The Boston Bruins have taken exception to the hit that forced star winger Brad Marchand to exit Thursday's contest against the Washington Capitals.

Capitals forward Garnet Hathaway hit Marchand into the boards during the second period. Hathaway received a two-minute penalty for interference and Marchand went down the tunnel immediately afterward but temporarily returned to the bench.

The Bruins veteran was seen putting ice on his shoulder and was in visible discomfort. Marchand was seemingly unable to raise his right arm to celebrate a goal later in the period.

Prior to the third period, the Bruins announced Marchand wouldn't return due to an upper-body injury.

"You hate to see March go down on a cheap hit," Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said after the team's 4-3 victory, according to Boston Sports Journal's Conor Ryan.

He added, "I didn't like at all. ... Seen that from that player in the past."

Cassidy didn't provide much of an update on Marchand's status, just confirming the upper-body ailment.

Bruins forward David Pastrnak also expressed his displeasure with the incident.

"I didn't like it, obviously. ... I think it was a little dirty," he said.

Marchand wasn't the only Bruins player who was forced to leave the contest. Forward Anton Blidh exited with an upper-body injury after taking a thunderous hit from Capitals pest Tom Wilson in the opening frame.

Marchand leads all Bruins skaters with 43 points in 32 games.

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Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers is week-to-week with an MCL sprain after taking a knee-on-knee hit from Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov during Tuesday's contest, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

The Jets placed the 25-year-old on injured reserve earlier Thursday.

The incident occurred in the third period of the Jets' 4-3 overtime loss. Ehlers was slow to get up and had to be helped off the ice.

There was no penalty called on the play, but Orlov was suspended for two games Wednesday.

Ehlers was initially expected to miss Winnipeg's next three games, according to the Winnipeg Free Press' Mike McIntyre.

The native of Denmark has 25 points in 34 games this season.

The Jets are set for a busy weekend with back-to-back matchups against the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins.

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The Edmonton Oilers are actively seeking an upgrade in goal leading up to March's trade deadline, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."

"They are, according to sources, looking at all (goalie) options across the NHL," LeBrun said.

"For example, we're told they've kicked tires on Joonas Korpisalo in Columbus, who's a pending UFA at the end of the year. They've discussed internally about Anton Khudobin, who, of course, cleared waivers last month."

The Oilers rank 26th in the NHL this season with an all-situations save percentage of .897, according to Evolving-Hockey. Here's a look at how Edmonton's incumbent netminders have fared this season along with the numbers of the two goalies LeBrun mentioned.

Korpisalo carries a $2.8-million cap hit, while Khudobin is owed $3.3 million per year until 2023, according to Cap Friendly. Edmonton is currently operating with no cap space.

The Oilers are riding a significant slump and sit six points outside of a Western Conference playoff spot with five games in hand. Since the start of December, they rank 31st in the NHL with a 3-10-2 record.

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We're in for a very busy night on the ice with nine games scheduled. Let's break things down and get right into the best way to attack the slate through shot props.

Tage Thompson over 2.5 shots (-120)

You all know the story by now: Tage Thompson is a pedestrian shot generator on the road and flat-out elite at home. His splits are as crazy as any player in the league.

On home soil, Thompson prints us money. The Buffalo Sabres winger has averaged 3.9 shots on goal and registered at least three shots in 16 of 19 contests - that's an 84% hit rate.

Thompson averages 2.1 shots per game on the road, which is barely over half of what he generates in Buffalo. He has gone over the number only five times in 17 road dates for a success rate of just 29%.

The Dallas Stars are a solid defensive team, but they can get outplayed on the road. The Stars allow four more shots per game when they aren't on home ice and getting the matchups they want on a shift-to-shift basis.

Expect Thompson to benefit from that.

Mark Scheifele over 2.5 shots (-115)

The Nashville Predators are a very good squad, but their defense hasn't been nearly as stout lately. The Preds have allowed 35.43 shots per game over the last 10, ranking them 27th in the NHL. Not great!

Mark Scheifele is definitely known as more of a passer than a shooter, but he is putting a lot of rubber towards the net right now for the Winnipeg Jets. Scheifele has amassed 53 shot attempts and 35 shots on goal over the last 10 and has recorded at least three shots in seven of the last nine. In the only two exceptions, he fell just one shot short.

With an increased shooting mentality and a divisional matchup against a Nashville side that's bleeding shots, I like Scheifele to go over the number for us.

Jared McCann over 2.5 shots (-130)

The Seattle Kraken are where shots go to die - they don't allow many, and they don't take many. Jared McCann is the exception to the rule.

McCann has piled up at least three shots in 17 of the last 26 contests (65%), including seven of the last 10.

The left-winger has averaged 3.4 shots per game in that span and has recorded nine more shot attempts than the closest teammate to him (Jordan Eberle). McCann, who has 15 goals through 33 games, is clearly Seattle's best scoring threat, and they feed him shots accordingly.

The San Jose Sharks are a mediocre shot suppression club, and their numbers are trending downwards. San Jose is not a side we have to shy away from attacking.

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

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Ontario announced a three-step plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions on Thursday that will affect fan capacity at the province's indoor sporting venues, per Sean Davidson of CTV News.

The plan is set to gradually reopen the province and will affect the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators, as well as the NBA's Toronto Raptors.

From Jan. 31 to Feb. 20, the province will allow a maximum of 500 spectators at indoor sporting venues. From Feb. 21 to March 13, venues will be limited to 50% fan capacity. Ontario will then lift all capacity limits on March 14.

The province is currently not allowing any fans at indoor sporting venues.

The Senators have 15 home games scheduled before March 14, while the Maple Leafs have 10, and the Raptors have nine. Ex-Raptor Kyle Lowry is scheduled to return to Toronto for the first time with the Miami Heat on Feb. 1.

The Maple Leafs are scheduled to play the Buffalo Sabres outdoors at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario, for the Heritage Classic on March 13. It has yet to be determined if the restrictions will affect the status of the game, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

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Los Angeles Kings forward Quinton Byfield is expected to make his season debut against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night after being recalled from the AHL, the team announced.

Byfield, the second overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, skated in six games with the Kings last season. He suffered a fractured ankle during preseason action this year.

The 19-year-old played 11 games with the AHL's Ontario Reign this season, recording four goals and two assists. He's set to join fellow top prospects Alex Turcotte, Arthur Kaliyev, and Samuel Fagemo in the Kings' lineup.

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We have a full slate of games to work through tonight, with nine games scheduled to go.

That leaves us plenty of meat on the bone when looking for best bets. Let's get into a couple of my favorites.

Capitals (+155) @ Bruins (-175)

The Bruins and Capitals are both strong defensive teams - elite, even. Boston concedes only 2.0 expected goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five play, which is the lowest rate in the NHL. Washington allows 2.26 per 60, slotting it sixth. Both of these teams can defend with the best.

Yet, for whatever reason, they find themselves in track meet after track meet when squaring off against one another.

Bruins versus Capitals games have gone over the number in seven of their last 10 meetings, with an average of 7.1 goals scored on a per-game basis.

Scoring hasn't been nearly as big of a problem for Boston since it put David Pastrnak on the second line, giving the lineup much more balance.

Meanwhile, the Capitals are in the top 10 in goals per game despite dealing with an abundance of injuries to key players all season long. Nicklas Backstrom has missed 33 games, Anthony Mantha has missed 30, and T.J. Oshie has missed 22 - and it hasn't really mattered.

Don't be surprised if we see fireworks in this game; we usually do between these two teams.

Bet: Over 6 goals (+100)

Stars (-200) @ Sabres (+170)

We have frequently targeted the Sabres for months now, and it has led to plenty of success. While they hurt us last time out, that's not going to scare us away. This team is bad - very bad.

Buffalo has been out-chanced by 117 over the last 10 games. That's an average of 11.7 per game. Their share of the chances (39.27%) is tied for the lowest in the league in that span, putting them on the same level as the Canadiens.

On the flip side, the Stars have a +36 chance differential over the last 10 games. That's not an astronomical number, but their 53% share ranks them 11th over that span, slotting them just ahead of the Penguins and Golden Knights. That's pretty good.

It's almost a certainty the Stars will dominate the chance share in this game. They're the much better team, and they're coming off three straight losses, including one to Montreal. They're going to come out hungry, and I don't think the Sabres will be able to match them in skill or intensity.

That wouldn't be the end of the world if Buffalo had quality goaltending, but it doesn't. Its tandem currently consists of Aaron Dell (.892 save percentage) and Michael Houser - a journeyman that has played more ECHL games than NHL games this season.

I don't think either will be able to hold up against what will likely be 40+ shots from a good team. Back the Stars to take care of business in 60 minutes.

Bet: Stars inside regulation (-120)

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

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