Jon Cooper criticized his Tampa Bay Lightning for failing to stay out of the penalty box during a 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night.

"It's a complete lack of discipline," the Bolts head coach said following the defeat. "It was embarrassing what we did. How many five-on-threes you're up against in one season, you (can) count on maybe one hand, and we gave them two minute-and-a-half five-on-threes in one game. Unacceptable.

"That shouldn't happen," Cooper continued. "Good on Winnipeg. Honestly, it was really a nothing game going on. That game could've been 0-0 and a shootout. They stayed disciplined, said, '(Let's) sit back and wait for Tampa to screw it up,' and they did."

Cooper expanded upon his thoughts when asked whether he expected the game to be so intense.

"Honestly, I didn't find that game intense at all," he said with a laugh. "Tell me what happened in the game other than us taking penalties and giving them opportunities."

The Jets scored on both five-on-three chances in their victory, adding an empty-netter while down two skaters after the Lightning pulled their goaltender on a power play. Pierre-Luc Dubois netted Winnipeg's first goal with the man advantage in the second period, and Kyle Connor buried the second to make it 3-2 for the Jets early in the third.

Morgan Barron potted the shorthanded empty-net tally with under two minutes left in regulation.

Tampa Bay fell to 24-13-1 this season. The team won three straight games to close out 2022 and beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Tuesday before losing 5-1 to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday. The Bolts still have a nine-point cushion for third place in the Atlantic Division, but the fourth-place Buffalo Sabres have two games in hand.

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Now that the calendar has flipped to 2023, the Hart Trophy race is really heating up.

The leading MVP candidate is playing like a man possessed, even by his lofty standards. But the intrigue arises when considering who the other finalists should be. Some impact players, like Tage Thompson and Sidney Crosby, might've cracked the list if not for those with stronger cases - or in the example of the former, if his team were more firmly in the playoff hunt.

Here are our top five Hart contenders as we near the second half of this NHL campaign:

5. Jason Robertson

Robertson remains an MVP contender, but the Dallas Stars youngster has fallen back down to Earth a bit since we last evaluated the race. The 23-year-old posted over a point per game in that span, but he's scored only three goals in his last 12 games.

The California-born winger still boasts elite underlying numbers, as only one other player on this list has a better expected goals for percentage at five-on-five in 2022-23. Robertson ranks among the league leaders in both that category and scoring chances for percentage this season.

He's still outpacing his teammates by a large margin, too. He's collected seven more goals and 11 more points than Roope Hintz, who ranks second on the team in both categories. Robertson has scored 73% of his goals at even strength, and he sits among the NHL's top producers in both that category and even-strength points.

However, since reeling off an 18-game point streak from late October to early December, he's primarily been a distributor, registering just three tallies and 11 helpers over his last 15 contests. He's one of the main reasons the Stars sit atop the Central Division, but he'll need to raise his game to get back into the mix for serious Hart consideration.

4. David Pastrnak

Pastrnak was higher on this list in previous editions, but this slight downgrade isn't by much fault of his own. The Boston Bruins superstar is still producing at an elite clip, with nine goals and seven assists in the 13 games since our last edition of these rankings.

The Czech winger has notched 11 more goals and 19 more points than his closest teammate. Linus Ullmark's utter excellence in goal and the fact that they play for the league's best team hurt Pastrnak's case to a degree, but there's no denying the skilled forward belongs in the conversation.

Strong analytic figures further cement him as a fringe Hart candidate. The Bruins have significantly outplayed the opposition when he's been on the ice at five-on-five this season, boasting stellar xGF and SCF percentages in those situations.

If the pending unrestricted free agent sustains his average ice time, he'd set a career high, and only Boston's two best defensemen are getting more burn than Pastrnak among Bruins skaters in 2022-23.

3. Jack Hughes

Hughes makes his first appearance of the season on this list, and it's certainly warranted. Others have more goals and points than the New Jersey Devils center, but the Hart Trophy is supposed to reward value first and foremost. Hughes possesses some truly absurd underlying numbers this season and has been the brightest star for a team that's exceeding expectations.

For starters, Hughes leads the NHL in both wins above replacement and goals above replacement. That's impressive on its own, but he also ranks fourth in the league in xGF% and fifth in SCF% at five-on-five among those who've played at least 350 minutes in those situations.

Hughes has outproduced all other Devils skaters with six more goals and seven more points than his closest teammate. He's also been on fire lately, scoring 17 of his goals in his last 19 games. Plus, he's doing all this at 21 years old. New Jersey had high hopes for Hughes after drafting him first overall in 2019, and the Florida-born pivot is now proving to be one of the NHL's most valuable players in his fourth season.

2. Mikko Rantanen

The Colorado Avalanche have been riddled with injuries this season and might've been outside the playoff picture without Rantanen, who's kept the defending champions afloat and then some. The Finn was huge in Nathan MacKinnon's absence, racking up nine goals and four assists in the 11 games the Avalanche played without their most dynamic forward.

Rantanen has been on an absolute tear recently, collecting 11 goals and five assists in the 13 contests since our last edition. He also leads all NHL forwards (yes, even the Hart favorite) in average ice time this season. Colorado has leaned heavily on Rantanen, and that's unlikely to change with the club still missing captain Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, Josh Manson, Bo Byram, and Pavel Francouz, among others.

The Avalanche have an effective power play as usual, but Rantanen's doing the vast majority of his damage at even strength. The 26-year-old tops the NHL with 21 goals in those situations, meaning he's buried a whopping 85% of his tallies under more difficult circumstances.

No other Colorado player has even hit double figures in goals this season, and Rantanen has at least a 12-point edge over every one of his teammates. That's partly due to the injuries, of course, but it still illustrates how critical he's been to keeping the Avalanche competitive. The club has lost five straight games, but don't blame Rantanen, who's registered three goals and three assists during the skid.

1. Connor McDavid

We frequently say the MVP race isn't primarily about points, but when someone's lighting up the league the way McDavid is, anything but the top spot would just be wrong.

McDavid must've seen Robertson's 18-game point streak and said, "Hold my beverage." The Edmonton Oilers captain put together a 17-game run from late November to late December in which he amassed 16 goals and 21 assists for more than two points per contest. He leads the league in goals and assists, and he has a simply bonkers 15-point cushion in the Art Ross Trophy race.

Another development in McDavid's favor is his improved underlying numbers. The otherworldly superstar's analytic figures were favorable but not spectacular in our last edition on Dec. 9. But he's raised both his five-on-five xGF% and SCF% since then, which means his club is controlling an even larger share of the expected goals and scoring chances than it was before.

The Oilers occupy fifth place in Pacific Division by points percentage, but they're in the postseason hunt as they have been for most of the campaign. McDavid typically deserves serious consideration if Edmonton is anywhere near the playoff picture, and that's no different this time around - especially considering how much more valuable he's been than any other NHLer in 2022-23.

(Analytics sources: Natural Stat Trick, Evolving Hockey)

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The NHL is incorporating Twitter activity into All-Star voting this season.

Fans will choose a dozen of the 44 players that will suit up for the festivities in Sunrise, Florida, next month, and the league will factor tweets into the equation, NHL chief marketing officer Heidi Browning told ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

The league's hockey operations department has already chosen 32 All-Stars, who'll be revealed Thursday night. The NHL is opening the voting Wednesday for the remaining players - two skaters and a goaltender from each of the four divisions - for both the All-Star Game and the skills competition.

Twitter voting will be combined with the standard online selection procedure and incorporate tweets mentioning a player's name or handle while using the official All-Star hashtag, as well as retweets, replies, and quote tweets.

The 12 remaining players are likely to be unveiled Jan. 19, just over two weeks before the skills event on Feb. 3.

Last season, fans selected the four divisional team captains and the four "Last Men In."

Former enforcer John Scott got an All-Star nod and ultimately claimed MVP honors in 2016 after the "Marek vs. Wyshynski" podcast supported his candidacy with a tongue-in-cheek online campaign. The NHL changed the process following that saga to limit the fans' influence over voting.

The retired forward couldn't help but make reference to that incident Wednesday:

The NHL's first modern All-Star debacle came in 2007 when fans rallied behind journeyman defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick, who had no points in 18 games at the time. Fitzpatrick finished third among blue-liners with around 23,000 fewer votes than Nicklas Lidstrom and approximately 116,000 more than Chris Pronger. It likely happened because fans were encouraged to vote as many times as they liked that year.

The Florida Panthers will host the All-Star festivities for the first time since 2003. The NHL awarded the event to Sunrise in 2021 but later canceled it due to the COVID-19 pandemic and gave the 2022 edition to the Vegas Golden Knights.

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The Boston Bruins won the Winter Classic, but they may have suffered a significant blow in the process.

Jake DeBrusk has a broken fibula, reports Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.

Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said Wednesday that DeBrusk isn't traveling with the team on its three-game West Coast road trip, and the club will provide an update on his condition Thursday, according to The Boston Globe's Matt Porter.

The winger was the star of Boston's outdoor victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring two third-period goals in a 2-1 win at Fenway Park on Monday.

DeBrusk was on track for a career season with 16 goals and 14 assists over 36 games. Five of those tallies came in the last six contests. He'd missed only one game before the injury in 2022-23 and was on pace for 35 goals and 31 assists had he been able to play 80 games.

The 26-year-old was thriving on the Bruins' top line alongside Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.

DeBrusk collected 25 markers and 17 helpers across 77 tilts in 2021-22. He's in his sixth campaign with Boston. The Bruins nearly traded him in November 2021 and then again in March, but the forward rescinded his request to be dealt in July.

Boston drafted DeBrusk 14th overall in 2015.

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Many of the NHL's most watchable teams this season are the usual suspects from recent years, but there have been a few surprises. The New Jersey Devils are possession demons despite cooling off lately. The Vegas Golden Knights are proving the doubters wrong after some figured they'd take a step back due to goaltending concerns and a lack of depth.

However, several other squads will deserve more attention over the next 365 days than they've received so far in this campaign. These teams have risen recently and will only become more compelling in 2023.

Here are three clubs worth watching in the latter portion of this campaign and into the next one.

Buffalo Sabres

The notions of the Sabres boasting the NHL's best offense and Tage Thompson being an MVP candidate and a Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy contender this season would've been far-fetched if predicted over the summer. But that's what's transpiring as we near the campaign's halfway point. In an unlikely twist, Buffalo has suddenly become one of the league's most entertaining teams and is riding a six-game win streak to boot.

The Sabres are still flawed, though. While Rasmus Dahlin has become an elite No. 1 blue-liner, the rest of the team's defense is a work in progress. Buffalo ranks in the bottom half of the NHL in expected goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five and goals against per game in all situations. The club is in a similar spot in expected goals for percentage. None of that bodes particularly well defensively.

However, this team has taken a big step forward and should improve in the new calendar year. Owen Power is in the Calder Trophy conversation thanks to his heavy workload, and he's part of an influx of youth that includes Dylan Cozens, Jack Quinn, and J.J. Peterka. Buffalo's youngsters have impressed and should continue to develop fairly steadily. The Sabres' more established players, like Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch, are also firing on all cylinders, ensuring this squad will be one to keep an eye on in the present and future.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings don't get a ton of love, perhaps because they play in the NHL's worst division. But they'll be a club to watch in the coming year and beyond. Los Angeles has successfully injected youth into the mix to complement its aging core, and it's become one of the most sneakily fun teams to watch in the process.

Arthur Kaliyev, Gabriel Vilardi, Sean Durzi, and 2020 second overall pick Quinton Byfield should keep making progress in 2023. Offseason acquisition Kevin Fiala and summer 2021 additions Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault have been great fits.

The Kings need better goaltending, but their success in controlling play has mitigated that weakness to a degree. Los Angeles boasts strong underlying numbers, which suggest the team is likely to improve once its younger players get even more comfortable at the NHL level.

Whether this squad can go deep in the postseason remains to be seen. But after taking the eventual Western Conference finalist Edmonton Oilers to seven games in the first round last spring, L.A. is primed to build on that impressive showing. The Kings are already one of the Pacific's best clubs, and the future looks bright in Hollywood.

Seattle Kraken

Aside from the Devils, the Kraken have been the most pleasant surprise in the league in 2022-23. Seattle was supposed to be playing the long game before becoming competitive, but the NHL's newest franchise might be ready sooner than later.

The Kraken have regressed a bit after an unexpectedly strong start to the campaign. However, they remain a possession-driving club with surprising postseason aspirations. While they're still not playing anywhere near the level the Golden Knights did upon their arrival, the low expectations set by management might be benefiting the club on the ice.

The Kraken also have issues in goal, but they've been decent defensively. Seattle ranks in the top half of the league in expected goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five in 2022-23. The Kraken also sit near the middle of the pack in goals against per game this season despite both of their goaltenders authoring sub-.900 save percentages.

From an offensive standpoint, Jared McCann is on a 40-goal pace, and Matty Beniers is the leading candidate for the Calder Trophy. Seattle has a skilled supporting cast that includes Andre Burakovsky, Jordan Eberle, Jaden Schwartz, Alexander Wennberg, and Oliver Bjorkstrand. The Kraken are still far from being Stanley Cup hopefuls, but they're accelerating their development and should be compelling in 2023.

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The injury riddled Colorado Avalanche are getting their best forward back.

Colorado activated Nathan MacKinnon off injured reserve, the club announced Saturday. The two-time Hart Trophy runner-up missed 11 games with what the team called an upper-body ailment. He was hurt during a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 5.

MacKinnon was off to a strong start before getting hurt, posting eight goals and 26 assists in 23 games. The Avalanche went 6-3-2 in the 27-year-old superstar's absence.

Colorado is playing without captain Gabriel Landeskog, key winger Valeri Nichushkin, defensemen Josh Manson and Bo Byram, backup goaltender Pavel Francouz, and veteran forward Darren Helm due to injuries.

The Avalanche host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night before playing a home game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.

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New York Rangers forward Alexis Lafreniere will be a healthy scratch Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Blueshirts head coach Gerard Gallant said, according to USA Today's Vincent Z. Mercogliano.

Gallant dropped Lafreniere to the fourth line for Tuesday's game against the Washington Capitals, which New York lost 4-0.

"I want him to be better," Gallant previously said when asked to explain the demotion. "He's got some chances to play with good people, and he's played well at times, but it's the inconsistency."

Lafreniere struggled Tuesday night, registering only one shot on goal and committing a pair of giveaways in only 13:14 of ice time. He's notched four assists in his last seven games but managed only four shots on goal in that span with none in three of those contests.

The 21-year-old forward has collected only five goals and 12 assists across 36 contests this season. He's in his third campaign with the Rangers, who drafted him first overall in 2020.

Many experts viewed Lafreniere as a generational talent when he was a prospect. He's shown flashes of his potential at the NHL level but hasn't had sustained success. The former QMJHL superstar has produced 36 goals and 33 assists in 171 career NHL games after hitting triple digits in points for the Rimouski Oceanic in consecutive campaigns.

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Just call him "Officer Sid."

Sidney Crosby's home country gave him one of its highest honors Thursday, elevating the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar to the Order of Canada.

Governor General Mary Simon named Crosby one of 32 new officers and 99 new appointments to the Order "for being one of the greatest hockey players of all time and for supporting community service initiatives for youth."

Crosby has long been one of the NHL's brightest stars. The future Hall of Famer has a lengthy resume of accomplishments, including many on the international stage. Most memorably, he scored the "Golden Goal" in 2010, helping Canada defeat the United States in overtime to win that Olympic tournament.

The 35-year-old also helped the Canadian squad win the World Cup of Hockey in 2016 and served as captain for the 2014 Olympic team that repeated as champions. He became a member of hockey's "Triple Gold Club" (Olympic, World Championship, and Stanley Cup titles) when he led Canada to victory at the worlds one year later. He also became the only player to captain all three gold-winning teams.

Crosby also won gold with Canada's national junior team in 2005. On the NHL stage, he's won the Cup three times, including back-to-back championships in 2016 and 2017. The Nova Scotia-born center has also won the Hart, Conn Smythe, "Rocket" Richard, and Art Ross trophies twice, and his peers voted him the Ted Lindsay Award winner as MVP in their opinion three times.

He's done a considerable amount of charitable work throughout his career. Crosby donated 100,000 meals through the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank in 2020 and partnered with CCM to donate 87 sets of hockey equipment to under-represented Nova Scotia communities in 2019.

The Sidney Crosby Foundation's goal is "proudly supporting charities that improve the lives of disadvantaged children."

The Penguins drafted Crosby first overall in 2005.

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The NHL sent the Toronto Maple Leafs a pair of bills Wednesday.

Toronto was fined $100,000 for violating a rule prohibiting team activities over the holiday break, the league announced. Additionally, head coach Sheldon Keefe has been docked $25,000 for "demeaning conduct directed at the officials" during Tuesday night's win over the St. Louis Blues.

Article 16.5(b) of the NHL's CBA states Dec. 24, 25, and 26 are to be off days "for all purposes, including travel."

The Leafs were supposed to fly to St. Louis just after midnight ET on Tuesday, but they departed shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Monday, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

The team's rationale was because St. Louis is at least a 90-minute flight, it'd be preferable to leave at night and arrive then as players are used to, as opposed to departing at 5 a.m., Friedman adds.

Keefe's frustrations boiled over early in the third period of the Leafs' 5-4 overtime win Tuesday. He initially appeared to be upset about a potential goaltender interference violation on the Blues' tying goal, but he was in fact incensed about a pick on Leafs defenseman Jordie Benn earlier in the play.

The Toronto bench boss also lost his cool when Brandon Saad of the Blues high-sticked Zach Aston-Reese late in the third period.

The Leafs are heading to Arizona to clash with the Coyotes on Thursday. They'll then fly to Denver to face the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday before coming home to host the Blues on Jan. 3.

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Bruce Boudreau wouldn't call it "swagger," but the Vancouver Canucks head coach can see his players gaining more confidence in their abilities after a disappointing start to the season.

"I don't like that word, but I think the team is starting to believe in themselves, and I think that's important," Boudreau told reporters Tuesday night after his club defeated the San Jose Sharks 6-2 for Vancouver's third straight win.

The Canucks have inched their way back into the playoff hunt with seven victories in their last 10 contests. Vancouver occupies sixth place in the Pacific Division but now sits five points behind the fourth-place Edmonton Oilers with two games in hand.

Bo Horvat produced his second straight four-point game Tuesday, having notched two goals and two assists both times. The Canucks captain has been spectacular amid swirling trade talk this season. He's tied for second in the NHL in goals with 26 in 34 contests, burying nine in his last 10. The pending unrestricted free agent is only five tallies behind league leader Connor McDavid.

The Canucks rank 25th in expected goals for percentage at five-on-five this season but 20th over the last 10 games, according to Natural Stat Trick. Vancouver heads to Winnipeg to face the Jets on Thursday before meeting the Flames in Calgary on Saturday.

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