The Toronto Maple Leafs rookie sensation told reporters, including TSN's Kristen Shilton, that he has a bet going with head coach Mike Babcock and another one with fellow phenom Mitch Marner over the outcome of Thursday's gold-medal game between the U.S. and Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship.
Matthews, who hails from Arizona and who's represented Team USA internationally, joked that Babcock - who's won multiple gold medals behind Canada's bench - will have a predictable justification for a U.S. win.
"(It's) lose-lose for me, because he'll just make an excuse, like if he was coaching there's no way they'd lose," Matthews said Thursday.
Detroit's on a seven-game trip, with games Thursday against Los Angeles, San Jose on Saturday, Chicago on Tuesday, and Dallas next Thursday. That means the earliest the two will return is Jan. 14 against Pittsburgh.
Kronwall has three assists in 25 games, as injuries have plagued his season. He's averaging slightly under 19 minutes per game.
Smith has two goals and three assists and was averaging 18:02 in ice time.
These are big losses for Detroit, which has lost three of four and faces tough competition on the rest of their trip.
Steve Mason won't admit it, but his increased playing time has taken a toll.
The Philadelphia Flyers goaltender appeared in his ninth consecutive game Wednesday night, allowing four goals on 27 shots in a 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers.
The Flyers have lost five straight games, turning November and December's 10-game win streak into a distant memory.
Mason has played in 25 of the last 27 contests and Wednesday's defeat was his 22nd start in the Flyers' last 24 games. It's the most work he's ever had in those spans.
"It's been a heavy workload, but at the same time, I'm not going to complain that the coaching staff trusted me with a heavy workload and (has) shown the trust to put me in, night in and night out," Mason told reporters, according to CSN Philly's Tim Panaccio.
Mason appeared in eight of the Flyers' wins during the win streak, posting a .926 save percentage. But he's allowed 20 goals in the eight games since, for an unsavory save percentage of .896.
"It's not a fun time right now," Mason said. "We have to find way to come out on top and just push through here without getting too discouraged."
Head coach Dave Hakstol refused to pin Mason's struggles on his energy level.
"No, not fatigue," Hakstol said. "It's a team game and we gave four (goals), plus an empty netter. As a team, we will leave it at that. We gave up four goals that were a little too easy."
The Flyers were left without an experienced backup when Michal Neuvirth went down in mid-November with what Panaccio reported at the time as a knee injury.
Anthony Stolarz was recalled in Neuvirth's absence, but the rookie played in only four of Philadelphia's 17 games - starting only two of them - before the Flyers returned him to the AHL and activated Neuvirth prior to Wednesday's game against the Rangers.
Having Neuvirth back should help ease the burden on Mason, and we'll see if Hakstol gives his starter a break when the Flyers play a home/away back to back against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday and Sunday.
Mikkel Boedker's move to San Jose has not gone as planned.
Signed to a four-year, $16-million contract by the Sharks in free agency, the 27-year-old has just two more goals than Martin Jones - a goalie. Yeah, that's how bad it's been.
With only two goals and eight points, Boedker will be a healthy scratch against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night, head coach Peter DeBoer confirmed to CSN's Kevin Kurz.
"I know this kid and I know his character," said DeBoer, who coached Boedker in junior. "My conversation with him was, heading into Christmas, he probably played eight or 10 of the best games he's played here. He's done it for a stretch. Now, it's just consistently bringing that."
DeBoer went on about the difficulty of playing in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, and needing to dress the best possible lineup every night.
"I'm sure we'll get a good response when he's back in," DeBoer said.
Boedker's had zero puck luck. A career 10.9 percent shooter, his two goals have come on 45 shots, good for a 4.4 percent success rate. He's at 50 percent with respect to possession, according to Corsica Hockey.
Tommy Wingels will play in Boedker's absence after watching the last five games in a suit.
The ECHL's Toledo Walleye are hosting "Rocky Tribute Night" on Saturday, and had some outlandish uniforms made for the occasion.
The Detroit Red Wings affiliate unveiled the uniforms Thursday, which feature a Rocky Balboa-themed jersey, patriotic pants similar to those worn by Sylvester Stallone in the 1976 film, and socks resembling boxing boots.
We'll be wearing these unis during our heavyweight bout with the Brampton Beast this Saturday. 👊🏼 pic.twitter.com/o2fzyJTK0u
Kuznetsov was issued a warning after being flagged on Oct. 29. His second infraction occurred on Dec. 29, and now he's forced to cut a cheque.
The hit to his wallet is another negative in what's been a down season for the 24-year-old. After leading the Capitals in scoring last season, setting career highs across the board, Kuznetsov has four goals and 19 assists in 37 games.
It's no secret that the Calgary Flames have a talented young core, but an unlikely veteran has been the club's most consistent scorer over the last couple of weeks.
Mikael Backlund tallied the decisive goal in Calgary's 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night, giving him at least a goal in each of the past five games, and six markers during that span.
Backlund has eight goals in his last 10 games, and with 12 in the season's first 40 contests he's on pace to notch a career-high 25 over the 82-game schedule - a four-goal improvement over last season.
The 27-year-old Swede leads the Flames in total goals and power-play goals, and ranks second in both points (25) and shots on goal (97).
He's playing on Calgary's second line between rookie Matthew Tkachuk and Michael Frolik, and centering that same duo on the Flames' second power-play unit.
Calgary has an away/home back-to-back against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday and Saturday, and Backlund has more goals against the Canucks in his career than any other opponent, with 12 in 27 games.
So don't be surprised if this scorching Flame stays hot.
A 16-game winning streak and some bulletin-board material.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and their second-best streak of all time hit D.C. on Thursday night, and the Washington Capitals are looking forward to it, thank you very much.
After beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime Tuesday, the team was watching the end of the Blue Jackets' game against the Edmonton Oilers - a 3-1 Columbus win.
The Capitals are 0-1-1 against the Blue Jackets this season, losing 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 15 and 3-2 on Nov. 20, before Columbus went on its magical run.
Pacioretty has four goals in his last four games and 10 in his last 12. Only Jeff Carter has more game-winners this season, as Pacioretty is tied with Ovechkin and Artem Anisimov for second with six game-deciding goals in 2016-17.
▼ Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers are flailing following Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers. Philadelphia has lost five straight games and seven of its last eight, and now hold a mere three-point lead for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot over the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have three games in hand.
So what's going on in the City of Brotherly Love?
The Flyers have no problem scoring, as their issues lie on the other end of the ice. Philadelphia ranks eighth in goals per game (2.85), but sits fourth-worst in goals allowed per contest (3.03).
They have the second-worst even-strength save percentage in the NHL (90.77, according to Corsica Hockey), and that's largely due to the inconsistency of Steve Mason, who's come back down to earth after a hot stretch last month.
▲ Vancouver Canucks
Just as the Flyers have stumbled to a surprising five-game losing skid, the Canucks have surged to an even more unexpected run.
Vancouver shut out the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday to earn its fifth consecutive victory.
Not too long ago, the Canucks were undoubtedly preparing to be a lottery team, but thanks to some solid play of late and the mediocrity (to put it kindly) of the Pacific Division, the Canucks find themselves within striking distance of a playoff berth.
Seriously?
The Los Angeles Kings have a one-point lead over the Canucks and the Winnipeg Jets for the second Western Conference wild-card spot, and the Kings have two games in hand on Vancouver, but the fact that the Canucks are even this close after their dismal start is simply unreal.
Then again, we're only nearing the halfway point of the season and there's still plenty of hockey to be played.
▼ Jordan Eberle
The Edmonton Oilers have been mediocre of late, winning five of their last 10 games. No one player is to blame, but Eberle is one who has to be better.
After three straight 25-plus-goal campaigns, Eberle has only eight in the first 39 games of this season and none since Dec. 6, an 11-game drought.
He's been dropped out of the Oilers' top six and down to the third line alongside Benoit Pouliot and rookie Drake Caggiula.
Eberle can't single-handedly get Edmonton back into its high-flying form, but if he could raise his game to the level he's established in the past, it would certainly help the Oilers become the powerhouse they showed they can be at times earlier in the season.
