Boston Bruins defenseman John-Michael Liles somehow escaped a trip to the penalty box for a hit during Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but it won't be a shock if he hears from the NHL's Department of Player Safety.
During the first period, Liles delivered a dangerous forearm to the head of Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, who struggled to get back to his feet.
Kucherov, Tampa's leading scorer, went straight to the dressing room, but returned for the start of the second.
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During the first period of their Tuesday night meeting with the Dallas Stars, the Montreal Canadiens announced forward Brendan Gallagher will miss the next two-to-three weeks with a lower-body injury.
The 23-year-old left the game after doing the splits and suffering an apparent groin injury, according to Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette. He finished with just 4:52 of ice time.
Gallagher has 18 goals and 17 assists in 49 games this season. He joins a crowded injury list for the Canadiens, who are already without a number of key players.
So Habs injured list tonight is: Price, Gallagher, Eller, Petry, Beaulieu, Gilbert, Desharnais, Carr and Flynn. That's nine players.
— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) March 8, 2016
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New York Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello took his sweet time circling in the neutral zone during a first-period power play in Tuesday's game against the Buffalo Sabres, and his patience paid off.
The Norwegian winger found a teammate sneaking behind both Sabre defensemen and fed Derick Brassard a perfect pass, springing him on a breakaway where he buried his team-leading 24th goal of the season.
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The Los Angeles Kings and forward Milan Lucic have apparently taken the first steps toward a contract extension.
Both sides have exchanged contract proposals, ESPN's Pierre LeBrun said during Tuesday's TSN "Insider Trading" segment.
Related: Lucic: 'I would love nothing more than to remain a King'
According to LeBrun, it's very early in the process, and he expects talks could take a while, noting the length of Anze Kopitar's negotiations with the club. However, there's reportedly mutual interest in keeping Lucic in L.A.
Lucic is enjoying his first season with the Kings since being dealt by the Boston Bruins. He has 15 goals and 40 points in 64 games.
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Though the NHL was quick to shut down reports the league had made a decision on expansion Monday, the general managers are expected to discuss an important part of that process at meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., beginning March 14.
"They're going to talk about the expansion draft rules," Pierre LeBrun reported during TSN's "Insider Trading" segment on Tuesday.
"I'm not sure that this is an issue that's making GMs lose sleep at night. More than that, they want to get an idea of how this might work. If the NHL expands, the league is expected to give them a general parameter of how an expansion draft might look, even though that's not finalized yet."
The league has not held an expansion draft since 2000, when the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild joined the league. At that time, teams were allowed to protect either one goalie, five defensemen, and nine forwards, or two goalies, three defensemen, and seven forwards.
Then-recent league additions the Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers were given full protection for their rosters during that draft.
Las Vegas and Quebec City are the two candidates currently going through the NHL's formal expansion process.
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New York Rangers defenseman Dylan McIlrath will miss "a couple weeks" of action with a knee injury, head coach Alain Vigneault announced Tuesday.
The 23-year-old was re-evaluated after originally being listed as day-to-day. He was injured as the result of a hit by forward Cal Clutterbuck during Sunday's loss to the New York Islanders.
The Rangers recalled defenseman Brady Skjei from their AHL affiliate in Hartford with both McIlrath and Marc Staal (back spasms) out with injuries.
McIlrath has three points and 60 penalty minutes in 31 games this season.
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The Chicago Blackhawks signed forward Marcus Kruger to a three-year contract extension, the team announced Tuesday.
The 25-year-old was set to become a restricted free agent this summer. The deal will pay Kruger $9.25 million, an average of just over $3 million per season, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
Kruger is having a forgettable season as he has battled injuries, limiting him to just 33 games and just one assist. He was placed on injured reserve Dec. 28 and has not suited up in a game since Dec. 17.
The Swedish Olympian amassed 28 goals and 85 assists in 320 career games, all with the Blackhawks.
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