Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has been suspended two games for boarding Pittsburgh Penguins rearguard Mark Friedman during Tuesday's contest, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Wednesday.

The play occurred late in the third period after Friedman scored an empty-net goal to put Pittsburgh up 7-3. Gostisbehere was assessed a two-minute minor for cross-checking.

"It is important to note that this is not a defensive play in which Gostisbehere is attempting to reach the puck carrier to prevent a goal from being scored," the league explained in its decision.

"It is only after the empty-net goal was apparent that Gostisbehere adjusts his skating path, takes a hard stride to reach Friedman, and begins to initiate this contact ... this is an intentional shove delivered at speed to the back of the player who is not adequately positioned to protect himself."

This is the first time in 380 career contests that Gostisbehere has received supplemental discipline.

The Flyers, who have already been eliminated from playoff contention, have three games remaining this season.

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The New York Rangers have fired general manager Jeff Gorton and president John Davidson, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

The decision to shake up the front office comes one day after the team slammed the NHL and Department of Player Safety head figure George Parros in a statement for failing to suspend Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson for the winger's role in a skirmish Monday night.

However, their dismissals are unrelated to the scathing message and come in the wake of a season in which Rangers ownership feels the team underachieved, per TSN's Darren Dreger.

More to come.

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Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will miss Wednesday's clash versus the New York Rangers due to a lingering lower-body injury, head coach Peter Laviolette confirmed, according to The Washington Post's Samantha Pell.

Ovechkin missed four games before returning for one shift Monday night. He played just 39 seconds and then was ruled out for the rest of the contest.

Prior to recently being sidelined, Ovechkin hadn't missed a game due to injury since 2015.

Ovechkin's tallied 24 goals and 18 assists in 43 games this season.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed forward Kirill Semyonov from the KHL's Avangard Omsk to a one-year, entry-level contract for the 2021-22 season, the team announced Wednesday.

Semyonov, 26, recorded 26 points in 60 games this past season, adding nine playoff points as Avangard won the Gagarin Cup. He's played in the KHL since 2013.

The Maple Leafs have signed numerous KHL free agents over the past few seasons, including Ilya Mikheyev, Alexander Barabanov, Mikko Lehtonen, and Nikita Zaitsev.

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Michael Houser added another chapter to his storybook emergence onto the NHL scene Tuesday night.

In only his second career game in the league, the 28-year-old earned his second win a mere 24 hours after his first. He backstopped the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 shootout victory over the New York Islanders after helping Buffalo prevail 4-2 over New York in his NHL debut Monday.

The ECHL and AHL veteran didn't get much assistance from his teammates Tuesday, as the Islanders outshot the Sabres 21-9 in the first period, 18-11 in the third, and 48-31 in the game. However, Houser kept his club in the contest, making 45 saves in regulation and overtime before denying all three of New York's shootout attempts.

"It really didn't feel like 48 shots," Houser said postgame, according to WGR 550's Brian Koziol. "As the game went on, the game settled down, and we started playing a more predictable game, and that goes hand-in-hand with the shots I saw. It was an easier game after we settled down."

Sabres forward Anders Bjork, who scored the lone goal in the shootout, heaped praise on Houser afterward.

"Oh my gosh, it's incredible," Bjork said, according to The Athletic's John Vogl. "He's done just an amazing job. You've got to really tip your hat to that guy. We're all so proud of him and excited for him. We'll keep going."

The Sabres were forced to turn to Houser amid injuries to Linus Ullmark, Carter Hutton, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, as well as Dustin Tokarski's absence for personal reasons.

Before Houser made his NHL debut Monday, he hadn't played above the ECHL level since making a nine-minute AHL appearance in 2017-18. The Ohio-born netminder spent the majority of the last four seasons in the ECHL, suiting up for several squads.

Houser turned aside 34 of the 36 shots he faced Monday night.

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Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere delivered a dangerous cross-check to Mark Friedman after the Pittsburgh Penguins rearguard potted an empty-net goal to seal a 7-3 victory Tuesday.

Gostisbehere was assessed a two-minute minor for cross-checking. Friedman crashed hard into the boards but got up on his own.

Gostisbehere, 28, has never received supplemental discipline from the league over 380 career outings.

It was a heated affair between the Pennsylvania rivalries. Friedman dropped the gloves with Flyers forward Joel Farabee earlier in the contest, and Penguins captain Sidney Crosby got into a wrestling match with Travis Konecny.

Tuesday's game was the last between the sides this campaign, with the Flyers taking the season series 5-3.

Pittsburgh moved back into the top spot in the East Division with the victory.

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