The Pittsburgh Penguins spent much of Wednesday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators killing off penalties. Pittsburgh was shorthanded nine times, giving up four power-play goals along the way that allowed Ottawa to claim victory.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan was at a loss trying to describe his team's performance following the defeat.

"It's pretty tough to assess a game like that when half the game is special teams," Sullivan said after the game. "There was no flow to it, there was no five-on-five, it was ridiculous."

In addition to the nine power plays for Ottawa, the Senators were also called for five penalties, leaving just over half of the game played at five-on-five.

Sullivan's main gripe postgame appeared to be with the officiating on the night.

"Let's just say I question a fair amount of the calls," Sullivan added.

While he took issue with the calls against his team, Sullivan also recognized that giving up four power-play goals is hardly a recipe for success and gave credit to his penalty killers for trying to fight through the adversity.

"We gave up four goals against, it's not good enough," Sullivan said. "We battled hard but when you're spending a third of the game trying to kill penalties it puts an awful lot of burden on those guys."

The loss dropped Pittsburgh to 22-15-7 on the year as the Pens currently sit in fifth place in the Metropolitan division. They return to action Friday, once again against the Senators.

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The Colorado Avalanche will be without No. 1 defenseman Cale Makar on Wednesday against the Calgary Flames, head coach Jared Bednar said, per The Athletic's Peter Baugh.

Makar is dealing with an undisclosed injury he suffered Monday against the Detroit Red Wings and is considered day-to-day.

Bednar added that Makar did, however, make the trip to his native Calgary with the team. The Avalanche visit the Vancouver Canucks on Friday and the Seattle Kraken on Saturday before heading home for a matchup with the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.

Here are Colorado's projected defense pairings in Makar's absence:

The Avs, who've been hit hard by injuries this season, are also without Josh Manson and Bowen Byram on the back end.

Makar, the reigning Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe winner, has tallied 43 points in 42 games this season.

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Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky will be out three months with a lower-body injury suffered Sunday against the New York Rangers, the team announced Wednesday.

Slafkovsky's injury doesn't require surgery.

A three-month timeline puts Slafkovsky in jeopardy of missing the remainder of his rookie campaign. Montreal plays its final regular-season game on April 13 against the Boston Bruins.

The reigning No. 1 pick has registered four goals and six assists in 39 contests this season.

The banged-up Habs also announced that goaltender Jake Allen and forwards Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia are dealing with upper-body injuries. Drouin and Armia are expected to be out until the All-Star break, while Allen will miss at least a week.

Additionally, forward Jake Evans will miss 8-to-10 weeks due to a lower-body ailment that doesn't require surgery.

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The Ottawa Senators are getting a major piece of the puzzle back Wednesday, as center Josh Norris is returning to the lineup against the Pittsburgh Penguins, head coach D.J. Smith announced, per TSN's Claire Hanna.

Norris missed the last 38 games after suffering a shoulder injury against the Arizona Coyotes on Oct. 22.

"We're going to be a different team with him," Smith said. "In saying that, it'll take him a bit to get going."

The 23-year-old projects to center the club's second line between Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat on Wednesday. Giroux, who's won 60.9% of his draws this year, is expected to take part of the load in faceoffs.

Norris led the team with 35 goals last season despite playing only 66 games. He's tallied 92 points in 130 contests across his four-year NHL career.

Mathieu Joseph, who's been out since Dec. 8 with a lower-body injury, is also eligible to return to the lineup but will be a healthy scratch instead.

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Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov chose not to take part in the pregame warmup before playing in Tuesday's win over the Anaheim Ducks because the hosts were celebrating Pride Night to support the LGBTQ community.

"I respect everyone. I respect everybody's choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion," Provorov said afterward, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Giana Han.

The blue-liner, who is Russian Orthodox, declined to elaborate and said he'd only take hockey questions. The team also prevented reporters from following up on the subject, per Han.

The club emphasized its inclusion efforts in a postgame statement.

"The Philadelphia Flyers organization is committed to inclusivity and is proud to support the LGBTQ+ community," the statement reads, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jordan Hall. "Many of our players are active in their support of local LGBTQ+ organizations, and we were proud to host our annual Pride Night again this year. The Flyers will continue to be strong advocates for inclusivity and the LGBTQ+ community."

Flyers head coach John Tortorella spoke to reporters before Provorov and made the same point the rearguard did, stating Provorov was "being true to himself and his religion." The bench boss added, "That's one thing I respect about Provy," and said he didn't consider benching him for the game itself.

The Flyers wore Pride-themed warmup jerseys and used warmup sticks wrapped in rainbow-colored Pride tape before Tuesday's game. The team also hosted a pregame skate for local LGBTQ youth, who attended the game as guests of the club and then met forwards James van Riemsdyk and Scott Laughton afterward.

Last Tuesday, it was reported the Flyers were listening to calls about Provorov's potential availability in a trade. The 26-year-old is under contract through 2024-25.

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The Montreal Canadiens have held preliminary contract talks with pending restricted free agent Cole Caufield, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

"My understanding is that the preliminary talks of an extension between Cole Caufield's agent, Pat Brisson, and the Montreal Canadiens started roughly a month ago," Dreger said on Tuesday's "Insider Trading."

Caufield is in the final year of an entry-level contract he signed in March 2021. He's tallied 26 goals and 36 points through 44 contests this season.

The 22-year-old has blossomed into one of the premier young goal-scorers in the NHL over the past year and a half. After scoring just once in 30 games under Dominique Ducharme in 2021-22, Caufield has found the back of the net 48 times in 81 contests with Martin St. Louis behind the Canadiens' bench. Only eight players have scored more goals over that span.

Matt Boldy, drafted three slots higher than Caufield in 2019, recently signed a seven-year, $49-million extension with the Minnesota Wild.

The Canadiens are last in the Atlantic Division with an 18-23-3 record.

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The Boston Bruins and David Pastrnak appear to be closer to getting a deal done.

The two sides made progress in extension negotiations last week, TSN's Darren Dreger reported on Tuesday's edition of "Insider Trading."

Pastrnak, a pending unrestricted free agent, has vaulted into the Hart Trophy conversation during his contract year. The 26-year-old ranks second in the NHL with 35 goals and third behind only Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl with 62 points across 43 games. He's notched 19 more goals and 22 more points than the closest teammates.

The dynamic winger is the Bruins' highest-paid forward. He's in the final year of a six-year pact carrying a cap hit of $6.67 million, according to CapFriendly.

Pastrnak shared the "Rocket" Richard Trophy with Alex Ovechkin in 2019-20 when they racked up 48 goals apiece. Pastrnak is in his ninth campaign with the club that drafted him 25th overall in 2014.

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Edmonton Oilers winger Evander Kane is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken, reports Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.

Kane has missed 31 games since his wrist was cut by a skate on Nov. 8 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The 31-year-old power forward tallied 13 points in 14 games before the injury. He recorded 35 goals and 21 assists in 58 contests in 2021-22 (regular season and playoffs) after signing with Edmonton as a free agent midseason.

The Oilers are reportedly expected to move Kailer Yamamoto to long-term injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 11 to become salary-cap compliant.

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