Edmonton Oilers goaltender Jack Campbell admitted he was "pretty surprised" when he heard that he'd been demoted to the AHL's Bakersfield Condors amidst his ongoing struggles with the big club.

"(It was) pretty tough, not gonna lie," Campbell told reporters Thursday, including Sportsnet. "I'm pretty hard on myself, I think that's pretty well documented around the hockey world. Obviously, it's a results league up there - really anywhere - but I felt like I was playing well, had some confidence. But obviously, the numbers weren't good enough."

The Oilers placed Campbell on waivers for the purpose of sending him to Bakersfield on Tuesday. The beleaguered netminder owns a 1-4-0 record with Edmonton so far this season to go along with an .873 save percentage and 4.50 goals against average. Campbell also ranks among the 10 worst goalies in both goals saved above average (minus-4.88) and goals saved above expected (minus-3.24) at all strengths, per Evolving-Hockey.

Prior to Campbell's demotion, his running mate, Stuart Skinner, had actually posted a lower save percentage (.856). However, Campbell's high-danger save percentage (.639) was worse than Skinner's (.767) at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Campbell's comments came right after his first start with the Condors. He allowed four goals on 20 shots during the club's 4-1 defeat to the Abbotsford Canucks.

Abbotsford's third tally at the midway mark of the contest was particularly brutal:

"Tonight was just about getting out there," Campbell said postgame. "I think a lot of emotions, a lot of nerves. I want to play well for the group. ... I wanted to do well, didn't quite go as planned. For me, it's just about staying with my details.

"I have some things I've got to keep working on to get to the next level in my game, and that doesn't change whether I'm here or up in the NHL. Just gotta get to work tomorrow."

Thursday's outing was Campbell's first action in the AHL since the 2018-19 campaign. The 31-year-old is currently in the second season of a five-year, $25-million deal. He posted an .888 save percentage and 3.41 goals against average in 2022-23 - his first year in Edmonton.

The floundering Oilers are the NHL's second-worst team in the standings in 2023-24 with a 2-9-1 record.

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One down and two to go for the Canucks on the eastern Canadian road trip. Rink Wide: Vancouver co-host Jeff Paterson sits in for Matt, and joins Blake to talk about a unique win in Ottawa and the role of luck in their start to the season.

The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli makes his weekly visit and weighs on how this Canucks start has come to be and what to expect going forward, plus, he weighs in on the recent melodrama of Linden vs Benning at the 2017 draft.

Friday also means another edition of To The People We Go, with all your feedback on the Canucks’ week. We finish off with Whitecaps CEO and Sporting Director Axel Schuster who gives us the lowdown on today’s announced roster decisions, and what they’re looking to do in the offseason. Enjoy your weekend! Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

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We have a fun six-game slate ahead of us to conclude the week. Let's take a closer look at a couple of my favorite plays on the board.

Flyers (-115) @ Ducks (-105)

While Carter Hart (sick) starting would be preferable, the absence of Trevor Zegras from the Ducks’ lineup should help compensate by taking a bite out of their offense.

Additionally, the Flyers are playing very strong defensively, allowing 2.30 expected goals per 60 at five-on-five. That's a top-five rate in the NHL.

Although the Ducks tend to give up chances in bulk and play higher-event games, there is something working in the under's favor - their goaltending.

John Gibson looks more like the John Gibson of old this season, as he's stopping 3.5 more goals than expected through seven games. That's half a puck per game, which puts him in company with Igor Shesterkin and Linus Ullmark.

Philadelphia is not a high-powered offensive team, and I don't see Gibson being overwhelmed with insane shot volume or high-powered shooting.

This should be a close, low-event style of game. I like the under.

Bet: Under 6.5 (-130)

Sharks (+400) @ Golden Knights (-520)

This is as big of a mismatch as you'll find in the NHL right now. The Sharks have won only two games and rank dead last in points per game, goals, goals against, goal differential, and pretty much any other statistic you can imagine.

Not only are they horrible, but they're tired. The Sharks were able to grind out a win against the lowly Oilers on Thursday night and ran their best players (Tomas Hertl, William Eklund, Mario Ferraro) into the ground during the process.

They're going to have their hands full in this one. The Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup a few months ago and are showing no signs of a hangover. They actually sit tied with the Bruins for most points in the NHL.

They are all business and, after back-to-back losses, it's fair to expect some urgency in their game against the Sharks. The Golden Knights aren't going to come out flat and take them lightly.

San Jose is a very bad first-period team, sitting tied for last in goals for (six) while allowing more goals (16) than all but three teams.

We've seen the exact opposite from the Golden Knights. They rank top 10 in first-period goals and only three teams have conceded fewer.

With a massive edge in talent, a rest advantage, home ice, and urgency to get things back on track, I expect the Golden Knights to start fast and win the opening frame.

Bet: Golden Knights first period -0.5 (-120)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ToddCordell.

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No Pittsburgh Penguins player will ever wear No. 68 again.

Jaromir Jagr's number will be raised to the rafters on Feb. 18, the club announced Friday.

The legend will join Mario Lemieux (No. 66) and Michel Briere (No. 21) as the only players to have their numbers retired by the Penguins.

Jagr ranks fourth all time in goals (766), fifth in assists (1,155), second in points (1,921), fourth in games played (1,733), and first in game-winning goals (135) in NHL history. The future Hall of Famer played 11 of his 24 seasons with Pittsburgh, helping the team win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and '92.

The former winger won the Art Ross Trophy five times and the Hart Trophy once, in 1998-99.

Jagr, who'll turn 52 three days before his jersey retirement, still hasn't hung up his skates for good. He owns and plays for Rytiri Kladno, a Czech Extraliga squad based in his hometown.

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We're less than a month into this NHL season, but two big developments have already affected the hunt for the Hart Trophy.

For one thing, the Edmonton Oilers are off to a terrible start - which undoubtedly jeopardizes Connor McDavid's candidacy. One might say the most valuable player is just that, regardless of how his team performs, but reaching the postseason has become an unwritten prerequisite. And when a team is this bad, it becomes that much harder to disagree with those who believe the Hart winner needs to be on a playoff team - or at least a moderately competitive squad.

The other significant storyline is Jack Hughes' status. The New Jersey Devils forward remains week-to-week after sustaining a reported shoulder injury last Friday. On the bright side, his ailment doesn't appear too serious. His pre-injury dominance needs to be highlighted here, along with the stellar play of one of his brothers.

Here are our top five MVP contenders in the very early going of this 2023-24 campaign.

5. Artemi Panarin

Panarin has been on a tear ever since opening night, riding a 13-game point streak. The Russian playmaker has eight multi-point efforts - six of which have come in his last seven games. One thing that always works in a Hart contender's favor is having large disparities between himself and his teammates in offensive production. Panarin has six more assists and 10 more points than the closest New York Rangers skaters.

The Blueshirts have been playing without elite defenseman Adam Fox recently due to an injury, not to mention that Igor Shesterkin, Filip Chytil, and Barclay Goodrow have also been banged up.

Aside from Chris Kreider's nine goals (six of which came on the power play), the "Bread Man" has done most of the offensive heavy lifting for the injury-riddled Rangers. Panarin's defensive play hasn't been as strong, but he's still giving New York plenty of value.

4. Quinn Hughes

The suddenly thriving Vancouver Canucks have gotten big contributions from several players, including league points leader Elias Pettersson, goaltender Thatcher Demko, and ever-reliable forward J.T. Miller. But Quinn Hughes hasn't just been the Canucks' most valuable player; he's been one of the most important and impactful skaters in the league thus far in 2023-24.

Vancouver's Hughes is our current Norris Trophy favorite, and he should be in the Hart conversation, too. Defensemen aren't often considered in the MVP race, but Quinn shouldn't be ignored just because of his position. Unlike Pettersson, he has favorable xGF% ("Petey" has an unflattering rate of 45.94%). He's also on par with his Swedish teammate in WAR (just 0.2 off the league lead) and close to him in GAR while sitting near the top of the NHL in the category.

The pair have eerily mirrored each other at or near the top of league leaderboards in numerous statistical categories in the campaign, but Quinn has logged more ice time because he's a defenseman. Petterson deserves some credit for doing it while playing less, but Quinn excelling like he has while skating for nearly 24 minutes per game conveys how much more valuable the rearguard has been.

3. Auston Matthews

Matthews has scored goals in bunches, with three hat tricks in his first 11 games and a two-tally effort Monday night. He's the league leader in goals this season, and the American center sits atop the NHL in individual expected goals while ranking second in ixG per 60 minutes. That's all impressive, but as was the case when he claimed this hardware two seasons ago, he's doing more than just putting the puck in the net.

The Toronto Maple Leafs sniper owns the NHL's second-most wins above replacement so far. That's a good indicator of all-around proficiency, and though we're working with a small sample size at this point in the campaign, Matthews certainly appears primed to replicate his well-rounded 2021-22 MVP form.

Matthews is also shouldering a heavier workload than usual to begin the season, ranking seventh among the league's forwards in average ice time. His current ATOI is tied with the career-best he established in the abbreviated 2021 campaign.

The Leafs sit near the bottom of the league in xGF%, and they've been a borderline playoff team in the early going after many assumed they'd cruise to the Atlantic Division title. William Nylander's 13-game point streak out of the gate has undoubtedly helped, but Matthews' unparalleled scoring and reliable defensive play are the biggest reasons Toronto isn't lower in the standings.

2. Jack Hughes

It's unclear when the younger of the two more experienced Hughes brothers (and the elder of the two Hughes brothers on the New Jersey Devils) will return from his injury. Whether he'll be included on the next edition of this list in a month is also in doubt. But one thing can be said with certainty: Jack Hughes belongs in this edition in recognition of everything he accomplished over the vast majority of the campaign's first month.

Jack produced at an incredible clip before he left the game against the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 3. The 22-year-old still leads the NHL in points per game among players who've played more than one contest this season. He's collected three goals and nine assists on the power play and has posted exemplary underlying numbers at five-on-five. For example, New Jersey controlled 62.82% of the scoring chances with Jack on the ice in those situations.

The Devils' brightest star is still in the top 20 in WAR and GAR (both cumulative stats as opposed to averages) despite playing fewer games than the others at the top in those departments.

Jack may have deserved to be the leading candidate here if he was still in the lineup and dominating; he's only missed two games so far. Unfortunately, it doesn't make sense for an injured player to be the front-runner, and the ailment will also affect his candidacy going forward, especially if he's out for several weeks.

1. David Pastrnak

While the Maple Leafs have underwhelmed to a degree, the Boston Bruins are shockingly back on top of the division by a wide margin despite losing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement and Tyler Bertuzzi and Dmitry Orlov in free agency. Both of Boston's goaltenders have been excellent, but Pastrnak has been the biggest reason the Bruins remain a juggernaut at 11-1-1.

The Czech winger has four more goals and seven more points than his closest teammate, Brad Marchand. Remember last season when Pastrnak led the NHL in even-strength goals and ranked second in even-strength points by one? Matthews is thriving in those categories in 2023-24, but Pastrnak is tied for second in the former and third in the latter.

Pastrnak is far from a one-dimensional player, sitting among the NHL's best in WAR and GAR with favorable underlying numbers across the board. Pastrnak isn't logging over 20 minutes of ice time per night like some of his counterparts on this list, but he's certainly making the most of his shifts. Last season's Hart runner-up is right back in the hunt and is a worthy front-runner for the time being.

(Analytics sources: Natural Stat Trick, Evolving-Hockey)

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Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen was taken to the hospital as a precaution after going headfirst into the boards Thursday night against the Seattle Kraken, the team announced.

Lehkonen was alert, responsive, and had full movement, the team added.

Lehkonen was able to skate off the ice on his own power.

"He's the last guy you want to see go down," teammate Andrew Cogliano told reporters postgame. "He's the ultimate warrior out there, he's a great teammate. You never want to see that."

The 28-year-old winger tallied a career-high 51 points in 64 games last season and entered Thursday with three goals and four assists in 11 contests in 2023-24.

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