The Buffalo Sabres traded netminder Jonas Johansson to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 2021 sixth-round pick, the team announced Saturday.

Johansson, 25, has yet to record a win this season and owns an .884 save percentage and a 3.79 goals-against average over seven appearances.

The Avalanche's goaltending depth chart has been depleted this campaign, with backup Pavel Francouz on the long-term injured reserve. Hunter Miska, who was demoted to the AHL on Friday, has posted an .838 save percentage over five starts.

Philipp Grubauer has earned 17 of Colorado's 18 wins this season, and he leads all netminders in minutes played (1420:06) entering Saturday's action.

The Sabres, meanwhile, have lost 13 straight contests and sit last in the league.

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It appears Evgeni Malkin will miss more time than originally expected.

The Pittsburgh Penguins star was ruled out for the club's next three games Thursday, but he's now considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed Friday.

Malkin, 34, took a heavy hit from Boston Bruins defenseman Jarred Tinordi during Tuesday's contest. He returned for one shift after the collision before exiting the game.

The 6-foot-3 sniper had been heating up following a slow start to the season. He recorded four goals and eight assists over an eight-game point streak entering Tuesday's tilt with the Bruins.

The Penguins enter Friday's action sitting fourth in the East Division based on points percentage.

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Less than one week after collecting his first NHL win, Ottawa Senators netminder Joey Daccord is likely done for the season after suffering an injury during Wednesday's shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

The 24-year-old will be "out for a while" and "most likely the season," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion confirmed Friday, according to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch.

The 6-foot-3 puck-stopper made 19 saves against Vancouver before exiting in the third period. Rookie Filip Gustavsson made his NHL debut in relief and stopped all eight shots he faced in regulation and overtime.

Daccord inspired the hockey world with his emotional postgame interview Monday after collecting his first win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Both Marcus Hogberg, who remains on the injured reserve list, and starter Matt Murray skated Friday. Murray has been dealing with an upper-body injury and it's unclear who will start in goal for the Senators against the Calgary Flames on Monday.

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Pittsburgh Penguins forward Brandon Tanev was handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding Boston Bruins defenseman Jarred Tinordi on Tuesday.

The play occurred during the second period, and Tinordi was later ruled out for the game. Tanev, who scored earlier in the contest, was visibly upset with the call.

Tanev ranked fourth in the NHL in hits (123) entering Tuesday's outing. The 6-foot winger has never received supplemental discipline through 291 career games.

The Bruins claimed Tinordi off waivers from the Nashville Predators on Feb. 27. He's averaged 17:47 of ice time over seven games with Boston.

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Few pleasantries are exchanged in the Battle of Alberta, but Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter won't deny Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid his well-earned status as the world's top talent.

"Bottom line, he's head and shoulders the best player in the league," Sutter said Sunday, according to NHL.com's Tracey Myers. "I don't think there's one player who stops Connor McDavid. He's a tough guy to stop. You just try to slow him down within the rules, limit his chances."

McDavid, 24, is on pace to collect his third career Art Ross Trophy over just six seasons. He leads all players in points (52) and assists (35) while sitting second in goals (17) through 30 games.

The franchise pivot has enjoyed matching up against the Flames throughout his career. McDavid has tallied a career-best 20 goals against Calgary along with 32 points, including 10 in four outings this season.

However, Sutter says McDavid is impactful regardless of the opponent, and it takes a team effort to limit him.

"I don't think he's singled out the Calgary Flames as his main target," Sutter said. "I've watched him lots, I live 80 miles from Edmonton, so I've watched Edmonton as much as Calgary and Vancouver.

"Obviously, they have a great power play and he pretty much dominates that part of the game, too. It's on everybody to slow Connor McDavid down."

McDavid has amassed a remarkable 179 goals and 521 points over 381 games since the Oilers selected him first overall in 2015.

The Oilers and Flames begin a two-game set in Calgary on Monday.

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The Buffalo Sabres lost their 10th straight game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, and head coach Ralph Krueger admits the club's struggles have been almost unlike anything he's experienced.

"I've really enjoyed challenges as a leader, but this has been one of the toughest that I've seen," Krueger told reporters after the 3-0 loss.

"We feel like we have a group that's extremely engaged, and we come into a game day like today with a good spirit in the morning, and we set the game up, and somehow, we're just not able to push it over the line offensively."

The Sabres, who last lost 10 straight games in 2014-15, were shut out for the fifth time this season. Buffalo owns a league-worst 6-16-4 record and is very likely to miss the playoffs for the 10th straight campaign.

Despite the team's disappointing season, Krueger remains focused on finding ways to work through the difficult stretch.

"I'm doing fine. The pain you feel, obviously you hate to lose in this profession, so you need to manage that and work through it and work towards solutions when the next game comes at you quickly like it is this season."

The squad is also currently without captain Jack Eichel, who's out for the foreseeable future with an upper-body injury.

Buffalo will look for its first victory since Feb. 23 when it takes on the Washington Capitals on Monday.

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Toronto Maple Leafs blue-liner Jake Muzzin believes there are similar traits between his current club and the Los Angeles Kings team he won the Stanley Cup with in 2014.

"It definitely helps when you have great personalities in the room," Muzzin told reporters Saturday. "When it feels like a tight group and kind of like a family atmosphere in there, it's a lot more fun to be a part of. Everyone caring for each other, working for each other, and it helps on the ice when you're trying to set up your teams for success.

"Similar feelings in both rooms that I felt in L.A. and with this group here in Toronto, so it's been a lot of fun, and obviously winning games helps."

Muzzin played with the Kings from 2010-2019 and was an essential part of the club's 2014 Stanley Cup run with six goals and six assists through 26 games.

Toronto, which ranks fifth in points percentage (.714), added several veteran players this offseason, including 41-year-old Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds, and TJ Brodie. Muzzin credits some of the fresh faces for bringing the squad closer together and believes their added experience will prove invaluable down the stretch.

"With the guys and the characters that we brought in, it definitely helps," Muzzin said. "... We have some great personalities that want to spend time with all the guys and get guys together, and it brings everyone closer.

"... You want to eliminate the downs and don't get too high when things are going good, so I think we have guys in the room that understand that. They've been around, they've seen seasons and games where situations come and go."

The Leafs begin the second half of their season Saturday with the final tilt of a three-game set against the Winnipeg Jets.

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Columbus Blue Jackets sniper Patrik Laine isn't quite sure why he was stuck to the bench during the late stages of the club's 5-4 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

The 22-year-old logged just 2:20 of ice time in the third period and didn't play in the final seven minutes of regulation or overtime despite having what he believed to be a strong game.

"Yeah we got scored on a couple of times but I think the first two, if you take out the one play where the puck was bouncing a little bit and I couldn't get it out and they ended up scoring, I thought I was playing good, but I guess I thought wrong," Laine told reporters following the loss.

Laine, who said earlier Thursday his confidence was "closer to zero" amid a seven-game point slump, tallied one goal and one assist to help Columbus open a 4-1 lead after two periods. However, his line was out for a pair of Panthers' third-period tallies, which could have led to his benching.

Head coach John Tortorella didn't offer much when asked about his decision to shorten the bench as the game progressed.

"At that point in time that's just the way it worked out," Tortorella said.

The Blue Jackets acquired Laine from the Winnipeg Jets in January. The Finnish forward was benched in just his fourth game with the club in February for reportedly verbally disrespecting a member of the coaching staff.

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Vegas Golden Knights netminder Marc-Andre Fleury was added to the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list Thursday, according to Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press.

The 36-year-old was in goal Wednesday for the Golden Knights' 4-3 loss against the Minnesota Wild.

Fleury is arguably the favorite for the Vezina Trophy this season. He leads all netminders (minimum five starts) in save percentage (.938) and goals-against average (1.73) through 17 appearances.

Puck-stopper Robin Lehner has been sidelined with an upper-body injury since Feb. 8, and was sent to the AHL on a conditioning loan Wednesday.

The Golden Knights had multiple players and members of their coaching staff added to the COVID-19 protocol list at the end of January.

Vegas hits the road for a two-game set with the St. Louis Blues on Friday and Saturday. Netminder Oscar Dansk will likely take over starting duties until Lehner or Fleury are available.

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The Calgary Flames fired head coach Geoff Ward and hired former Flames bench boss Darryl Sutter as his replacement, the team announced following Thursday's 7-3 win over the Ottawa Senators.

Calgary replaced former bench boss Bill Peters with Ward in November 2019 on an interim basis. He led the club to a 24-15-3 record last season before being made permanent head coach in September.

The Flames struggled to carry over that momentum to this season, however and have won three of their last nine games while ranking 23rd overall with 2.71 goals for per game.

Sutter served as Flames head coach from 2002-2006 and led the club to the Stanley Cup Final in 2004. He last coached in the NHL with Los Angeles in 2016-17 and won a pair of Cups with the Kings.

Ward is the second head coach to be fired this season. The Montreal Canadiens dismissed Claude Julien on Feb. 24.

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