Senators captain Brady Tkachuk took ownership for his role in Ottawa's struggles after its sixth consecutive loss Thursday, a 6-4 defeat to the Colorado Avalanche.

"It's hard to look at positives right now," Tkachuk said, per Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch. "It's a pretty shitty feeling, and I don't think I've felt worse in my life. This is not fun right now.

"At the end of the day, it starts with me as a leader. Individually, I'm not there and playing the way I need to be playing. … I've got to find a way to do a better job and help this team win."

The Senators held a 4-2 lead late in the second period Thursday but allowed four unanswered goals to prolong their losing streak. It was the club's second game since firing head coach D.J. Smith and replacing him with Jacques Martin.

Tkachuk was held pointless in the loss and was a minus-two in just over 20 minutes of ice time. He entered the contest fourth on the Senators with 21 points but had only collected one goal and one assist in his seven most recent outings.

The 24-year-old registered a career-high 35 goals and 83 points in 2022-23.

Ottawa's fallen to 30th in the league standings with 22 points in 28 games.

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Columbus Blue Jackets netminder Elvis Merzlikins accused Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson of attempting to injure him during Thursday's contest.

The two players got into a fight in overtime.

Here's a look at what started the kerfuffle.

Merzlikins believes it wasn't an isolated incident.

"He slew-footed me (on the) very first shift. He was after me all game long. I was trying to grab my stick. I got punched in the head. Before that I'm pretty sure he was trying to get me hurt," Merzlikins said postgame, per Bally Sports Columbus. "I was just trying to get my stick. I got punched. Enough. I'm gonna defend myself."

Wilson does carry a reputation, as he's been suspended five times for a total of 30 games over his 11-year career, but none since 2021.

"I don't think any other player (on) their team would try to hurt me. Watch the replay. He was going straight at my knee. ... He got what he deserved. I don't care," Merzlikins said. "Seriously, I could be out (for) the season. He was going straight at my knee with full speed. I get it, he was driving the net, I get it, but he could've avoided me. A lot of players avoid goalies."

Merzlikins was handed a roughing minor for his role in the scuffle, while Wilson was not penalized. Alex Ovechkin ended up scoring the OT winner on the ensuing power play to end a 14-game goalless drought.

Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent condemned his goaltender for his actions.

"That incident cost us. We have to control our emotions there," Vincent said. "It's disappointing."

Merzlikins has posted a .909 save percentage and 3.17 goals-against average in 21 games this season for the Blue Jackets, who sit last in the Metropolitan Division.

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Matt and Blake discuss another healthy-scratch for Andrei Kuzmenko and the path forward. They look at where Canucks stand for NHL awards such as Vezina, Norris, Adams and even the Hart Trophy. They discuss trade targets on the wing and on defence. And they look at what the Seahawks have left on the schedule and the path to the NFL playoffs.

Frank Corrado stops by with his take on how the Canucks should handle Kuzmenko going forward. He talks about the Canucks vying for first place and what amassing such a good record to date means for the rest of the regular season. He says Nikita Zadorov is not redundant with Carson Soucy and the Canucks shouldn't be deterred in extending his contract. He says brighter days are ahead for Conor Garland given the underlying numbers, opines on what a great fit Jake Guentzel would be if the Canucks want to swing a big trade, and reads between the lines on Devon Toews' comments about his teammates not showing up.

Rob Williams breaks down the Canucks' media skate, including JPat's game. Rob talks about the Kuzmenko end game (drawing a Brock Boeser comparison), Rick Tocchet's comments about their defensive posture and on Lionel Messi coming to BC Place in 2024. Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

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Though his Philadelphia Flyers are red-hot, head coach John Tortorella isn't allowing himself to look too far down the road.

"Don't even start asking me those questions," he said when asked about the possibility of battling for a playoff spot down the stretch. "We're in end of December. You don't know what your team is until the end of January, you really don't. I'm not even going there."

After many expected the Flyers to be among the league's worst teams heading into the campaign, they're currently sitting in second place in the Metropolitan Division with an 18-10-3 record. Philadelphia's .629 point percentage is the ninth highest in the NHL. Tortorella's squad has gone 7-0-1 in December and is the only team in the league without a regulation loss this month.

Philadelphia missed the postseason by 17 points during Tortorella's first year behind the bench last campaign. The Flyers haven't made the playoffs since 2020, when the New York Islanders eliminated them in the second round.

One area of improvement for the Flyers is that they're scoring first more often. They've potted the game's first goal in 16 of 31 contests this season after opening the scoring just 32 times in 2022-23. Philadelphia owns a sparkling 15-1 record when scoring first this campaign.

Tortorella won the Stanley Cup in 2004 while piloting the Tampa Bay Lightning to the franchise's first-ever championship. He owns an all-time record of 56-64 in the playoffs.

The Flyers haven't lifted Lord Stanley's Mug since 1975. They last appeared in the Stanley Cup Final in 2010, falling to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.

Philadelphia will be chasing its fourth straight victory against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.

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Devils forward Timo Meier is aware he isn't playing up to his standards during his first full season in New Jersey.

"I'm hard on myself. I have high expectations," he told reporters Thursday, according to NHL.com's Amanda Stein. "We have high expectations as a team. Definitely not happy with my play, but you've got to learn from it. Sometimes those situations can make you better as a player, make you stronger."

Meier has amassed just five tallies and 11 points in 23 contests so far this season, good for an 18-goal, 39-point pace during an 82-game season. He hasn't fallen short of the 20-goal mark since the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign when he lit the lamp 12 times in 54 outings.

The 27-year-old hasn't been fully healthy, though. He missed seven games in November due to a lower-body injury and has yet to record a point in the nine outings since his return Dec. 1.

Devils head coach Lindy Ruff suggested Tuesday that Meier's ailment is still having an impact on his skating. However, Meier wasn't ready to pin the blame for his underwhelming performance on any lingering issues.

"It's a long season. There are times where you have some bumps and bruises," he said, per team beat reporter Sam Kasan. "But that's never an excuse. I feel ready to play."

"When things aren't going your way, just go back to the basics," Meier continued. "Focus on playing well defensively, playing hard, getting yourself into the game. Maybe it's a hit, a blocked shot. Maybe it will build your confidence and your play. And it will lead up to offensive production."

Ruff said Thursday that he'd only sit Meier if he looks as though he's being hampered physically by his injury, according to NJ.com's Ryan Novozinsky. The bench boss previously benched Meier for the third period of a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers in October.

New Jersey won the Meier sweepstakes prior to last season's trade deadline, acquiring his services from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a package that included forward Fabian Zetterlund, prospects Shakir Mukhamadullin and Nikita Okhotiuk, and a conditional first-round pick in 2023 and 2024.

Meier enjoyed his first 40-goal campaign in 2022-23 and signed an eight-year extension with an $8.8-million cap hit to stay with the Devils this past offseason, making him the highest-paid forward in New Jersey.

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Auston Matthews is the clear-cut favorite to win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy after the Maple Leafs sniper became the first to reach 25 goals this season on Tuesday night.

Matthews is even money to lead the NHL in goals based on betting odds at theScore Bet, which equates to an implied probability of 50%.

"Rocket" Richard Trophy odds

Matthews' outing against the Rangers was his third straight two-goal contest, extending his scoring streak to five games. He has 11 goals in his last seven contests and is on pace to reach 60 goals for the second time in his career.

Brock Boeser is only two goals behind Matthews but is much further down the bettingboard. At +1200, Boeser is only given a 7.7% implied probability of catching Matthews.

David Pastrnak is Matthews' stiffest competition, according to the odds. Pastrnak potted a career-high 61 goals last season, but he'll have to find another gear if he's going to match that total. He's on pace to score 51.

Despite only having 11 goals in 27 games, oddsmakers are giving Connor McDavid plenty of respect at +900. McDavid won the "Rocket" last season with 64 tallies.

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