The Columbus Blue Jackets will be without defenseman Jack Johnson for the foreseeable future.
The 29-year-old is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch.
Johnson was forced from Thursday's game against the New Jersey Devils with the injury in the second period.
He had dressed in 60 of the team's 62 games this season, recording six goals and 14 points. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets are expected to call up a replacement from their American Hockey League affiliate.
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How do you get the best out of Matt Bartkowski? Tell him he might be traded.
One day after it was reported that the Vancouver Canucks had named him as one of seven players available at the trade deadline, the 27-year-old went off for a career-best, three-point night - scoring two goals and adding an assist - in a 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators.
Bartkowski picked up a point on the first three Canucks goals, and after his second goal knotted the score at three apiece, the team's Twitter account couldn't help but acknowledge the man keeping them in the game.
GOAL COUNTS!
— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) February 26, 2016
Live look at Bartkowski tonight pic.twitter.com/A18XCplooM
"I probably have like eight voicemails from my mom," Bartkowski said post-game about his proud mother, who gained fame watching her son score live during a game earlier in the month. "You're lucky she wasn't here or everyone would have heard her tonight."
Bartkowski now has five goals and 11 assists in 59 games this season.
Emerson Etem also had a two-goal game, adding an empty-netter in the final minute to clinch the win. Jake Virtanen scored the game-winner during a third-period power play, and Ryan Miller made 27 saves to pick up his second consecutive win.
As for the Senators, they saw their four-game winning streak come to an end as they hope to make yet another late-season push for the playoffs. Star forwards Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone and Bobby Ryan all found the net for Ottawa.
The Canucks have one more game before the trade deadline, as they host the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. The Senators will finish their three-game Western Canadian road trip against the Calgary Flames on Friday.
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Mark Stone was understandably pumped after netting his 20th goal of the season against the Vancouver Canucks, immediately skating to the glass to high-five some traveling Ottawa Senators fans in the corner after the shorthanded tally.
The goal gave the Senators a 2-1 lead as they looked to extend their winning streak to six games.
The 23-year-old needs six more goals to match his career high from a year ago.
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With his name flying around in trade rumors ahead of the NHL's Feb. 29 deadline, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis gave a candid interview on TSN 1040, reiterating that he hasn't been asked to waive his no-trade clause.
Related - Report: Blackhawks have 'serious interest' in Canucks' Hamhuis, Vrbata
"Everything is in the realm of possibility because there's so many moving parts," the pending unrestricted free agent said. "It's not fun seeing all the speculation."
Hamhuis is in the final season of a contract paying him $4.25 million while carrying a cap hit of $4.5 million. The 33-year-old is from British Columbia, so potentially leaving the team he came home to play for presents an agonizing decision.
"This is not what you play for," he said. "You play to be in a playoff race."
The Canucks are 10 points back in the Western Conference wild-card race. It's all but officially over, and the team's reportedly "open for business" in the trade market.
Hamhuis could waive his no-trade clause, go to a contender to try and win a Stanley Cup, then return to Vancouver as a free agent in the offseason.
Hamhuis on leaving, then returning: That's one of the options. And a very interesting one. We've loved Vancouver and would welcome more
— TSN Radio Vancouver (@TSN1040) February 25, 2016
"You can argue the pros and cons until you're blue in the face. No one has asked me to waive anything."
The club confirmed the fact on Twitter.
Hamhuis: The ultimate dream is to win the Cup with Canucks. I always have that desire to win, that's why I've gone to 7 World Championships
— TSN Radio Vancouver (@TSN1040) February 25, 2016
Hamhuis added that he'll assess his options with his family over the next few days, and that he'll head into the weekend with an open mind.
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Teach a man to throw a fish, or he'll struggle repeatedly trying to get it over the glass.
A University of New Hampshire hockey fan illustrated that Saturday while attempting to carry out a school tradition during a game against Boston University.
Wildcats fans at a local fraternity have being throwing fish on the ice after New Hampshire's first goal at home games since the 1970s, but this toss won't go down in history as one of the best.
The moral - just like in fishing - is that patience pays off.
- With h/t to Uproxx
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