Homestand Part 2! After 3 days off the game schedule, the Canucks get back at it this week starting with the Sabres, with yet another lineup shuffle from head coach Rick Tocchet. Matt and Blake go over those changes and the importance of these next 3 games against non-playoff teams.

John Shannon stops by with his take on the readiness of the Canucks for playoff hockey, on the possibility of team-friendly deals for the many Canucks UFAs, and on some bigger NHL issues like expansion and rule changes. 

Springs has sprung, which means the boys of summer are almost ready, and the voice of the Vancouver Canadians Tyler Zickel checks in from Florida with the latest on the Blue Jays and the C’s. 

All that, plus the Whitecaps getting good news on Vanni Sartini, and the Lions getting ready for Touchdown Pacific in Victoria. Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

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Homestand Part 2! After 3 days off the game schedule, the Canucks get back at it this week starting with the Sabres, with yet another lineup shuffle from head coach Rick Tocchet. Matt and Blake go over those changes and the importance of these next 3 games against non-playoff teams. 

John Shannon stops by with his take on the readiness of the Canucks for playoff hockey, on the possibility of team-friendly deals for the many Canucks UFAs, and on some bigger NHL issues like expansion and rule changes. 

Springs has sprung, which means the boys of summer are almost ready, and the voice of the Vancouver Canadians Tyler Zickel checks in from Florida with the latest on the Blue Jays and the C’s. 

All that, plus the Whitecaps getting good news on Vanni Sartini, and the Lions getting ready for Touchdown Pacific in Victoria. Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

Follow us on social (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok & YouTube). Powered by The Nation Network.

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Hockey Canada announced Tuesday that Rick Nash will serve as general manager for the 2024 World Championship.

Nash was tabbed by Doug Armstrong, Canada's GM for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and 2026 Olympics, to select the roster.

"Hockey Canada has meant a lot to me throughout my career, and I couldn't be more excited to lead our team at the World Championships in May," Nash said. "Representing Canada has been a great source of pride for me throughout my career, and I am looking forward with our staff to put together a team that will work extremely hard towards our goal of winning a gold medal in Czechia."

The 39-year-old was an assistant GM for Canada's silver medal-winning World Championship team in 2022. He's been in the Columbus Blue Jackets' front office since 2019 and has been the team's director of player development for three seasons.

"Rick is an outstanding person to lead Canada's national men's team at this year's World Championship, as he brings a wealth of international and NHL experience from his playing career and his time as an executive," Armstrong said.

Nash represented Canada at three Olympics and four World Championships as a player. He won gold at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, as well as the 2007 Worlds.

The first overall pick in the 2002 draft, Nash accumulated 437 goals and 805 points with the Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Boston Bruins. He retired in 2019 due to lingering concussion issues.

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Hockey Canada has announced that two-time Olympic gold medallist Rick Nash (Brampton, ON/Columbus, NHL) will serve as general manager of Canada’s National Men’s Team at the 2024 IIHF World Championship, May 10-26 in Prague and Ostrava, Czechia.

Six rule changes will be proposed to the NHL's competition committee and board of governors ahead of the 2024-25 season, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. Another will take immediate effect coming out of the general manager meetings in Florida.

Two new coach's challenges are being proposed to review puck-over-glass and high-sticking penalties.

Teams would be able to challenge if they believe the puck hit something on the way out on a puck-over-glass call. Additionally, a team could ask to review a high-sticking penalty if it's believed there wasn't an offense committed by its player.

In both cases, the team would go down to a five-on-three if the call on the ice stands.

A rule change taking immediate effect is a ban on players having legs over the bench while not on the ice. A team will first be warned before a bench minor is assessed.

No changes are being proposed to the current overtime format. There was consideration of extending the extra period to seven minutes, but the idea didn't gain traction, according to Friedman.

Here are the rest of the potential rule changes:

• Goaltenders will be added to the list of players who can be penalized for intentionally dislodging the net.
• When a goaltender loses his mask and play is blown dead, the opposing team gets an offensive zone faceoff with the choice of side, regardless of where the puck was at the time of the whistle.
• If players refuse to play the puck after a high stick or a hand pass, the non-offending team would get a faceoff one zone better than where the play occurs. For example, a defensive zone offense would result in a neutral zone draw.
• After an icing, the offensive center gets a warning on a faceoff violation, rather than being tossed from the draw.

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Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.

We finished last week very strongly with our best bets, going 2-0 back-to-back nights to end on a high.

We'll look to pick up where we left off with two more plays for a busy Tuesday night in the NHL.

Maple Leafs (-135) @ Flyers (+115)

The Flyers are a great story this season, but their game has fallen off a cliff, especially following the trade deadline.

They own a 1-3 record since deadline day, with their lone victory coming against the Sharks. It's not just that the Flyers have lost - it's how they've done so.

We haven't seen the stingy defense that's been their calling card all season. They've only controlled 31% of the high-danger chances at five-on-five while being outscored 14-5 since the deadline, and Samuel Ersson hasn't shown the ability to mask their mistakes.

That's led to problems against quality competition. Philadelphia gave up seven goals to the Lightning, six to the Bruins, and six to these same Maple Leafs.

Sean Couturier hasn't played well as of late, but he owns some of the best defensive metrics on the team. The Flyers have made him a healthy scratch, which takes out one of the players best equipped to slow down some of Toronto's best weapons.

I expect Philadelphia to put up a better fight than last time, but given the team's defense struggles, I think the more talented Maple Leafs are more likely to come out on top once again.

Bet: Maple Leafs (-135)

Avalanche (-210) @ Blues (+175)

The Avs are firing on all cylinders. They've won six straight games and eight of their last 10. All the numbers under the hood suggest it's no fluke.

Despite facing the Maple Leafs, Stars, Predators, Canucks, and Oilers during a rather difficult string of games, Colorado has controlled 55% of the expected goals at five-on-five over its last 10 contests. That's a top-five rate.

The Avs are scoring at will, the goaltending has been excellent, and Valeri Nichushkin is healthy again. It's hard to overstate his importance to the team.

Colorado is 30-11-3 with Nichushkin in the lineup and 13-9-2 without him. His ability to score goals, create chances, and defend makes the Avalanche much harder to play against.

Although the Blues have won four straight, they continue to post concerning defensive metrics.

Only three teams have conceded Grade A chances at a higher rate than St. Louis over the last four games. That's been masked by .954 goaltending, which isn't sustainable.

This high-powered Avalanche team will give a wobbly Blues defense all it can handle and then some. If Jordan Binnington isn't astronomically good, Colorado should be able to grab another win within 60 minutes.

Bet: Avalanche in regulation (-130)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.

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