Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty has returned to Montreal for further evaluation after he sustained a lower-body injury against the New York Islanders on Friday.

The injury will keep Pacioretty out of the lineup for Saturday's contest against the Boston Bruins. It will mark the first game he has missed this season.

Pacioretty has recorded 17 goals and 20 assists in 64 games.

Also headed back to Montreal for evaluation is rookie defenseman Victor Mete, who injured his hand Friday.

Mete has tallied seven points in 49 games this year. He was also a key contributor in Canada's gold medal win at the world juniors.

No timetable has been announced on when either will return to the lineup.

The Canadiens sit third-last in the Eastern Conference with a 25-29-10 record in 64 games.

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Nikita Kucherov is in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Tampa Bay Lightning superstar missed two games after suffering an injury his club would only classify as an "upper-body" ailment against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.

Kucherov is the NHL's points leader with 82 in 63 games.

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Steve Mason is ready to return to game action and will get a chance to get back up to speed with a conditioning assignment with the AHL's Manitoba Moose.

The Winnipeg Jets netminder has been sidelined for the past 20 games due to a concussion. His last appearance came Jan. 9 against the Buffalo Sabres. It was the second head injury Mason has suffered this season.

No timetable has been announced on when Mason will rejoin the Jets, but conditioning assignments are only permissible for a maximum of two weeks.

Mason has posted a 3-6-1 record with a .897 save percentage in 11 games this season. He has not suited up for an AHL contest since 2008-09 when he appeared in three games with the Syracuse Crunch.

The 29-year-old is under contract through 2018-19, carrying a $4.1-million cap hit.

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The New York Rangers aren't playing for much anymore, but Henrik Lundqvist clearly hasn't given up on the season.

He made 50 saves on Friday night in a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames, becoming only the third goaltender in NHL history to make that many stops in consecutive appearances since shots on goal became an official statistic in 1955-56.

Legendary netminder Gump Worsley accomplished the feat with the Rangers in 1963 and Al Rollins did it with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1955.

Lundqvist also made 50 saves (albeit while allowing five goals) in a 6-5 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.

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Nashville Predators forward Ryan Johansen was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for spearing Vancouver Canucks defenseman Erik Gudbranson between the legs Friday night.

Here's a look at the incident:

From the footage, it appears Johansen intentionally lifts his stick into Gudbranson's sensitive area. Ouch.

Johansen isn't a repeat offender, but it's not out of the question he could receive supplementary discipline from the Department of Player Safety for his actions.

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Don't look now, but the Florida Panthers are red hot and narrowing the Columbus Blue Jackets' lead for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

With their 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres Friday night, the Panthers have won five straight games, and are now 12-3-0 since the All-Star break. As of now, the cats are a point out of a playoff spot:

*Note: Blue Jackets are in action Friday night in Anaheim

Even if the Blue Jackets are victorious Friday night, the Panthers will be no more than three points out of the second wild-card spot with three games in hand, and with the ROW (regulation plus overtime wins) tiebreaker in their back pocket.

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Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty left Friday's game against the New York Islanders with a lower-body injury and did not return.

Pacioretty fell awkwardly in the offensive zone during the second period and was seen soon after walking down the tunnel to the locker room. It was later announced he would not return.

This season has been a huge disappointment for both the Canadiens and Pacioretty, as the team is languishing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and the captain has only 37 points in 64 games.

Unfortunately for Montreal fans, the bad injury news didn't stop there, as defenseman Victor Mete was also hurt and did not return.

Head coach Claude Julien told reporters postgame that Mete suffered a hand injury and will be sent back to Montreal tomorrow once the team arrives in Boston. As for Patches, his injury is considered less serious and will be re-evaluated on Monday, according to Arpon Basu of The Athletic.

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A Calgary judge has dismissed a $10.25-million lawsuit against former Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman, TSN's Rick Westhead reports.

The suit, filed by NHL referee Don Henderson, came in response to an on-ice incident in January 2016 when Wideman hit Henderson from behind:

Wideman was suspended 20 games as a result of the incident. An appeal later reduced it to a 10-game ban.

By the time the appeal was announced, Wideman had served 19 games, and was subsequently compensated for the lost games.

Henderson has not officiated since the incident, while his suit claims he now suffers from a host of neck, back, and shoulder injuries, in addition to headaches, anxiety, and depression. Henderson was concussed on the play.

According to Westhead, the judge ruled that the case should be dealt with by an NHL arbitrator.

Wideman, 34, is an unrestricted free agent.

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