It appears the NHL disagrees with Nathan MacKinnon.

The league won't impose supplemental discipline on Minnesota Wild forward Brandon Duhaime for his cross-check on Colorado Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram during Saturday night's contest, reports The Athletic's Michael Russo.

Duhaime got a major penalty for cross-checking and a 10-minute game misconduct after hitting Byram into the boards from behind early in the third period of the Avalanche's 4-1 win. MacKinnon immediately challenged Duhaime to a brief fight, earning the two combatants matching minors for roughing.

Byram stayed in the contest, playing seven more shifts before the final buzzer.

After the game, MacKinnon called Duhaime's hit "very dirty" and said the league should suspend the Wild rookie.

The Avalanche and Wild won't play again until Jan. 17.

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Kyle Beach took NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to task Saturday for how the league and the Chicago Blackhawks dealt with his sexual assault allegations.

Bettman and Beach held a 20-minute video call during which the latter repeatedly questioned Bettman about the NHL's and Blackhawks' actions, the player's lawyer told TSN's Rick Westhead.

At the beginning of the call, the commissioner apologized on behalf of the league for the abuse Beach endured at the hands of Chicago's former video coach Brad Aldrich.

Beach then asked Bettman why the NHL let the team launch the independent investigation into Beach's allegations. The commissioner said the league felt it was appropriate to allow the Blackhawks to hire an investigator and then have the NHL evaluate the findings.

The 31-year-old also asked Bettman why the league wouldn't pledge to disclose the full Jenner & Block report, which the law firm ultimately revealed Tuesday. The commissioner said NHL officials weren't certain if anything in the probe would be detrimental to Beach and felt they shouldn't release the report before seeing it.

Additionally, Bettman claimed the league didn't know Beach was the John Doe cited in the report until the player came forward in Wednesday's interview with Westhead. Beach wondered why NHL executives wouldn't know his identity considering court documents previously implied he was a "Black Ace" currently playing in Germany.

Bettman did promise Saturday that the league would offer Beach and his family counseling for as long as required.

NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr and his lawyer, Roman Stoykewych, also reportedly spoke to Beach on Saturday. The probe found Fehr received information twice about allegations surrounding Aldrich, including from a Beach confidant. The union's stance was the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program relies on confidentiality, but Beach's lawyer countered that the simple solution would've been to ask for the player's consent to share what he was willing to divulge.

The NHLPA scheduled an executive board call for each franchise's player representatives Monday, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

The Jenner & Block investigation found that numerous members of the Blackhawks management group - including then-team president John McDonough, general manager Stan Bowman, head coach Joel Quenneville, and assistant GM Kevin Cheveldayoff - met on May 23, 2010. During the meeting, the team brass discussed Beach's allegations that Aldrich behaved in a sexually inappropriate manner toward him.

The report found team executives took no action until reporting it to human resources on June 14, several days after Chicago won the Stanley Cup. Aldrich made an unwanted sexual advance on a Blackhawks intern on June 9, the former employee told investigators.

Bowman and Quenneville resigned from their respective positions as Chicago's GM and Florida Panthers bench boss this week. Blackhawks hockey operations executive Al MacIsaac and executive vice president Jay Blunk also departed the organization following the report's release.

The league chose not to discipline Cheveldayoff, asserting the now-Winnipeg Jets GM wasn't part of the organization's senior leadership team at the time. Chicago fired McDonough in April 2020.

Beach was one of two former Blackhawks players to file a lawsuit alleging Aldrich sexually assaulted them, which led to the independent investigation. The other player remains unidentified.

A former Michigan high school hockey player also sued the franchise over a subsequent incident that occurred after Chicago quietly dismissed Aldrich, who was eventually convicted and sentenced to nine months in prison and five years of probation for that 2013 incident.

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Sidney Crosby will be back in the Pittsburgh Penguins' lineup Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils.

The star center missed the Penguins' first seven games of 2021-22 after undergoing wrist surgery in the offseason.

Crosby was on a minimum six-week return timeline after having the procedure performed Sept. 8. That would've put the 34-year-old on track to return last Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the Penguins exercised some extra caution with their captain.

Pittsburgh went 3-2-2 without Crosby while also missing Evgeni Malkin due to offseason knee surgery. Jeff Carter will play Saturday after sitting out the last three games in COVID-19 protocol, according to Penguins team reporter Michelle Crechiolo.

The Penguins have been severely shorthanded to begin the campaign, as their No. 1 defenseman, Kris Letang, remains out after missing the last three contests while in the protocol as well.

Crosby ranked 10th in the NHL with 62 points over 55 games last season.

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Stan Bowman stepped down as Chicago Blackhawks general manager, team CEO Danny Wirtz revealed Tuesday.

Bowman vacated his role following the conclusion of an independent investigation into former video coach Brad Aldrich's alleged sexual assault of a Blackhawks player in 2010.

Former assistant U.S. attorney Reid J. Schar of Jenner & Block produced the probe's findings Tuesday. The inquiry determined that the player had a sexual encounter with Aldrich in May 2010, though both people involved disagreed about whether it was consensual.

The Blackhawks named Kyle Davidson interim GM. He was previously their assistant general manager of hockey administration.

Bowman had worked with the Blackhawks since 2001, joining them that year as special assistant to GM Mike Smith. Chicago promoted Bowman to director of hockey operations and then to assistant GM before naming him GM in July 2009.

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The St. Louis Blues placed captain Ryan O'Reilly and forward Brandon Saad on the club's non-roster COVID-19 protocols list Tuesday.

O'Reilly will miss at least 10 days, while Saad won't likely be out that long, Blues head coach Craig Berube said, according to Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch.

St. Louis recalled center Dakota Joshua from its AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, in a corresponding move.

O'Reilly has produced two goals and three assists over five games this season. The 30-year-old leads all Blues forwards in average ice time with 19:13.

Saad, who'll turn 29 on Wednesday, has collected a goal and an assist in three contests this campaign. The Blues signed him to a five-year contract as a free agent in July.

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Vladimir Tarasenko said he was truly touched to hear St. Louis Blues supporters chanting his name after he starred in a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.

"That was a special moment," the Blues winger told reporters postgame. "It was very emotional."

Tarasenko smiled and waved to the crowd as fans chanted "Vladi, Vladi" after he emerged from the tunnel upon being named first star of the game.

Tarasenko dazzled in the contest, producing a highlight-reel goal to open the scoring early in the third period before adding another late in the frame.

The Russian forward hasn't changed his mind after requesting a trade over the summer, reports The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford. However, Tarasenko is still appreciative of the Blues' faithful.

"We always have support from the real fans," he said Monday night. "Our family got so much help from (the) people (of) St. Louis. The support through (these) 10 years was very awesome."

Tarasenko spent all nine of his previous NHL seasons with the Blues. Shoulder injuries requiring multiple surgeries derailed his last two years before this campaign.

The 29-year-old, who'll turn 30 in December, has collected three goals and three assists over the first five games. St. Louis improved to 5-0-0 with Monday's victory, clinching its best start over the first handful of contests in franchise history.

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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang tested positive for COVID-19 and remains in protocol, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said Monday, according to team reporter Michelle Crechiolo.

The Penguins placed Letang on the COVID-19 list Saturday after he returned a positive result. That result has since been confirmed and caused him to miss Pittsburgh's 7-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry started Saturday's contest after producing a false positive test last week.

Pittsburgh improved to 3-0-2 with the victory despite missing Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Bryan Rust because of injuries and Letang and Jeff Carter due to COVID-19 protocol.

Letang, 34, recorded four assists while averaging 26:08 of ice time over the Penguins' first four games of the season.

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Patrick Kane is among a trio of Chicago Blackhawks players missing Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings while in COVID-19 protocol.

Kane didn't take part in the pregame warmup and was ultimately ruled out.

The Blackhawks placed the superstar winger in the protocol Saturday along with forward Ryan Carpenter and defenseman Erik Gustafsson, who were both removed from the list Sunday morning.

However, forward Jujhar Khaira and blue-liner Riley Stillman, as well as assistant coach Marc Crawford, landed in protocol Sunday evening and aren't available against the Red Wings.

Kane has gotten off to a strong start offensively this season, producing a goal and four assists over his first five games.

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The Seattle Kraken finally played in front of their home fans at Climate Pledge Arena for the first time in franchise history, and the crowd didn't disappoint.

Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke fired up the expansion team's supporters during the pregame festivities. The executive also revealed the club is retiring No. 32 to represent the NHL's 32nd current team and thank the 32,000 fans who made season-ticket deposits on the first day they were available.

In case there were any remaining doubts about Seattle being an NHL market, Kraken fans put that to rest by doing what all of the league's most vocal fanbases do best.

The high energy continued when the Kraken took the ice at home for the first time.

Here's how the opening faceoff looked and sounded.

The Kraken faithful went wild when Seattle defenseman Vince Dunn netted the team's first-ever goal in a home game.

The Kraken opened their inaugural campaign on a five-game road trip. They went 1-3-1 in those contests, earning their first-ever win by defeating the Nashville Predators 4-3 on Oct. 14.

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New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is vaccinated against COVID-19 and will be eligible to play by the time the team takes its first road trip to Canada, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Blackwood, who was one of the last remaining unvaccinated NHLers, will reportedly be cleared by Dec. 3, when the Devils are scheduled to play an away game versus the Winnipeg Jets.

The netminder, who'll turn 25 six days later, admitted in September he wasn't vaccinated, citing health reasons. He said he was undecided about getting the shot and wanted to take his time determining whether to do so.

The NHL's COVID-19 protocols allow teams to suspend unvaccinated players if they're unable to participate in club activities. The Devils didn't suspend Blackwood but he hasn't played yet this season.

The Canadian goalie, who's reportedly on Team Canada's long list for the 2022 Olympic Games, said in early October he was leaning toward getting the vaccine.

Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi is the NHL's lone remaining unvaccinated player, according to Friedman.

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