Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Michael Hutchinson continues to search for answers after a 6-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday brought his record to 0-5-1 this season.

"You think in 10 years you've gone through everything, and then hockey throws something new at you," Hutchinson said postgame, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton.

With the loss, Hutchinson sees his save percentage move to an abysmal .876 on the season. The Ontario native has conceded 28 goals over six starts, allowing at least four in each one.

Hutchinson has spent much of the season bouncing between the Maple Leafs and the AHL's Toronto Marlies. He admits it's been difficult to find his game while alternating between the two levels.

"I felt OK. There’s an adjustment going both ways when you’re going from the NHL down to the American League there’s an adjustment and there’s an adjustment coming up.

"For myself, it wasn’t the cleanest game - I was battling hard trying to find pucks - that’s one of those things where the more you play, you feel more comfortable. I was just trying to battle through and get my body on pucks, as many pucks as I could. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win."

The Leafs will turn to starter Frederik Andersen on Saturday as they host the Sabres for the second half of the home-and-home set.

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Mikko Rantanen has been given the green light.

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar confirmed Thursday that his blue-chip winger will be in the lineup against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday after missing what will be 16 games with a lower-body injury, according to The Athletic's Ryan Clark.

The Avs be without Rantanen for their game Friday before he returns for the second half of the home-and-home set.

Rantanen tallied five goals and 12 points in nine games before the injury. He was held pointless just once.

After jumping out to a 7-1-1 record to begin the year, the Avalanche have gone 7-7-1 with Rantanen out of the lineup.

The 6-foot-4 Finn notched a career-best 87 points last season and ranks 12th in the league with 1.12 points per game since the start of 2017-18.

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The Ottawa Senators placed goaltender Craig Anderson on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, head coach D.J. Smith said Thursday, according to The Athletic's Hailey Salvian.

Anders Nilsson is expected to tend the twine on Friday as the team begins a five-game road trip against the Minnesota Wild. Marcus Hogberg, who was recalled on Wednesday, will serve as the backup.

Anderson will join the team on the trip and will be eligible to return from IR against the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 4.

The veteran puck-stopper has collected four wins in 14 starts this season with a 2.96 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

Nilsson, 29, has split time with Anderson throughout the season and boasts a career-best .927 save percentage through 13 starts heading into Friday's action.

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Akim Aliu has accepted an invitation to meet with the NHL regarding his accusations stating that Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters directed racial slurs towards him while with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs 10 years ago.

Aliu released a statement Thursday claiming that Peters' apology from Wednesday was 'misleading, insincere, and concerning.'

Peters said he apologized at the time for directing the offensive language towards Aliu, but the latter gave a different account. Aliu claims Peters called him into his office and did not apologize, but rather continued to hurl racial slurs towards him.

More to come.

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The Vegas Golden Knights have placed forward Valentin Zykov on waivers, head coach Gerard Gallant confirmed Wednesday, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Ben Gotz.

Zykov was suspended for 20 games on Oct. 17 for violating the NHL/NHLPA performance-enhancing substances program. The ban is set to end after Vegas' contest Wednesday. The 24-year-old would've been eligible to play Friday.

Following the announcement of Zykov's suspension, the Golden Knights said the 24-year-old forward "knowingly used a banned substance without the consent, recommendation, or knowledge" of the team.

Zykov collected two assists in seven games before the ban.

The Russian winger was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round of the 2013 NHL Draft. In 47 pro contests, he's tallied six goals and 15 points.

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Rod Brind'Amour corroborated allegations that Calgary Flames bench boss Bill Peters physically abused his players while head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes from 2014-2018.

"You know with Bill, it for sure happened, the two issues that are in question," Brind'Amour, the Hurricanes' current head coach, said Tuesday regarding the allegations. Brind'Amour was an assistant coach on Peters' staff during that time.

Former Hurricanes defenseman Michal Jordan tweeted Tuesday that Peters kicked him and punched other players on the bench, and the coach later acted like nothing happened.

"He kicked me pretty hard in the back during a game," Jordan told TSN's Frank Seravalli. "Even the trainers and the other guys saw it."

Jordan insists there were multiple altercations between Peters and his players.

Carolina's leadership group and other staff members made the incidents known to then-general manager Ron Francis, according to ABC11's Mark Armstrong. Despite that, no changes were made, and Francis' decision to keep Peters as head coach tarnished close relationships spanning decades, The Athletic's Sara Civian adds.

Francis was hired as the general manager of the NHL's expansion Seattle club this past summer.

Flames general manager Brad Treliving said Tuesday that the team launched an investigation into allegations of Peters using a racial slur toward former NHLer Akim Aliu while the two were with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs 10 years ago.

Two former teammates of Aliu have since corroborated his account.

Peters will not be behind the bench when the Flames take on the Buffalo Sabres Wednesday night. Instead, assistant coach Geoff Ward will assume coaching duties.

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Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is out indefinitely with a concussion, the team announced Wednesday.

The 19-year-old phenom suffered the injury after taking an elbow to the head from Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak on Monday. Cernak was given a two-game suspension for the hit.

Dahlin had been off to a strong start in his sophomore campaign. He's tallied 16 points in 24 games and ranks second on the club with 15 assists.

As a rookie in 2018-19, Dahlin became just the third 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history to record 40 points in a season and finished third in Calder Trophy voting.

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Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving said Tuesday that there is an ongoing investigation into the alleged use of a racial slur by head coach Bill Peters.

Former NHLer Akim Aliu tweeted Monday that Peters directed the N-word toward him 10 years ago while with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs. Two of Aliu's former teammates who were in the room, Simon Pepin and Peter MacArthur, corroborated his account on Tuesday.

"Throughout the evening last night and into this morning, we were starting an investigation into the incident," Treliving told reporters.

He added: "The purpose of me coming in today is we have not completed that. We are trying to be as transparent as possible and to update you."

Treliving also made it clear that the organization is handling the situation with the utmost care.

"Allegations of this nature we take very, very seriously," Treliving said. "This is a subject matter that has no place in our organization and, so, the magnitude and the serious nature that we take to these allegations is very high."

The GM added that Peters remains the head coach and a decision regarding his future has not yet been made.

"Jeff Ward is running our practice today," he said. "Bill will remain at the hotel. Bill has not been relieved of his duties."

"We hope to have this completed quickly, but it's got to be thorough," he added. "It's got to be thorough and it's got to be done correctly."

Peters was hired by the Flames ahead of the 2018-19 season.

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Detroit Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha will be sidelined for a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury, the team announced Tuesday.

Mantha suffered the injury during the first period of Sunday's contest against the New Jersey Devils and did not return to the game.

More to come.

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Former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock used a humiliating motivational tactic with Mitch Marner during the forward's rookie campaign in 2016-17.

The tactic involved Babcock asking a rookie to list his teammates based on their work ethic during the club's annual fathers' road trip - which occurred in January 2017 of that season - as first reported by the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan. The Athletic's Ian Tulloch later reported that the rookie was Marner.

Once Marner complied, Babcock revealed the list to the players who'd been listed at the bottom, according to Koshan.

Marner addressed the incident Monday and said he's thankful for how his teammates handled what could've been an ugly situation.

"It was just surprising," the 6-foot winger said, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton. "I was lucky enough that the guys that were there with me, none of them took it to heart and they knew it wasn't up to me.

"It was huge for a first-year guy," Marner said about his teammates' support following the incident. "When I heard about (what Babcock did), I didn't really know what to think. But I was lucky enough to have that first-year group with me and our team was very tight and very well-knit together. That was a lucky situation."

Babcock - who was fired by the club last week in his fifth campaign behind the bench - expressed his regret about the decision but said he had nothing but good intentions for his young player.

"I was trying to focus on work ethic with Mitch - focusing on role models - it ended up not being a good idea. I apologized at the time," Babcock said.

Marner, who remains sidelined with an ankle injury he suffered Nov. 9, has recorded four goals and 18 points this season.

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