Igor Shesterkin has had his teammates' backs all year, but during a rare off night for the Vezina Trophy frontrunner, his teammates weren't there to return to favor.

The New York Rangers star netminder allowed four goals on 17 shots during a 6-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday before the club pulled him in favor of Alexandar Georgiev.

"They should be embarrassed a little bit, the way (Shesterkin) plays for them all year," Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant told reporters postgame. "Then they come out tonight and play like that, after a game in Minnesota that we weren't too good in."

Gallant added that his team looked "soft." He also said that Shesterkin had "no chance" on most of the goals.

Shesterkin has found himself in Hart Trophy conversations this season. He entered Thursday leading the league in goals against average (1.93), save percentage (.942), goals saved above average (40.6), and goals saved above expected (34.97).

The 26-year-old's the major reason New York is tied for second in the Metropolitan Division this campaign. The Rangers rank 26th in expected goals percentage at five-on-five - the lowest among any team currently in a postseason spot, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog criticized the officiating both during and after the 2-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.

Referee TJ Luxmore handed Landeskog a 10-minute misconduct in the final minute of the defeat after the forward told him he had a tough night.

"I guess I hurt his feelings," Landeskog said, according to The Athletic's Peter Baugh.

Landeskog also wondered if the officials treat teammate Nazem Kadri differently because of his suspension history.

"In 11 years I've never sat and talked about referees in a press conference ever. I think Wes (McCauley) and TJ Luxmore (did) a great job tonight for 50-some minutes of the game," he said. "They called a high stick on (Kadri) on (Hurricanes forward Nino) Niederreiter, which might have been a high stick but Niederreiter falls (easily). We're arguing it's a flop. They say it's still a high stick. Fair enough.

"With 5:50 left on the clock, Niederreiter is hooking Naz up the boards. The puck turns over, we go the other way, they score. We're arguing that it's a hook. They're saying Naz is flopping, we're arguing it's still a hook, just like they're arguing before. It's unfortunate because that's a playoff game tonight. It's very unfortunate that it comes down to that ... Whether a guy has been suspended numerous times or not, is he going to be carrying around that heavy baggage forever?

"I'm not saying TJ and Wes didn't call it for that reason, but Naz is a guy that's competitive. Whether he sold that call or not, you can look at the video and the stick is in his waist and that's why he loses the puck. I think it's unfortunate. Sometimes it's time for players to step up and speak their truth. I'm the one looking like an idiot for getting thrown out of the game even though I'm just being honest. I guess TJ didn't like that I said he had a tough night."

Kadri appeared to scream "He f-----g dove," after he was whistled for high-sticking.

The Hurricanes are ahead of the second-ranked Avalanche for top spot in the NHL in terms of point percentage. Colorado has two more points in total, but Carolina has two games in hand. The Avalanche have lost four of their last five games, though one was in overtime.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jack Eichel's postgame comments won't put him in the good books of Buffalo Sabres fans anytime soon.

The Vegas Golden Knights star received a mixed response from the KeyBank Center faithful in his first game back in Western New York on Thursday. Some cheered and some booed while his tribute video aired, but the overall volume caught Eichel by surprise.

"That's about the loudest I've heard this place, ever," Eichel said postgame, according to WKBW's Matt Bove. "It only took seven years and me leaving for them to get into the game."

During Eichel's first five years in Buffalo, the Sabres never ranked higher than 10th in average attendance but never lower than 20th. The club ranks 31st this season, according to ESPN.

The center offered a theory as to why some fans booed.

"There was plenty of people here that were supporting me, and there was plenty of people here that were booing me," he said. "They must just be booing me because they wish I was still here, I don't know."

Eichel and Buffalo had a falling out after the team refused to allow him to have his preferred artificial disc replacement surgery to replace a herniated disc in his neck suffered last campaign. The 25-year-old said on Thursday that it felt like the Sabres were "toying" with him.

In November, Buffalo eventually traded him to the Golden Knights, who allowed him to undergo his preferred surgery.

The Sabres selected Eichel second overall in 2015, and he recorded 355 points in 375 games with the franchise.

Buffalo spoiled Eichel's homecoming, however, winning 3-1 with goals from Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs - the two players received from Vegas in the trade.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, and St. Louis Blues are among the teams showing interest in Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on Thursday's "Insider Trading."

Giroux is in the final season of an eight-year contract with an $8.275-million cap hit before becoming an unrestricted free agent. His pact also contains a full no-movement clause, so he controls his own destiny.

The 34-year-old is having another stellar campaign. He's tallied 17 goals and 23 assists in 53 games - both of which rank second on the Flyers. He's adept at playing both center and wing, too, and has won 61.5% of his faceoffs this season.

The Flyers sit last in the Metropolitan Division and are widely expected to be sellers at the trade deadline.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen has been diagnosed with mononucleosis and is out indefinitely, the team announced Thursday.

Dallas placed him on injured reserve retroactive to March 2, the date of his most recent game.

Heiskanen is in the midst of an elite season with 29 points in 52 games while averaging nearly 25 minutes per night. His underlying metrics are sensational as well.

The 22-year-old is in the first season of an eight-year, $67.6-million extension he signed in July.

Dallas currently holds the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoff race, thanks to a 7-2-1 surge in its last 10 games.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

After a day off on Wednesday, shot props return in full force as we comb through the best values ahead of Thursday's jam-packed 13-game slate.

Let's get down to business.

Jack Eichel over 3.5 shots (-125)

It took Eichel a little while to get going, but he appears to have his game back on track. The points are starting to come and so, too, are the shots. Eichel amassed at least four shots in seven of his last eight games, falling just one puck shy in the lone exception.

Now he draws a juicy matchup against a Buffalo Sabres team that's allowed five-on-five shots at a higher rate than the Columbus Blue Jackets this season. Not only is this an advantageous spot for volume shooters such as Eichel, but he should also have some extra motivation going up against his former team for the first time.

Look for Eichel to have a big night.

Anze Kopitar over 2.5 shots (-106)

Kopitar lives for games in Los Angeles. The Kings center averages 3.2 shots per game on home soil this season, hitting the over on his shot total nearly 70% of the time.

His numbers dip significantly on the road. Kopitar averages a full shot fewer per game and recorded three shots only 11 times in 30 games. That's a 37% hit rate - barely over half of what he manages at home.

Not only is Kopitar at home tonight, but he also has a mouth-watering matchup against the San Jose Sharks. No NHL team has conceded more shot attempts (65.4) per 60 minutes over the last 10 games than the Sharks. Kopitar should be able to take advantage.

Mark Giordano over 2.5 shots (+115)

Giordano has been very trigger-happy of late, attempting 55 shots over the last 10 games. That's good for top spot on the Seattle Kraken.

The shots should continue Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators. The Senators aren't exactly a stout defensive team and are prone to giving up a lot of production to defenders. They rank 30th in shots against per game versus defensemen and are only one goal against shy of tying for last in the NHL.

Giordano is heavily involved in Seattle's attack on any given night - don't expect that to change against Ottawa.

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

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell will miss a minimum of two weeks due to a rib injury, the team announced Thursday.

Petr Mrazek will assume the starting role in Campbell's absence. Additionally, the Leafs recalled Erik Kallgren from the AHL's Toronto Marlies.

Campbell was in goal for Tuesday's win over the Seattle Kraken. It's unclear when he suffered the injury, but Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said the goaltender told him he's been dealing with the ailment for a while, according to Josh Clipperton of The Canadian Press.

Campbell earned an All-Star nomination for his first-half performance but has struggled of late. Since the calendar flipped to 2022, he's posted a meager .882 save percentage in 17 appearances.

Mrazek owns a .890 clip and a 3.28 goals-against average for the season.

Toronto has six games on its schedule over the next two weeks, beginning Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen to a 5-year contract extension carrying a $5.1 million average annual value, reports TSN's Darren Dreger.

Ristolainen was scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason.

More to come.

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.