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Our perfect 8-0 run came to an end Thursday night as the Blackhawks blew a pair of third-period leads against the Blue Jackets, forcing us to settle for a 1-1 split.

Still, I'm feeling Jack Roslovic dangerous right now - we're both on some next-level heaters - so let's make it count this weekend:

Hurricanes (-130) @ Stars (+110)

The Hurricanes moved to 3-0-0 against the Stars this season with a 5-3 win in Dallas on Thursday night, but I'm looking the other way in Saturday's rematch. The Stars have been drastically better in the second leg of two-game sets this year. Whether it's a product of coaching or experience, their five-on-five splits are undeniable:

Central Division teams have also struggled brutally on the road in the back halves of two-game series, with home teams going 20-3 straight up in those situations. All three of Carolina's losses this season have come in the second contests of two-game sets on the road; the Hurricanes are 0-3 in such situations, losing in Detroit, Chicago, and Columbus.

The Stars have held a slight edge over Carolina at five-on-five in the last two meetings, and they're due for a bit of positive regression after losing both. Factor in the rematch boost on home ice and Dallas is an excellent value play at plus-money.

Pick: Stars (+110)

Flames (-140) @ Canucks (+120)

There's no hiding the Canucks' miserable start to the season. They're completely out of sorts defensively, and the underlying numbers aren't pretty. That means the only way for this team to go is up. A brutally tough schedule to open the campaign has already seen Vancouver play a total of eight games against the Maple Leafs and Canadiens. The Canucks are 5-4-0 against the rest of the North Division and due for positive regression overall.

Vancouver played really well in the first of four straight games against the Flames on Thursday, despite the loss. Jacob Markstrom was excellent against his former team, allowing just one goal despite the Canucks controlling 62.18% of the expected goal share; there are plenty of positives for this team to draw from the loss as it looks to end a six-game skid.

The Canucks have managed just over 50% of the expected goal share at five-on-five on home ice this year, with the Flames a hair below 50% on the road. Calgary is undeniably the better team, but this line presents good value on a Vancouver team due for an uptick in the luck department.

Pick: Canucks (+120)

Alex Moretto is theScore's supervising editor of sports betting. 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, loves a juicy puck line, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones is having yet another rough start to his season, and head coach Bob Boughner is letting him know.

"That's not up to our standard, that goaltending," Boughner said, according to The Mercury News' Curtis Pashelka. "I mean, we've given him a chance here to grab the net, especially with (Devan Dubnyk) being hurt. Again, we're not expecting him to win hockey games for us, to stand on his head. But we've got to have solid goaltending, especially at the beginning of games.

"It's not up to our standard and I'm sure it's not up to his own."

Jones allowed three goals in the opening period of Thursday night's game against the Los Angeles Kings. He let in another three in the third period before being pulled. Overall, Jones stopped 20 of the 26 shots he faced.

The 31-year-old has the league's third-lowest save percentage (.865) and a 4.09 goals-against average through eight games this season. He also owns the NHL's second-worst goals saved above average (-8.85).

Jones has struggled after three impressive seasons with San Jose from 2015-18. He recorded a league-worst .896 save percentage over the past two campaigns.

The Sharks acquired Dubnyk, who's day-to-day with an injury, during the offseason. He's recorded a .917 save percentage and 2.71 goals-against average through six appearances this season.

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It appears the NHL's current draft lottery system will undergo more tweaks in the near future.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed Thursday that the league is working on changing the draft lottery, which will be discussed with the Board of Governors when the time is right, reports The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

"There are a lot of people around the league that simply felt that a team like (the) Detroit (Red Wings), undergoing a real rebuild, 23 points behind the 30th-place team last year, should not have been picking fourth," LeBrun said on Thursday's edition of TSN's "Insider Trading."

In October, a number of the league's general managers reportedly called on the league to increase the odds of winning the draft lottery for the teams that finish lowest in the standings.

The NHL introduced a weighted lottery system beginning in 2015 to discourage tanking. Since then, the last-place team has chosen first overall twice: the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016 and the Buffalo Sabres in 2018.

The league has made small tweaks since, giving the bottom-ranked teams higher odds of moving down and other lottery clubs better chances of moving into the top three.

Daly didn't divulge what changes the league is considering.

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Welcome to the fourth edition of "Looking North," our weekly Friday dive into the all-Canadian division. This installment dates back to Feb. 5.

The rundown

The Toronto Maple Leafs further separated themselves from the rest of the division Wednesday night with a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, who may be their biggest competition in Canada.

The Habs appear to have hit a bit of a rut, though. After starting the season 7-1-2, they've gone 1-3-0 in their last four games and have been leapfrogged by the Winnipeg Jets for second place in the division (by points percentage). The red-hot Calgary Flames are also gaining ground on Montreal.

The Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators, meanwhile, continue to be the division's punching bags.

The stars

Auston Matthews is establishing himself as a legitimate Hart Trophy contender. The center has further developed his defensive game while still putting up gaudy offensive numbers. His eight-game goal streak came to an end Wednesday against the Canadiens, but he's riding an 11-game point streak. He collected three goals and an assist this past week.

The Jets only played twice this week, but Nikolaj Ehlers made them count, registering three goals and one assist. The Danish speedster is on pace for a career year.

Speaking of Danes, Frederik Andersen has brushed off a slow start, going 3-0-0 with a .958 save percentage and a 1.34 goals-against average this week. He's started seven straight games since backup Jack Campbell suffered an injury.

Canadian of the week

Darnell Nurse's development was going to be key to the Oilers' success with Oscar Klefbom out for the season. The Hamilton, Ontario, native hasn't disappointed, posting the best underlying numbers of his career despite averaging more ice time than ever before. He has 12 points in 16 games, including three goals in four contests this past week.

The moments

The highlight of the week comes courtesy of Matthews, who undressed Jalen Chatfield before going bar down on Braden Holtby.

Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson also went bar down this week ... but on his own net.

The question

How will Pierre-Luc Dubois settle into the Jets' lineup? He's failed to record a shot in his first two games with his new club. Jumping right into NHL action after a 14-day quarantine can't be easy, so patience is important.

Head coach Paul Maurice has used a variety of combinations since Dubois joined the club. On Tuesday, he was between Kyle Connor and Mason Appleton. On Thursday, it was Connor and Blake Wheeler. It seems as though Maurice is still searching for answers on how to deploy his newest weapon.

Stat of the week

Edmonton's 3-2 victory over Ottawa on Tuesday marked the Oilers' first win without Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl recording a point since Nov. 28, 2017. The Oilers were previously 0-26-2 in that span when their two offensive catalysts were held off the scoresheet.

Games to watch

The Leafs and Habs will go at it again on Saturday. Look for Montreal to come out hungry in an effort to avenge Wednesday's loss and cut into Toronto's division lead.

The Flames will look to win their second straight over the Canucks on Saturday. Calgary will need to take care of business against the division's bottom-feeders to make the postseason. Vancouver should be desperate for a win, though.

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Mario Lemieux has a long memory.

The Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner may have hired Ron Hextall as the club's next general manager, but he wasn't going to let the 56-year-old forget an incident that landed Lemieux a date with the dentist decades ago.

"It was hard when Mario was on the second interview with me there, and we were kinda small talking at the start, and he reminded me that I knocked four of his teeth out on a follow-through," Hextall told reporters on Thursday.

"So I was like, 'Oh boy, this hasn't started out very well.'"

The former Philadelphia Flyers netminder played 11 seasons over two separate tenures with the club. The Flyers were division rivals with Lemieux's Penguins throughout the 1980s and 90s and faced off in several heated postseason series.

Hextall quipped the Hall of Fame pivot got his revenge on the scoreboard.

"I think he probably lit me up for seven or eight points one night, so he certainly got me back."

On Tuesday, Hextall replaced former Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, who stepped down due to personal reasons. Pittsburgh also hired Brian Burke as president of hockey operations.

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The NHL announced its enhanced COVID-19 measures Thursday, which include rapid testing on game days, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Other key protocols include:

• Asking that players remain at home as much as possible (except for practices/games)
• Recommending household members limit discretionary activities outside the home
• Use of KN95 masks
• Mandate that all meetings be held virtually
• Glass removed from benches and penalty box

There's also a detailed component regarding the reconfiguration of dressing room seating to best protect anyone who hasn't had the virus.

Tuesday's game between the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks continued despite Vegas learning midgame that one of its players tested positive for COVID-19. Forward Tomas Nosek was pulled from the contest after playing over nine minutes and was later placed on the COVID-19 protocol list.

The league has postponed 35 games so far this season, and the majority of clubs have seen at least one player hit the protocol list.

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The start time of Thursday's Montreal Canadiens-Edmonton Oilers clash has been pushed back from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET as the Oilers await test results after an Edmonton player entered the COVID-19 protocol, the league announced.

The player is unconfirmed at this point, but training staff pulled Jesse Puljujarvi from practice Thursday morning, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector.

The NHL releases its official COVID-19 list around 5:00 p.m. ET daily.

The Oilers last played Tuesday versus the Ottawa Senators, while the Montreal Canadiens were in action Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

There have been several postponements tied to COVID-19 early in the 2021 season, but the North Division has yet to be affected.

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