Winnipeg Jets star Kyle Connor has left his club's ongoing road trip and will miss at least two games with a knee injury, head coach Rick Bowness announced Tuesday.

"Kyle is heading back to Winnipeg. He'll be re-evaluated by our doctors tonight when he gets in and we'll go from there," Bowness said. "As of now, obviously he's not playing tonight or tomorrow."

The Jets are scheduled for a back-to-back against the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings before returning home to face the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.

Connor was injured by a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Strome during the Jets' 4-2 comeback victory Sunday.

Strome received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for kneeing but avoided supplemental discipline.

Connor is the Jets' scoring leader with 17 goals, 10 power-play points, and 28 points in 26 games.

Heading into Tuesday's slate, Winnipeg ranks first in the Central Division in points percentage (.654) with a 16-8-2 record.

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Gameday for the Canucks and Lightning, we’ll get you set for that as Matt and Blake take a look at the lineup on both sides, including another chance for Andrei Kuzmenko to get his season going. Also, should Chris Tanev’s latest injury be enough to scare off the Canucks or anyone else? 

John Shannon stops by for his weekly visit and tries to explain why "Connor vs Connor” is not a nationally available broadcast in Canada, he talks about Jon Cooper’s tenure with the Lightning as well as the stability of a couple other head coaches in the league. Not to mention, the guys ask John’s opinion on Luongo’s ROH nod vs a jersey retirement. Hashtags, E’s and O’s and so much more! Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

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Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson revealed that he felt like he'd "been in a car wreck" after Florida Panthers forward Nick Cousins caught him with a monster hit from behind during Sunday's contest.

"That's a bad hit," the rearguard said Tuesday, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline. "If that hit takes place three feet before that, I end up going down and bending my neck. That's when you get a compression fracture, and who knows how the rest of your life is?"

"My kids were 85 feet away," Gudbranson continued. "It's a terrible hit. I was walking around pacing the hallways at home, trying to calm down and happy that my legs still worked."

The collision occurred in the third period of the Jackets' 5-2 loss. Gudbranson remained down on the ice for a brief moment, then sprang to his feet and went after Cousins.

Cousins was initially handed a major penalty for boarding, but it was reduced to a minor upon review. Both players remained in the game, and Gudbranson mauled Cousins in retaliation a few minutes later. Gudbranson was ejected from the game as a result and earned 27 minutes of penalties on the play.

The NHL's Department of Player Safety handed Gudbranson a one-game suspension for instigating, while Cousins received no supplemental discipline.

"The rule is the rule. I got one game for it. Take it and move on," Gudbranson said.

The 31-year-old will miss Thursday's clash against the Toronto Maple Leafs because of the ban.

The Blue Jackets currently sit in last place of the Metropolitan Division with a 9-16-5 record.

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Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov is expected to be out "for at least a while," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said Tuesday.

Svechnikov missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, but what caused it isn't clear. He last played on Dec. 6 against the Edmonton Oilers and logged 18 minutes of ice time in the Hurricanes' lopsided 6-1 defeat.

The 23-year-old underwent an MRI scan Monday.

Svechnikov missed the entirety of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs and the first eight games of the 2023-24 season after undergoing ACL surgery in March.

The Russian has chipped in with one goal and 11 points in 16 games this campaign.

Last season, Svechnikov potted 23 goals and 55 points in 64 games, ranking third and fourth on the Hurricanes, respectively.

Carolina is in the midst of a four-game losing streak and sits in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division with a 14-12-1 record.

The Hurricanes will square off against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.

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We swept the board with our player props to start the week. Auston Matthews and Brock Nelson both soared over their totals with plenty of room to spare, while the Coyotes limited Tage Thompson just enough to cash our under.

We'll look to pick up where we left off with three more props for Tuesday's big slate.

Alexis Lafreniere: Over 2.5 shots

Lafreniere has quietly piled up the shots of late. He's registered at least three in seven of his past 10 games, with the unders coming against the Flyers, Kings, and Predators. The former two are among the five best shot-suppression teams in the NHL, while the Predators are in the middle of the pack.

Lafreniere has gotten the job done in almost any remotely good matchup. He finds himself with a great one Tuesday night.

The Maple Leafs' defense wasn't great to start the campaign, and it's been missing multiple regulars for quite some time. That shows in the numbers as they rank in the bottom five in shot suppression over the last 10 games.

This defense is vulnerable. I think it'll have a tough time handling the fantastic offensive combination of Lafreniere, Vincent Trocheck, and Artemi Panarin, especially in the latter half of a road back-to-back.

Expect Lafreniere to stay hot and make the most of a high-event matchup.

Odds: +120 (playable to -120)

Connor McDavid: Over 3.5 shots

McDavid has proven to be matchup-dependent this season.

Let's use the past 10 games as a reference. McDavid failed to get the job done against strong defensive teams like the Hurricanes, Golden Knights, Jets, and Panthers. Versus clubs with issues defensively, or in contests that turned into track meets (like against the Ducks and Lightning), he hit the over on his total.

The good news for McDavid is the Blackhawks most certainly have defensive problems. They're very inexperienced and lack the talent to sustain shifts in the offensive zone, meaning they spend a lot of time on their heels. As a result, only four teams have conceded more shots per game this season.

McDavid is starting to heat up offensively, and after a dreadful start to the year, the Oilers need every point they can get. They can't afford to take teams lightly, so it should be pedal to the metal for the league's best player.

Odds: -110 (playable to -135)

Nikolaj Ehlers: Over 3.5 shots

Kyle Connor suffered a knee injury last time out, opening the door for Ehlers to take on a much larger offensive role. Ehlers finds himself skating on the top line at even strength as well as on the power play.

This led to more than 20 minutes of ice time for Ehlers, which is huge for him. He's always generated shots at a very efficient clip, he just didn't get the usage to be a consistent shot prop target. That'll change now.

Dating back to last season, Ehlers has averaged 8.3 attempts per game when logging 20-plus minutes. If that's the kind of volume we're looking at, he'd need to hit the net on only half of his attempts to get the job done.

Shooting opportunities should be there in bulk for Ehlers on Tuesday. He finds himself in a mouthwatering spot against a Sharks team allowing a league-worst 36.7 shots on goal per contest.

Odds: +115 (playable to -115)

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

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Never cross Mikko Rantanen.

Fresh off of snapping a nine-game goalless drought in his team's 6-5 victory over the Calgary Flames on Monday night, the Colorado Avalanche superstar took aim at the father of one of his teammates for publicly criticizing Rantanen's offseason preparation.

"Actually, one thing where I got a lot of extra energy, one of our Finnish NHL players' dad was talking shit about me in the media, (saying) that I didn't train last summer like I used to do," Rantanen said postgame, per DNVR Avalanche. "He was just making things up. That was for him. If you talk shit, it's going to come back at you."

Rantanen was referring to an interview Artturi Lehkonen's father, Ismo, gave to Yle, a Finnish broadcasting company where the elder Lehkonen works as an analyst. Ismo suggested Rantanen "didn't have a very good summer," as translated by Finnish journalist Ville Touru for The Athletic.

"There was a lot happening, many events of all kinds," Ismo continued. "He had to visit Helsinki and everything like that. … Perhaps he consciously took the summer a little more calmly after the hard years. And maybe he didn't practice as much as in previous summers."

Despite the recent drama, Rantanen assured The Athletic that he and Artturi's relationship "is totally fine," adding that they are "totally good friends and teammates."

Rantanen currently leads the Avalanche with 13 goals and ranks third on the team with 34 points in 28 games. He's on track for 38 markers and just under 100 points this season.

Last season, the Finn became the first player in franchise history to hit the 50-goal mark in a single campaign since Milan Hejduk in 2002-03. He also amassed a career-high 105 points and placed sixth in Hart Trophy voting.

Rantanen led Colorado with a three-point effort Monday against the Flames. He knotted the contest at 5-5 just past the midway mark of the final frame, setting the table for Nathan MacKinnon's game-winning goal two minutes later.

The victory improved the Central-leading Avalanche to 17-9-2. However, Colorado ranks third in the division in terms of points percentage (.643), trailing the Dallas Stars (.648) and Winnipeg Jets (.654).

The Avalanche have yet to embark on their annual dad's trip this season.

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Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares registered a goal and an assist against the New York Islanders on Monday to become the 98th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points.

The milestone point came on a game-tying goal by Morgan Rielly to force overtime, but the Islanders got the last laugh: Bo Horvat scored the winner 44 seconds into the extra frame.

Tavares accomplished the feat in his 1,054th game after being drafted first overall by New York in 2009. Isles fans booed the Leafs' celebration for their captain, holding firm in their distaste for Tavares' choice to leave Long Island for Toronto as a free agent in 2018.

His production on a per-game basis is nearly identical between the two clubs.

Tavares is up to 25 points in 25 games this season, his 15th in the NHL. He's the 10th active player in the 1,000-point club.

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