Boston Bruins goaltender Daniel Vladar forcefully made his NHL debut Wednesday night after the Tampa Bay Lightning chased starter Jaroslav Halak during the second period.

Halak allowed four goals on 16 shots before exiting early. He started for the second consecutive night after the Bruins dropped Game 2 in overtime on Tuesday.

Tuukka Rask, Boston's longtime starter, left the bubble earlier in the playoffs to deal with a family matter.

Vladar, 23, was drafted by the Bruins 75th overall in 2015. He had a .936 save percentage along with a 1.79 goals against average across 25 games with Providence's AHL club this past season, while also making one start in the ECHL.

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

San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture issued an apology after his tweet regarding American politics went viral early on Wednesday.

Couture has since deleted the original tweet, but he stated he was out in Toronto on Tuesday night and was sucker punched for talking "about voting for the Republican party and mentioning Donald Trump by name."

Couture was highly criticized for the tweet, adding he didn't explicitly say he'd vote for Trump but would vote Republican if he was an American citizen.

Hours later, Couture released the following message:

"I have been debating whether or not to speak further on this matter. However, because much of what I tweeted earlier today has been taken out of context, I want to elaborate. Bringing politics to my platform is wrong. While I did not do a good job communicating my thoughts earlier today, I do believe that everyone is entitled to their own voice and opinions. But regardless of what anyone believes - and to be clear, I do not believe in supporting Donald Trump - responding with violence isn't the answer and doesn't solve anything. I regret the decision to make this incident public. I apologize to the Sharks, as well as my family for having to deal with this. I hold myself to a high standard, and I apologize for any of my comments that were poorly worded and do not reflect my true feelings or beliefs. I appreciate those who have reached out to me with their concern."

The Sharks also issued a statement condemning the use of violence towards Couture, according to Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News.

"The San Jose Sharks organization is aware of the incident that occurred on the evening of Aug. 25 in which Logan Couture was assaulted in Toronto. We are thankful that he was not seriously hurt and unequivocally denounce physical attacks or abuse on anyone under any circumstances," the club said.

Couture was drafted ninth overall by San Jose in 2007. He's notched 546 points in 715 games in 11 seasons with the Sharks.

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

After watching on from the press box as his team was eliminated from the postseason, Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk is coming to the defense of his star teammates.

"The thing that really frustrates me right now, especially with being out and watching the games and having nothing to do so being on my phone and just being in the bubble, everything is about hockey ... I couldn't believe some of the criticism that some guys on my team were getting for this," Tkachuk said, per Sportsnet. "Especially the criticism towards Johnny (Gaudreau) and Monny (Sean Monahan), it makes me sick. It really upsets me and pisses me off.

"Everyone was upset about them for offensive production. Well, they produced more offense than me. So put the blame on me. I didn't do nearly enough to help get this team over the top when I was in the lineup, and that's what hurts the most."

The Dallas Stars bounced the Flames in six games, marking the third time in four years that Calgary failed to advance past the first round.

Tkachuk, who was injured in Game 2, missed the team's final four contests. In six total games this postseason, the 22-year-old managed one goal and one assist.

Monahan and Gaudreau came under fire from fans and the media following the club's elimination. Monahan totaled two goals and six assists in 10 games, while Gaudreau scored four goals and added three helpers.

"It really upsets me to see some of the criticism to those guys, being unbelievable players and great players in this league, and even more important, great friends," Tkachuk continued. "But I think as leaders and as core players and in general, myself mainly, but our best players didn't do enough to get us over the top and into that next round and into a run. And that's frustrating."

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

Vegas Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault issued an apology after lashing out at fans on his Instagram account following the club's 5-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

After the game, several fans took to Marchessault's latest Instagram post - a photo of him and his wife - and left comments ridiculing the 29-year-old for diving during the loss.

"I was frustrated from the game, obviously, but also I get sensitive when people comment on family pictures," Marchessault said, according to The Athletic's Jesse Granger.

"It got the best of me, but there's no excuse. I sincerely apologize."

Marchessault responded to the criticism with comments such as, "Go suck on your mummy's t----- and stop wasting my time," according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

The 5-foot-9 winger has contributed three goals and eight points over 10 playoff contests this summer.

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

The NHL is coming down hard on the Arizona Coyotes.

The Coyotes will forfeit their 2020 second-round pick and 2021 first-round pick for violating the NHL's combine testing policy, the league announced Wednesday. Arizona had already traded its 2020 first-round pick to the New Jersey Devils for Taylor Hall.

The Coyotes acknowledged that they had conducted physical testing on 2020 draft-eligible players prior to the combine.

"While the Combine Testing Policy Memoranda reference a fine of 'no less than $250,000 for each violation' of the Policy, I exercise my discretion to impose the aforementioned discipline - which I consider to be more appropriate given the specific circumstances of this case," said Bettman, who convened a hearing on the matter on Aug. 6.

Steve Sullivan is the team's interim general manager after John Chayka terminated his contract with the club in July.

Bettman added that no specific individuals will face punishment.

"As for the club personnel who participated in, or may have contributed to, the club's violation of the policy, I have decided that no discipline shall be imposed on these individuals," Bettman said. "While I conclude that certain club personnel acted in a grossly negligent manner at best, which was conceded by the club, I ultimately conclude that the record does not establish - to a standard with which I am comfortable - that those individuals engaged in intentional wrongdoing, as opposed to grossly negligent behavior."

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

The NHL is coming down hard on the Arizona Coyotes.

The Coyotes will forfeit their 2020 second-round pick and 2021 first-round pick for violating the NHL's combine testing policy, the league announced Wednesday. Arizona had already traded its 2020 first-round pick to the New Jersey Devils for Taylor Hall.

The Coyotes acknowledged that they had conducted physical testing on 2020 draft-eligible players prior to the combine.

"While the Combine Testing Policy Memoranda reference a fine of 'no less than $250,000 for each violation' of the Policy, I exercise my discretion to impose the aforementioned discipline - which I consider to be more appropriate given the specific circumstances of this case," said Bettman, who convened a hearing on the matter on Aug. 6.

Steve Sullivan is the team's interim general manager after John Chayka terminated his contract with the club in July.

Bettman added that no specific individuals will face punishment.

"As for the club personnel who participated in, or may have contributed to, the club's violation of the policy, I have decided that no discipline shall be imposed on these individuals," Bettman said. "While I conclude that certain club personnel acted in a grossly negligent manner at best, which was conceded by the club, I ultimately conclude that the record does not establish - to a standard with which I am comfortable - that those individuals engaged in intentional wrongdoing, as opposed to grossly negligent behavior."

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

St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong admitted his team wasn't at full strength this postseason after several players battled COVID-19 at some point leading up to the league's return.

"Coming into Phase 3, there was a lot going on with our organization," Armstrong said Wednesday, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "Of our regular players, I think 20% of those guys had COVID at some point."

Armstrong explained each player was affected differently, as some lost weight and some couldn't work out.

"It wasn't that they had it and didn't feel anything," he said.

The Blues owned the best record in the Western Conference when the season was suspended in March, but they lost all three round-robin contests in the Edmonton bubble and were eliminated in six games by the Vancouver Canucks.

There have been no positive results for COVID-19 since teams entered their respective bubbles in late July.

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