The weekend recap is here, and lots to chew on from Canucks land. Matt and Blake have you covered from a big win in Seattle to Kuzmenko’s benching to a loss to the last-place team in the NHL. The guys discuss if Rick Tccchet pulled all the right strings this weekend, and what to expect with 3 Pacific division rivals on the schedule this week, plus all the latest from Canucks practice with the line shuffling continuing. 

Rink Wide: Vancouver host Jeff Paterson stops by with his assessment of what to do about Kuzmenko but also Elias Pettersson, and his struggles to get on the scoresheet. All that plus your takes from the last few days in sport, with the Monday edition of “To the People We Go”! Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

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Jacob Trouba feels bad.

The New York Rangers captain showed remorse for the stick-swinging incident on Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic on Saturday that earned him a $5,000 fine. He lambasted his own actions as "dirty."

"The play obviously can’t happen," Trouba said, according to lohud.com's Vincent Z. Mercogliano. "It was 100% accidental. At the time, I was shocked it happened. I immediately said, 'I apologize. I didn't have any intention of doing that.' I felt like my hand was pushed and I was kind of off balance, so I apologized right away. That was kind of the end of it then. Then after the game, I saw a video of it, and it doesn't look good. It's not an excusable thing."

The defenseman added, "I have to control my posture and my stick better than that. I'm glad he wasn't injured. I deserve the fine. Take it and move on. Learn from the experience and don't let it happen again. That's not the player I want to be."

Trouba caught Frederic in the head with his stick early in the second period of the Rangers' 7-4 victory over the Bruins. He wasn't penalized on the play and avoided a suspension.

A physical player, Trouba's antics have long drawn the ire of opposing teams' fanbases. But Saturday's incident won't cause the veteran to change his ways.

"The hitting and stuff, that’s just how I play the game," he said. "I don't think those are dirty. I don't mind what people think of me. I don't put too much thought into what people think of me that don't really know me, to be honest with you. It is what it is."

Trouba was suspended two games in 2017 for an illegal check to the head of then-Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone. The 29-year-old was previously fined $5,000 for slashing in 2020.

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Headlined by the Tkachuk Bowl, there are six games on an abnormally fruitful Monday night slate.

Let's take a look at the best ways to attack them.

Panthers (-125) @ Senators (+110)

The Panthers are a solid defensive team, but their high-powered offense doesn't shy away from a track meet if needed. That always seems to be the case when they square off against the Senators.

Since last season - the beginning of the Matthew Tkachuk era in Florida - the Panthers have met Brady Tkachuk and the Senators thrice.

The two sides combined to score 24 goals (eight per contest) while going over a 6.5 total in each meeting. The shot outputs suggest that was by no means a coincidence.

They generated a whopping 233 shots on goal over the course of three meetings. That's 77.6 per game, approximately 15 more than you'd expect in an average NHL contest.

If we see anywhere close to that volume in this game, I expect the two sides to soar past the total.

Sergei Bobrovsky owns a .906 save percentage this season and has graded out roughly even in terms of goals saved above expected. He's playing adequate hockey but is by no means stealing games for the Panthers.

Joonas Korpisalo has conceded at least three goals in four of his past five starts and is just returning from a minor injury. This isn't the ideal spot to ease back into things.

With all the firepower featured in this game, as well as mediocre goaltending and a shaky Senators defense, there are a lot of pathways to goals. Expect a bunch of them.

Bet: Over 6.5 (-140)

Capitals (-215) @ Sharks (+180)

I am the furthest thing from a Capitals believer, yet I still think this price is too short.

For all the Capitals' faults, they're an opportunistic team going up against the NHL's worst shot-suppression side. The Sharks rank dead last in shots allowed per game and are showing no signs of improvement.

They also take minor penalties at a high rate, averaging nearly 3.75 per game. Only seven teams have been more undisciplined.

Although the Capitals haven't converted many chances into goals, they've piled up quality looks while on the man advantage. It's only a matter of time before a unit featuring power-play specialists like Alexander Ovechkin, John Carlson, and T.J. Oshie starts to find the back of the net.

The Sharks rank dead last in expected goals allowed - and 30th in goals against - per 60 minutes of shorthanded play. They should be just what the doctor ordered.

On the flip side, the Capitals don't take many penalties. They're unlikely to provide the Sharks with many power-play opportunities, forcing the league's worst five-on-five offense to do damage. I don't see that happening.

Look for the Capitals to rebound from an ugly defeat with a regulation win over the Sharks.

Bet: Capitals in regulation (-130)

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

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We have a juicy six-game slate to begin the week. Let's look at a few of my favorite props as we look to start off on a winning note.

Aleksander Barkov over 2.5 shots

Barkov is somewhat of a matchup-dependent shooter. The good news is that he has a great one Monday night in Ottawa.

The Senators are dealing with injuries on defense - and bleeding shots as a result. Only the Sharks, Islanders, and Blue Jackets have conceded five-on-five shots at a higher clip over the past 10 games. That should benefit Barkov, who has one of the highest even-strength shot rates on the Panthers this season.

Barkov also has a very strong track record against the Senators: He's registered 19 shots on goal and 31 attempts over the past five head-to-head meetings. Unsurprisingly, he went over his shot total in four of them.

The Panthers are coming off a pair of losses and had three of the past four days off. Barkov, well-rested and hungry, should get a full workload against an exploitable Sens defense.

Odds: -114 (playable to -130)

Vincent Trocheck under 2.5 shots

Trocheck has gone under his shot total in 13 of 19 games (68%) and often falls well short. He's averaging just 1.7 shots on goal and has finished with one or fewer in nine of 19 tries. Obviously, he's not a big shooter.

I'm not sure the Sabres are the best matchup to extract a ceiling performance. They rank sixth in five-on-five shot suppression over the past 10 games and are one of the league's best teams at limiting volume to opposing centers.

Of note, centers with 2.5 shooting lines like Evgeni Malkin (twice), Mark Scheifele, Connor Bedard, and Sebastian Aho have recently fallen short against the Sabres. The last pivot with a 2.5 total to go over was the Senators' Josh Norris - and that happened in October.

Although Trocheck did go over his total against the Sabres in early October, he failed to get the job done on three different occasions this past spring. I expect that to be the case again this time around.

Odds: -130 (playable to -145)

Jack Eichel under 3.5 shots

Eichel doesn't need a ton of attempts to find the back of the net on any given night. He's an accurate shooter, which makes him a scary player to fade - but this contest against the Flames is worth taking the plunge.

He's very dependent on the power play for shooting success. Over the past 10 games, Eichel's generated 34 shots (3.4 per game) 14 of which came on the power play. That's more than 41% of his volume.

I don't think power-play dependency is a good recipe for success against the Flames. They've been one of the 10 best teams at avoiding penalties this season - and they're only getting more disciplined.

It's also worth noting the Flames aren't a great positional matchup. They're 24th in shots allowed per game to centers, on par with the Kings, Jets, and Avalanche.

Additionally, Eichel has registered four attempts or fewer in five straight outings against the Flames. Although Darryl Sutter is gone, the Flames' defensive numbers are solid and the team's core remains intact. This isn't a great spot for him.

Odds: -135 (playable to -150)

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

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Edmonton has started to return to form during its current two-game winning streak, but captain Connor McDavid knows the Oilers still have their work cut out for them if they want to reach the level of their dominant 2022-23 team.

"We're a long ways from that," he told Sportsnet's Gene Principe after Edmonton's 8-2 shellacking of the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. "We're just taking it one day at a time. I look back to last year, we were 10-10 after 20 (games). We're five points back of that. Not ideal, but certainly by no means are we dead in the water."

The Oilers are in seventh place in their division with a 7-12-1 record and are 14 points behind the Vancouver Canucks for third place in the Pacific. If the playoffs started today, Edmonton would miss out on the second wild-card spot by six points.

Last season, McDavid and Co. were fifth in their division when they hit the 20-game mark and were only four points back of the Los Angeles Kings in the No. 3 spot. The Oilers went 40-13-9 the rest of the way to finish in second place in the Pacific.

Edmonton will hope its strong showing against the Ducks on Sunday can be a springboard for another remarkable turnaround. The Oilers trailed two separate times in the opening frame but entered the first intermission with a 4-2 lead.

"It's something that we've been missing throughout the year, so good to see a little bit of resilience there," McDavid remarked.

Edmonton scored twice in each of the next two periods to complete the rout, with McDavid's five points leading the way offensively.

Just one week ago, Leon Draisaitl bemoaned his and McDavid's uncharacteristic scoring slumps, but the latter has since woken up. McDavid's outburst Sunday came just two days after he factored in all but one of the Oilers' goals during their 5-0 win over the Washington Capitals.

The 26-year-old has racked up nine points in his last two games and 12 in his last four contests, raising his total to 25 points in 18 games this campaign. He's just 10 points behind Nikita Kucherov for the NHL scoring lead.

"Confidence is obviously a big part of it," McDavid said. "I think our whole team is playing better, and I think that's why you're seeing guys start to have success.

"It's not just a light switch that one guy or two guys can just turn on. It takes a whole group, and I thought our group's been playing better of late."

The Oilers will try and win their third game in a row Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights.

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Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman will have a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety on Monday for slew-footing/tripping Detroit Red Wings winger Alex DeBrincat.

Hartman used his right leg and arm to haul DeBrincat down when the two players were entangled in the third period of the Red Wings' 4-1 victory on Sunday.

The officials didn't penalize Hartman for the play but did whistle DeBrincat for cross-checking in retaliation.

Hartman later received an extra minor penalty on top of his own cross-checking infraction as both he and Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider were called for roughing a few minutes after the original incident.

Minnesota trailed 3-1 at the time and ultimately lost its seventh straight game.

Hartman was suspended twice before Sunday, serving one game both times. The first was for a headshot on then-Colorado Avalanche forward Carl Soderberg in April 2018. The second was for interfering with Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers this past April.

The Minnesota center has also been fined four previous times, including once for tripping then-St. Louis Blues forward Sammy Blais in May 2021.

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Minnesota Wild forward Pat Maroon didn't hold back after his team's seventh straight loss Sunday.

"F-----g unacceptable. … Guys should be pissed off," Maroon said, according to The Athletic's Joe Smith.

The Wild dropped Sunday's contest against the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 despite outshooting the opposition 38-23. The loss drops Minnesota to 5-10-4 on the campaign, with the team's last win coming against the New York Islanders on Nov. 7.

"We've gotta change something," head coach Dean Evason said postgame. "We can't just continue to (say), 'Well, it's a good effort, we outshot them, we had lots of chances.' We're still losing. So, we gotta find a way to win."

Evason added: "Same mistakes, same guys are not pulling their weight. Same mistakes that happen most nights and don't allow us to have a true, true chance of winning a hockey game."

The Wild are the league's third-most penalized team per game and have the NHL's worst penalty kill at 67.2%. Minnesota allowed another two power-play goals against the Red Wings on Sunday.

Maroon took a tripping penalty 52 seconds into the third period, and Detroit converted on the ensuing man advantage to go up 3-1. He called the play "stupid" and took the blame for his mistake, according to Smith.

Evason called out Matt Boldy on Friday, saying the forward "100%" needs to play better, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo. He reiterated the sentiment after Sunday's loss.

"Sometimes, we'll take accountability, but there are sometimes where the player's gotta step up," Evason said when asked about Boldy. "I don't care how old you are, and I don't care what's going on, these guys get paid a lot of money to score goals and to play better, and some guys aren't. We'll do what we can do from our end, but there's gotta be some looking in the mirror as well."

Boldy has one goal and eight points in 11 games. His lone goal came Oct. 14 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 22-year-old is in the first season of a seven-year, $49-million contract signed in January.

The Wild will look to snap their losing skid Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues.

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