The Montreal Canadiens will be without three regulars up front for the foreseeable future.

Forwards Juraj Slafkovsky, Joel Armia, and Jake Evans are out indefinitely and have been placed on injured reserve, the Habs announced Tuesday.

However, defenseman Mike Matheson will return to the lineup Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets after missing the last 13 games with a lower-body injury.

Slafkovsky suffered a lower-body injury Sunday against the New York Rangers. The 2022 No. 1 pick has produced four goals and six assists so far in his rookie campaign.

Armia sustained an upper-body injury against the Rangers. The 6-foot-4 winger has recorded three goals and four helpers in 32 contests this season.

Evans endured a lower-body ailment Saturday against the New York Islanders. The checking-line center has posted a pair of goals and nine assists in 42 games this campaign.

In a corresponding move, forwards Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Rem Pitlick were recalled from the AHL's Laval Rocket on an emergency basis. Pitlick has been among the Rocket's best players this season with 22 points in 18 games.

Additionally, forward Sean Monahan, who's been out since early December with a lower-body injury, was moved from IR to long-term injured reserve. However, he's "progressing well," according to the team.

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Tuesday features an eight-game NHL slate. Let's explore a couple of plays that stand out from the pack.

Sabres (-175) @ Blackhawks (+150)

The Sabres enter this game on a 1-4-0 run and desperately need points as they look to remain firmly in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They should be able to get what they need against the Blackhawks.

In a season with some unbelievably bad teams in the league basement, the Blackhawks continue to make a strong case as the very worst. They're completely inept offensively at five-on-five, ranking 32nd in both expected and actual goals per 60 minutes.

Chicago also struggles on the defensive side of things, ranking 29th in goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five.

Even on the tail end of a back-to-back, Buffalo should be able to play on its front foot for much of this game.

The Sabres are far better at full strength, have significantly more high-end talent, and a great deal of youth. One would think that will serve them well in a back-to-back situation; they can recover quicker and should have more gas in the tank.

Buffalo secured an overtime win when these teams met earlier in the season - and a well-deserved one at that. The Sabres generated 31 more shot attempts, 14 more scoring chances, and eight more high-danger scoring opportunities than their opponents.

Even more impressive was the fact the Sabres did that with a banged-up blue line featuring Kale Clague, Lawrence Pilut, and Casey Fitzgerald; none of those three should be in the lineup Tuesday.

With a much healthier defense, Buffalo is better equipped to slow down Chicago's meager offense - the Sabres allowed three goals on 26 shots in the previous meeting - and should spend more time on the attack.

Though Petr Mrazek starting would have been the icing on the cake, Blackhawks netminder Alex Stalock has conceded three goals or more in four of five appearances and looks to be coming back down to earth after a hot run.

Bet: Sabres in regulation (-120)

Ducks (+170) @ Flyers (-200)

Backing an under is always a scary proposition in Ducks games. Anaheim's defense is so putrid that any opponent can potentially surpass the game total singlehandedly.

That being said, value is value - and there's value on the under in this contest. The goaltending matchup hardly seems high-end on paper, but there could be more to it than that.

Samuel Ersson has played very well since joining the Flyers on a full-time basis. Through six appearances, he owns a 4-0-0 record and a .917 save percentage, which is well above the league average of .900.

It's unlikely Ersson is as good as he's shown thus far, but the bottom-feeding Ducks are probably not the team to slow him down.

Anthony Stolarz, meanwhile, is better than his surface stats suggest. He's conceded minus-0.068 goals above expected on a per-start basis, which means he's stopping what he should; that's not an easy task playing behind a Ducks team that depends heavily on its netminders.

John Gibson, in comparison, has conceded almost 0.40 goals more than expected on a per-start basis. Stolarz has clearly outperformed him.

Though Anaheim tends to bring out the best in opposing offenses, the Flyers slot 24th in shots per game and 26th in goals per game. Philadelphia is hardly a team Stolarz can't keep in check.

Expect a 4-1 or 3-2 game for the under.

Bet: Under 6 (-105)

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

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Nick Robertson's 2022-23 campaign is over.

The Toronto Maple Leafs winger underwent season-ending shoulder surgery and will be out for six months, the team announced Monday.

Robertson suffered the ailment on Dec. 8 against the Los Angeles Kings. The team initially said he wouldn't need surgery and would miss six-to-eight weeks.

Robertson, 21, finishes his season with two goals and three assists in 15 games with the Maple Leafs. He added another two points in two contests with the AHL's Toronto Marlies.

The 2019 second-round pick has endured bad luck with injuries. He was limited to just 38 games last season (28 with the Marlies, 10 with the Leafs) after breaking his leg in October 2021. Robertson also missed about a month during the 2020-21 campaign with a knee injury.

The Maple Leafs also announced that defenseman Mac Hollowell underwent surgery to repair a fractured kneecap and will miss at least 12 weeks. The 24-year-old has spent most of the season with the Marlies, but he got into six games with Toronto when injuries ravaged its blue line earlier in the season.

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Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said he's "disappointed" in the job he's done assembling a team in the throes of a dramatic and frustrating 2022-23 campaign.

"When I came here, I knew it was going to be a big challenge," Rutherford said Monday during a wide-ranging press conference, according to Sportsnet. "And I thought, 'We're going to have to do minor surgery.' ... Have I changed my position? Yeah, we have to do major surgery."

The 73-year-old executive joined the Canucks' front office in December 2021 after the team parted with ex-head coach Travis Green - replacing him immediately with Bruce Boudreau - and former general manager Jim Benning.

Vancouver performed admirably after the midseason shift, finishing the campaign with a 40-30-12 record to sit five points out of a playoff spot.

Instead of building on that hopeful stretch, the Canucks opened this season with a seven-game losing streak. Vancouver is currently sixth in the Pacific Division and sits 12 points out of the Western Conference's second wild-card spot - four months after Boudreau said missing this year's playoffs "would be a disaster" for the team.

Those developments have forced Rutherford to consider drastic measures.

"When I first came here, I talked about getting control of the cap ... getting rid of some contracts, and we haven't been able to do that," he said. "Now, the opportunity hasn't been there, but it's still my job to get it done. Until we do that, we're not gonna be able to make the kind of changes that we need to make. ... It could end up being core players."

He added: "Between now and the start of next season, we're gonna have to make some changes. Some won't be very popular, some will be popular. But we're gonna have to really do some things that I didn't think we would normally have to do when I first got here."

Rutherford said he will explore buying out some contracts this offseason if he can't move them.

One player who may soon depart Vancouver is captain Bo Horvat. The 27-year-old is enjoying a career year as a pending unrestricted free agent, notching 30 goals and 48 points in 43 contests.

"I believe we've taken our best shot, and the contract we have on the table for Bo right now, I think, is a fair contract for what he's done up until this year," Rutherford said. "But it's certainly under market value for what he's done this year. So, we're in a pickle here. ... He's looking for his money; he deserves it. I don't blame him."

Rumors are also swirling about Boudreau's future as head coach. Rutherford admitted he has spoken with external candidates but said the job belongs to the veteran bench boss for now.

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Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews is aware that he might not be in the Windy City for much longer, but he acknowledges that a change might not be the worst thing for all parties involved.

"It's still a difficult question to answer 'cause there's a part of myself that still doesn't really want to admit the situation and also wants to continue being a Blackhawk and finish my career here," Toews said in an interview with NBC Sports Chicago's Charlie Roumeliotis.

"But at the same time, there's a part of me that sees the writing on the wall and sees that this team, this organization, is trying to hit the reset button and that maybe a change for everybody is not such a bad thing, and that goes for myself as well."

Toews and teammate Patrick Kane are playing out the final season of identical eight-year, $84-million contracts.

Kane is seen as the hotter trade target between the two longtime Blackhawks. He chipped in with 26 goals and 66 points in 78 games last season, but he hasn't been as productive in 2022-23 with just eight tallies through 38 contests.

Toews, meanwhile, has 12 goals and 12 assists in 40 games this campaign. He missed the entire 2020-21 season while dealing with chronic immune response syndrome and put up 37 points in 71 contests during his return in 2021-22.

"For myself, it's just kind of a tricky situation," Toews said. "(It's) the last year of my contract, and I haven't played my best hockey in some time. So, I'm not sure what the opportunities (are) or what's going to come knocking.

"But there's no doubt in my mind, again, I'm focusing on my game, trying to improve that every single day and trying to enjoy just playing the game, being a Blackhawk as long as I can, for however long that is and while it still lasts."

Kane recently said that he expects to meet with general manager Kyle Davidson soon and that he's been in touch with his agent, Pat Brisson, on a frequent basis.

Chicago currently sits in the league's basement with an 11-26-4 record following Saturday's 8-5 defeat to the Seattle Kraken.

The trade deadline is March 3 at 3 p.m. ET.

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We have a full day of hockey ahead of us Monday. The action begins at 1 p.m. ET and runs almost the entire night.

Let's waste no time getting to our best bets.

Senators (-115) @ Blues (-105)

On the surface, the Blues seem to be handling themselves just fine without Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko. Since the pair of top-six forwards went down with injuries on Dec. 31, St. Louis has managed a respectable 4-3 record.

Don't let the results fool you. The Blues haven't played well. They've controlled just 42% of the expected goal share at five-on-five, putting them behind all but the Coyotes, Blackhawks, and Ducks. Those are three teams heavily in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes.

St. Louis has struggled at both ends of the ice in that time. It ranks 30th in expected goal generation and is in the bottom 10 in xG prevention at five-on-five.

If not for unsustainably high shooting percentages, things would look bleaker for the Blues.

Despite not getting a lot of saves and losing some games lately, the Senators have played pretty well. Their expected goal share ranks just outside the top 10, sandwiching them between the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights.

Save for the last time out against a desperate Avalanche team, Ottawa has primarily controlled the run of play since the calendar flipped.

I expect the Senators to do that against this undermanned Blues squad. Given the goaltending they're getting from Jordan Binnington right now, Ottawa's struggles between the pipes will likely prove less costly.

Look for the Sens to get back in the win column Monday night.

Bet: Senators (-115)

Lightning (-130) @ Kraken (+110)

The Kraken enter play riding an eight-game winning streak, having won the last seven on a historically good road trip.

It's been Seattle's offense leading the charge. The club found the back of the net 41 times in its last eight contests, scoring at least four goals in seven games.

Although they don't possess a true superstar, the Kraken have a deep and balanced forward group that gives you scoring on all four lines.

With all that said, this is a very unsustainable run. Seattle has scored on nearly 18% of their shots and netted 17 more goals than expected based on the shots and chances generated.

You may believe the Kraken have the talent to outproduce that of a normal team, as the Capitals have for years. But it's a stretch to think the gap should be anywhere close to this drastic.

Perhaps a date with the Lightning is the perfect spot for Seattle to start coming back down to earth.

The Bolts are playing some of their best hockey right now. No team has controlled a larger percentage of the high-danger chances at five-on-five over the past eight games.

Tampa Bay doesn't concede a whole lot of quality opportunities. When it does, the team has Andrei Vasilevskiy to bail them out. I don't think the Kraken can expect to have anywhere close to the same level of shooting success against one of the league's best netminders.

On the flip side, Seattle's goaltending is worrisome going up against the Lightning. No side has been more efficient than Tampa at generating high-danger opportunities over the last eight games, and we all know the team's firepower.

I don't see Martin Jones (.895 save percentage) or Philipp Grubauer (.885 save percentage) holding up against the chunk of top-tier chances they'll see.

Look for the Lightning to end the Kraken's winning streak.

Bet: Lightning (-130)

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

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The Minnesota Wild signed winger Matt Boldy to a seven-year pact with an average annual value of $7 million, the team announced Monday.

Boldy, 21, was slated to become a restricted free agent this summer.

The Massachusetts native sits fourth on the Wild with 12 goals and 29 points in 42 games this season while averaging just under 18 minutes of ice time per contest.

The Wild drafted Boldy with the 12th overall pick in 2019.

Boldy made a strong impression in Minnesota after joining the big club's ranks in early January 2022. He scored a goal in his NHL debut against the Boston Bruins and impressed with his first career hat trick about a month later. Boldy ended the 2021-22 season with 15 goals and 24 assists in 47 contests and finished eighth in Calder Trophy voting.

The Wild have a unique salary-cap situation due to the pricy contract buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter in July 2021. The duo accounts for nearly $13 million against the cap this season, but that number will jump to $14.7 million during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns.

Minnesota also has decisions to make on Sam Steel, Brandon Duhaime, Mason Shaw, Calen Addison, and Filip Gustavsson, who are all pending restricted free agents. Meanwhile, Matt Dumba, Ryan Reaves, and Frederick Gaudreau can all become unrestricted free agents in a few months.

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