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Report: Boedker expected to be in Coyotes lineup vs. Flyers

Mikkel Boedker remains a member of the Arizona Coyotes, which means he's prepping for a matinee.

The forward is expected to be in his team's lineup Saturday afternoon against the Philadelphia Flyers, reports TSN's Darren Dreger, "unless something materializes very quickly trade wise."

On an expiring contract that pays him $3.75 million, Boedker's expected to be moved ahead of Monday's trade deadline. He has 13 goals and 25 assists. The speculation may be getting to him, though, as he only has one goal and seven assists in 24 games in 2016.

Nevertheless, there's no doubt he can help a contender. He plays 18:40 a game and has four game-winning goals. In addition, 18 of his points have come on the power play.

The Coyotes are eight points back of the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. While Arizona has two games in hand, the club's lost four in a row, and the playoffs are looking more like fantasy than reality with 21 games to go.

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VIDEO: Rickard Rakell’s OT winner keeps Ducks flying

Now that's how you end a hockey game.

Anaheim Ducks center Rickard Rakell wove his way through the Edmonton Oilers' zone in overtime Friday, ending the game with some truly dazzling moves.

Rakell's 16th goal was his fifth game-winner of the season. The Ducks have won seven in a row to move within two points of division-leading Los Angeles.

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Penguins attempting to trade Sergei Plotnikov prior to deadline, agent says

Sergei Plotnikov just wants to play NHL hockey.

So says his agent, Mike Liut, who told Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his client - who's been a healthy scratch for 19 straight games - is hoping the Penguins can trade him prior to Monday's deadline.

"Sergei wants to play in the NHL, as evidenced by the amount of money he paid to be excused from the last year of his KHL contact," Liut stated Friday. "He understands that this will not happen in Pittsburgh and the Penguins have been attempting to trade Sergei, albeit a difficult task when a player is a healthy scratch for two months.

"If a trade is not available, he will have no choice but to return to Russia."

This comes on the same day Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said Plotnikov had fallen out of favor for suggesting he did indeed want to return to Russia.

The 25-year-old signed a one-year, $925,000 deal with the Penguins last summer that includes $2.85 million in potential performance bonuses.

He recorded two assists in 32 games before being benched.

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Yzerman says he’s ‘got work to do’ as he heads back to Tampa after alumni game

The Stadium Series alumni game came at a rather inconvenient time for Steve Yzerman.

"I didn't realize it was going to be on the (trade) deadline weekend," Yzerman said, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com.

And while the Tampa Bay Lightning general manager, who scored for the Detroit Red Wings in the outdoor affair against the Colorado Avalanche, enjoyed the experience, he now faces a busy couple of days.

"All of the player scouting is pretty much done," Yzerman said. "We're going to meet as a group with all of our staff and reorganize for the weekend. Got work to do."

At or near the top of his to-do list is dealing with Jonathan Drouin, who has publicly asked to be traded. Yzerman said earlier in the week he'd like to do something "sooner than later," but reiterated he won't make a trade unless it helps his club's chances this year and in the future.

"My focus is the Tampa Bay Lightning, and obviously that's what we may be able to do with (Drouin)," he said. "We'll see."

The trade deadline is set for 3 p.m. ET on Monday.

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VIDEO: High schooler scores insane OT goal, takes celebration to next level

Be warned, for what you're about to see is hockey stimulus overload.

This Minnesota high school athlete scored with one of the best individual efforts that you'll ever see, and then proceeded to celebrate inside the team's fan section.

The goal-scorer's name is Noah Cates, and the highly excitable, downright disorderly fanbase belongs to Stillwater - Minnesota 4AA section champs.

- With h/t to Deadspin

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Patrick Roy qualifies Avalanche’s alumni game victory with Corsi analysis

See, Patrick Roy pays attention to analytics.

The Colorado Avalanche head coach and winning goalie in the NHL Stadium Series alumni game versus the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night unleashed a flawless trolling, and also self-deprecating, quip in his postgame scrum.

When asked about the win, Roy told Yahoo's Greg Wyshynski: "Yeah, but our Corsi was not very good, though."

His Avalanche, ranked dead last in Corsi For percentage this season, are once again defying, or at least combating, what possession metrics reveal about performance.

They hold the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

- Statistics via war-on-ice.com

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The best photos from Red Wings-Avalanche alumni game

It was quite the spectacle Friday, as some of the most legendary figures in the game strapped on skates, shin pads, shoulder pads, and helmets to revisit the Detroit Red Wings-Colorado Avalanche rivalry - perhaps the fiercest in NHL history - at the 2015 Stadium Series Alumni Game at Coors Field.

Related: Yzerman, Sakic trade vintage goals at Stadium Series alumni game

The Avalanche defended home ice, or field, with a 5-2 win in the reunion clash, which was markedly well-behaved compared to the standard set throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

Here are some of the best photos from the event:

There was never any pressure, Henrik Zetterberg.

Burnaby's own.

The always colorful Darren McCarty.

Mike Ricci's hair remains glorious. Chris Simon's now non-existent.

Pondering multiple offers for Jonathan Drouin, probably

Pondering the Avalanche's offer for Jonathan Drouin, probably.

An all-time faceoff.

The very-tanned Chris Chelios found one friend inside Coors Field. The rest, not so much.

The obligatory wide shot.

Feeling a little like Semyon Varlamov.

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Canadiens trade Weise, Fleischmann to Blackhawks for Danault, 2nd-round pick

The Chicago Blackhawks continue to load up for another Stanley Cup run.

The club has acquired forwards Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Phillip Danault and a second-round pick in 2018.

As part of the deal, the Canadiens will retain 30 percent of Weise's salary.

More to come.

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Report: Panthers believed to be making ‘strong push’ for Oilers’ Purcell

Teddy Purcell could be heading back to Florida.

TSN's Bob McKenzie is reporting that the Florida Panthers - forever in the market for a scoring winger - are believed to be making a "strong push" to acquire Purcell from the Edmonton Oilers.

Though Purcell works out of a top six in Edmonton, he only loosely fits the description Panthers general manager Dale Tallon covets. Because while he's broken out a bit offensively flanking Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl, he hasn't scored more than 12 goals in a season since his career-best campaign in 2011-12 when he notched 24 goals and 65 points for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

McKenzie notes that the Los Angeles Kings also have interest in the 30-year-old right-winger, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer when his $4.5-million salary comes off the books.

Purcell's being held out of the Oilers' lineup for the second straight game, likely in anticipation of a deal.

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Ovechkin 10th player in NHL history to record eight 40-goal seasons

For the eighth time in 11 seasons, Alex Ovechkin has reached the 40-goal mark. The latest snipe for the Washington Capitals superstar came against Darcy Kuemper and the Minnesota Wild.

Only five players in NHL history have recorded more 40-goal seasons.

The goal puts Ovechkin five ahead of Patrick Kane atop the NHL leaderboard, putting him in line to win a fourth-straight Maurice Richard Trophy.

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