Ilya Kovalchuk has been named the Russian Olympic Committee's men's hockey general manager for the 2022 Beijing Games, the organization announced Monday.

The ROC will rely on former NHLers behind the bench, too. Alexei Zhamnov will take on head coaching duties, while Sergei Fedorov, Evgeni Nabokov, and Sergei Gonchar will work as assistants, the team announced.

Kovalchuk last played in the NHL in 2019-20, when he suited up for the Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals. He competed in the KHL last campaign, winning the Gagarin Cup and recording 17 points in 16 regular-season games.

The 38-year-old played 14 NHL campaigns and nine in the KHL. He's represented Russia several times in international tournaments and won a gold medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.

Superstars Alex Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov, and Andrei Vasilevskiy were the first three players named to ROC's roster.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We shook off a slow start for our NHL best bets to finish last week in style, winning two recommended plays on both Thursday and Friday.

We'll look to pick up where we left off as we enter the second week of the 2021-22 NHL campaign.

Blues (-170) @ Coyotes (+150)

It's difficult to emphasize just how bad the Coyotes are. They conceded eight goals in the season opener against a Blue Jackets team expected to finish near the bottom of the league standings.

Arizona followed that up with another loss to a team with no expectations in the Sabres. Though that game was decided in a shootout, it didn't take long to identify the better squad. That squad was Buffalo, as the Sabres outchanced the Coyotes 23-11 at five-on-five and controlled nearly 65% of the expected goals.

So, Arizona lost by six goals and was then second-best against a team that will be in the thick of the Shane Wright sweepstakes. Yikes.

The Coyotes are back at home tonight, which will surely provide a bit of a jolt, but it's unlikely to matter much against the Blues.

St. Louis has far more talent than Arizona at every position. With the offseason additions of Brandon Saad and Pavel Buchnevich - as well as a healthy Vladimir Tarasenko back in the mix - the Blues are extremely deep up front.

Expect St. Louis to dominate possession and overwhelm the Coyotes on the shot clock. With big edges in finishing talent and in goal, we like the Blues to take two points in regulation.

Bet: Blues in regulation (-115)

Rangers (+160) @ Maple Leafs (-180)

There's not much value in picking winners on Monday's NHL slate. But there is value on Maple Leafs captain John Tavares to score his first goal of the season at +180 when Toronto battles the Rangers.

Tavares has been everywhere through three games. He's amassed 21 shot attempts and 14 scoring chances, nine of which were considered high-danger opportunities. All of that has amounted to a team-leading 2.11 expected goals - and zero actual goals.

He's a fantastic finisher, having scored on at least 10.8% of his shots every year since entering the NHL in 2009. Playing with William Nylander at even strength and net-front on a loaded power play, Tavares will certainly have no shortage of chances coming his way.

It's only a matter of time before he converts.

Bet: Tavares to score a goal (+180)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The wait is almost over.

Ottawa Senators newly signed star Brady Tkachuk is expected to make his season debut Thursday against the San Jose Sharks, head coach D.J. Smith said Sunday, according to Sportsnet's Wayne Scanlan.

The 22-year-old inked a seven-year, $57.5-million deal prior to the Senators' first game of the campaign on Oct. 14. Ottawa opted to delay Tkachuk's debut since he missed all of training camp.

"We want Brady at his best, and my job is to put him in the best spot," Smith said ahead of Sunday's game against the Dallas Stars when explaining the decision not to dress Tkachuk for the contest.

"If he's in the lineup, physically he's probably ready to play 12-14 minutes, and the likelihood is I would play him more than that," he continued.

The Senators went 2-1-0 without Tkachuk in the lineup to start the season. Chris Tierney scored two goals Sunday to lead Ottawa to a 3-2 victory over the Stars.

After playing three games in four days, the Senators will have three days off before facing the Sharks. The contest is set to begin at 7 p.m. ET.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

San Jose Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov will undergo surgery Friday for a lower-body injury and will miss 8-10 weeks, the team announced Sunday, according to The Athletic.

The Sharks were initially hopeful that Knyzhov's injury would heal on its own, but head coach Bob Boughner revealed earlier this week that the 23-year-old's "progression sort of stalled," per The Athletic's Kevin Kurz.

Knyzhov sparkled last season for the Sharks during his rookie campaign, spending most of it paired with Erik Karlsson. He put up 10 points in 59 games while averaging 16:44 minutes of ice time a night. The 6-foot-2 left-handed shot had the third-most hits among all Sharks skaters with 84 and only 13 giveaways, according to Natural Stat Trick. He was voted the Sharks' rookie of the year.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews says he's feeling ready to return after undergoing offseason wrist surgery and believes he'll make his season debut Monday night against the New York Rangers, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton.

Head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed that Matthews is on track to return, according to The Hockey News' David Alter.

Matthews missed the Maple Leafs' first three regular-season games. Toronto went 2-1-0 in his absence.

The 24-year-old was a full participant in practice Sunday morning, skating in his normal spot on the top line and on the top power-play unit.

Matthews earned his first "Rocket" Richard Trophy last season after scoring 41 goals in 55 games despite playing through a nagging wrist injury. He underwent surgery in August after consulting with the team's medical staff.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Erik Karlsson's self-confidence certainly hasn't taken a hit after a couple of down seasons.

"I obviously still think that I'm one of the best players in the world," the San Jose Sharks defenseman said Saturday, according to The Mercury News' Curtis Pashelka. "That's where I've been for a very long time, that's where I want to go, that's where I want to stay."

Karlsson added: "For me, that's always going to be my expectation, and I hope that's going to be the case for the rest of my career, not only this year."

Since entering the NHL in 2009, Karlsson leads all defensemen with 626 points. He won the Norris Trophy while with the Ottawa Senators in 2012 and 2015, and he remains the league's highest-paid defenseman after signing an eight-year, $92-million contract with the Sharks in 2019.

However, Karlsson's play has been hampered by a number of injuries recently. After joining the Sharks in 2018, he underwent groin surgery in May 2019 and broke his thumb in February 2020. Karlson had the most unproductive campaign of his career last season with 22 points in 52 games.

Head coach Bob Boughner believes Karlsson can return to his elite form this campaign.

"He's a prideful guy. I think he wants to have a rebound season. He's prepared for that," Boughner said. "He's got a sense of seriousness to his approach and I think great players figure it out. You can't teach what he has."

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.