Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan provided some clarity on the organization's decision to fire head coach Mike Babcock on Wednesday.

"When you think that you know what the right decision is, you have to act on it," Shanahan told the gathered media Wednesday, per TSN. "I think that waiting at this point would have been the wrong thing."

Shanahan brought Babcock to Toronto in May 2015, signing him to an eight-year, $50-million deal. Despite finding regular-season success, the Maple Leafs were unable to escape the first round of the playoffs in each of the last three campaigns. The team's slow start this year sealed Babcock's fate.

"(General manager) Kyle (Dubas) and I are in constant communication. I think that it really just came down to the last couple of weeks," Shanahan added. "We spoke in the last 48 hours again, and I just felt that it was something that needed to be done, and Kyle felt the same way."

The Maple Leafs have lost their last six games and sit in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a 9-10-4 record.

"Our game is not really meeting our expectations," Shanahan continued. "We're mistake-prone on defense, the attention to details aren't there. Even the explosive offense our team was known for has been missing for a while now."

Sheldon Keefe will take over as the Leafs' new head coach. The 39-year-old has served as head coach of the AHL's Toronto Marlies since 2015, leading them to a Calder Cup title in 2018 and an overall record of 199-89-22-9.

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The Vancouver Canucks didn't get anything going on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars during a 6-1 loss. Now captain Bo Horvat is looking to get his team back on track after just one win in Vancouver's last eight games.

"When you're down like that it really sinks in that this sucks," Horvat said postgame, according to The Athletic's Thomas Drance. "Down five goals in the third period with no chance of coming back, we'll remember that feeling and make sure it doesn't happen again."

After going 8-3-1 in October, the Canucks have started to slide while posting a 2-5-3 record in November.

"We're a type of team that we can't just have a couple of guys going, we need everybody to step up and everybody to play," Horvat added. "Right now we're kind of separated. Our timing isn't there, and we gotta figure that out and start playing the way we were in October."

The Canucks started a six-game road trip on Tuesday night. They visit the Nashville Predators next on Thursday.

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After the Calgary Flames lost their fourth game in a row Sunday, forward Matthew Tkachuk didn't shy away from critiquing his team's recent performance.

"It's disgusting. It's bad. It's bad right now. We need to change this around ... something's gotta change here," Tkachuk said postgame. "We've gotta get back to the old us and get out of this little funk we have here because this is not fun."

The Flames dropped Sunday's contest 6-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights and were blanked by the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, marking the first time since 2009 that they've been shut out on back-to-back days, according to Sportsnet Stats.

"It's getting pretty old," Tkachuk added. "We just can't get this lead. We trail, we press, and they put a six-spot up on us when it's a pretty tight game until the third period.

"We just kind of let them run away with it and leave our goalie out to dry countless times. It's getting old."

The Flames own a 10-10-3 record this season and currently sit in fifth place in the Pacific Division.

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The Colorado Avalanche held on to a win over the Vancouver Canucks in overtime, but defenseman Erik Johnson wasn't a fan of one particular decision the referees made late in the match.

Up by two with under three minutes to play, Avs blue-liner Matt Calvert blocked Elias Pettersson's shot with his head. The referees opted not to blow the play dead, and the Canucks scored with Calvert on the ice in pain and bleeding from his head.

"It's a f---ing joke. You want to protect a guy? Guy's got a family at home, he's laying there bleeding out of his head and you don't blow the whistle?" Johnson said, according to The Athletic's Ryan S. Clark. "It's a complete joke. An absolute joke. They should be ashamed of themselves."

"That rule is pretty crazy, a guy laying there bleeding out the side of his head," Nathan MacKinnon said postgame. "I know it's not the refs fault, it's the league rule ... I don't think he's faking it, trying to get a whistle."

The Canucks went on to score again, forcing overtime. MacKinnon, who was visibly frustrated with the referees after they allowed play to continue, ended things quickly by scoring 27 seconds into the extra frame.

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One of the Toronto Maple Leafs' biggest offseason acquisitions, defenseman Tyson Barrie, has failed to make a splash so far with his new club.

With the team struggling to get in the win column and Barrie failing to produce, the Leafs have received calls regarding the blue-liner, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

"I'm hearing Toronto's received calls on him," Friedman said on Hockey Night In Canada's "Headlines" segment. "So far, they've rejected the idea, they don't want to trade him."

The Leafs sent Nazem Kadri, Calle Rosen, and a 2020 third-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche for Barrie, Alexander Kerfoot, and a 2020 sixth-round pick. Colorado also retained half of Barrie's salary in the trade.

Barrie is set to hit free agency at the end of the season. He currently carries a cap hit of $2.75 million.

"He has not asked for a trade. However, I think that there's an understanding that it hasn't worked," Friedman added.

Barrie has yet to score a goal this season and has six assists in 22 games. He recorded 14 goals and 59 points in 2018-19.

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Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin keeps on trucking at the ripe old age of 34.

Ovechkin unleashed a thunderous hit on Montreal Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin at the beginning of the second period during Friday night's matchup.

Drouin was visibly shaken up after the hit and immediately went to the dressing room. He missed the rest of the period, but returned to start the third. No penalty was handed out on the play.

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Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews' disorderly conduct charge has been dropped.

Matthews and the female security guard who filed the complaint against him reached a settlement, a spokesperson for the City of Scottsdale said, according to Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star.

Under Arizona law, an individual charged with a misdemeanor offense can come to a financial agreement as a means of settling the case.

"On Nov. 13, the matter was settled between the parties and the criminal matter was dismissed," the spokesperson said.

The charge stemmed from a May 26 incident involving Matthews and a female security guard in the forward's hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona.

According to the police report of the incident, Matthews and a group of males tried to open the security guard's car door at 2 a.m. in the parking lot of his condo complex while she was doing paperwork inside of the vehicle. After she exited the car, Matthews dropped his pants, bent over, and grabbed his buttocks as he walked away. His underwear appeared to stay on.

The report also detailed that Matthews, who appeared intoxicated, told her he thought it would be funny to see how she would respond.

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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan announced Friday.

Letang exited Monday's game against the Boston Bruins during the third period, but it's unclear what exactly caused the ailment.

The veteran defenseman has recorded four goals and 12 points in 15 contests this season. He also ranks 10th league-wide with an average of 25 minutes of ice time per game.

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Minnesota Wild coach Bruce Boudreau doesn't appear to be a fan of San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane's acting skills.

Wild forward Ryan Hartman received a five-minute major for slashing Kane halfway through the third period after the two battled for a puck along the boards. Kane went down and appeared to have seriously injured his leg, but returned to the game minutes later.

"Kane did a great job of selling it," Boudreau told reporters postgame. "Because he went off limping, everybody thought he had a broken ankle and he missed one shift."

Kane stayed down on the ice in visible pain. The referees reviewed the play and called it a major penalty.

The Sharks, who were up 6-4 at the time, weren't able to capitalize with the man advantage. They went on to beat the Wild 6-5.

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The Montreal Canadiens received a baffling penalty at the end of the third period on Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers, and coach Claude Julien was predictably infuriated.

"There's a point there that they've (referees) got to take certain responsibilities," Julien told reporters postgame, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels. "What's disappointing to me is after that, I don't know if they felt embarrassed but they made sure that we weren't going to get any breaks."

Midway through the third period in a tie game, the Canadiens changed lines after an icing call because they believed the puck deflected off someone at center ice. They were then handed a delay of game penalty for debating the icing call and not changing back to the same line quick enough.

"I'm trying to put the same guys back on the ice and they're not letting me," Julien added. "And I'm telling him that, 'You want the guys that are on the ice, I'm giving you the guys.' And he gives me a delay of game penalty."

The Canadiens coach didn't shy away from calling out the officials and how they handled themselves after botching the call.

"I was disappointed in the way it was handled after," he said. "The stick to Drouin's face that everybody saw, (the official) saw it. I know he saw it and decided not to call it."

Despite being called for six penalties while Philadelphia took none, Julien didn't completely blame the referees.

"Honestly, I can take a lot of responsibility ... Most of the penalties tonight, they were penalties. Slashing, hooking, this and that. So we take responsibility for that."

The Habs went on to lose to the Flyers in overtime.

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