Erik Karlsson didn't hide his frustration over the NHL's decision not to take part in next year's Olympics.

The Ottawa Senators star defenseman politely declined to comment when asked if he would play for Sweden regardless and had a one-word answer when asked what he thought of the decision, according to ESPN's Craig Custance.

"Crap," Karlsson said after a loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night.

"Pretty much. I don't understand the decision. We have no say in the matter, it's very unfortunate for the game of hockey around the world that they're going to do this to the sport. I think it's going to hurt a lot if we don't end up going. Whoever made that decision obviously had no idea about what they're doing."

Senators owner Eugene Melnyk said last month that Karlsson would get a "flat no" from him on participating in the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea if the league decided not to officially go, which it did Monday.

Some players have expressed a desire to play regardless, and the NHL is reportedly telling teams not to discuss individual participation with their players before the league rules on the matter.

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The Montreal Canadiens are the Atlantic Division champions once again.

The Canadiens clinched the division title with a 4-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Monday night, ensuring their second Atlantic crown in the last three seasons while officially dethroning the Panthers, who won it in 2015-16.

Montreal, which led the Atlantic nearly from start to finish, holds an eight-point advantage on the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs. While the Leafs have a game in hand, they would need five regulation or overtime wins to tie the Canadiens, but only have four games left.

It's the first division championship for the Canadiens since they went 50-22-10 in 2014-15.

Montreal is 46-24-9 with three games remaining in its regular-season schedule.

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It's easy to criticize someone when you no longer have to answer to them, but Brandon Prust is going after Gary Bettman anyway.

The former NHL forward lobbed a shot at the NHL commissioner after the league announced it will not officially participate in the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea.

Prust is playing this season in Germany with the Nurnberg Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

He last played in the league in 2015-16, contributing a goal and seven points in 35 games for the Vancouver Canucks.

The 33-year-old also spent three seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, three more with the New York Rangers, parts of three campaigns with the Calgary Flames, and 11 games with the then-Phoenix Coyotes.

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Yes, you read that correctly. Jonathan Marchessault is a 30-goal scorer.

The Florida Panthers forward hit the benchmark Monday against the Montreal Canadiens, taking a feed from Michael Sgarbossa, out-waiting goalie Charlie Lindgren and sliding the puck by him to tie the game.

Marchessault, who had eight goals in 49 career games entering this season, leads the Panthers with 30 in 2016-17.

He also ranks third on the club with 51 points. Not bad for a player Florida signed for two years and $1.5 million total last July.

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The men in charge of the Canadian and American hockey programs expressed disappointment with the NHL's decision to forgo the 2018 Olympic Games, but made it clear they're prepping alternate plans.

"Today's statement by the NHL is not what we were hoping for because, ultimately, we want best-on-best at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games which, for us at Hockey Canada, includes the participation of NHL players," Hockey Canada president and CEO Tom Renney said in a statement Monday, according to TSN.

"This does not change our preparation for the Games - we have developed both a Plan A and a Plan B, and will be ready to move forward. However, for the next month, our priority is the 2017 IIHF World Championship, and we will be ready to advance the required plan following that event."

USA Hockey is also readying a backup plan.

"We knew it was a very real possibility for many months and certainly respect the decision of the NHL," executive director Dave Ogrean said in a statement.

"The good news is that because of our grassroots efforts over the course of many years, our player pool is as deep as it has ever been and we fully expect to field a team that will play for a medal.”

“We respect the NHL’s decision and will examine our player pool options and plan accordingly," added Jim Johannson, assistant executive director of hockey operations for the American hockey governing body. "In the end, we’ll have 25 great stories on the ice in South Korea and will go to the Olympics with medal expectations.”

NBC, which has the broadcast rights to the Games, claims the tournament will still be worth watching without near-full NHL rosters.

"The Olympics have been the world's greatest international hockey tournament irrespective of whether professionals or amateurs are playing," the network said in a statement, according to Mike Halford of NBC's Pro Hockey Talk.

"Although we're disappointed that NHL players will not get the chance to experience and compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics next February, we're confident that hockey fans and Olympic viewers will tune in to watch the unique style of play that occurs at the Olympic Winter Games when athletes are competing for their country."

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The NHLPA fired back at the NHL after the league revealed its decision to officially forgo the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea.

"The players are extraordinarily disappointed and adamantly disagree with the NHL's shortsighted decision to not continue our participation in the Olympics," the league's players union said in a statement Monday night.

"Any sort of inconvenience the Olympics may cause to next season's schedule is a small price to pay compared to the opportunity to showcase our game and our greatest players on this enormous international stage."

The union emphasized the unprecedented chance the league has with the next two Winter Olympic Games taking place in South Korea and China, respectively.

"A unique opportunity lies ahead with the 2018 and 2022 Olympics in Asia," the NHLPA said. "The NHL may believe it is penalizing the IOC or the players, or both, for not giving the owners some meaningful concessions in order to induce them to agree to go to Pyeongchang. Instead, this impedes the growth of our great game by walking away from an opportunity to reach sports fans worldwide."

The NHLPA also wondered how the league could make the decision after one of the biggest hurdles in the negotiations had apparently been cleared.

"Moreover, it is doing so after the financial issues relating to insurance and transportation have been resolved with the IOC and IIHF. The league's efforts to blame others for its decision is as unfortunate as the decision itself."

Finally, the union closed by stressing how important this is to the players.

"NHL players are patriotic and they do not take this lightly. A decent respect for the opinions of the players matters. This is the NHL's decision, and its alone. It is very unfortunate for the game, the players and millions of loyal hockey fans."

Several NHLers said in the past that they plan to go to the 2018 games regardless of the league's decision. On Monday, the NHL reportedly told teams not to discuss individual participation with their players and that the league will rule on the matter in the future.

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The Buffalo Sabres barely had time to blink before the Toronto Maple Leafs put a trifecta of tallies on the scoreboard.

Leo Komarov, Auston Matthews, and James van Riemsdyk all scored in a 43-second span early in the first period Monday night, giving the Leafs a 3-0 advantage just over five minutes into the game.

Komarov picked up his 14th of the season, Matthews set a slew of records with his 39th, and Van Riemsdyk notched his 26th of the campaign.

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Auston Matthews' impressive debut season just keeps getting better.

The Toronto Maple Leafs rookie roofed a wrist shot against the Buffalo Sabres, giving the Leafs a 2-0 lead early in the first period Monday night.

Matthews' marker was his 39th of the campaign, giving the 19-year-old the most goals ever in a season by a U.S-born rookie, passing Neal Broten's 38 scored in 1981-82.

It also gave Matthews a new franchise record for points by a rookie with 67 and equaled the goal-scoring output Sidney Crosby produced in his first season back in 2005-06.

As if that wasn't enough, Matthews is riding a five-game goal-scoring streak, which ties him for the Leafs' rookie record set by Gayle Stewart in 1942.

Matthews broke Wendel Clark's franchise mark for goals by a rookie with his 35th of the season against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.

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Ron Hextall is going back to the World Hockey Championship.

The Philadelphia Flyers general manager was named to that same position for Canada's entry in the upcoming tournament, Hockey Canada announced Monday.

Hextall was a member of the management group at the 2014 World Championship in Belarus, and represented Canada as a player at the 1992 tourney in the former Czechoslovakia.

A fellow former NHL goalie, Sean Burke, will serve as Canada's assistant GM for the 2017 event, and he'll be joined by veteran Hockey Canada executive Scott Salmond and Montreal Canadiens assistant GM Larry Carriere, who'll be Canada's director of player personnel.

Canada is looking to win its third consecutive world championship title this spring. The tournament runs May 5-21 in Paris and Cologne, Germany.

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There's no way this is a coincidence.

San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic tweeted a timely image Monday afternoon, sharing the logo of the 2018 Olympic Games.

The tweet could be taken as an illustration of Vlasic's desire to play for Canada at the tournament, despite the NHL's announcement Monday that it will not officially participate.

Vlasic was outspoken during the Olympic participation saga, scoffing at the NHL's reported offer to let the players attend in exchange for a three-year extension to the league's collective bargaining agreement.

The veteran blue-liner played for Canada at the Sochi Games in 2014 and recently represented his country at the World Cup of Hockey.

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