Many projected the Columbus Blue Jackets to regress after losing Sergei Bobrovsky, Artemi Panarin, and Matt Duchene in free agency this summer, but the club has collected points in five straight games to improve its record to 4-3-2.

After Monday's 4-3 overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, always candid head coach John Tortorella addressed the pundits who believed his team wouldn't be able to overcome the loss of its three best players.

"We're supposed to suck this year," Tortorella said postgame. "We're just gonna worry about our own business and take it a day at a time."

Tortorella's response stemmed from a question about goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who had big shoes to fill in replacing a two-time Vezina Trophy winner.

Korpisalo stopped 28 of 31 shots against the high-flying Leafs and has now been in goal for all four of the club's victories this season. He owns a .922 save percentage in his last four games.

Columbus' next test will come at home Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

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The Colorado Avalanche suffered their first regulation loss of the season on Monday night, falling to the St. Louis Blues 3-1.

The Avs were the league's final remaining undefeated team in regulation before the defeat.

More to come.

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Hockey Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk is undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with stomach cancer in August.

"For some reason, the Lord put me in this kind of fight and I'm ready to fight it," Hawerchuk told TSN's Rick Westhead in an interview last weekend. "I want to live to tell the story."

Hawerchuk is the head coach of the OHL's Barrie Colts, but the team announced in September he wouldn't be behind the bench to begin the 2019-20 season due to health issues. Details were not revealed at the time.

"The chemo has hit me pretty hard," he said. "I do it one week and it breaks the body down and then the next week I take a break and build my body up so I can do it again. I have to do that for two months. I really struggle to eat and have a feeding tube, but the last few days I've been able to eat a little bit, too. You've got to keep your nutrition up."

Hawerchuk was selected first overall in the 1981 NHL Draft by the original Winnipeg Jets franchise. He became an immediate star, winning the Calder Trophy in his rookie season with 103 points. He reached the 100-point mark in six of his first seven NHL campaigns.

The 56-year-old also played five seasons for the Buffalo Sabres and had a brief stint with the St. Louis Blues before wrapping up his career with the Philadelphia Flyers. He finished his career with 1,409 points in 1,188 regular-season games and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001 - his second year of eligibility.

Hawerchuk has been the head coach of the Colts since 2010-11, capturing four division titles in his tenure.

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Florida Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky paid a hefty price to get his old sweater number with his new team.

Bobrovsky, who wore the No. 72 with the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2013 to 2019, rewarded teammate Frank Vatrano with a bottle of wine, a Rolex watch, and a McDonald's hamburger for surrendering the digits before the start of the season.

Bobrovsky is just the third Panthers player to don the No. 72 following Vatrano and former defenseman Alex Petrovic.

The Russian puck-stopper has had a shaky start to his tenure in the Sunshine State after inking a seven-year, $70-million pact with the Panthers this summer. Through six starts, Bobrovsky has posted a 4.07 goals-against average and .872 save percentage.

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Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.

Round 2 between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs this season goes Tuesday night.

The rivalry highlights a delicious midweek slate that includes a Central Division clash and a meeting between a pair of Eastern Conference favorites in the Sunshine State.

Game betting

Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues (Monday)

The Avalanche will look at this game as a passing of the torch. The Western Conference leaders are white-hot as they visit last season's champions, with the Blues coming off consecutive home losses. However, it's the third game in four nights for Colorado, which has lost seven of its last eight trips to St. Louis. The Blues haven't dropped three successive home games since February 2013.

Ottawa Senators at Dallas Stars (Monday)

Dallas isn't off to the start it hoped for, but there's no better slump-buster than the Senators, right? Well, this is a tough spot for the Stars, who return home from a back-to-back in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The Stars are 4-11 over the last two seasons when playing their third game in four nights. They're also 0-3 at home this season with just four goals. At +190, the Senators are live 'dogs.

Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins (Tuesday)

Revenge will be on the Bruins' minds as they welcome the Leafs to TD Garden after losing to Toronto in overtime Saturday. The Leafs will likely start Michael Hutchinson in what will be their second game of a back-to-back after hosting Columbus. Toronto got run over in two trips to the Garden during the 2018-19 regular season, and it's hard to see the Leafs beating a rested Boston team under these circumstances.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning (Wednesday)

The Lightning will have had three days off to think about their 6-2 home loss to the Avalanche when they host a Penguins team that plays at Florida the night before. Tampa has won 14 of its last 16 home games on three days' rest. Only once last season did the Lightning lose two in a row at home, falling 1-0 to the Blues in overtime. They've consistently bounced back from losses under Jon Cooper and have won all three of their home games against the Penguins over the last two seasons. The chalk could be a bit high, but this is a great spot to back the Bolts.

Minnesota Wild at Nashville Predators (Thursday)

The beginning of Minnesota's schedule has been brutal, with 13 of the team's first 18 games away from home. The Wild are 1-5 on the road this season, lost all five of those games by two or more goals, and recorded their lone away win against the Senators. They last won in Nashville in 2016 and have scored just nine goals in their visits since. Play the Predators on the puck line.

Game props

Anaheim Ducks at Nashville Predators (Tuesday)

Anaheim has enjoyed a strong start, but it would be a whole lot better if the Ducks could find their scoring touch. They have been held to two or fewer goals in five of their nine games and scored just eight times in four contests on the road. Excluding the playoffs, the Ducks have been held under 2.5 goals in each of their last six trips to Nashville.

Vegas Golden Knights at Chicago Blackhawks (Tuesday)

The Golden Knights have scored at least four goals in each of their six all-time meetings with the Blackhawks. Across three trips to Chicago, they've put up 17 goals. Back Vegas' team total over 3.5. The first-period over 1.5 is also worth a play despite the likely high juice - every time these teams have played each other, the over 1.5 has hit in the opening 20 minutes.

San Jose Sharks at Montreal Canadiens (Thursday)

Heading into the week, the Canadiens (7-2, 77.8%) and Sharks (6-2, 75%) are two of the five most profitable teams when it comes to the first-period over. They meet Thursday in Montreal, where the over 1.5 in the opening frame looks tasty.

Player props

Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins (Tuesday)

We hit with David Pastrnak scoring in the game in Toronto on Saturday night. Let's back him to do so again in Boston. He simply can't help himself against the Leafs.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning (Wednesday)

With the Penguins thin down the middle and Tristan Jarry likely to start in net, Lightning center Brayden Point is a good candidate to score. Point has three goals in five games so far and put up three goals in three contests against the Pens last season.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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Mike Babcock is giving the phrase "bottom of the lineup" a whole new meaning.

The Toronto Maple Leafs head coach gave an anatomical answer when asked what allows smaller skaters like Trevor Moore and Dmytro Timashov - who are both listed at 5-foot-10 - to succeed with the team.

"They got big assess," Babcock told reporters, including TSN's Kristen Shilton, on Monday. "So they weigh a lot. You can laugh, but it's the truth. You can get under people, you can win retrieval races, you can own lanes. You have good balance."

Moore is in a five-way tie for second on the club with three goals to go along with two assists in nine games. Most recently, the 24-year-old has been playing on the Leafs' third line and second power-play unit.

Timashov has four points of his own and potted his first NHL goal in Saturday's victory over the Boston Bruins. The 23-year-old has been filling a fourth-line role after spending the last three seasons with the AHL's Toronto Marlies.

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Every Monday, theScore offers a weekly fantasy hockey column detailing a handful of moves you should make. This week's edition focuses on Week 3. Ownership percentages and position eligibility are courtesy of Yahoo.

Add James van Riemsdyk

Team: Flyers
Position: LW
Ownership: 33%

Van Riemsdyk has taken the most shots of any player in the NHL (32) who hasn't scored a goal this season, while the Flyers have played a league-low six games. JVR has fired off 24 shots alone in his last three tilts, but he isn't just shooting from anywhere. In fact, his 6.61 high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes at five-on-five would be the highest rate of his career.

With first-line minutes and a spot on the top power-play unit, it's only a matter of time before a proven goal-scorer like Van Riemsdyk starts filling the net.

Drop Wayne Simmonds

Team: Devils
Position: RW
Ownership: 36%

Even in banger leagues where Simmonds offers additional value with his physical play, the veteran winger can be dropped. He's coming off the worst season of his career, and with just a lone assist through eight games of 2019-20, he's not doing much to inspire faith in a bounce-back campaign.

Furthermore, the Devils will play just one game this week. If you really believe in a turnaround, Simmonds will probably still be available next week when New Jersey has three games on its schedule.

Add Alexander Kerfoot

Team: Maple Leafs
Position: C/LW/RW
Ownership: 20%

Kerfoot, one of the few players in fantasy hockey with triple position eligibility, will get an extended look in the Maple Leafs' top-six forward group while John Tavares is sidelined for at least two weeks with a broken finger.

Kerfoot centered the club's second line on Saturday against the Boston Bruins. In that game, he played with the emerging Ilya Mikheyev (also worth picking up at 18% ownership) at left wing while Mitch Marner and William Nylander rotated on his right side. That's a good spot, and the Leafs will play four times this week.

Gives Hughes & Kakko time

Team: Devils/Rangers
Position: C/RW
Ownership: 59%/61%

Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko, the top two picks in the 2019 draft, have come out of the starting gate slow to begin their careers. Hughes has been held to two points in eight games, while Kakko has just one point in six contests.

It's not uncommon to see supremely talented 18-year-olds struggle to start their rookie seasons, only to take off in the second half. Hughes and Kakko will have fantasy value eventually in 2019-20, and if you invested a draft pick in either one, you'll want to reap the rewards when they take off. Be patient.

Add Ilya Samsonov

Team: Capitals
Position: G
Ownership: 33%

It's quite surprising that Samsonov is still available in two-thirds of leagues. Capitals starter Braden Holtby has gotten back on track in his last two outings after a rough start to the year, but Samsonov has earned himself at least some regular playing time by recording a .933 save percentage and a 1.84 goals-against average in four games.

Holtby is in the last year of his contract and may not be brought back due to cap constraints. Samsonov, meanwhile, is a former first-round pick and looks like the organization's goalie of the future, which could happen as early as this season if Holtby struggles again. At the very least, Samsonov needs to be owned in all keeper leagues.

Advanced stats courtesy: Natural Stat Trick

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A tornado in the Dallas area caused significant damage to one of Tyler Seguin's properties Sunday night.

The aftermath was first documented by Jason Whitely of local station WFAA.

Seguin later confirmed the house belonged to him but clarified that he was no longer living there and was unharmed.

No one was in the home at the time of the storm, the Stars told WFAA's Jake Harris.

Severe storms hit the Dallas-Fort Worth area Sunday night, bringing about hail, lightning, and at least one confirmed tornado.

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