Punctuated by the lengthy saga that led to head coach Bruce Boudreau's firing, the Vancouver Canucks have been one of the league's most entertaining sideshows for large swaths of this season.

Veteran forward J.T. Miller said he believes his squad is leaving all the chaos behind.

"This wasn't too fun of a place to be in the beginning and mid-part of the year," he said Tuesday, per TSN's Farhan Lalji. "It was a bit of a shitshow … it really was. A lot of distraction. I think we've moved on, we understand who we're going to be moving forward. It's fun to come to the rink again."

He added, "I thought we've come together a lot as a team over the last couple of weeks. We've got to make sure we stay focused and try not to get off script here because everything we've been doing lately seems to be working for us."

The Canucks went 18-25-3 with Boudreau at the helm this campaign and won only three of Rick Tocchet's first nine games behind the bench after Vancouver made the personnel switch on Jan. 22.

However, the Canucks have gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 contests since Feb. 18, and their .750 point percentage in that span is tied for the fourth best in the league. Vancouver has also rattled off four straight wins, its longest streak of the season.

That's a far cry from where the Canucks were earlier in the campaign. They set a dubious mark to start the season by becoming the first team in NHL history to lose four consecutive games while conceding a multi-goal lead in each. Miller said after the second contest that he felt "irrelevant."

Despite the recent turnaround, a surprise playoff berth is virtually out of the question. The Canucks sit 18 points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a 28-32-5 record.

"We're playing well as a group," Miller said. "It's not about wins or losses at the end of the day right now, it's about enjoying the process of getting better as a group and having good habits and being accountable. We're starting to do that, and I think the results are showing as well."

Miller, who turned 30 on Tuesday, ranks third on the team with 36 assists and 60 points. His seven-year, $56-million extension will kick in next season.

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Carolina Hurricanes star Andrei Svechnikov will undergo season-ending surgery on his right ACL on Thursday, the team announced.

He'll miss the remainder of the regular season as well as the entirety of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Svechnikov suffered the ailment Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The 22-year-old power forward has tallied 23 goals, 32 assists, 205 shots, and 140 hits in 64 games this campaign.

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Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong defended the trade that sent Jakob Chychrun to the Ottawa Senators earlier in March despite heavy scrutiny over Arizona's return.

Chychrun had been on the trade block since January 2022, but Armstrong argued that the defenseman's injury history and poor play last season made him difficult to move.

"I was reading an article on how we buffooned it. The big saga, and how we blew this. But people skim that, they don't really understand that Jakob was injured for eight months," Armstrong said on the Cam and Strick Podcast.

Chychrun was sidelined with a lower-body injury at the 2022 trade deadline and missed the final 24 games of the campaign. He then missed the opening 16 contests of the 2022-23 season with a wrist issue.

Armstrong also argued that Chychrun's subpar performance in 2021-22 affected the trade.

"It's hard to trade a player when he's coming off a season he was minus-20. He was terrible," Armstrong said. "And then you throw his injury history from before, and then you throw his injury history now, and he's out for eight months."

Armstrong said one club made a push to land Chychrun at the 2022 draft, but "Jakob didn't want to go there." He added that the return wasn't as good as the one the team received from Ottawa.

Chychrun's contract, which carries a $4.6-million cap hit through 2024-25, doesn't contain no-trade protection until a 10-team no-trade list kicks in next season. However, the interested team became hesitant to acquire Chychrun upon learning he wasn't interested in joining it, according to Armstrong.

"We could've crushed it, and we would've got two late first-rounders, and we would've had to take money back. Up from $3.1 million to $5.1 million back," he said. "Why would we do that for two late firsts?"

Armstrong ultimately dealt Chychrun to the Senators for a top-five protected 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 conditional second-round pick (originally from the Washington Capitals) that becomes a top-10 protected first-round pick if Ottawa makes the 2023 Eastern Conference Final, and a 2026 second-rounder.

The Coyotes architect argued that getting a first-rounder likely in the 11-15 range - and potentially as high as sixth overall - plus two second-rounders, is more valuable than two late firsts.

Arizona possesses over $15 million in cap space - the second-most in the league. However, Armstrong said he wants to maintain flexibility to either sign free agents this offseason or take on more bad contracts in exchange for assets, as the Coyotes have often done since he was hired in September 2020.

Chychrun, 24, recorded 28 points in 36 games with the Coyotes this season. He has two goals and two assists in six contests with the Senators.

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Monday night was a good one for our best bets, as we won both our side and our player prop.

We'll look to keep the train on the track Tuesday night with another couple of bets.

Red Wings (+130) @ Predators (-150)

The Predators are 7-2-1 over their last 10 games and are ever so slightly hanging around in the wild-card race as a result. I'm not buying what they're selling, though.

They are lacking high-end talent offensively, and their team defense isn't nearly as potent without Mattias Ekholm. I think a lot of their recent success stems from who they've played.

Over the last five games, for example, the Predators have faced the Blackhawks, Canucks, Coyotes, Ducks, and Kings (minus Kevin Fiala). Getting results during that stretch is hardly impressive.

While the Red Wings don't exactly offer a big step up in competition, that doesn't need to be the case to see value at this price point.

Nashville isn't a good team. The Preds weren't when healthy to begin with and certainly aren't now, having sold off several key pieces while playing without a couple of others.

This Red Wings team undoubtedly has more depth and firepower up front. Ville Husso is no slouch in goal, either, ranking 11th among 42 eligible netminders in save percentage since Jan. 18.

Opportunistic finishing and Husso helped lead the Red Wings to an upset win over a historically good Bruins team just a couple of days ago. It's well within the realm of possibility that they follow it up with another victory against this thin Predators lineup that has overachieved of late.

Bet: Red Wings (+130)

Islanders (+110) @ Kings (-130)

The Kings are playing lights-out defense right now. They have conceded only 79 high-danger chances at five-on-five over the past 10 games, which slots them second in the league.

With Jonathan Quick - who struggled all year long with the Kings - gone and Joonas Korpisalo in the mix, the Kings have two reliable netminders who can give them competent goaltending on a nightly basis.

Factor in their defensive prowess, and it's no coincidence the Kings have conceded two or fewer goals in five straight games. They are a very difficult team to generate offense against.

I expect the Islanders will struggle in that regard on Tuesday night. They're not a great offensive side at the best of times, and their numbers really tail off on the road.

Their expected goal share sits at 48% over the last 10 road dates, and they've net just 2.02 goals per 60 at five-on-five. That ranks them 27th in the league.

With the way the Kings are suppressing chances, this hardly seems like the spot where New York will be able to jumpstart its attack - especially without Mathew Barzal.

Having Fiala in the lineup would certainly be preferable. He's had a very productive year, and the Islanders are most vulnerable conceding shots and chances to wingers.

That being said, the Kings still have plenty of talent there in Adrian Kempe, Viktor Arvidsson, and Gabriel Vilardi, among others.

Look for the Kings to come through in what should be a slower-paced, grind-it-out affair.

Bet: Kings (-130)

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

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We hit our lone player prop Monday night, successfully backing Mikko Rantanen to record an assist at plus money. We'll look to build on that with three more plays for Tuesday night's 12-game slate.

Jack Hughes over 3.5 shots (-120)

Hughes is one of the hottest shooters in the league, especially when playing on home ice. The Devils' young superstar recorded four shots or more in nine of his last 10 games in New Jersey, falling one shy in the lone exception. Hughes attempted seven shots in that game and missed the target on four occasions, so it very easily could've been another hit.

Although a date with the Lightning hardly seems ideal on the surface, Tampa Bay has gone through some issues defensively of late. The Lightning are especially bad on the road, allowing five-on-five shots on goal at a higher rate than all but the Ducks and Blackhawks over their last 10 games.

Hughes has the ability to get the job done against any opponent. He hit the over against the Rangers, Golden Knights, Kings, Maple Leafs, and Hurricanes during this hot streak at home.

With the Lightning laboring defensively and Hughes set to get advantageous matchups, I expect he'll get the job done once again.

Kris Letang over 2.5 shots (-115)

Letang hasn't been a frequent target this year, but his recent numbers have certainly caught my attention.

He registered three shots or more in seven of the past 10 games, and seven of the last nine when playing in Pittsburgh. His volume at home, in particular, has been nothing short of remarkable. Letang averaged 8.22 shot attempts per game over the past nine home dates.

Tonight, Letang finds himself in a juicy spot against the Canadiens, a bad defensive team at the best of times. Now they're playing in a road back-to-back against a Penguins side in the thick of a heated playoff race.

When playing on the road, only the Ducks conceded shots at a higher rate than the Canadiens over the last 10. They're giving up a ton of volume, and Letang - the Penguins' leading shot generator of late - figures to be the prime beneficiary.

Miro Heiskanen over 2.5 shots (-132)

Heiskanen is quickly becoming one of my favourite blue-liners to back. It doesn't seem to matter who he's up against or, more recently, whether he's at home or on the road. He simply gets the job done.

The Stars defenseman just completed a two-game set against a low-event, stingy defensive team in the Kraken. He generated 12 attempts over that span while hitting the over each time out.

Normally not as efficient on the road, Heiskanen quietly generated at least five attempts in nine of his last 10 away from home. That seems to be his magic number - Heiskanen owns a 37-8 record (82% hit rate) when attempting five shots or more this season.

The Canucks have given up a little more volume of late and been a below-average team in limiting shots to defensemen over the past 10 games.

Even in a back-to-back, Heiskanen stands out as someone worth backing.

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

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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe backed goaltender Matt Murray following another rocky outing Monday in a loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

Murray faced a modest 29 shots in the defeat but allowed four goals for the third consecutive start since returning from an ankle injury that forced him to miss 17 games.

"I think he's been great," Keefe said, per Sportsnet. "The numbers look terrible, but again, here tonight, I thought he looked really good. I mean, it's four tap-ins. They're three feet or less in front of the crease."

The Leafs held a 2-0 advantage early in the second period but allowed four consecutive goals and were heavily outshot from that point on. Keefe didn't think Murray was to blame.

"Our second period was our worst period by far, maybe of the season, to be honest," he said, according to the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan.

Murray was acquired from the Ottawa Senators last offseason for future considerations. His tenure with the Maple Leafs began with a 7-2-2 record and .924 save percentage, but the two-time Stanley Cup winner has only five wins in 11 starts with a .877 clip since, according to Sportsnet Stats.

He's also comfortable with where his game is at.

"I felt pretty good, especially through two periods," he said, per TSN's Mark Masters. "I think that third period, they get a couple good looks and capitalized on them. I just got to make an extra save there, but I felt pretty good for the most part."

Toronto has relied primarily on Ilya Samsonov between the pipes this season due to Murray's injuries. The former Washington Capital is 23-8-2 on the season with a .915 save percentage and 2.84 goals against average.

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Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen sustained a broken finger in Monday's victory over the Montreal Canadiens, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said postgame, according to AltitudeTV.

Lehkonen will undergo surgery, per NHL.com's Sean Farrell.

The 27-year-old was enjoying a career year with the defending champions, who acquired him in a trade with the Canadiens on deadline day in 2022.

Lehkonen got a warm welcome in his return to Montreal on Monday as the Bell Centre crowd gave him a standing ovation right before he scored the first of his two goals in the first period. However, the Finnish winger exited and didn't return after playing four shifts in the second frame.

He added an assist in the win, bringing his totals up to 20 tallies and 29 helpers in 62 games this season. Lehkonen had been playing on the top line until recently.

Colorado has dealt with a slew of injuries this season and is still without captain Gabriel Landeskog, who's missed the entire campaign following knee surgery.

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