Claude Julien doesn't regret benching Max Domi after the talented forward took an ill-advised penalty during a loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.

The Montreal Canadiens head coach defended the move postgame, implying he wasn't just considering the one play in question when he decided to sit Domi for the final eight-plus minutes of the second period.

"I did what I had to do, simple as that," Julien said, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels. "I don't have to explain it more than I did. It's not the first time he's taken a bad penalty. There's consequences, and sometimes those messages (date back a lot further) than the situation right there."

Domi took a roughing minor for this play involving Blackhawks forward Matthew Highmore.

Alex DeBrincat capitalized on the power play, putting Chicago up 3-1 in the eventual 4-1 victory.

Julien then pinned Domi to the bench for the remaining 8:33 of the middle stanza, as the 24-year-old didn't take the ice again until the opening minute of the third period.

The Montreal bench boss had an opportunity to put Domi back on the ice to atone for his lapse when the Canadiens drew a man advantage of their own with 4:36 left in the second, but Julien elected to continue sitting him.

"It doesn't matter who we put on (for the power play) instead of Max," Julien said. "Max is not the guy that's going to score goals all the time here, so a power play is a five-man unit."

Meanwhile, Domi took responsibility for his infraction.

"During the play, I certainly wasn't trying to take a penalty," he said. "But I watched the replay and it's a penalty. So that's how it goes. Unfortunately, they scored on that."

The forward added, "You can't do that - especially in the situation we're in right now. It is what it is. Coach's decision, and obviously I can't afford to do that."

Montreal's defeat Wednesday night was its ninth in the last 11 games. The Canadiens fell to 20-21-7 and are now nine points out of the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot.

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Claude Julien doesn't regret benching Max Domi after the talented forward took an ill-advised penalty during a loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.

The Montreal Canadiens head coach defended the move postgame, implying he wasn't just considering the one play in question when he decided to sit Domi for the final eight-plus minutes of the second period.

"I did what I had to do, simple as that," Julien said, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels. "I don't have to explain it more than I did. It's not the first time he's taken a bad penalty. There's consequences, and sometimes those messages (date back a lot further) than the situation right there."

Domi took a roughing minor for this play involving Blackhawks forward Matthew Highmore.

Alex DeBrincat capitalized on the power play, putting Chicago up 3-1 in the eventual 4-1 victory.

Julien then pinned Domi to the bench for the remaining 8:33 of the middle stanza, as the 24-year-old didn't take the ice again until the opening minute of the third period.

The Montreal bench boss had an opportunity to put Domi back on the ice to atone for his lapse when the Canadiens drew a man advantage of their own with 4:36 left in the second, but Julien elected to continue sitting him.

"It doesn't matter who we put on (for the power play) instead of Max," Julien said. "Max is not the guy that's going to score goals all the time here, so a power play is a five-man unit."

Meanwhile, Domi took responsibility for his infraction.

"During the play, I certainly wasn't trying to take a penalty," he said. "But I watched the replay and it's a penalty. So that's how it goes. Unfortunately, they scored on that."

The forward added, "You can't do that - especially in the situation we're in right now. It is what it is. Coach's decision, and obviously I can't afford to do that."

Montreal's defeat Wednesday night was its ninth in the last 11 games. The Canadiens fell to 20-21-7 and are now nine points out of the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot.

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The San Jose Sharks are still coming to grips with Peter DeBoer being the Vegas Golden Knights' new bench boss.

DeBoer, the former Sharks head coach, took the reins of San Jose's hated rival on Wednesday after the Golden Knights fired Gerard Gallant.

"Obviously not the team we expected him to go to,” Sharks forward Timo Meier told The Mercury News' Curtis Pashelka hours after the move. “But that’s the business. But it’s a good opportunity. Obviously, they’re a good team. (They) have loud fans. But yeah, it’s definitely shocking to everybody."

"It’s going to be weird playing against Vegas with him behind the bench,” he added.

Tomas Hertl echoed that sentiment.

“Every guy on the team was pretty surprised,” Hertl said. “It’s kind of shocking. Nobody expected the coach from Vegas to get fired, and right away Pete gets there. Nobody knows actually what to think about it. But it’s for sure big news and a really big surprise.”

The Sharks fired DeBoer on Dec. 11, replacing him with Bob Boughner on an interim basis. DeBoer was in his fifth season with San Jose, and he was dismissed after a 15-16-2 start following a Western Conference Final berth last spring, and a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2016.

Boughner, who spent two stints as an assistant coach under DeBoer, wished his old boss well.

“Obviously happy for Pete," Boughner said. "I think it’s going to be a great spot for him. I knew it was just a matter of time. I didn’t know if he was going to wait until the summer and take a few months, but when an opportunity like that comes up, him considering taking it is very understandable.”

The Sharks-Golden Knights rivalry has been one of the NHL's best lately, and it came to a head during a wild seven-game first-round playoff matchup last spring. During that series, Gallant called DeBoer a "clown" for accusing him of chirping at Sharks players.

San Jose and Vegas won't meet again during the 2019-20 regular season, and both teams currently aren't in playoff spots. The Golden Knights sit just outside of a wild-card slot, although they're a mere three points back of first place in the Pacific Division.

The Sharks rank sixth in the same division and sit eight points out of a playoff berth.

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Tyler Motte hopes his story can inspire others in need.

The Vancouver Canucks forward revealed he was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in an inspirational video posted by the team Wednesday.

Motte opened up about feeling "lower and lower" during his second pro season until he couldn't find the energy to get out of bed and to the rink. Growing frustrated by the way he was feeling, Motte took his girlfriend's advice and sought psychological help.

"It's not necessarily about telling my story," Motte said. "It's about to help that one person or those handful of people that need to know they're not alone in it."

The 24-year-old understands he's been given a unique platform as a professional athlete and is pushing to end the stigma surrounding mental health in sports.

"In sports and hockey there's this mindset that we've come to adapt to where it's all about being mentally strong and not showing weakness," Motte said.

He added, "For me, just accepting and saying out loud that I was diagnosed with depression and had a mental health issue, that was the first weight off my shoulders."

Hockey Talks is a mental health initiative that was launched in 2013 following the death of former NHL forward Rick Rypien, and Motte is optimistic about its potential to turn sport into a space where these important discussions can be facilitated.

"With the support of individuals, teams, communities, I think the stigma is going to shrink drastically. It'll turn it into an opportunity where people can come to fully understand what some people go through, and I think that's really the purpose of Hockey Talks."

The Canucks will host their seventh annual Hockey Talks game Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes.

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The Edmonton Oilers have inked defenseman Caleb Jones to a two-year contract extension, the club announced on Wednesday.

His added years carry an average annual value of $850,000, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Jones has split this season between the Oilers and their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, collecting three points in 23 NHL games while averaging just over 13 minutes of ice time in a third-pairing role.

He's added 11 points over 14 contests with the Condors in 2019-20.

The 22-year-old made his NHL debut last season, appearing in 17 games with Edmonton during that campaign.

The Oilers' fourth-round pick in 2015 is the younger brother of Columbus Blue Jackets blue-liner Seth Jones. They're the sons of Indiana Pacers assistant coach and former NBA player "Popeye" Jones.

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

We had to settle for a 2-2 night on Tuesday, but still managed to turn a small profit.

Of course, if you followed along with our trend of the night and bet the Vancouver Canucks' team total under 2.5 (+130) and under 1.5 (+375) - they were shut out in Winnipeg - then you had yourself quite a night.

There are only two games on Wednesday, but with countless game bets and props at our disposal, there's plenty available for us to extend our winning run.

GOATs and scapegoats

How about the season Dominik Kubalik is having? The 24-year-old rookie from the Czech Republic tallied a pair of goals Tuesday to take his total to 18 on the season, bringing him to 28 points in 45 games. Not bad for a seventh-round pick.

His two goals helped the Chicago Blackhawks (-105) battle back from a 2-0 deficit to send the game to overtime, where Jonathan Toews took care of the rest to cash in our bet. That's seven goals in five games now for Kubalik - our GOAT of the night - and 10 points in his last six.

We're far less thankful for the Predators' special teams. Nashville went 0-3 on the power play and just 2-4 on the penalty kill in a 4-2 loss in Edmonton, killing our bet.

Wednesday's bets

Chicago Blackhawks (+160)

Are you kidding me with this line? The Blackhawks are a must-play based off principle alone. The Montreal Canadiens remain without Jonathan Drouin, Brendan Gallagher, and Joel Armia, and are starting Charlie Lindgren in net. The Habs are below .500 at home this season yet are -180 without All-Star goalie Carey Price in net? Come on. The Blackhawks are 7-1 in the second leg of back-to-backs this season and are a terrific value play in Montreal.

Corey Crawford over 28.5 saves (-115)

The Canadiens attempt more shots than any other team on home ice, averaging a league-high 36.6 per game. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks allow 36.9 per game on the road - also the most in the NHL. There should be plenty of rubber thrown the way of Corey Crawford, and with the Habs largely struggling to turn those shots into goals, he should comfortably get over this number.

Brayden Schenn over 0.5 assists (+145)

Unlike backing Schenn over 0.5 points at -154, we can get a significant return on this prop. The odds significantly lengthen for him to get an assist, of which he has seven in his past five home games. He's only scored six times in 24 games at the Enterprise Center, but has 13 assists.

Best bet

St. Louis Blues team total over 3.5 (-110)

The Blues have won nine straight on home ice and have scored at least four goals in seven of those games. It's hard to see them slowing down against a Flyers team struggling defensively of late, especially on the road, where they've allowed at least four goals in eight of their last nine games. They've also conceded at least five goals in their last four away from home, so sprinkle a little extra on the Blues' team total over 4.5 (+220).

Trend of the night

The Blackhawks have won five straight games in Montreal, limiting the Canadiens to just four goals and twice shutting them out.

This trend dates as far back as 2014, so it's hard to put too much stock into it, but we said the same thing last night about the Canucks in Winnipeg and they got shut out. Crawford being in net for this game hurts a bit, but you can get a great price on the Canadiens to score under 2.5 goals (+220) and under 1.5 goals (+575).

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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