The lone game on Monday's slate provided some pop.

The Dallas Stars came out hot against the Minnesota Wild and kept the offensive onslaught coming for a 7-4 victory.

Jamie Benn, Denis Gurianov, Jason Robertson, and Miro Heiskanen all tallied a pair of points as the Stars handed their Central Division rivals a fourth straight loss.

Joe Pavelski built on his four-point night against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, opening the scoring less than two minutes in. Defenseman Esa Lindell made it 2-0 by striking shorthanded for his first goal of the season.

Minnesota was able to claw back, with Ryan Hartman and Kevin Fiala each scoring to tie it up, but Tyler Seguin fired off a wrister late in the opening frame to regain the lead.

The Stars punished the Wild for a couple of turnovers in the final period, with Jacob Peterson and Miro Heiskanen scoring one minute apart to seemingly deliver the dagger into Minnesota's comeback hopes.

The Wild pulled Talbot with 9:20 left in the contest and Fiala scored his second to bring them to within two goals, but they would get no closer as Benn scored on the empty net with a minute-and-a-half left.

Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek left midway through the second period after taking a hit from Stars blue-liner Jani Hakanpaa in the corner. Eriksson Ek was unable to return to the contest with an upper-body injury.

Talbot made 22 saves on 28 shots, while Jake Oettinger fared a bit better for the Stars, making 19 stops on 23 shots against.

The Wild fell to 19-9-2 on the season, while the Stars improved to 15-12-2.

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With a 6-0-0 record since moving on from head coach Travis Green and general manager Jim Benning, life under the Vancouver Canucks' new regime has been pretty good.

Before the management change, the Canucks toiled in the Pacific Division's basement with an 8-15-2 record.

For captain Bo Horvat, better communication between the players, new head coach Bruce Boudreau, and new president of hockey operations and interim general manager Jim Rutherford is at the heart of his team's massive improvement.

"They listen to what we have to say and are willing to change things or do things to help us not only off the ice but on the ice as well," Horvat said to the media Monday, per Sportsnet. "I think that's a good thing to have, communication between everybody and not have any disconnect."

The Canucks owned a dreadful minus-20 goal differential prior to the organizational changes. In the six games since the shakeup, Vancouver has outscored its opponents 19-10. The team has also tightened up defensively, allowing just 1.67 goals per game during that span.

The Canucks' special teams have also come alive. They've bid farewell to their horrific 64.6% success rate on the penalty kill, and it's been operating at an 83.3% clip since Dec. 6.

"(Boudreau and Rutherford) have been great ever since they stepped in. I think the biggest thing is they've been really willing to do whatever it takes to help us win hockey games," Horvat said. "They know what it takes to win. ... Obviously, things have been going really well so far, and we gotta keep that going."

Vancouver is expected to defend its unbeaten record under Boudreau on Dec. 27 against the Seattle Kraken.

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The NHL and NHLPA agreed to pause the 2021-22 season from Dec. 22 to Dec. 25, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reports.

Teams must suspend all operations and will not practice or be tested during those days. Facilities will be reopened Dec. 26 at 2 p.m. local time.

Tuesday's games between the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers and the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights will go on as scheduled, pending test results.

There were already no games scheduled for Dec. 26. A hefty 14-game slate is currently on the docket for Dec. 27.

The pause is the NHL's latest attempt at halting the spread of COVID-19 across the league.

With the postponement of Tuesday's contest between the Seattle Kraken and Arizona Coyotes, 44 games have been put off so far this season, according to Seravalli. Thirty-nine have come in the past seven days.

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The Jack Eichel sweepstakes are far behind us now, with the Vegas Golden Knights being the eventual victor of the months-long saga. Trade rumors swirled for weeks up until the center was sent to Sin City in early November, and among the teams reportedly interested were the Anaheim Ducks.

However, it doesn't appear the Sabres and Ducks were close to a deal, as Buffalo wanted a massive package for the 2015 second overall pick, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

"I heard what the Sabres asked Anaheim for was (Trevor) Zegras, (Jamie) Drysdale, and two first-rounders. Anaheim wasn't willing to do that," Friedman said on Monday's edition of "32 Thoughts."

The Sabres ultimately pried forward Alex Tuch, prospect Peyton Krebs, a top-10-protected first-rounder in 2022, and a 2023 second-rounder away from the Golden Knights in exchange for Eichel.

Friedman also noted that he doesn't know if Anaheim's doctors were ever comfortable with allowing Eichel to undergo his preferred artificial disc replacement surgery to replace the herniated disc in his neck, but since the Ducks were in on Eichel early, their thoughts on the procedure could have changed over time.

Zegras, 20, has already made headlines in his young career thanks to his creativity in the offensive zone. The forward went viral earlier in December after pulling off a ridiculous lacrosse-style assist to teammate Sonny Milano. Zegras has 38 points in 54 games.

Drysdale was taken sixth overall by the Ducks in 2020. The 19-year-old blue-liner has the potential to be a top two-way defenseman. He's accrued 22 points in 56 career contests and has averaged the third-most ice time among all Ducks skaters this season.

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Buffalo Sabres goaltender Malcolm Subban isn't sure how he made that glove stop against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night, either.

Penguins forward Evan Rodrigues seemingly had the netminder dead-to-rights in the first period when Subban slid across the crease to make an incredible behind-the-back save, which the officials confirmed upon review.

"Honestly, I didn't even know it happened. I thought someone hit my glove or something," Subban said, according to NHL.com's Heather Engel.

He added: "I went to the bench and (goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen) asked if I got that with my glove. I was like, 'Oh, I don't know, maybe it hit the post and hit my glove. ...' Then I saw the replay, and it was a pretty lucky save."

When asked what his left hand was doing behind him on the sequence, the 27-year-old said, "I honestly don't know. I think it's a bad habit, but it turned out to be a good thing," per Wes Crosby of NHL.com.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan was also in awe of Subban's stop.

"We all thought it was in the net. It was an incredible save," he said, according to Penguins beat reporter Michelle Crechiolo. "(Rodrigues) was talking to himself on the bench, he thought it was in the net also."

Subban made 45 saves in Buffalo's 3-2 overtime loss to the Penguins. It was his second appearance as a Sabre this season.

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An emotional Friday for the Winnipeg Jets started with the resignation of longtime bench boss Paul Maurice and culminated in a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals.

But for Jets sniper Nikolaj Ehlers, saying goodbye to the only NHL head coach he's ever played for was particularly difficult.

"It was a weird morning," Ehlers told the media postgame. "(Maurice) was the guy who gave me the chance to play in the NHL. I'll be forever thankful for the seven years and all the things that I learned from him, and for the chance that he gave me.

"He's not just a great coach but also a great person."

Ehlers, who the Jets drafted ninth overall in 2014, had played under Maurice since making his NHL debut in 2015-16. Maurice announced his decision to step down Friday after coaching Winnipeg for 600 games since 2014.

However, Friday wasn't just emotional for the players.

"It's been a whirlwind," interim bench boss Dave Lowry said prior to coaching his first NHL game, according to Mitchell Clinton of NHL.com. "For myself, it came out of the blue. I first had a conversation last night with (general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff), that was the first I had any inkling that something was going on."

Although the team dropped its first game under Lowry, Ehlers said the Jets are looking forward to what's next.

"We've got a great coaching staff here that we want to build this together (with)," he said. "We gotta look forward now. I know that, with this team, we've got more in us than where we're at right now. Even though right now it's a little tough, it should be exciting for us as well."

Lowry said he wants the Jets to play fast and hard moving forward. However, Ehlers said following Friday's contest that there wasn't much time for Lowry to implement those changes due to the sudden resignation.

The Jets are currently in fifth place in the Central Division with a record of 13-11-5.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are trying out a new moniker in the locker room.

"We kinda joke, you know, 'we're the Tampa Bay Find-A-Ways,'" captain Steven Stamkos said after Thursday's 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. "We just find a way to win and find a way to get points. Just munch them away until we can get healthy. It's certainly been a great run."

The start of the 2021-22 season hasn't been smooth sailing for Stamkos' squad. Nikita Kucherov played just three regular-season games before being dealt another long-term injury; young phenom Brayden Point played in 16 contests before being sidelined by an upper-body ailment.

Despite all of that, the Lightning sit at the top of their division with a record of 19-6-4. Since Nov. 21, the first game the Lightning were without both Kucherov and Point, the team has gone 10-2-1.

Stamkos said the Bolts miss Kucherov and Point the most on the power play.

"We have guys that are capable of making plays, but we have to be realistic here. You're talking about probably the best power-play guy in the world in (Kucherov) and one of the best shooters from the hole ... in (Point)," he said. "No one's gonna replace those guys. It's gotta be by committee. It's gotta be guys willing to get out of their comfort zone a little bit."

The 31-year-old pointed to defenseman Victor Hedman as someone who has stepped up on the man advantage. The Swede scored the game-winner on the power play against the Senators on Thursday night.

The Lightning will take on the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.

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The Montreal Canadiens announced that their game between the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night will be played behind closed doors.

The announcement came just two hours before puck drop.

The Canadiens said they received a request from Quebec public health officials to host Thursday's contest without fans due to the rise of COVID-19 cases in the province. The organization will provide an update Friday on the status of Saturday's game against the Boston Bruins.

The organization is planning to return to partial capacity beginning in January.

"Playing tonight's game in a closed setting is obviously disappointing for our fans," the team wrote in a statement that was released during the game.

"We moved forward with the measure following a request from Public Health ... something we accepted in order to help ensure the safety and security of our fans and our communities."

The Bell Centre was granted to operate at full capacity before the start of the regular season.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors will prioritize season-ticket holders as they reduce capacity to comply with the Ontario government's new restrictions, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment announced Thursday.

All non-season tickets for games through mid-January will be refunded, and people will be notified of refund details in the coming days. People with Raptors season seats will be informed of ticket allocation details Thursday, while those with Leafs season seats will find out by Tuesday.

Each team's season-ticket holders will be divided into two groups and will receive tickets for alternating games, starting with the Raptors' matchup against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.

The Maple Leafs' next home game is Thursday against the St. Louis Blues.

MLSE said that ticket allocation for season seats will be determined randomly and that members will be contacted again in January with allocation details for upcoming games based on public health restrictions.

The move comes one day after the province announced that sports venues with capacity for 1,000 or more people would be limited to 50% capacity starting Saturday due to rising COVID-19 cases.

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The Chicago Blackhawks and Kyle Beach reached a settlement in Beach's negligence lawsuit against the club, according to TSN's Rick Westhead.

"The parties are pleased to announce that today's mediation resulted in a confidential settlement between the Blackhawks and Kyle Beach," per a joint statement released by Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz, team CEO Danny Wirtz, and Beach's lawyer, Susan Loggans. "The Blackhawks hope that this resolution will bring some measure of peace and closure for Mr. Beach.

"As for the Blackhawks organization, we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensure that, going forward, this team will be a beacon for professionalism, respect, and integrity in our community. We remain grateful for the trust and support of the Blackhawks community, and we promise to continue working every day to earn and maintain that trust."

Beach alleged that former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich sexually assaulted him in 2010 during Chicago's Stanley Cup Final run when Beach was a Black Ace for the team.

He said Blackhawks executives were told about the incident and didn't immediately act upon the information. An independent investigation, which concluded with a detailed report from law firm Jenner & Block in October, subsequently backed up Beach's account.

In the wake of the investigation, Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman stepped down and vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac was relieved of his duties. Additionally, Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville resigned. They all held positions with the Blackhawks in 2010.

Aldrich's name has since been crossed off the Stanley Cup.

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