The New York Islanders spent a third-round pick to acquire forward Shane Prince from the Ottawa Senators on deadline day, and the club isn't wasting any time throwing him into the spotlight.
The 23-year-old will make his Islanders debut on the first line alongside Dylan Strome and captain John Tavares as they face the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, head coach Jack Capuano told Newsday's Arthur Staple.
"(Prince) is a player we feel can rotate up and down the lineup to different lines and has some untapped potential," added general manager Garth Snow. "He can help us now and hopefully in the future."
The Rochester, N.Y. native has spent most of the season on a line with grinders Zack Smith and Chris Neil, but will finally get a chance to show if he can produce in a scoring role.
The Prince acquisition was a surprising one for the Islanders, as it was rumored the team was trying to acquire Tavares' former linemate P.A. Parenteau from the Toronto Maple Leafs, but were ultimately unwilling to give up a second-round pick.
The rookie has three goals and nine assists in 42 games.
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Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel will share the same sheet of NHL ice for the first time in their professional careers Tuesday night in Buffalo.
Huge deal, yeah?
Perhaps to everyone except the first and second overall selections in last year's draft.
Naturally, McDavid and Eichel rejected the notion that Tuesday night's clash was anything more than the Buffalo Sabres hosting the Edmonton Oilers in a matchup of two clubs desperate for points.
"The media has us pegged as not liking each other or being rivals (when) we really just don't know each other," McDavid said.
Eichel was particularly dismissive in his media availability.
"I think you guys all probably want to view it that way but I think inside the room you don't look at it like that. It's a team game. There's five guys on the ice and a goalie. It's a lot more than two people playing against each other," Eichel said.
"We're playing the Oilers tonight, we're not playing Connor McDavid. Obviously he's a key component to their team, and he's a good player. Right after I get out of here I'll go pre-scout Edmonton and I will know what to do."
Though they'll have to deal with this line of questioning for at least the next several seasons, there's hope for McDavid and Eichel to escape their constant comparison eventually.
These days, the Oilers and Stars can meet without "Taylor versus Tyler" dominating the pre- and post-game chatter, and even Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin's apparent distaste for one another seems to have subsided, too.
Until then.
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Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf, Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, and Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg have been named the NHL's Three Stars of the Month, the league announced Tuesday.
The red-hot Getzlaf earned first star honors with six goals and 14 assists in 14 games, leading the Ducks to a 12-1-1 record in February.
Ryan Getzlaf's played 56 games this season & it's been a tale of 2 halves, especially in regards to his goal scoring pic.twitter.com/UZ33lh9k41
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) February 27, 2016
Ovechkin was named second star after scoring at nearly a goal-per-game clip in February. He tallied 12 goals in 13 games, highlighted by his league-leading 40th marker.
Forsberg took home the third star after leading the Predators to a 7-3-3 record. The 21-year-old matched Ovechkin with 12 goals in 13 games, and recorded a pair of natural hat tricks.
.@EliasSports: Filip Forsberg is the first player from any team to record multiple natural hat tricks in three/fewer games since Nov. 1986.
— Adam Vingan (@AdamVingan) February 27, 2016
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With an 11-point cushion in the Presidents' Trophy race, it's no surprise oddsmakers have pinned the Washington Capitals as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup.
Oddsmakers Bodog released the latest betting odds Tuesday, and once again the first-place Capitals are leading the charge.
Here's how all 30 teams stack up:
Latest Stanley Cup odds from Bovada. pic.twitter.com/6G6Bqb0FCe
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) March 1, 2016
On the flip side, it appears the bottom four teams - the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs - are all too far out for oddsmakers to consider.
Meanwhile, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane remains the favorite to win the Hart Trophy with an advantage over goaltender Braden Holtby.
Despite missing over half the season, Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid now sits second with odds of 5-1 to win the Calder Trophy. He trails Blackhawks forward Artemi Panarin, who leads at 3-10 odds of bringing home the hardware.
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Suspended Anaheim Ducks center Shawn Horcoff was back at practice for the first time Tuesday since it was announced in January that he had violated the NHL and NHLPA's Performance Enhancing Substances Program.
Though he can skate with the team now, after a month of inaction, he will not be at head coach Bruce Boudreau's disposal until March 11.
Horcoff had 10 points through 45 games in his first season with Anaheim, which has shot up the league standings in his absence.
The Ducks acquired two bottom-six players at the trade deadline in Brandon Pirri and Jamie McGinn.
Horcoff is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
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