro Hockey Talk.

"Although we're disappointed that NHL players will not get the chance to experience and compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics next February, we're confident that hockey fans and Olympic viewers will tune in to watch the unique style of play that occurs at the Olympic Winter Games when athletes are competing for their country."

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