New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider has been fined $5,000 for hitting Dallas Stars forward Cody Eakin in the head with his own helmet during a fight Tuesday night, the Department of Player Safety announced Wednesday.

The penalty is the maximum allowable under the NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Kreider landed one blow before smartly discarding the makeshift weapon, though it wasn't enough to avoid sanctioning.

Eakin drew the ire of the Rangers earlier this season when he leveled goalie Henrik Lundqvist while chasing a puck behind the net. He was suspended four games for the incident, and some criticized the Rangers for not responding in the moment.

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Baby steps.

Winnipeg Jets' star rookie Patrik Laine returned to the ice Wednesday, but there is still "no time frame" for his return to game action, head coach Paul Maurice said.

Laine was concussed Jan. 7 following a devastating open-ice hit from Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe.

The 18-year-old goal-scoring aficionado has recorded 21 goals and 16 assists in 42 games this season, and his production has been sorely missed as the Jets have stumbled to a 1-3-1 record in his absence.

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Follow theScore's fantasy feed on Twitter (@theScoreFantasy) for the latest news, features and more. And download Squad Up, theScore's free-to-win-money sports game.

Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Wednesday, Jan. 18 (all advanced statistics courtesy of Corsica.Hockey and apply to 5v5 situations):

Dynamic Duos

• C Mark Scheifele (64K) & RW Blake Wheeler (69K), Jets (vs. Coyotes): The Coyotes allow 62.57 opponent shot attempts per 60 minutes, the second-highest average in the league. Wheeler leads the Jets with 142 shots on goal through 47 games, while Scheifele ranks fifth on the team with 96. The two skate on separate power-play units, offering more exposure.

• LW Tanner Pearson (53K) & C Jeff Carter (67K), Kings (vs. Sharks): Carter and C Anze Kopitar remain at the same price on Squad Up, despite Carter having compiled 19 more goals, 16 more points and an additional 56 shots on goal. Pearson ranks fifth on the team in SOG and second in goals. San Jose allows 55.88 shot attempts per 60 minutes.

• LW Brad Marchand (62K) & RW David Pastrnak (58K), Bruins (at Red Wings): Detroit ranks 23rd in the NHL with a team save percentage of .905. It's unclear if starter Petr Mrazek or third-stringer Jared Coreau will make Wednesday's start. Coreau shut out the Montreal Canadiens in his most recent start, but he faced just 18 shots.

Goalie Breakdown

• TARGET - Cam Talbot (93K), Oilers (vs. Panthers): The Panthers lost their first half of an Alberta doubleheader Tuesday, falling 5-2 to the Calgary Flames. Already tired, the Panthers rank 28th with an average shot distance of 36.72 feet. Talbot should be in for an easy night.

• BARGAIN - Tuukka Rask (75K), Bruins (at Red Wings): Rask has allowed at least three goals in each of his past three starts and four of his past five. The other start was a 25-save shutout of the Panthers. His poor outings have come on no more than 25 shots faced, but his .923 save percentage on the season warrants more than the minimum salary.

• FADE - Carey Price (104K), Canadiens (vs. Penguins): Pittsburgh leads the league with 10.82 scoring chances per 60 minutes. Price snapped a rough stretch of four games with at least three goals allowed his last time out, but he's in tough to reward owners with another top performance.

• CONTRARIAN - Ondrej Pavelec (86K), Jets (vs. Coyotes): Pavelec's .907 career save percentage and .904 mark from last season will rightfully deter most owners, especially at a mid-level salary. He has performed adequately at the AHL level this season, posting a .917 SV% in 18 games. He has the right opponent to be eased back into the NHL.

Bargain Plays

• RW Joel Armia (26K), Jets (vs. Coyotes): Armia has recently been put on Winnipeg's second line with C Bryan Little and LW Mathieu Perreault. He also plays on the second power play with Scheifele and RW Nicolas Petan. He went point-less in his past five games, but he played no less than 16 minutes each time out.

• LW Connor Sheary (32K), Penguins (at Canadiens): Sheary remains under priced for someone who has spent so much time on the left side of C Sidney Crosby. Wednesday's matchup against Carey Price isn't the most ideal, but Sheary has four goals through five January games, and he has topped 17 minutes in each of his past two outings.

• D Alex Goligoski (26K), Coyotes (at Jets): Goligoski has no points and just three shots on goal in January, but he continues to play well over 20 minutes every night. He also quarterbacks the second power-play unit, which will face a Jets penalty kill ranking just 26th in efficiency and allowing the second-most opportunities.

Top Fades

• C Anze Kopitar (67K), Kings (vs. Sharks): Kopitar has been much less productive than the aforementioned Carter all season. He has one goal and seven assists in January, but he shoots far less. Carter is the safer option with a higher upside as well. If Kopitar was considerably cheaper, he could serve as a contrarian pivot, but not at the same salary.

• LW Henrik Zetterberg (53K), Red Wings (vs. Bruins): Zetterberg has two goals and four assists in January, but he had just a single SOG in three of his past four games. Red Wings LWs Thomas Vanek and Tomas Tatar are similarly priced, with Zetterberg being the most expensive. Save money in tournaments, and avoid all three 50-50 contests.

• RW Jaromir Jagr (48K), Panthers (at Oilers): The 22-year-old trapped in the 44-year-old's body has played in nine double headers this season, picking up just one goal and two assists in the nine second halves. He tallied just two SOG in Tuesday's loss to the Flames.

Contrarian Options

• RW Anthony Mantha (31K), Red Wings (vs. Bruins): While Rask is one of the recommended goalie plays of the night, Mantha is the top play from Detroit for those looking for contrarian picks. He's among the cheapest of the Red Wings, and he has been one of the most productive skaters. He has four goals and five assists in January, and he has played at least 15 minutes every game since Dec. 13.

• C Martin Hanzal (43K), Coyotes (at Jets): Hanzal has gone point-less for four consecutive games, but he totaled eight shots on goal in his past two outings, and he has played at least 17:56 in each of his past three. The Jets rank near the bottom of the league in most possession metrics, and Pavelec could very well have an all-too-familiar disastrous outing.

• D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (48K), Coyotes (at Jets): Ekman-Larsson is continuously overlooked and viewed as over priced as a defenseman for the lowly Coyotes. The team's dismal overall offense limits his 50-50 appeal. He's a strong tournament play Wednesday, as the power-play leader for Arizona with a matchup against Winnipeg's 26th-rated penalty kill.

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Brandon Wheat Kings forward Nolan Patrick remains in the No. 1 spot on NHL Central Scouting's rankings for the 2017 NHL Draft.

The NHL released its midterm draft rankings Wednesday, and the 6-foot-3, 198-pound pivot leads the pack of North American skaters. Patrick missed 35 games and the world juniors with an upper-body injury, but has scored six goals and 13 points in eight games since returning.

Here's a look at how the rest of the field plays out:

North American skaters

European skaters

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Fans aren't the only ones that awe at Erik Karlsson.

Upon visiting the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night, opposing head coach Ken Hitchcock marveled at the swift blue-liner's skill set.

"He's a great skater but it's his anticipation that puts him ahead of everybody," Hitchcock told Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen. "It's his reads, when to jump, when to go, when to attack. He just seems to be a step ahead mentally (of) most players playing that position."

The Ottawa Senators captain lived up to the praise, delivering what's become a standard one-assist, two-hit, five-block performance in 24:16 of ice time, a key cog in the 6-4 win.

Hitchcock went on to coin Karlsson's unique style of play with a special term.

"We consider him to be an offenseman and we consider him to be a guy that's dangerous when you have the puck," Hitchcock said. "If you have the puck, and you make a puck error and he's on the ice, he will make you pay for it every time. That's just what exceptional thinkers do."

He has a point. After all, not too many defensemen lead their teams in scoring three seasons in a row, and counting:

It's no wonder Karlsson has two Norris Trophies to his name.

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One more.

Henrik Sedin scored the only goal Tuesday between the Canucks and Nashville Predators, a bank shot off Pekka Rinne that eventually gave Vancouver a 1-0 decision.

The goal was the captain's 10th of the season, and brings him up to 999 career points. The exceptional Swede will look to make history Friday at home against the Florida Panthers.

Already the leading scorer in Canucks history, Henrik will be the first Vancouver player in history to record 1,000 points.

Twin brother Daniel will join him, but likely next season, as he's 33 points away, and producing at his lowest rate (0.56 points per game heading into Tuesday) since the 2002-2003 season.

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DENVER - Vinnie Hinostroza scored twice in the third period, including the go-ahead goal with 11:49 remaining, and the Chicago Blackhawks rallied for a 6-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.

Tanner Kero had two goals and Nick Schmaltz and Brent Seabrook also scored for Chicago, which snapped a two-game skid.

The Blackhawks switched around their line combinations, breaking up the Jonathan Toews-Marian Hossa tandem in an effort to spark the offense. It certainly worked with Hinostroza, Kero and Hossa combining for eight points. Hossa had three assists.

Matt Duchene had two goals and Blake Comeau and Matt Nieto also scored for the last-place Avalanche, who wrapped up a four-game homestand with a 1-3 mark. This game felt more like a road game, though, with all the Blackhawk fans in attendance.

The loudest cheer of the night came when Hinostroza scored the game-winner by tapping a shot past Semyon Varlamov.

Colorado pulled Varlamov with around 35 seconds remaining, but couldn't get anything past Corey Crawford. Kero added an empty-netter with 10.6 seconds left.

Hinostroza tied the game at 4 early in the third period when he took a long pass from Seabrook and skated in all alone, lifting a wrist shot over Varlamov.

The 22-year-old Hinostroza entered with four career goals.

There were a combined four goals scored in a frenzied second period, with Colorado taking a 3-2 lead on Nieto's first goal of the season. The advantage lasted all of 19 seconds as Kero answered.

On the play, Hossa had his first assist of the night to give him 600 for his career. He's the 32nd player in NHL history to record 500 goals and 600 assists.

In the first period, Duchene scored a rare power-play goal for the Avalanche. They were 2 of 41 on the man advantage over the last 11 games before Duchene tipped Nathan MacKinnon's shot past Crawford.

Given how far they're fallen, the Avalanche could soon be looking at a possible shake-up. Duchene, the team's leading goal scorer, captain Gabriel Landeskog and defenseman Tyson Barrie have been frequently mentioned in trade rumors. The trio are part of the core that general manager Joe Sakic has been trying to build around for the last few seasons.

''I believe in the guys we have in this room,'' Barrie said. ''It's about learning, but you can only say that for so long.

''It would be a lot of fun to win with these guys. I don't think we're too far off.''

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Mikael Backlund, Michael Frolik, and Matthew Tkachuk cannot be stopped.

The "Triple-M" line paced the Flames again Tuesday, with the first of Backlund's two goals in 12 seconds holding up as the winner in a 5-2 decision over the Florida Panthers.

The three forwards combined for two goals and five assists, and Backlund led the way with three points. The 27-year-old is at 14 goals through 47 games, only seven off his career high of 21. His 32 points are 15 back of the career-high 47 he registered last season.

Frolik had 32 points in 64 games last season, and he's now collected 27 points.

Tkachuk, meanwhile, is having a stellar rookie season, with 29 points in 43 games as a 19-year-old.

(Video courtesy: NHL.com)

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