St. Louis Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo will face a hearing for cross-checking Nashville Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson on Saturday, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced.

Arvidsson departed the game with a lower-body injury and did not return. Bortuzzo received a two-minute minor for cross-checking on the play.

Bortuzzo has two prior suspensions in his career. In 2014, he was suspended two games for interfering with Jaromir Jagr, and in preseason last year, he was banned three games for elbowing Michal Kempny.

Arvidsson has averaged over 30 goals per season since 2016-17 and entered Saturday with 14 points in 21 games this campaign.

Bortuzzo, a stay-at-home blue-liner, has an assist in 11 games this year.

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St. Louis Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo will face a hearing for cross-checking Nashville Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson on Saturday, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced.

Arvidsson departed the game with a lower-body injury and did not return. Bortuzzo received a two-minute minor for cross-checking on the play.

Bortuzzo has two prior suspensions in his career. In 2014, he was suspended two games for interfering with Jaromir Jagr, and in preseason last year, he was banned three games for elbowing Michal Kempny.

Arvidsson has averaged over 30 goals per season since 2016-17 and entered Saturday with 14 points in 21 games this campaign.

Bortuzzo, a stay-at-home blue-liner, has an assist in 11 games this year.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Montreal Canadiens looked to be in cruise control on Saturday night.

After Shea Weber's early second-period goal, the Habs had a 4-0 lead against a rebuilding New York Rangers squad that had been blown out by the Ottawa Senators the night before. It looked to be in the bag.

Then the lead evaporated.

The Rangers scored three straight goals over a three-minute stretch in the middle frame to pull within one. After Artturi Lehkonen's third-period marker restored a two-goal lead, it seemed like the Habs had woken up. However, New York scored three unanswered goals to walk away with a 6-5 win in regulation.

Predictably, head coach Claude Julien was not happy postgame.

"Offensively, we're still a good team. But we have to figure it out defensively," Julien said in French, as translated by Sportsnet's Eric Engels. "We're not hard enough, we're not killing plays, and our backcheck wasn't good at all tonight.

"We played against a hungry team, even if they played last night, which is another reason this was unacceptable. After three games without a win, we should have been hungry to the point of not allowing these things from happening. So, it's unacceptable and we'll take control of this, we'll correct this situation."

The Canadiens outshot the Rangers but allowed 15 high-danger scoring chances while only generating 11 of their own, according to Natural Stat Trick.

"Our play without the puck killed us," Julien added, according to TSN's John Lu.

The Habs have now lost four straight games after scoring the opening goal in three of those contests, falling to 11-7-5 on the season.

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Washington Capitals star Nicklas Backstrom is taking matters into his own hands when it comes to his contract negotiations.

"I'm told ... that he has begun talks with the Capitals without an agent," Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said on the latest edition of "Saturday Headlines."

Backstrom, a pending unrestricted free agent, is in the final campaign of a 10-year, $67-million pact he inked with the Capitals in 2010.

The talented center - who turned 32 on Saturday - ranks second on Washington's all-time points list, first on the club's career assists list, fourth in goals, and fifth in games played.

He's racked up 18 points in 23 contests this season, and he's amassed 891 points in 918 career games.

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Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri will suit up against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, for the first time on Saturday night in Denver.

Kadri was the centerpiece of a July 1 trade that sent defenseman Tyson Barrie and forward Alexander Kerfoot to Toronto. The 29-year-old center reflected on the summer blockbuster ahead of Saturday's matchup.

"When it happened, at first, I was a little bit bitter," Kadri told TSN's Mark Masters. "But as time goes on, time heals all ... I think ending up in Denver was a blessing in disguise."

Kadri was initially dealt to the Calgary Flames, but he nixed the swap using his 10-team no-trade list. He was insistent on remaining a Maple Leaf, but the club went outside of his list to trade him to Colorado.

Kadri was asked if he wonders why the Leafs traded him.

"A little bit," he said. "I mean, with the suspensions it was obviously maybe an option, but it was indicated to me that they weren't trying to shop me around so I was expecting to suit up as a Leaf this year."

Kadri was suspended back-to-back years in the playoffs against the Boston Bruins. In 2018 he hit a defenseless Tommy Wingels from behind and in 2019 he cross-checked Jake DeBrusk in the face.

He may not have wanted to leave Toronto, but Kadri is now playing an increased role on one of the league's most talented teams.

Kadri's ice time dipped to 16:11 per game last season after the addition of John Tavares - his lowest since 2012-13. However, with the Avs, he's back playing as a No. 2 center behind Nathan MacKinnon, averaging nearly 18 minutes per game. He's on pace for over 25 goals and 55 points.

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The red-hot Dallas Stars will likely welcome back a pair of key contributors on Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Forward Roope Hintz and defenseman John Klingberg, who have been sidelined with lower-body injuries since Nov. 2 and Nov. 5, respectively, are expected to return, the team announced. The final decision regarding their availability will be made following warmups.

Hintz, 23, turned heads with his impressive play during the 2019 postseason and carried that momentum into his sophomore campaign. The 6-foot-3 Finn tallied a team-high nine goals and 11 points in 16 contests before the injury.

Klingberg has long been the Stars' anchor on the blue line. Despite contributing just one goal and four points through 17 games this season, the 27-year-old rearguard has led Stars defensemen in scoring over five straight campaigns and has logged 23:36 of average ice time per game in 2019-20.

After stumbling out of the gate this season to a 1-7-1 record, the Stars bounced back to win 12 of their next 14 contests and they enter Saturday's tilt riding a five-game winning streak.

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