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We enjoyed a triumphant return to the ice Monday, sweeping the board for a substantial profit.

Our best bet, the Toronto Maple Leafs, was never in doubt. The Dallas Stars pushed us to 2-0 with an overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Vancouver Canucks capped things off by beating the defending Stanley Cup champions.

We're on a heater and we've got more winners tonight.

GOATs and scapegoats

There were no scapegoats on Monday night, since it's kind of hard to have one when you're perfect. Monday was chock-full of GOATs.

Frederik Andersen made 34 saves, Jamie Benn potted an overtime winner, J.T. Miller scored a pair, and Thatcher Demko edged Andersen with 36 saves against the St. Louis Blues.

Tuesday's bets

Buffalo Sabres -1.5 (+130)

No one really has fun visiting Buffalo, but the Ottawa Senators seem to have an especially unpleasant time. The Sens have lost three in a row and five of their last six against the Sabres south of the border. Ottawa allowed 18 goals in its last three road games in Buffalo while scoring two or fewer in seven of the team's last eight at KeyBank Center.

The Senators just plain stink on the road in general this season, having dropped their last seven outside Ottawa and 11 of their last 12. They're also playing this game on no rest in the midst of a 2-8 run on the second leg of back-to-backs, a spot where they're 6-18 over the past two seasons. Those are all pretty miserable numbers coming into a matchup with a Sabres team that's on an 8-3 run at home and already beat Ottawa 4-2 earlier this season when the Senators visited on no rest.

St. Louis Blues (+105)

I faded the Blues on Monday in Vancouver, but I like them Tuesday against the Calgary Flames. We're getting them at a deflated price because they just played, but the Blues have actually excelled on back-to-backs of late. They're 7-2 in the second leg over the last calendar year and 3-0 in that spot on the road this season. We also get the added bonus of Jordan Binnington starting after Jake Allen got the nod against the Canucks.

The Flames have lost three straight in at home to the Blues, scoring just three goals in those games, and they haven't been all that impressive at the Saddledome this season, posting a 5-6 record against Western Conference teams. Ride with St. Louis tonight at a discounted price.

Best bet

Jack Eichel over 0.5 plus-minus (+125)

No one slays the Senators quite like Eichel. OK, lots of players do these days, but Jack the Ripper seems to have a lot of fun when Ottawa comes to town. In three home games against the Sens in the last two seasons, Eichel has five goals and five assists. That's an outrageous 10 points in three contests. In a game that the Sabres should have no problem winning comfortably (see above and below), Eichel will likely be a driving factor for Buffalo.

To get him at a plus-minus over 0.5 should be easy. Even if he's not the one scoring the goals, he should be on the ice for a couple. In those three home games against Ottawa, Eichel was a plus-four, plus-two, and plus-two for a combined plus-eight.

Bonus plays: Sticking in the Eichel market, I'll be dabbling on Eichel to score two or more goals at +475, as well as the Eichel to score and Buffalo to win prop at +110. Getting him over 1.5 points at +125 isn't the worst bet in the world, either.

Find me in a ditch at the end of the night when Ottawa wins 3-0.

Trend of the night

The Senators are 0-4 in games started by Craig Anderson in 2020.

Rookie Marcus Hogberg has begun to take over between the pipes, with Anderson's appearances becoming more sporadic. The 38-year-old is winless in four starts in 2020 with an .862 save percentage and has allowed at least four goals against in each game. You can get the Sabres' team total over 3.5 goals at -110 and over 4.5 at +215.

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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Ed Belfour is in legal trouble once again.

Early Tuesday morning, the Hall of Fame goaltender was arrested at a hotel in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He was charged with third-degree criminal mischief and alcohol intoxication in a public place, according to an arrest report obtained by the Bowling Green Daily News and local station WNKY.

Belfour was "manifestly under the influence of alcohol to a point he was a danger to himself and others," according to the citation.

The 54-year-old was arrested just before 1:30 a.m. by Bowling Green police, who booked him into the Warren County Regional Jail about an hour and a half later, according to the jail's website.

Belfour is accused of damaging property at the hotel. He was found clutching a curtain rod that had been ripped out of the wall, and he was not compliant with officers when they attempted to handcuff him.

Police said the former netminder had "slow, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes" and "could barely stand up."

Belfour was arrested multiple times during his playing career. In 2007, he was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer without violence after he and teammate Ville Peltonen were booked in Miami. Belfour was also arrested in 2001 after a fight with security guards and police at a Dallas hotel, after which he offered the officers $1 billion to let him go.

He pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, receiving two years probation, and enrolled in the NHL's substance abuse program as a result.

Belfour retired in 2008 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins signed defenseman Marcus Pettersson to a five-year contract extension with an average annual value of $4,025,175, the club announced Tuesday.

Pettersson was a pending restricted free agent making $874,125 on the one-year pact he agreed to in September.

The 23-year-old has collected 15 points in 50 games while averaging 19:22 in ice time this season. He's in his second campaign with the Penguins, who acquired him in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks in December 2018.

Anaheim selected Pettersson 38th overall in 2014.

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ST. LOUIS - Shea Weber is, if nothing else, a man of extremes.

He's extremely nasty and feared on the ice, remarkably nice and humble off it. He's a polarizing defenseman to evaluate, with his true impact in any given game rarely reflected in traditional or even advanced statistics. He's incredibly strong and, relative to his size, tremendously agile. He's equipped with an extraordinarily hard shot. And he's totally uninterested in talking about himself.

That last trait surfaced during All-Star Weekend. In a one-on-one interview, Weber - who's 24 NHL games shy of 1,000 - was asked how he's been able to maintain such a high level of play this year. His previous enthusiasm in discussing his seventh All-Star appearance - "This is awesome" - vanished instantly.

"I don't know, to be honest," the Montreal Canadiens captain said, his facial expression suddenly blank. "Dedication to training and preparation. Every year I prepare for the season. I've had some tough injuries the last couple of years, but I think I've worked hard to come back from those. I think that … I don't like talking about myself. It's just the hard work and dedication that comes with anything."

That dedication is paying off, both for Weber and Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin. The hockey community roundly mocked Bergevin in June 2016 after he traded Norris Trophy winner P.K. Subban for Weber, straight up. The criticism was warranted: Bergevin had sent the Nashville Predators a younger, more dynamic blue-liner than Weber, one whose contract was less of an albatross than Weber's monstrous 14-year deal. The swap was projected to be a landslide win for the Predators. Yet, in 2020, Subban is a member of the New Jersey Devils and Weber, at 34 years old, is excelling.

"You're in one place 10-plus years, and you get comfortable with the city, the organization, everything. And then everything is new," Weber said, reflecting on the blockbuster trade. "But I feel like I am at home again, and that I'm settled into my home. I enjoy playing here, and after the first year, it has felt more natural. In the fourth year now, it feels normal."

Weber - who was limited to only 26 games in 2017-18 and 58 games last year because of injury - hasn't missed a single contest this season. He's playing 24 minutes a night to lead all Habs skaters through 51 games, and he's posting the best possession numbers of his career. Though Montreal's underwhelming attack ranks a middling 17th overall in total offense, Weber's on pace to record at least 50 points for the fourth time in 15 years.

"He's a beast," New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider said of his 6-foot-4, 230-pound foe. "He's still hammering the puck. He still moves incredibly well. He's still stronger than an ox."

In a recent poll of 392 NHLers conducted by The Athletic, Weber finished second in the "best defensive defenseman" category. He trailed only Victor Hedman, five years Weber's junior and a franchise defender in his own right. Weber's managed to vault himself back into the conversation for the game's top blue-liner while many of his 2003 draft class peers - namely Brent Seabrook, Dustin Byfuglien, and Dion Phaneuf - are essentially irrelevant or out of the NHL entirely. Ryan Suter and Brent Burns - who's having a down year - are his closest competition from that class; at this point in time, Weber's the king.

"He plays, first and foremost, really well defensively," Calgary Flames rearguard Mark Giordano said. "Then, this year, we all know the type of shot he has, and he's been able to jump into the play it seems like a little bit more."

The numbers support Giordano's claim. According to advanced stats website Natural Stat Trick, Weber ranks first in on-ice shot attempts per 60 minutes among the 162 NHL defensemen who have logged at least 500 five-on-five minutes. The Habs attempt 69.7 shots every 60 minutes Weber is on the ice. Norris front-runner John Carlson is 27th in that regard, helping the Washington Capitals attempt 61 per hour. And, in all situations, Weber's averaging 2.9 shots on net per game, the fifth-highest rate of his career and highest since 2014-15.

The native of Sicamous, B.C., still has his fastball, too, with players across the league reporting widespread fear of his booming shot. The All-Star Skills Competition provided some visual evidence: Weber won the hardest shot contest with a blistering 106.5 mph blast.

Al MacInnis, one of the NHL's all-time great back-end snipers, has noticed Weber smartly fires away whenever a one-time pass enters his orbit. "I find that if you think there's another option there, the shot is taken away (by the defense)," said MacInnis, now a member of the St. Louis Blues' management group. "So, for me, when I'm watching him, that's his (go-to approach). That's why he's been able to be so effective, and he's getting shots through to the net."

Added Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck: "That thing just continues to pick up speed. I remember I had one moment (years ago) where he hit me in the chest. I had my chest kind of puffed up, and it almost acted like a trampoline. I sucked my chest pad in and launched it almost right back to him. He's definitely got one of the hardest (in-game) shots in the league."

Kreider recalled an occasion on which he pulled the chute on his defensive assignment, choosing instead to block a Weber howitzer and wondering how his coaches would react to that decision. "I sprinted away from the guy who was basically sitting right in front of the net in the slot because (Weber) was coming downhill for a one-timer," Kreider said. "Our coaches were basically like, 'That was a good play. We'd rather anyone shoot from high in the slot than him walking in on a one-timer.'"

That particular anecdote comes from Weber's Nashville days, an 11-year tenure that included plenty of regular-season dominance but only three playoff series wins. The Predators broke through the season after the Subban-Weber swap, ultimately losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final. The Habs lost in the first round of that same postseason and haven't returned to the playoffs since. Tied for 11th in the East after Monday's 4-2 loss to the Capitals, it'll take a momentous post-All-Star run for Montreal to earn a spot in the dance this spring.

"I think that (we're) headed in the right direction, with the young guys and the talent that's coming up," Weber said. "We're in a tough spot right now in the second half of the year, but you just can't ever count a team out. St. Louis proved a lot of people wrong, with the way they went last year toward the end there. You just never know. We still have belief in that room."

Though the Canadiens' playoff chances are dimming, Weber's still on the fringes of the conversation for the Norris Trophy (it's realistically a two-horse race between Carlson and Roman Josi), an honor he's never won. But is the league's defenseman of the year award even important to the guy former teammate Max Pacioretty calls "the ultimate leader"?

"No, not at all," Weber said. "Everybody talks about that award. It's a great accolade and thing to have, but for me, the most important thing to have is the Stanley Cup. It's the epitome of a team just getting the job done, from top to bottom - everyone - no matter what your role is. Two minutes, 25 minutes. It doesn't matter. It's the ultimate team accomplishment."

All things considered, that's an extremely Shea Weber response.

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

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In the fourth edition of theScore's Calder Trophy Power Rankings, two players who have been red-hot recently throw their hats into the ring.

5. Elvis Merzlikins, Columbus Blue Jackets

Are we witnessing Jordan Binnington 2.0? The St. Louis Blues netminder appeared in just 32 games last year but still finished second in Calder voting. Merzlikins, 25, could soon find himself in a similar situation.

Since Joonas Korpisalo went down with an injury in December, Merzlikins has started 11 games for the Blue Jackets, winning nine of them while posting three shutouts. He boasts a 9-6-4 record with a .926 save percentage and 2.39 goals-against average.

With Korpisalo set to return from injury, it's unclear what Merzlikin's workload will look like down the stretch. But if he can continue his dominant play and help Columbus reach the playoffs, his name will surely be in the Calder conversation.

4. Dominik Kubalik, Chicago Blackhawks

Kubalik must have found the switch to turn on the jets because he's been an absolute revelation of late. Originally selected 191st overall in the 2013 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings, he's notched 21 goals in 49 games for the Blackhawks to lead all rookies in that category.

The 24-year-old has buried 10 of those tallies in just nine games in the month of January. It will be interesting to see if he and linemate Jonathan Toews can continue to create magic on the ice in the second half of the season and help Chicago maintain its surge up the standings.

3. Victor Olofsson, Buffalo Sabres

Despite missing the last three weeks of action with a wrist injury, Olofsson's season is still salvageable. He remains second in both goals (16) and points (35) among all rookie skaters and is slated to return to the Sabres' lineup at some point in the next few weeks.

If the 24-year-old retains his scoring touch once he's back to full health, he'll remain in the hunt for the Calder.

2. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks boast the league's seventh-best power play, a fact that can be largely attributed to Hughes. His 18 power-play points are tops among all rookies and good for 17th in the league overall.

With just five goals this season, he hasn't found the back of the net as often as the other skaters on this list. His 29 assists, however, more than make up for that. Hughes' 21:36 of average ice time leads all rookies, and he's a key reason the Canucks are sitting first in the Pacific Division.

1. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche

When an injury in early December cost Makar eight games, many thought the Calder race had been blown wide open. But he hasn't missed a beat since returning to the lineup, recording nine points in his last 12 games.

Makar leads all rookies with 37 points and ranks second in team scoring for the Avalanche. Hughes has closed the gap recently, but it seems like the Calder Trophy is still Makar's to lose with more than half of the regular season in the books.

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Ahead of the much-anticipated Battle of Alberta rematch on Jan. 29, Matthew Tkachuk says he didn't carry any grudges into the All-Star Game.

"When it came down to it we're all there to have a fun time, and we all were enjoying each other's company," Tkachuk said to reporters on Monday, per TSN. "A bunch of really good guys honestly and I had a blast being around the rink. ... The fact that you can play as hard as we do for the whole year and for years and playoffs - a bunch of battles with each other - and you go there and it's like nothing honestly ever happened previous."

The Calgary Flames forward has earned a reputation in the league as an agitator and has riled up plenty of his opponents this year. After being involved in a skirmish with Edmonton Oilers forward Zack Kassian before the All-Star break, Kassian's teammate Leon Draisaitl joked that he'd get off the ice if he was put on with Tkachuk. Instead, Draisaitl and Tkachuk ended up combining to create a pretty nifty goal.

Although he's far from a fan favorite in Edmonton after his tactics led to a two-game suspension for Kassian, Tkachuk showed Oilers star Connor McDavid and the other All-Stars some love.

"Great guy (McDavid) honestly, being in the room with guys like him and the rest of the All-Stars, like I said earlier you forget about what's kind of going on. You're just there to have a good time with them and just talk hockey, talk life," Tkachuk said. "Being in the same room as him and some of the All-Stars, you're taken back a little bit and it's pretty cool to be there with them."

Tkachuk may be a nightmare for opponents to face during the regular season, but it seems as though any ill will toward him was put on pause during the weekend's festivities. The 22-year-old and his Pacific Division teammates won the 3-on-3 tournament and its $1-million prize.

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Jake Muzzin had nothing but positive things to say about the Toronto Maple Leafs when asked about his experience with the team so far.

"The organization, the way they look after us, the guys here, the city, the buzz in the city about hockey is huge," the defenseman told the assembled media, including Sportsnet, on Monday. "Being close to home is always a nice touch, especially with a little one around now, so there's lots of good things here and I'd love to stay."

The pending unrestricted free agent is expected to make his return to the lineup Monday against the Nashville Predators after missing the last 10 games with a broken foot. Fellow blue-liner Tyson Barrie is also a pending UFA.

Muzzin leads the squad in hits despite his absence and ranks second on the team in blocked shots and average ice time.

The 30-year-old has been a key cog on the back end for the Maple Leafs since the club acquired him from the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 28, 2019, almost one year ago to the day.

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