We were sitting pretty at over 20 units of profit on the season a few weeks ago, but that's been ground down amid this bad run. We're now at 82-75 (+6.32 units), but the ups and downs are all a part of it.

We'll go on another heater soon, and there's no better time than the present.

Rangers (+120) @ Capitals (-140)
March 19, 7 p.m. ET

Don't look now, but the Rangers are catching fire. They've taken five out of a possible six points over the past three games since Artemi Panarin returned to the lineup, and they've outscored their opposition 17-5 in those contests.

Additionally, Mika Zibanejad has finally busted out of his slump. Zibanejad had three goals and three assists in the second period Wednesday after recording just three goals and eight assists in his first 27 games. With Panarin back and Zibanejad cooking again, this a dangerous club.

However, the Capitals are perhaps the league's hottest team, winning six in a row and 10 of their last 11. Their underlying metrics have been strong over that span but not enough to lose just once. Luck has been on their side, and while Washington looks like a force, regression is on the horizon.

Overall, this is a steep price to pay against a full-strength Rangers team, especially with Lars Eller's injury leaving the Capitals thin down the middle.

Pick: Rangers (+120)

Flames (+135) @ Maple Leafs (-155)
March 20, 7 p.m.

I lean toward the Flames at this price for their matchup against the Leafs on Friday, but I'm staying away there. I'd much rather get involved Saturday, where it's all but certain we'll get a goaltending matchup between David Rittich and Jack Campbell. That's a big win for Toronto.

Campbell has hardly played this season due to injury. However, he's posted impressive numbers with a 4.8 GSAx - the fifth-best mark in the league - and a 3.21 GSAA over just three games.

The Flames counter with Rittich, who's a massive downgrade from Jacob Markstrom. Rittich caught lightning in a bottle in a pair of starts against the Leafs in February, but those were clear outliers. His GSAx sits at minus-4.86 during his four starts since.

Combine Toronto's significant advantage in goal with its strong edge on five-on-five and special teams and the Leafs are well worth paying for at this price.

Pick: Leafs (-155)

Jets (+120) @ Oilers (-140)
March 20, 10 p.m.

The Jets were up against it Thursday in a 2-1 loss to the Oilers, having to fly to Edmonton late after playing an overtime game the night before in Winnipeg. Despite the tough spot, the Jets put in a strong effort, controlling 59.14% of the expected goal share. But Connor McDavid had other plans. The Oilers captain scored a pair and Edmonton held on for an important two points.

That presents us with a nice opportunity to get in on Winnipeg on Saturday at a generous price. The Jets have only lost consecutive games once this season and Connor Hellebuyck will be back in goal after getting a rest Thursday.

I'm still much lower on the Oilers than the rest of the market - they're .500 when you take out their seven wins over the Senators - and Winnipeg has been a much better five-on-five team over the past few weeks. I'll gladly take the better club with the better goalie at plus-money in Saturday's rematch.

Pick: Jets (+120)

(Odds source: theScore Bet)

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, despises how the NHL handles starting goalie announcements, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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It appears Evgeni Malkin will miss more time than originally expected.

The Pittsburgh Penguins star was ruled out for the club's next three games Thursday, but he's now considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed Friday.

Malkin, 34, took a heavy hit from Boston Bruins defenseman Jarred Tinordi during Tuesday's contest. He returned for one shift after the collision before exiting the game.

The 6-foot-3 sniper had been heating up following a slow start to the season. He recorded four goals and eight assists over an eight-game point streak entering Tuesday's tilt with the Bruins.

The Penguins enter Friday's action sitting fourth in the East Division based on points percentage.

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The NHL is postponing the Boston Bruins' next two games after four additional players from the club entered the COVID-19 protocol Friday, the league announced.

The Bruins' matchups against the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively, have been postponed.

Boston canceled its morning skate Thursday after a player entered the protocol. However, the team played its game against the Sabres later that day after further contact tracing and testing.

Pending results in the coming days, the league anticipates the Bruins will be able to reopen their facilities and resume practicing March 24.

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Vancouver Canucks forward Tanner Pearson will be out for a minimum of four weeks with a lower-body injury, the team announced Friday.

The winger suffered the injury during Wednesday's 3-2 shootout win over the Ottawa Senators.

Vancouver also announced Antoine Roussel will return to the lineup Friday against the Montreal Canadiens, while Jimmy Vesey will make his Canucks debut after the team claimed him off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this week. Roussel, 31, missed Vancouver's last three games with an injury.

Pearson, 28, has recorded six goals and five assists over 33 games this season.

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Less than one week after collecting his first NHL win, Ottawa Senators netminder Joey Daccord is likely done for the season after suffering an injury during Wednesday's shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

The 24-year-old will be "out for a while" and "most likely the season," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion confirmed Friday, according to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch.

The 6-foot-3 puck-stopper made 19 saves against Vancouver before exiting in the third period. Rookie Filip Gustavsson made his NHL debut in relief and stopped all eight shots he faced in regulation and overtime.

Daccord inspired the hockey world with his emotional postgame interview Monday after collecting his first win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Both Marcus Hogberg, who remains on the injured reserve list, and starter Matt Murray skated Friday. Murray has been dealing with an upper-body injury and it's unclear who will start in goal for the Senators against the Calgary Flames on Monday.

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Welcome to the ninth edition of "Looking North," our weekly Friday dive into the all-Canadian division. This installment dates back to March 12.

The rundown

The Vancouver Canucks put together a flawless week, winning all three of their games. Yes, only one of those victories came in regulation - by a single goal - while the other two were against the lowly Ottawa Senators. And yes, the Canucks still have the second-worst points percentage in the division. But Vancouver is showing signs of improvement, going 7-2-0 so far in March after closing out February on a four-game losing skid.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, meanwhile, suddenly have some company at the top. Toronto was off for four days this week, but it's lost both of its games since last Friday and dropped five of the last six overall.

The Edmonton Oilers equaled Toronto's 40 points with a win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, but the Oilers have played three more games than both Toronto and Winnipeg. The Maple Leafs and Jets still rank first and second in the division in points percentage.

The stars

Forward: Connor McDavid has been the Hart Trophy front-runner for most of the season, and the Oilers superstar continued to dominate this week. McDavid produced a whopping four goals and six assists in five games.

Defenseman: Thomas Chabot hasn't posted gaudy offensive numbers in the last seven days, but he gets the nod here because of his incredible workload. The Senators blue-liner has averaged a remarkable 29:59 of ice time across the last four games, by far the highest such figure in the NHL over the past week. He ranks third in the league in average ice time this season.

Goaltender: Thatcher Demko backstopped all three of the Canucks' victories this past week, turning aside all but five of the 113 shots he faced for a .956 save percentage. He's put his early-season struggles behind him and is now thriving as Vancouver's No. 1 goalie.

Canadian of the week

This has to be McDavid, who continues to leave no doubt that he's the NHL's most valuable player. The Oilers captain is putting up video-game numbers (more on that below) and excelling at both ends while playing over 22 minutes per game. The league's brightest star is clearly Canada's best.

The moments

McDavid gets halfway to 💯

McDavid notched his 50th point of the season in last Friday's 6-2 win over the Senators, hitting the benchmark and adding another point for good measure in his 29th game of the season - just one contest past the campaign's halfway mark. He hit the 50-point plateau in typical McDavid fashion, delivering a beautiful backhand dish to Tyson Barrie.

Crisis averted thanks to J.T. Miller 😅

The Canucks blew a two-goal lead to the Senators on Monday, but J.T. Miller dashed Ottawa's hopes of a comeback victory. The Vancouver forward left a Senators defender in the dust and made no mistake in overtime.

Ehlers sinks Canadiens all by himself 💪

Nikolaj Ehlers is having a terrific season, and his confidence was on full display Wednesday. The Jets winger stole the puck in his own zone, raced end-to-end to create an odd-man rush, and deposited the overtime winner to defeat the Montreal Canadiens.

The question

Should the Maple Leafs be concerned about their recent slide and goaltending issues?

Frederik Andersen admitted Thursday the injury that forced him to miss time earlier in the season is still bothering him. That explains why he's struggled since returning. He's gone 2-4-0 with an .887 save percentage and minus-2.51 goals saved above average since March 3 after missing the previous four games.

To make matters worse, the Maple Leafs' schedule doesn't exactly favor them down the stretch.

While Jack Campbell could return from his injury as soon as this weekend, the team's upcoming grind makes Andersen's lingering ailment all the more worrisome. It isn't yet time for the Maple Leafs to panic, but another disappointing week would certainly be cause for alarm.

Quote of the week

Senators head coach D.J. Smith delighted the team's fan base Monday night, showing a sense of both humor and internet culture in the process. Asked about the "Sickos" meme his club has fully embraced, the bench boss wrapped up his interview by delivering the accompanying phrase, exclaiming, "YES ... HA HA HA ... YES!" before breaking out a smile.

Games to watch

After meeting five times over an 11-day span from Feb. 25 through March 7, the Senators and the Calgary Flames will renew acquaintances for two more tilts Monday and Wednesday in Ottawa. That means we'll likely get seven matchups between the Tkachuk brothers over a 28-day period, with two more on tap for April.

The Senators will also host the Maple Leafs on Thursday after defeating Toronto 4-3 in their previous clash last Sunday. The teams have split their six meetings this season.

(Analytics source: Natural Stat Trick)

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