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Brad Marchand is carrying the Boston Bruins in Patrice Bergeron's absence.

In the five games that Bergeron has been sidelined with a foot injury, Boston has gone 5-0-0, and Marchand's high level of play has been no small part.

Case in point: The winger scored late in Thursday's game to seal a win over the Flyers, and that came after he potted overtime goals in Boston's previous two contests.

Marchand failed to record a point in the first game without Bergeron - a 4-3 overtime win over Carolina - but he's been in beast mode during the past four outings:

For the season, Marchand now sits at 29 goals and 38 assists for 68 points in 53 games, good for a point-per-game average of 1.28, which ranks among the league leaders.

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Given the recent history between the two, it's no surprise that Ryan Johansen and Ryan Kesler dropped the gloves Thursday night.

The pair faced off for the first time since the Predators and Ducks clashed in the Western Conference Final last summer, a series that quickly turned bitter after Johansen called out Kesler for his agitating antics.

"He just blows my mind. I don't know what's going through his head out there. His family and friends watching him play, I don't know how you can cheer for a guy like that," Johansen said following Game 2 in May.

Kesler, predictably, brushed off the comments at the time, but based on Thursday's showing, it doesn't seem like he forgot about them.

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Taylor Hall's remarkable 26-game point streak has finally come to an end, as the New Jersey Devils superstar was held off the scoresheet for the first time since Dec. 30 in a 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.

Hall was on the ice for both of New Jersey's goals, and registered two shots on goal in 22 minutes of action.

It was a truly impressive stretch for Hall, who became just the eighth different player in NHL history to have a point streak reach 26 games, and first since Patrick Kane matched the feat in 2015-16.

The 26-year-old accrued 18 goals and 20 assists over his torrid stretch, and entered Thursday's contests sitting 10th in league scoring with 74 points in 62 games.

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Braden Holtby appears in line to get some rest down the stretch.

Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz tabbed Philipp Grubauer as the starter for Thursday's game in Los Angeles, giving Holtby a break after he was pulled from three of his last six starts.

"Right now, (it's probably best) to get a little reset for him," Trotz said. "Every elite goaltender, they go through stretches. You look around the league, a couple of the big names have gone through that. It’s actually probably good for Holts. It’s another thing that he has to work through."

Holtby has posted a record of 29-15-4 for the season, but with an uncharacteristically low .907 save percentage (career .920).

In steps Grubauer, at least for the time being. The backup has earned Trotz's trust thanks to a .922 save percentage this season, albeit with a record of just 8-7-3 in 25 appearances.

"Grubi’s been going good so we’re going to go with Grubi here," Trotz added. "We’ll take it one game at a time. We’ll get a reset and a lot of individual time with Braden and I think he’ll be elite again as he always is. He hasn’t lost anything, just had a tough stretch here."

Washington's next game will be Saturday in San Jose, with the starter very much to be determined.

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The Winnipeg Jets have signed goaltender Zane Kalemba to a professional tryout so that he may serve as emergency backup to starter Connor Hellebuyck during Thursday's game in New Jersey.

This after the club attempted to recall Michael Hutchinson following a lower-body injury suffered by Steve Mason at the morning skate, only to see Hutchinson's flight delayed.

Kalemba played with Jets captain Blake Wheeler as a member of the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL back in 2004-05. He most recently suited up for the EIHL's Manchester Storm in 2015-16, posting an .888 save percentage in 52 appearances.

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The Vancouver Canucks might be mired in a season most Canucks fans want to forget, but there's hope on the horizon with 19-year-old sensation Elias Pettersson, who is currently having an unforgettable year in Sweden's top league.

Petterson's four-point night Thursday vaulted his season total to an impressive 55 in only 44 games. With the four-point outburst, Petterson broke the 42-year-old SHL record for most points in a season by a player under 20 years old.

In addition to the record, Peterrsson's 55 points paces the entire league - just another feather in the teenager's cap.

Here's a look at the record-breaking point:

The Canucks drafted Pettersson with the fifth overall selection in last year's NHL Draft.

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The Vegas Golden Knights signed free-agent defenseman Zach Whitecloud to a three-year, entry-level contract on Thursday, the team announced.

Whitecloud is coming off his second season at Bemidji State and is expected to join the team in Buffalo on Friday ahead of its game against the Sabres on Saturday afternoon.

The 21-year-old potted four goals and 19 points in 36 games this season, giving him seven goals and 36 points over 77 games during his NCAA career.

Whitecloud recently suited up for Canada at the Karjala Cup - one of the team's pre-Olympic tournaments - where he tallied one assist in two games.

On Thursday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported in his 31 Thoughts column that the Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, and Tampa Bay Lightning were also believed to have interest in Whitecloud.

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Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele won't play against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, and is considered day to day with an upper-body injury, head coach Paul Maurice told Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press.

The good news is Maurice revealed that Scheifele has no structural damage from the injury he suffered on Tuesday against the New York Rangers.

Maurice also said the ailment is unrelated to the upper-body injury that held him out for 16 games earlier this season, per Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun.

With 51 points in 50 games, Scheifele is having another spectacular season. However, with the deadline addition of Paul Stastny, the club is better equipped to handle his loss, meaning captain Blake Wheeler won't need to shift from wing to center as he did during Scheifele's previous absence, according to Jets TV Reporter Mitchell Clinton.

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Tom Dundon insists removing Ron Francis as the Carolina Hurricanes general manager wasn't an effort by the new owner to seize more control over hockey decisions.

Dundon shed more light Thursday morning on the move to strip Francis of the GM title and appoint him president of hockey operations, attempting to dispel the notion that the change was about giving himself more control.

“I think what I’m looking for, is we have to be comfortable with each other. That’s the most important thing,” he told Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman when asked what he wants in a new GM. “I actually like to disagree and argue. I don’t want someone to come in and just do what I say, and I don’t want to make decisions. (I want) someone to create a structure of how something is a good idea, and now we are going to get it (done).”

The new GM will report directly to Dundon rather than to Francis, and the owner explained that the two executives simply have vastly different approaches.

“I want to use Ron’s experience and knowledge with a different style and structure,” Dundon said. "He is a valuable resource. But our styles couldn’t be any different. It is no more complicated than that.”

Dundon officially took over as the Hurricanes new majority owner in January. Francis had been the GM since 2014.

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