Jason Spezza's suspension has been reduced to four games, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced Friday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs veteran was initially handed a six-game ban for kneeing Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk. Spezza is now eligible to play in Toronto's next game, scheduled for Saturday versus the Vancouver Canucks.

Spezza had an in-person hearing for his hit and then appealed the league's decision. He has no prior suspensions in his 19-year career, which played a factor in Bettman's decision.

"In the unusual circumstances presented here, I believe that the conduct at issue was a serious, but isolated, aberration from Mr. Spezza’s consistent style of play over nearly two decades and that a four-game suspension is sufficient to ensure that the conduct will not be repeated," Bettman wrote in a statement.

Before Spezza retaliated, Pionk kneed Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin, resulting in a two-game suspension of his own. Pionk entered concussion protocol and missed three games in total before returning to the Jets' lineup.

Spezza has notched seven goals and four assists in 26 games for Toronto this season.

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Paul Maurice has resigned as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets, the team announced Friday.

Assistant coach Dave Lowry will take over duties on an interim basis. Winnipeg is 13-10-5 this season.

Maurice's departure is a personal decision, reports TSN's Darren Dreger.

He will address the media Friday morning, followed by Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff.

The 54-year-old took over as Jets head coach in 2014. He's overseen 600 games for the franchise, accumulating a 315-223-62 record and five postseason appearances.

Maurice ranks sixth in NHL history with 775 victories.

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The NHL has postponed Saturday's marquee matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins, the league announced Friday.

A makeup date hasn't been confirmed, but the Canadiens are scheduled to play on Dec. 20 versus the New York Islanders. Montreal played at home Thursday without fans due to rising COVID-19 cases.

The Bruins are dealing with an ongoing outbreak that's sidelined superstars Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, among others. Boston could only dress 17 skaters in its loss to the Isles on Thursday.

The NHL has postponed several games in recent weeks as there has been an increase in players landing in COVID-19 protocol.

The Bruins haven't visited Montreal since November 2019. The longtime archrivals met once this season in Boston, with the home side taking a 5-2 victory.

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Warning: Story contains coarse language.

Vegas Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault believes the New Jersey Devils could've avoided the brouhaha that occurred between the two clubs at the end of Thursday night's game.

With 25 seconds left in the game and the Golden Knights leading 5-3, Devils head coach Lindy Ruff lined up 6-foot-4, 227-pound defenseman Mason Geertsen at forward for the ensuing faceoff.

Here's what went down:

Geertsen and Vegas captain Alex Pietrangelo started the skirmish, leading to lots of pushing, shoving, and grabbing. Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner swung his stick at a New Jersey player who appeared ready to scrap. Lehner, Pietrangelo, and Geertsen were all handed 10-minute misconducts.

"I think it was some bullshit. (Ruff) was probably just mad that Jack Hughes got hit there and nothing happened in the moment," Marchessault said, referring to Zach Whitecloud's open-ice hit on the Devils phenom earlier in the contest:

"At the end of the day (Geertsen) is the one who gave up that fourth goal, so I think it's kind of gutless," Marchessault said. "You put a defenseman, a tough guy, to line up at forward when there's 25 seconds left. That's shitty, but that's what those older, veteran coaches do sometimes."

Geersten took himself out of position to make a hit on Pietrangelo earlier in the game, leading to Nicolas Roy's game-winning goal.

The blue-liner entered Thursday with zero points and 41 PIMs in nine career NHL games. Geersten's recorded three AHL seasons of 100-plus PIMs and only one with double-digit points.

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Even at just 29 years old, Tyler Seguin is aware he isn't the same player he used to be.

The Dallas Stars center was limited to just three games last season after undergoing a hip arthroscopy and labral repair in November 2020 and a knee scope one month later. He said in May that he basically had to rebuild his entire quad muscle.

The injuries appear to have caught up to Seguin, as he's recorded just seven goals and four assists in 26 games this year. The 34-point pace would mark his worst NHL campaign since he was a 19-year-old rookie with the Boston Bruins in 2010-11.

"Sometimes, you get a little frustrated not having the same kind of game I have in the past," Seguin said, according to The Dallas Morning News' Matthew DeFranks. "Some things that used to click in my head and the opportunities I would get, I haven’t really seen this year."

Seguin isn't generating the chances he used to, with his shots and individual expected goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five both plummeting to career lows, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Knowing his limitations, the veteran forward is trying to find new ways to be productive.

"That’s all I know how to do, is when things aren’t going a certain way, it’s 'Okay, let’s grease it up. Let things go off you. Go to those dirty areas,'" he said. "I’m still trying to find that balance of muck-and-grinder and finding that fluid style to my game that I’ve had."

The grind mentality should be music to the ears of head coach Rick Bowness, who was highly critical of some of his players during Tuesday's loss to the St. Louis Blues.

Bowness understands Seguin is still getting back up to speed.

"Through time, it’ll come back to where it was," Bowness said. "It’s not there yet. He just has to keep working hard in the gym and he has to keep pushing his pace in practice."

The injuries' impact has served as a harsh reality check for Seguin.

"I’ve had people close to me tell me it could take a little bit just to get it all back," he said. "I didn’t believe them, and I still haven’t fully until the last week or two."

Seguin is Dallas' highest-paid player, and he's signed through 2026-27 with an annual cap hit of $9.85 million, according to CapFriendly.

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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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Count Nashville Predators forward Nick Cousins among those in favor of pausing the NHL season until after Christmas amid a league-wide COVID-19 outbreak.

Over 65 NHL players are currently in COVID protocol. The Calgary Flames have been hit the hardest, with 18 players and multiple staff members currently on the COVID list. The league has postponed all of Calgary's games through Saturday.

Cousins is one of seven Predators players in protocol. The team also has five members of its coaching staff on the COVID list. The NHL has not postponed any of Nashville's games as of yet.

The league reintroduced enhanced COVID-19 protocols on Wednesday to help combat the spread of the virus.

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