With the NHL season on pause, it's only natural to be going through withdrawal.

But while the lack of games is an unfortunate - albeit necessary - development, there are plenty of ways to fill the void.

Books certainly fall into that category, so here's a list of entertaining and informative hockey reads as compiled by theScore's hockey editors:

'Game Change'

Authored by legendary Montreal Canadiens goalie Ken Dryden, "Game Change: The Life and Death of Steve Montador and the Future of Hockey" masterfully mixes the macro- and micro-narratives of a complicated issue into a thought-provoking read about head injuries in hockey.

Dryden - who takes NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to task throughout the 357-page book - drills down on the ins and outs of the neurodegenerative disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) while simultaneously telling the story of Montador, a former NHL defenseman who died in 2015 at the age of 35.

You will learn so much from reading "Game Change" because it's a tribute to Montador as well as a lecture to powerful people in the sport about the dangers of on-ice violence.

'Playing with Fire'

"Playing with Fire" is the gripping autobiography of Theo Fleury's life. Fleury - who co-wrote the book with Kirstie McLellan Day - dealt with a rough upbringing, as his father was an alcoholic and his mother was a drug addict.

In the book, he discusses being sexually assaulted by his junior hockey coach and how it triggered his own alcohol and drug addiction. Despite plenty of obstacles, including his small stature, Fleury carved out a borderline Hall of Fame career, winning the Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold medal while collecting 1,088 points in 1,084 NHL games. You won't be able to put this book down.

'Behind the Bench'

Craig Custance takes a unique, well-thought-out idea and executes it perfectly in this brief but insightful read. In "Behind the Bench: Inside the Minds of Hockey's Greatest Coaches," he sits down with several big-name NHL bench bosses - including Mike Babcock, Joel Quenneville, Mike Sullivan, and Ken Hitchcock - and gets them to dissect the biggest games they've ever coached in great detail.

A foreword by Sidney Crosby draws you in right away, and behind-the-scenes looks from the masterminds of some of the most memorable games of a generation create a highly enjoyable reading experience.

'Hockey Confidential'

We all know Bob McKenzie as one of hockey's best insiders, and in 2014 he gave fans an even deeper look behind the scenes with "Hockey Confidential: Inside Stories from People Inside the Game." McKenzie takes readers through 11 chapters that span all sorts of topics, including the story of John Tavares and his lacrosse-legend uncle who shares his name to explanations of how advanced stats like Corsi and Fenwick came to be.

There's also a chapter on Connor McDavid, who hadn't even set foot in the NHL yet. McKenzie goes into detail about McDavid's potential as a future superstar in the league, which is sublime to read now, knowing how the dynamic forward panned out. This is simply an insightful, quick, and easy read for hockey fans.

'King of Russia'

Dave King had a unique perspective as the first Canadian head coach to ever ply his trade in what became the KHL. In "King of Russia: A Year in the Russian Super League," which he co-wrote with Eric Duhatschek, the longtime bench boss tells the engaging story of guiding a Metallurg Magnitogorsk squad featuring budding phenom Evgeni Malkin in the season following the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

King's amusing and heartfelt journal entries illuminate the unpredictable nature of both hockey and life in Russia while conveying the culture shock that comes with moving halfway around the world. It's an eye-opening account of a league many have heard about but few in North America have experienced firsthand.

It also shows the reader how challenging - but ultimately rewarding - it can be to break out of one's comfort zone by taking on a new adventure.

'Stat Shot'

With advanced stats becoming an integral tool for evaluating players, "Hockey Abstract Presents ... Stat Shot: The Ultimate Guide to Hockey Analytics" is a great read for those who wish to learn more about this ever-growing pool of data. Rob Vollman puts the daunting task of grasping analytics into layman's terms, making the read both fun and informative.

From evaluating the best way to build a team to projecting the significance of a player's numbers in junior to exploring the application of shot-based metrics, Vollman uses this wide world of numbers to provide in-depth answers to a series of important questions. Whether you're new to the game or a seasoned vet, "Stat Shot" is a must-read for all hockey lovers.

'Coach: The Pat Burns Story'

Going from a Montreal police officer to a Stanley Cup-winning head coach isn't exactly the standard career path for most in the NHL, but that was the trail blazed by Pat Burns. In this book - which came out two years after Burns' death - Rosie DiManno traces his rise from a cop to the QMJHL to the AHL and then to the NHL with the Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and New Jersey Devils.

"Coach" doesn't sugarcoat Burns, showing he had his demons to deal with during a life that was tragically cut short. However, it also paints the picture of a man who was best known for his outwardly combative nature but was truly a teddy bear on the inside.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

With their sport on an indefinite pause and everyone in self-quarantine or practicing social distancing, NHL players are starting to get creative with their sudden abundance of free time. Here's a look at what some players have shared on social media to date.

Sergei Bobrovsky

The Florida Panthers netminder kept his glove hand ready while taking in some sun.

Evander Kane

Evander Kane put some of his hockey skills to use in a hybrid version of golf and baseball.

Max Domi

The Montreal Canadiens forward showed off a mix of extraordinary hand-eye coordination and balance.

Joey and Mikey Anderson

The Anderson brothers took garage hockey to a whole other level, adding the national anthem and some postgame interviews.

P.K. Subban

P.K. Subban got creative with his fiancee Lindsey Vonn in a home workout.

Joe Veleno

The Detroit Red Wings forward practiced his stick-handling with a hot commodity.

Nicklas Backstrom

Nicklas Backstrom switched things up and took on the role of goaltender with his young child.

Cal Clutterbuck

Cal Clutterbuck praised childcare workers and teachers and demonstrated his dad skills in the process.

Ilya Kovalchuk

The Washington Capitals forward hopped on the Tik-Tok dance trend with the whole family.

Matt Calvert

Matt Calvert got back to his roots and taught his young kids the joy of mini sticks.

Zach Hyman

The Toronto Maple Leafs forward is looking for fans to play video games with him while he streams on Twitch.

David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk

Speaking of Twitch, these two Boston Bruins teammates spent some time playing Fortnite together Saturday.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL season is suspended indefinitely due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and while the league hopes it will eventually be able to resume and conclude the 2019-20 campaign, that's far from a foregone conclusion. This week and next, we're breaking down some of the major storylines that hang in the balance.

Andrei Vasilevskiy entered the 2019-20 season hiding from nothing and no one. Fresh off a five-month summer, he had begrudgingly come to terms with the fact that his club, the 62-win Tampa Bay Lightning, had lost four straight games to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the playoffs.

"I think we just got too comfortable in the regular season," Vasilevskiy said in September at the NHL's annual player media tour in Chicago.

"In our heads, it was like, 'Oh, we'll be alright in the playoffs because we're doing great in the regular season,'" he continued. "But the reality is that in the playoffs it's way different hockey. We just weren't ready for that."

Those words, and the words from his teammates and head coach Jon Cooper at training camp later that month, set the tone for the year. Tampa had found out the hard way that one bad week in April can completely undo 82 games of outright dominance. But the Lightning weren't about to make any excuses. Redemption, they said, would come only in the form of playoff success.

Yet here we are, two-and-a-half weeks out from the traditional start of the NHL postseason, and the entire sporting calendar is frozen. As you know, a significantly more important matter - stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus - has consumed the globe, rightly pausing all competition-based narratives, including Tampa's quest for redemption, for the foreseeable future.

It all leaves two questions flailing in the wind. Exactly how well was the 2019-20 squad playing before action halted? Did management do enough to prepare for spring's "way different hockey"?

On the surface, this season's team couldn't hold a candle to last year's juggernaut. On pace for 50 wins, 12 shy of 2018-19's outrageous benchmark, the 2019-20 Bolts were probably going to finish second in the Atlantic Division rather than first in the league. Their offensive output had dipped from 3.89 goals per game to 3.47, while their defensive work had led to more goals against (2.77 per game up from 2.69). Even their special teams had sunk, with the power play ranking fifth and the penalty kill 14th after both led the NHL last year.

But the numbers lurking below the surface paint a rosier picture. Before the pause, the 2019-20 squad was rocking even-strength differentials nearly identical to those of last year's team across five key categories: shot attempts, shots on goal, scoring chances, goals scored, and expected goals.

Team goaltending had improved as well, with Vasilevskiy and Curtis McElhinney uniting for an impressive .918 even-strength save percentage - a notable upgrade over 2018-19's mark of .904. McElhinney, one of the league's best No. 2s, was a smart offseason pickup by GM Julien BriseBois. Former backup Louis Domingue filled in admirably for an injured Vasilevskiy last year, but McElhinney's willingness to sign a two-year deal on the cheap pushed Domingue down the depth chart and eventually out of the organization.

Tampa made only one major roster move over the summer, trading forward J.T. Miller to the Canucks for salary-cap relief. Given the club's underwhelming postseason, it would have been mighty tempting to steer the ship in an entirely new direction. Fire Cooper? Unload a star or two? But BriseBois instead opted to tinker around the margins. He brought in Pat Maroon, a bruising winger who had just won the Stanley Cup with St. Louis, to help fill Miller's skates, while veteran defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk took unrestricted free agent Anton Stralman's spot on the blue line.

From there, BriseBois used draft and prospect capital to acquire two pieces ahead of February's trade deadline: Blake Coleman, a speedy two-way goal-scorer, and Barclay Goodrow, a tenacious pest of a penalty killer. They appeared in a combined 17 games for Tampa. That's obviously suboptimal. Both wingers, however, are signed to team-friendly deals through the 2020-21 season, so the assets shipped out to acquire their services and a third-round pick - two first-rounders, high-end forward prospect Nolan Foote, and 26-year-old AHL forward Anthony Greco - weren't sacrificed for nothing. BriseBois, it turns out, played his cards right by reeling in guys with term.

Though Miller exploded in Vancouver, recording 72 points in 69 games prior to the pause, it's hard to make the case that last year's Lightning roster was more talented, more balanced, or better equipped for the rigors of playoff hockey. This season's third and fourth lines are spunkier, the backup is steadier, and the defense corps is improved, if only slightly. The team's veteran leaders - Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, and Vasilevskiy - remain in fine form, while the stocks of 24-and-under studs Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, and Mikhail Sergachev continue to rise.

All of this is to say that even though the win total might not show it, this latest iteration of the Lightning could definitely hang with last year's powerhouse. They hit rough patches in 2019-20, starting the season a middling 17-13-4 and then winning only three of their final 10 games, but in between and under the surface, they were brilliant. You certainly can't claim they "got too comfortable" during the truncated campaign. The adversity they first encountered in the Columbus series hit them early and often.

If the NHL resumes play and manages to string together a postseason of some kind, the Lightning should be healthier; Stamkos, for one, is sidelined until at least late April. They shouldn't have a target on their backs this time around, either - that's reserved for the 100-point Bruins and defending champion Blues. Most notably, they're built to last. The margin of error is thinner in the playoffs - fewer goals, fewer power-play opportunities, more physicality - and that might suit this recalibrated Tampa team perfectly.

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Edmonton Oilers have inked forward Raphael Lavoie to an entry-level contract, the team announced Saturday.

Edmonton selected Lavoie, 19, with the 38th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft.

Traded by the Halifax Mooseheads to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in January, the 6-foot-4 center racked up 38 goals and 82 points through 55 games between the two QMJHL clubs this season. The QMJHL officially canceled its season on March 17 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Lavoie also represented Canada at the 2020 world juniors, contributing two assists through seven games to help his team capture a gold medal.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New York Islanders have no intention on letting star forward Mathew Barzal slip away once he hits restricted free agency at the end of the 2019-20 season.

General manager Lou Lamoriello confirmed as much in a recent Q&A with Isles fans on the club's website when asked whether he'd match a potential offer sheet for the 22-year-old.

"It is our intention to not allow it to get to that point, but should that happen, the answer is yes," Lamoriello said.

Barzal's entry-level deal is soon to expire, and he's one of the top RFA's on the board this summer. It was offer sheet pandemonium last offseason as an unprecedented amount of young superstars were due big money on their second contracts.

Only one offer sheet ultimately came about, as the Montreal Canadiens unsuccessfully tried to poach forward Sebastian Aho from the Carolina Hurricanes.

Barzal was drafted 16th overall by the Isles in 2015, and he's led New York in scoring in each of his three full seasons in the NHL. This year, he was on track to do the same before the league went on pause, registering 60 points in 68 games.

Defensemen Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews are also RFA's Lamoriello needs to take care of this offseason, but Barzal is the No. 1 priority by a landslide, as he could reasonably become the team's highest-paid player.

The Islanders are projected to have just over $12.6 million in space for 2020-21, according to Cap Friendly. However, with the NHL's revenue streams shut down for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus, it's unclear what next season's salary cap will be.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

A second unnamed player on the Ottawa Senators tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced Saturday.

"The Ottawa Senators' medical team is actively monitoring players and staff and following all appropriate and professional guidelines to help ensure the health and safety of our employees and the greater community," the team said in a statement.

The team announced March 18 that an unnamed player had tested positive for the disease caused by the coronavirus, marking the first known case of COVID-19 among NHL players.

The second player was a part of Ottawa's California road trip that included stops in San Jose, Anaheim, and Los Angeles right before the season was suspended. Fifty-two people traveled on that trip with the club, and 44 have shown no symptoms. Eight people were tested, and two have tested positive with some results still pending.

NHL teams continue to follow CDC guidelines that state only players and staff members who exhibit symptoms should be tested, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. Everyone else has been instructed to self-quarantine.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Boston Bruins have put together a plan to pay part-time TD Garden staff if the NHL's coronavirus-induced hiatus results in full game cancellations, the team announced Saturday.

"The Jacobs family has established a $1.5-million fund for the Boston Bruins and TD Garden part-time gameday associates who will be financially burdened if the six remaining regular-season Bruins games are not played. We thank our associates for their patience and understanding while we worked through the complexity of this unprecedented situation," the team statement reads.

The Bruins are the last of 31 NHL teams to announce compensation for their workers. On Thursday, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey called out the organization's lack of action.

"I just want them to act, I just want them to step up and do something," Healey told the Boston Herald's Marisa Ingemi. "Do something for their workers. Every other (NHL) team has said they are going to provide financial support for hourly workers who have been hurt by this, and that runs the range of paying their salaries or paying for their living expenses … I just want them to act now."

The NHL announced the suspension of the 2019-20 season on March 13.

The Bruins currently sit atop the frozen NHL standings with 100 points through 70 games.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.