The Vancouver Canucks are looking into how they dealt with Tanner Pearson's season-ending injury after teammate Quinn Hughes raised concern about the situation Thursday night.

Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford told Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre the club started an internal review Friday to find out exactly what happened with the veteran forward. Rutherford claims he didn't know there were any potential issues with Pearson's medical care until Hughes brought it up following a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

"I feel bad for him. I mean, it wasn't handled properly, and you know, it's not really a good situation he's got there, and hopefully, he's going to be alright," Hughes said.

The blue-liner clarified the comments Friday.

"I wasn't trying to direct blame at anyone," Hughes said, according to MacIntyre. "I don't think it's really anyone's fault. It's just an unfortunate situation. But in a situation like that, of course, I care about my teammates and, you know, I hate to see a guy go through hell like that."

Rutherford added that upon hearing what Hughes initially said, the executive spoke to general manager Patrik Allvin and head coach Bruce Boudreau, both of whom also claimed to be unaware of any issues pertaining to Pearson aside from his multiple setbacks.

"At that point, I just started to gather information and talk to people that are involved and start to do an investigation as to what really happened," Rutherford said. "Other than that, I can't say a whole lot because we're dealing with the privacy of medical information.

"We take the situation very seriously. We certainly have to look at everything here when something like this happens, and we're going to continue to do that."

Rutherford said he plans to assemble those in the organization from management, the medical staff, and Pearson or his agent, Joe Resnick, on a conference call so everyone can be involved in the discussion.

Pearson will miss the rest of this campaign after having a third surgical procedure on his hand, the club announced on Allvin's behalf earlier Thursday. The 30-year-old was originally expected to be out for only four-to-six weeks after undergoing his first surgery on the ailment Nov. 10, one day after injuring his hand. Pearson then had a second one performed a month later after it didn't heal as planned.

He was limited to 14 games this season, collecting one goal and four assists. The Canucks acquired him in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins in February 2019. Pearson is under contract with Vancouver through 2023-24.

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The best hockey player in the world understands why the NHL uses shootouts, but he's not a big fan of them.

Connor McDavid made that clear when asked whether he'd favor going from five minutes of three-on-three overtime and then a shootout, if necessary, to 10 minutes of extra time in the same format with no shootout.

"I'd like that," the Edmonton Oilers captain told Sportsnet's Tim Micallef on Friday's edition of "Tim and Friends."

"No one loves the shootout," McDavid continued. "It's a crappy way to finish a game, but at the end of the day, it's about the players' health and safety. It's a long season. The overtime taxes a lot of guys, so making that longer could have some effects there, but I agree with you in the sense that no one wants to see a game end in a shootout."

McDavid, a two-time MVP who turned 26 on Friday, is the Hart Trophy favorite again this season. He entered the evening leading the league in goals (35) and tied for the top spot in assists (44). He was also pacing the Art Ross Trophy race by a whopping 16 points (with 79) while possessing favorable underlying numbers over 43 contests.

The Oilers have played only one game that's required a shootout this season; a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 15. The team is 2-3 in games that have gone beyond regulation in 2022-23, with two wins and two losses in overtime.

Edmonton occupies fifth place in the Pacific Division at 22-18-3.

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Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury, the team announced Friday.

Stone was forced to leave Thursday's 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers due to the ailment after logging just under four minutes of ice time.

The 30-year-old ranks second on the team with 17 goals and 38 points in 43 games.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy said Stone is still undergoing tests, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Ben Gotz.

This marks Stone's first absence from the lineup this season. He was limited to just 37 games in 2021-22 while dealing with a significant back injury that forced him to undergo surgery in May.

The Golden Knights are once again contending with various injuries to key players this campaign, including star forward Jack Eichel, who recently missed 11 games with a lower-body ailment, and defenseman Shea Theodore, who last played on Dec. 9 and has since been sidelined with a leg injury.

Vegas currently sits in first place of the Pacific Division with a record of 28-13-2 after missing the playoffs for the first time in the team's existence last season.

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All good things must come to an end.

The Seattle Kraken blanked the Boston Bruins 3-0 on Thursday night, marking Beantown's first regulation loss at TD Garden this season and ending the team's 22-game home point streak.

In honor of the Bruins' dominance, we're taking a look at some of the key numbers behind their 19-0-3 record at home to start the 2022-23 campaign prior to Thursday's defeat.

19: Let's start with the obvious and look at the number of home wins themselves. Heading into Thursday's slate, 10 NHL teams had yet to win 19 games on the season. Meanwhile, the Bruins have 19 victories on home ice alone.

5: The Bruins' 22-game home point streak tied for the fifth-longest run in NHL history to start a season (including neutral site games played as the home team), alongside the 2013-14 Anaheim Ducks and the 2008-09 San Jose Sharks.

Despite the Bruins' dominance, they were still four games away from matching the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers' all-time record. Boston did end up setting a new franchise mark in the process by eclipsing the 21-game record set by the 1973-74 team.

4: One of Boston's home games this season was hosted at Fenway Park for the Winter Classic, where the squad prevailed in a 2-1 decision over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The victory gave the Bruins an all-time record of 4-1-0 in outdoor games, and those four wins match the New York Rangers for the most in NHL history.

Winger Jake DeBrusk played hero this time, scoring both goals for the Bruins 10 minutes apart in the third period.

12-0-0: The Bruins set a new NHL record by winning 12 consecutive home games to kick off their 2022-23 campaign with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 25. David Pastrnak had the honor of setting the benchmark with a power-play tally during the extra frame. Beantown surpassed the 1963-64 Chicago Blackhawks and the 2021-22 Florida Panthers in the record books.

Boston went on to extend its record-setting streak to 14 games before having it snapped by a 4-3 shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 5.

.932: The Bruins' supremacy at home looks even more impressive when you look at their point percentage. For comparison, the Tampa Bay Lightning owned the second-best point percentage on home ice heading into Thursday's games with a .786 clip.

Plus-41: Boston's goal differential on home ice prior to Thursday's defeat was a whopping plus-41. The Bruins' 83 goals for tied with the Buffalo Sabres for the second most in the league - trailing only the Lightning with 85 - while their 42 goals against matched the New York Islanders for the fewest.

15: Pastrnak led the way for the Bruins with 15 goals and 30 points in just 22 home games heading into Thursday's loss. That isn't overly surprising, given that he regularly regaled those in attendance at TD Garden with plays like these:

Plus-21: Defenseman Hampus Lindholm was a league-leading plus-21 at home during the Bruins' remarkable run, six clear of second-placed Victor Hedman and Joe Pavelski. What makes that achievement even more impressive is that Lindholm averaged a team-high 23:48 of ice time during that span.

.940: Linus Ullmark has been fantastic no matter where he plays this season, but we still think it's worth spotlighting that his save percentage during the Bruins' 19-0-3 streak was .940. Just wonderful stuff from the Vezina Trophy front-runner.

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Regina Pats phenom Connor Bedard unsurprisingly tops Central Scouting's midterm North American skater rankings leading up to the 2023 NHL Draft.

The latest lists for North American and international players were released Friday.

Here are the top 10 for each pool.

North American skaters

Bedard dazzled at the 2023 World Junior Championship and was named MVP of the tournament after potting nine goals and 14 assists in seven games to help lead Canada to the gold medal.

He set various team records along the way, including most all-time goals and points by a Canadian at the world juniors.

Widely predicted to go first overall in a few months' time, Bedard leads the WHL this season with 70 points (31 goals, 39 assists) in just 29 games. The 17-year-old is currently riding a 28-game point streak.

International skaters

The 2023 NHL Draft will take place from June 28-29 in Nashville.

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We split our best bets on Thursday night. The Flames came through with a regulation win in St. Louis at +100, but three goals were scored in the final five minutes of the Hurricanes game to erase what was a promising looking under.

Let's dig into a couple of plays that stand out for the weekend ahead as we search for a pair of victories.

Jets (+150) @ Penguins (-175)
Jan. 13, 7 p.m. ET

It's not a side but a total that stands out most to me in this game. I like the over.

The Jets are a very strong offensive team. They rank top-10 in goals per game, and that's despite playing much of the season without Nikolaj Ehlers and, at times, Blake Wheeler. The former has produced 65 points in 66 games dating back to the start of last season, while Wheeler is flirting with a point per game.

Having both healthy again gives the Jets a full arsenal of dangerous wingers to put around their one-two punch of Pierre-Luc Dubois and Mark Scheifele.

The early returns have been extremely promising, as the Jets have netted at least four goals in all four games since Ehlers returned to the lineup.

I expect Winnipeg will continue to score in bunches Friday night against the Penguins. The Pens have really struggled at five-on-five of late, slotting 25th in expected goals against per 60 over the last 10 games.

They're going to have their hands full slowing down this healthy Jets top six - especially with Tristan Jarry out and Casey DeSmith struggling.

On the flip side, the Penguins should be able to create their fair share of offense as well. The Jets are a mediocre defensive team in the latter half of a road back-to-back.

They'll give up their share of chances, and David Rittich is generally not somebody who can be relied upon to stop a big chunk of them. While he has played adequately this season, Rittich has conceded 11 goals over his last four starts and played just once since Christmas.

There could be some rust in Rittich's game, which isn't ideal when going up against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, and Co.

Look for both teams to do some damage in what should be a high-scoring affair.

Bet: Over 6.5 (-105)

Flyers (TBD) @ Capitals (TBD)
Jan. 14, 7 p.m. ET

The Flyers are on a 7-3-0 run and have burned me a couple of times during that stretch.

While some would undoubtedly argue the team is simply turning a corner and it's time to give them more respect in the market, they are more or less just riding a shooting percentage bender.

The Flyers have scored on 13.33% of their shots over the last 10 games, slotting them just a hair out of the league lead in that time.

Although they deserve credit for making the most of their opportunities, I'm not sure we have much reason to believe it will continue.

In 32 games prior to this heater - a much more substantial and, thus, more accurate sample size - the Flyers ranked 30th in the NHL with an 8.23 shooting percentage.

Considering the roster hasn't changed, I have a hard time believing the Flyers have transformed from one of the least clinical offenses in the league to one of the best. They simply don't have the talent for that to be realistic.

Regression is going to come for this Flyers team, and Saturday's game against the Capitals is a good place for it to start.

The Capitals have largely been a stout defensive team this season, the goaltending has been consistently strong, they're getting healthy, and they're at home looking to bounce back from a disappointing effort against this same Flyers side.

I like the Capitals to win this game within 60 minutes.

Bet: Capitals in regulation (should be around even money)

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

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Thursday was yet another great night for our player props as we won all three plays, pushing our weekly record to 9-2.

Although there are only three games scheduled for Friday night's NHL slate, there is plenty of value on the board. Let's dive into a few of my favorite plays.

Jack Hughes over 4.5 shots (-130)

The New Jersey Devils' budding superstar has generated shots at a nearly unmatched rate of late, piling up 91 attempts over his last 10 games.

Although Hughes' prop line has moved from 3.5 to 4.5 as a result, that hasn't stopped him from going over the total in eight of his last 10 showings.

Hughes is dominating the puck and very clearly establishing himself as the undisputed No. 1 scoring option on the team. He has recorded 64 shots on target over the past 10, which is nearly double that of the closest teammate to him (Nico Hischier with 34).

He is in the best spot imaginable to continue his success on Friday night. The Anaheim Ducks have been the worst shot-suppression team in the NHL over the course of the season *and* the last 10 games. Their form is consistently horrendous.

They also take a lot of penalties - offering plenty of opportunities for Hughes to generate multiple shots in quick succession - and allow more shots per game to centers than every other team in the league. Hughes should be able to keep the ball rolling in this game.

Pierre-Luc Dubois over 2.5 shots (-125)

It's fair to say Pierre-Luc Dubois is the prime beneficiary of Nik Ehlers' return to the lineup. Ehlers has skated with Dubois and Kyle Connor the past four games, and they've made magic together, helping the Winnipeg Jets control 63% of the expected goal share while piling up the shots in bulk.

Dubois has been the trigger man for that unit, averaging six attempts per game at five-on-five alone. Special teams included, Dubois has piled up 30 attempts over just four games since Ehlers returned. That's nine more than any other player on the Jets.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have not exactly been stout defensively without Jeff Petry and, more recently, Kris Letang. They are giving up plenty of shot volume and suppressing shots against centers has been an issue for them all season long. In fact, the Ducks are the only team below them in shots against per game against the position.

Look for Dubois - aided by the return of Ehlers - to stay hot in a sneaky good matchup.

Darnell Nurse over 2.5 shots (-120)

Death, taxes, and Darnell Nurse hitting his shot total. The minute-munching blue-liner has recorded three shots or more in 10 of his last 12 games.

Although he doesn't carry the same reputation as most of the marquee offensive defensemen in the sport - understandably so - volume is volume, and Nurse provides it.

Only seven defensemen in the NHL have attempted more shots than Nurse this season. He generates shots at an efficient clip and plays so many minutes that, at times, he doesn't even need to make the most of his time to get the job done.

The San Jose Sharks are a surprisingly potent shot-suppression team but they're more vulnerable to defensemen than centers or wingers. We'll look to take advantage of that in backing Nurse.

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

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