The Boston Bruins signed goaltender Tuukka Rask to a one-year contract with a cap hit of $1 million, the team announced Tuesday.

Rask will only earn $545,000 since he's signing so late in the season, per PuckPedia.

Rask signed a professional tryout with the AHL's Providence Bruins on Thursday. He was aiming to play in a game or two in the minors to get up to speed, but Providence's matchups on Friday and Sunday were postponed due to COVID-19 issues. He was released from his AHL PTO on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old underwent surgery on a torn hip labrum in June - an injury that was expected to keep him out for seven months. He practiced with Boston in recent months while rehabbing the injury.

Rask, who was an unrestricted free agent, had stated numerous times that the Bruins were the only NHL team he'd play for.

His arrival causes a logjam in Boston's crease. Rookie Jeremy Swayman and offseason acquisition Linus Ullmark have both performed admirably:

Swayman would not need to go through waivers if he was sent down to the AHL. Ullmark, who signed a four-year, $20-million contract as a UFA in the summer, would.

Rask is one of the most decorated goaltenders in Bruins history. He's the franchise's all-time wins leader with 306 and sits fourth in NHL history with a career .921 save percentage. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2014, the Jennings Trophy in 2020, and a Stanley Cup in 2011 (albeit as the backup). He also led the Bruins to Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2013 and 2019.

In 24 games last season, Rask recorded a .913 save percentage. He started 11 more games in the playoffs and owned a .919 save percentage.

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The Minnesota Wild signed defenseman Jon Merrill to a three-year extension carrying an average annual value of $1.2 million, the team announced Tuesday.

Merrill has recorded three goals and eight assists in 33 games with the Wild this season while averaging 17:20 per contest. He signed a one-year, $850,000 free-agent contract with the club this past offseason.

The 29-year-old doesn't produce much offensively, but he's posted solid defensive metrics over the past three campaigns:

The 6-foot-3 blue-liner was originally a second-round pick by New Jersey in 2010. In addition to his time with the Devils, he's also played for the Vegas Golden Knights, Detroit Red Wings, and Montreal Canadiens.

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Geno is back.

Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Evgeni Malkin will make his season debut Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks, the team announced.

The 35-year-old center underwent knee surgery in June.

Malkin practiced on a line between Kasperi Kapanen and Jeff Carter on Monday.

The 2012 Hart Trophy winner recorded 28 points in 33 games last season.

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The NHL revealed the bench bosses for the 2022 All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

The coach of the team in each division with the highest points percentage through Jan. 10 received the honor: Andrew Brunette of the Atlantic Division's Florida Panthers, Rod Brind'Amour of the Metropolitan's Carolina Hurricanes, Jared Bednar of the Central's Colorado Avalanche, and Peter DeBoer of the Vegas Golden Knights in the Pacific Division.

Panthers interim head coach Brunette doesn't have much head coaching experience and was thrown into the fire when Joel Quenneville resigned from his post earlier this season. The Panthers have done just fine during his limited tenure, cruising to a 16-7-5 record since the 48-year-old took over.

Brind'Amour won the 2021 Jack Adams Award. His Hurricanes are tied for first in the Metropolitan alongside the New York Rangers with a record of 24-7-2, but the Canes have four games in hand.

Bednar has led the perennially contending Avalanche to a 22-8-2 record while helping them navigate a myriad of injuries to their top players.

Finally, DeBoer's Golden Knights rebounded from a sputtering start to the season to take the top spot in the Pacific with a record of 23-14-1.

The All-Star Game rosters and captains will be unveiled Thursday, and All-Star Weekend festivities are set to take place from Feb. 4-5.

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Shot props are the gift that keeps on giving. We were one John Carlson shot away from a 4-0 night. Instead, we'll settle for a profitable 3-1 Monday that pushed the season record to 109-83 for +22.20 units.

Let's keep the ball rolling with these three shot totals.

Patrik Laine over 2.5 shots (-125)

Patrik Laine is known as a shoot-first player, and he has certainly been that since returning to the Columbus Blue Jackets' lineup.

He's recorded 17 shots on goal in five games (3.4 per game), which is tied for the team lead. Those impressive numbers aren't smoke and mirrors - Laine has been attempting a ton of shots. He has 35 in those five games, which is a good sign his strong outputs are sustainable.

Laine - like many offensive players - has done his best work when getting favorable matchups on home soil. He recorded three shots or more in six of his last eight and averaged four shots on goal over his last five games at Nationwide Arena.

The matchup is pretty enticing as well. The Chicago Blackhawks have been a below-average shot suppression team at five-on-five and, of late, they're bleeding shots while shorthanded. Laine's shot is a focal point of Columbus' power play, so he certainly stands to benefit.

Roman Josi over 3.5 shots (+115)

Roman Josi is a shot-generating machine. He's averaged a mouthwatering 4.6 shots on goal over the last 10 contests and has gone over the number (3.5) in seven of the last nine.

The Colorado Avalanche may not seem like a great team to target on paper, but they give up quite a bit to defensemen. They're bottom 10 in preventing shots and points from opposing blue-liners.

Crucially, the Avs have also been allowing a lot of shots while killing penalties. Only four teams have given up more attempts per 60 over the last 10 games.

Don't underestimate how important that is for Josi, the rare type of defenseman who leads his team in shot attempts and shots on goal while on the power play. The Nashville Predators captain stands to benefit greatly from Colorado's PK struggles.

Bonus round: Shea Theodore over 2.5 shots (-125). Theodore is scorching hot right now. He has registered 59 attempts and 31 shots on target over the last eight games. He has gone over 3.5 - yes 3.5 - in five straight. With key shooters like Max Pacioretty out of the Vegas Golden Knights' lineup, Theodore is one of the guys picking up the slack.

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

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The Detroit Red Wings are adding a familiar Hall of Fame defenseman to their front office.

The franchise hired Nicklas Lidstrom as its vice president of hockey operations Tuesday. The 51-year-old will be involved in all aspects of hockey operations.

Lidstrom is one of the most decorated defensemen in NHL history. He spent his entire 20-year playing career with the Red Wings, winning seven Norris Trophies, four Stanley Cups, and a Conn Smythe Trophy. The Swede became the first European captain in NHL history to hoist the Stanley Cup in 2008.

He and Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman were teammates in Detroit for 14 seasons, winning three Stanley Cups together.

Lidstrom's management experience is limited. He served as a scout for the Red Wings for three seasons from 2012-2015. He was also a consultant for Team Sweden at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

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The best bets continue to run hot. The Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins combined for nine goals Monday night, giving us a sweat-free victory on the over of 5.5. The Los Angeles Kings also came through with a 3-1 win, pushing our best bets to 8-2 since last Monday.

Let's keep the streak going!

Penguins (-180) @ Ducks (+150)

The Pittsburgh Penguins are a true powerhouse. They've won 10 of their last 11 games and have dominated their opponents in the process, outscoring them 47-23 on aggregate. Additionally, they've controlled a league-leading 59.05% of the expected goals in that span.

Pittsburgh did this mostly without Jake Guentzel, who recently returned to the lineup. He'll be a difference-maker. So, too, will Evgeni Malkin. The dynamic pivot is expected to come back Tuesday, giving the Penguins a 1-2 punch down the middle that few teams - not the Anaheim Ducks - can match.

The Ducks are a nice story, but they don't hold a candle to the Penguins. That shows in the numbers. At five-on-five, Anaheim has controlled just 47.40% of the expected goals over the last 10 games. That's good for 23rd in the NHL, slotting the Ducks just behind a very mediocre Philadelphia Flyers team.

I think Pittsburgh will control the run of play at full strength. The Penguins will get more chances, and they have the firepower to make the most of them.

Not to mention, Pittsburgh has a real edge in goal. Tristan Jarry owns a .931 save percentage through 27 appearances and ranks seventh among all goaltenders in Goals Saved Above Average (+13.9).

While Anthony Stolarz has matched Jarry's save percentage, he lags well behind in GSAE per start (+0.251 for Stolarz, +0.519 for Jarry).

With edges across the board, the Penguins should be able to get back to their winning ways.

Bet: Penguins in regulation (-115)

Blackhawks (-115) @ Blue Jackets (-105)

This is hardly the most exciting game on the card, but value is value and I see it on the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are playing truly horrendous defense right now. At five-on-five, they've allowed 35.32 shots on goal per 60 minutes over the last 10 games. That's good for dead last in the NHL during that span.

They haven't fared much better in the chance department. Columbus has conceded more than 30 chances per 60, ranking 27th in that span.

Making matters worse is the club's ineptitude on the penalty kill. No team has given up scoring chances at a higher rate while shorthanded during this spell of games.

Put simply, the Blue Jackets are one of the worst chance-suppression teams at even strength, and they grade out even worse while killing penalties.

That's not a recipe for success with Joonas Korpisalo (.886 save percentage) between the pipes, and it's not a recipe for success against stars like Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat.

I expect Chicago to give Marc-Andre Fleury more than enough support in this game.

Bet: Blackhawks (-115)

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

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Ottawa Senators prospect Jake Sanderson will represent the United States at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, he confirmed to The Athletic's Ian Mendes.

Sanderson was captaining Team USA in its quest to win back-to-back gold medals at the 2022 world juniors before the event was canceled due to COVID-19. It was at that tournament where he and teammates Matty Beniers and Brock Faber were extended the invitation by American Olympic hockey architect John Vanbiesbrouck.

"We were pretty speechless when he said that. We were just so excited," Sanderson said. "We thought it was a possibility, just with no NHL players going. We didn't want to get our hopes up too much, but it was in the back of our minds. And when we were asked, we were just so excited. We were freaking out and hugging each other."

The Senators chose Sanderson fifth overall at the 2020 NHL Draft. The 6-foot-2 defenseman has recorded 22 points in 17 games this season at the University of North Dakota. He's eligible for the Olympics, which won't feature NHL players, because he's yet to sign his entry-level contract.

"That was kind of the first thing that went through my mind. Not everyone gets to do this, and I'm not sure if I'm going to be given this opportunity again," Sanderson said. "So, I'm going to take it while I can and run with it. Not everyone gets to be an Olympian in their lifetime, so that was something I really couldn't turn down."

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