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It took 21 games, but the Arizona Coyotes finally have their first regulation win of the season after defeating the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 on Thursday.

Forward Christian Fischer scored the winner for the Coyotes, who battled back from three separate Montreal leads. The Canadiens were up 2-0 after the first period.

Brad Richardson, Christian Dvorak, Tobias Rieder, and Derek Stepan also tallied for Arizona, whose record improved to 3-15-3 on the season.

The victory is long overdue for Arizona, and the first regulation win for Coyotes' first-year head coach Rick Tocchet. Thursday's contest was also the first time this season Arizona scored more than four goals in a game.

The Coyotes previously picked up wins in extra time against the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes. The team will look to extend its winning streak to two games when they head to Ottawa on Saturday to take on the Senators.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets locked down a big piece of their current and future plans Thursday, signing winger Cam Atkinson to a seven-year extension worth $40.25 million, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.

Atkinson's current deal, which carries an annual average value of $3.5 million per year, expires at the end of this season, which would have made him an unrestricted free agent as of July 1, 2018.

With his new deal inked, Atkinson will now carry an AAV of $5.75 million, and is signed through the 2024-25 season.

Despite starting the year with only four goals and two assists, Atkinson is still a key piece of Columbus' core, and is coming off back-to-back 25-plus goal seasons.

Last campaign, the now-28-year-old registered his best season to date, notching 35 goals and 27 assists.

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Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct Thursday after slashing Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault in the back of the head.

Here's the play:

While it's unclear whether Gudas deliberately tried to hurt Perreault, he has a history with the NHL's Department of Player Safety, and the league will surely have a look at his latest incident.

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The owner of the NBA's Rockets is interested in bringing hockey to Houston.

On Thursday, Tilman Fertitta, who gained ownership of the Rockets in September, confirmed his interest to the Associated Press following a recent meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, where the two discussed the possibility of the NHL coming to Houston.

However, the process remains in the early stages.

"I'm very interested in the possibility of bringing the NHL to Houston, but it will have to be a deal that works for my organization, the city, fans of the NHL throughout the region, and the NHL Board of Governors," Fertitta said in a statement on Thursday.

"We are in the very early stage of evaluating what opportunities may exist but look forward to a thorough process."

Should the NHL expand to Houston, or relocate an existing franchise, the team could share the Rockets' home arena, the Toyota Center, which seats 17,800 for hockey.

Houston was previously home to pro hockey with the AHL's Aeros, who left for Iowa in 2013 after a 19-year run in the Texas city.

As recently as 2015, the NHL's board of governors, chaired by Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, expressed interest in Houston, but the idea was unable to gain momentum as former Rockets owner Les Alexander was unwilling to allow a hockey team to share the Toyota Center.

That possibility may have changed with Fertitta now holding ownership of the Rockets, and the NHL has undoubtedly noted the interest.

"If Houston were to express an interest in having an NHL franchise, under the right circumstances, it's something we might want to consider," Bettman said.

Home to about 2.3 million people, Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States and offers a natural in-state rival to the Dallas Stars. Houston would also balance the Western Conference by adding an eighth team in the Central Division.

The NHL expanded to Las Vegas this season with the Golden Knights, while a bid from Quebec City was deferred. It was the NHL's first introduction of new teams since the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild joined in 2000.

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A true sign of any quality hockey team is its ability to play through injuries. For the Anaheim Ducks, playing through injuries has become a nightly occurrence.

Despite having the most man games lost due to injury of any NHL squad at 95, the Ducks currently find themselves only five points adrift of the ever-tough Pacific Division lead.

But, with so many man games lost due to injury, how are they doing it?

Here's how the Ducks continue to stay competitive in the face of being the league's most injured club.

Gibson's held down the fort

Before diving into Ducks netminder John Gibson, take a quick look at Anaheim's current list of injuries, to get a better feeling for the team currently playing in front of him:

That is a fairly solid lineup of top-tier players, including two of the Ducks' best defensemen and their captain, so Gibson's 2.84 goals-against average and .920 save percentage look even better under that lens.

A record of 6-6-1 isn't really all that much to be excited about, but given the list of players currently watching from the press box, Gibson's performance has been nothing short of crucial.

Remember, Anaheim had Korbinian Holzer playing the wing last night. Korbinian Holzer is a defenseman.

Just saying.

Getting 'O' from their 'D'

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

The Ducks are getting solid offensive support from their blue-liners, and that's without their top-scoring rearguard in Cam Fowler.

Three of Anahiem's top-seven point-getters are defensemen, with Brandon Montour and Josh Manson each having nine to their credit already. Furthermore, Ducks rearguards account for almost 22 percent of Anahiem's total goal output.

If head coach Randy Carlyle can continue to get some 'O' from his 'D,' expect the Ducks to continue to be in the Western Conference playoff mix.

Balanced attack

With Kesler, Eaves, and Getzlaf all out for prolonged periods of time, Anaheim's supporting cast has stepped up in a big way, with guys like Derek Grant and Andrew Cogliano upping their offensive games with 10 and 11 points, respectively.

In addition, the Ducks continue to get the job done as a group, as Anaheim boasts 21 different goal scorers through the first 18 games.

Solid goaltending, offensive support from the blue line, and a penchant for getting the job done by committee have the Ducks treading water despite being the league's most injured group.

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Detroit Red Wings forward Luke Witkowski has been suspended 10 games for his role in Wednesday's line brawl against the Calgary Flames, the Department of Player Safety announced.

After Witkowski was sent off the ice for a fight late the third period, he interrupted his route to the dressing room and came back to the playing surface upon being prodded by the stick of Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk, resulting in an automatic 10-game ban, per NHL rules.

The entire sequence can be seen here:

Tkachuk will face a discipline hearing Friday.

Witkowski is in his first season with the Red Wings, and has been held pointless through eight games so far.

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The second overall pick in June's draft will step back onto the ice in familiar territory Thursday night.

Nolan Patrick will play against his hometown Winnipeg Jets after missing the last nine games with an apparent head injury, Philadelphia Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol confirmed, according to the Courier-Post's Dave Issac.

Patrick hasn't played since Oct. 24, when he left a loss to the Anaheim Ducks after being hit hard into the boards by Chris Wagner.

The 19-year-old posted three points in his first nine NHL games before the injury. Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said last Thursday he hoped his prized pick would return this week.

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TORONTO - Marie-Philip Poulin knows the United States has had Canada's number in women's hockey this year, but that isn't stopping her from looking at the bigger picture.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist for Canada wants to win her third consecutive gold at the Pyeongchang Games in February, but she acknowledged it won't be easy.

The U.S. women's national hockey team defeated Canada to win the World Championship in Michigan in the spring, then beat the Canadians to capture the Four Nations Cup in Tampa, Fla. last weekend.

Poulin excelled in her first two Olympic tournaments, scoring both goals in Canada's gold medal victory over the U.S. in 2010, and potting both the tying and winning goals in the gold medal game in 2014.

The 26-year-old standout sat down with theScore at a promotional event for Tide on Wednesday to discuss how she approaches high-pressure situations, whether the United States' recent success against Canada means anything heading into the 2018 Olympics, and how women's hockey is growing at both the international and league levels.

Gold-Smith: You clearly have a knack for coming through in big Olympic moments. How do you deal with pressure in those situations? Do you try to block it out, or do you embrace it?

Poulin: Every time you wear that maple leaf is always special, and I've learned to embrace it. Sometimes it's scary. You never want to disappoint people, you never want to let people down.

But I try to bring my best every day and try my best to keep improving. I don't want to look too far ahead. I go day by day knowing we're 28 (players) this year in Calgary training for the same thing, knowing that we have each other's backs. It's something that's really special and it makes the pressure a little (easier) knowing that we're all in it together.

Gold-Smith: Canada is the four-time defending Olympic champion in women's hockey, but does it feel like you have something to prove in Pyeongchang given that the U.S. team has beaten you in these more recent tournaments?

Poulin: Every time we play them, we have something to prove, not only for (others but) for ourselves. We want to achieve our goal, which is to bring back the gold medal. I know we haven't had it easy against them.

We've lost a couple of big games against them, so it's in the back of our minds every time we train and we want to raise the bar every time for ourselves to keep getting better every day. So obviously, it's in the back of our heads, but we use that (as) motivation. We know what to do to make it right, so we're going to go day by day and keep improving as a team.

Gold-Smith: Canada and the U.S. are so dominant on the women's side in international hockey, and while we've seen countries like Finland make big strides, the two North American programs are still a cut above. What do you think it's going to take for the other countries to get on that level, and do you think that's possible?

Poulin: It is. We've seen (at the) last World Championship, we lost against Finland, and you can tell that every game, it gets harder. Knowing that those countries are coming up, it's something we want to (be mindful of).

You can tell there was a big difference at the last couple of World Championships. Every game is special, every game is getting harder, and it's fun to see other countries coming up and knowing that their federations are helping them to keep improving and helping them in their preparation.

Gold-Smith: Speaking of international hockey but in a different sense, you play for the Canadiennes of Montreal in the CWHL, and that league took a big leap this season by adding two expansion teams in China. Do you think that's a constructive way to grow the league and the game?

Poulin: I didn't expect it at first, but it's a great opportunity for the two teams there in China, knowing that there are North American players that went there, and who are helping out over there, so it's great.

(As far as) expansion, hopefully it's going to keep going. It's fun to see that China is putting money into the women's game over there, and it's great. Hopefully, here in Canada and the U.S., we can keep building the league to keep going even bigger, and maybe one day make that a living.

Gold-Smith: Caroline Ouellette is someone who clearly means a lot to you. She was your childhood hero, you won Olympic gold together, you won the CWHL's Clarkson Cup together, and there was that great moment back in the spring when you got down on your knees and handed her the trophy.

She then passed it to (Canadiennes teammate and American star) Julie Chu, and we just learned last week that Caroline and Julie welcomed their first child together. When did you find out the good news and how did you react?

Poulin: It was right after Worlds when they announced (Oullette) was pregnant, and obviously it was such great news. They deserve the best, and having that little girl, I'm so happy for them.

They've done so much, and knowing that little girl (is) coming up and we'll be able to teach her and be around her, it's just amazing. Having that little baby girl around is going to be quite amazing, and I'm so happy. They deserve the best, and I'm so happy to see that little family growing.

Gold-Smith: Who's she going to play for, Canada or the U.S.?

Poulin: (Laughs) Hopefully Canada.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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