The Ottawa Senators and their fans are taking their love for the "Sickos" meme to a new level.

While no spectators are currently allowed to attend Senators home games, the team started accepting cutout submissions earlier this week, according to NHL.com's Pat Pickens. Fans seized on the opportunity.

The team's official customizable cutouts cost about $75 each, and one of the three templates is inspired by the meme.

Twitter user @brochenski is credited with starting the "Sens Sickos" movement, having shared memes incorporating the popular cartoon for more than a year, according to The Athletic's Ian Mendes.

The original "Sickos" image comes from a drawing by Ward Sutton, a.k.a. Stan Kelly. It was published in The Onion in 2015 and has since gained widespread appeal online.

Senators fans adopted the meme in February 2020 as many rooted for the lottery-bound team to lose. It's taken on new life this season, particularly after Ottawa's stunning comeback win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 15 and the Montreal Canadiens' firing of head coach Claude Julien following consecutive losses to the Senators later in the month.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Erik Karlsson inked a long-term deal with the San Jose Sharks in 2019 in order to chase a Stanley Cup, but the team's struggles have forced management to shift the organization's direction.

General manager Doug Wilson told The Athletic's Kevin Kurz on Friday that the team is in a "reset." Wilson explained that's why the Sharks used all nine of their draft picks this past offseason to replenish the farm system instead of trading them to improve the current roster.

Karlsson is not thrilled about the idea of growing pains.

"Obviously, I did not sign here to go through a rebuild or go through what I did for 10 years in Ottawa," Karlsson said Saturday, according to NHL.com's David Satriano. "But it is what it is. I think that we need to find a way to build with a core group that we have here and figure out a way how to be competitive here in the upcoming years."

After spending nine seasons with the Senators - in which they made the playoffs five times - Karlsson was traded from Ottawa to San Jose in September 2018 for a package involving four players and multiple draft picks. The Sharks made it to the conference finals in Karlsson's first campaign in teal, prompting the Swedish blue-liner to re-sign for eight years at $11.5 million per season.

However, the Sharks plummeted to dead-last in the Western Conference standings last season.

"I mean, I think after the year we had last year, I think it was pretty, pretty clear that we were not going to be the team that we were maybe the first year that I got here," Karlsson said. "You know that doesn't take rocket science to figure out."

San Jose's aging core of Karlsson, Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Logan Couture, and Evander Kane are all 29 years of age or older and signed through at least the 2024-25 season. The club currently sits seventh place in the West Division - seven points back of a playoff spot.

Karlsson has battled injuries since joining the Sharks, missing 47 regular-season games over the past three years. The two-time Norris Trophy winner has registered two goals and seven assists in 21 contests this season.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

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.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL's division realignment is only supposed to last through this season, but some Canadian clubs are hoping the North Division can remain intact following the 2020-21 campaign.

"There are at least a couple of the Canadian teams that are still (holding) out hope that the North Division will live beyond this season, that they'll get at least one more year of that," Sportsnet's Chris Johnston reported during Saturday Headlines on Hockey Night in Canada.

A few of the Canadian franchises' executives want to see the excitement surrounding the division when fans are allowed back in arenas, Johnston added.

The North Division was born out of necessity this season due to Canada's border laws amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Commissioner Gary Bettman doesn't envision the temporary realignment sticking around upon the world's return to normalcy.

"We did what we had to do this year, we had no choice if we were going to play," Bettman said Friday during a press conference. "I do believe that we may focus on more divisional play going forward, although I'm not sure if this much divisional play would hold interest for an 82-game schedule. But it's worked well for this year.

"Obviously, I don't envision it continuing ... I think our traditional alignment makes more sense and is more widely accepted."

Part of the North Division's popularity this season has been its high-scoring games and ample star power. The division holds for four of the league's top eight teams in goals per game and five of the NHL's top six point producers.

Keeping the North Division long-term would be difficult to justify from a travel perspective, as its seven teams are spread across four different time zones.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

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.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin is returning to the lineup Saturday against the Boston Bruins after a three-week absence, the team announced.

Panarin stepped away from the Rangers on Feb. 22 after his former KHL head coach, Andrei Nazarov, made an abuse allegation against him. The allegation stemmed from what Nazarov claimed was a physical altercation in 2011 between Panarin and an 18-year-old woman while the forward was playing in the KHL.

The Rangers believe the allegation is a fabrication designed to intimidate Panarin for his political views. Nazarov is a known supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Panarin has been a vocal Putin critic and shown public support for opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Reports have indicated that no evidence, witnesses, or court or police records have been provided to support the allegation. The KHL also said it was never informed of an abuse allegation against Panarin.

Panarin missed nine games while away from the Rangers, who went 4-5-0 during that span. The 29-year-old has amassed five goals and 13 assists in 14 games this season.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Carolina Hurricanes placed defenseman Jake Gardiner on waivers Saturday for the purpose of sending him to their taxi squad, according to team writer Michael Smith.

Gardiner has played only two of the Hurricanes' last eight games, and head coach Rod Brind'Amour said earlier this week the blue-liner has been dealing with a back issue. The move will give the team salary-cap flexibility while Gardiner is out of the lineup, notes Smith.

The 30-year-old rearguard carries a $4.05-million cap hit through 2022-23. He inked a four-year, $16.2-million pact with Carolina in September 2019.

Gardiner is in his second campaign with the Hurricanes after eight with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He's collected seven points - all assists - across 17 contests this season.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.