Minnesota Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov left Thursday's game versus the Boston Bruins and was unable to return after being boarded by Bruins forward Trent Frederic.

The hit took place in the second period and resulted in an upper-body injury for Kaprizov, the Wild announced. Kaprizov skated off the ice cradling his arm as a scrum broke out after the collision.

Frederic was penalized for boarding and for the ensuing fight with Wild blue-liner Dmitry Kulikov. Minnesota enforcer Marcus Foligno then dropped the gloves with Frederic in the third period.

Wild head coach Dean Evason was predictably upset about the play.

"Really frustrated with how Kirill got hurt," Evason said postgame, according to Sarah McLellan of the Star Tribune. "It's a predatorial hit. It's one that the league, we don't want that. The puck is sitting right there. You know what he's doing. He's going to hurt our best player."

Evason continued: "That is not a hockey play. The puck's sitting right there. Why not just take the puck and go? In a vulnerable position, you hit a player from behind. We see it all the time, and it gets taken care of. I hope it gets taken care of here."

Kaprizov scored his 14th goal of the season earlier in the contest, marking his team-leading 40th point through 32 games.

Minnesota held on to win 3-2 over the Bruins, snapping a five-game losing streak.

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The New York Rangers placed goaltender Igor Shesterkin in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol, the team announced Thursday.

The club recalled netminder Keith Kinkaid from the taxi squad in a corresponding move to join Alexandar Georgiev on the active roster.

Shesterkin joins Artemi Panarin in the protocol, but the latter is expected to rejoin the team when it takes on the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, according to Mollie Walker of the New York Post. Panarin won't play versus the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.

Shesterkin has been one of the league's best goaltenders so far this season, tallying a 15-4-3 record with a .936 save percentage and 2.09 goals against average.

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Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov suited up Thursday against the Calgary Flames after missing the previous 32 games with a lower-body injury.

Kucherov recorded a goal and three assists in three games to begin this campaign, the only three regular-season contests he played before Thursday's tilt since March 10, 2020.

The Lightning performed admirably without their star winger, entering Thursday's action ranked first in the NHL with 49 points and sixth with a .700 points percentage.

Steven Stamkos also played against the Flames after being deemed a game-time decision.

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We have 11 games on tonight's NHL slate, which means there's a ton of value on the board.

Let's dive into some of my favorite shot totals.

Brad Marchand over 2.5 shots on goal (-140)

We've seen a big uptick in Marchand's shot volume lately. He recorded 57 shot attempts and 37 shots on goal over his last 10 games. He registered at least three shots in eight of the last nine, including four shots in seven of those games.

As I pointed out when I wrote up the Bruins forward in his last game, he's not just hitting the number - he's consistently finishing above it. He's also clearly a better individual shot generator when a volume shooter like David Pastrnak is off the top line.

I expect Marchand to go over again in an advantageous matchup with the Wild.

Minnesota has some key absences - especially on defense - that really hurt its level of play. Normally a stout defensive side, the Wild have given up five-on-five shots at a higher rate than all but one team over the last 10 games.

Jonathan Huberdeau over 2.5 shots on goal (-120)

Huberdeau has been a cheat code for what feels like months. After a slow start to the campaign in terms of shot generation, he's taken it up five notches.

He registered at least three shots on goal in 16 of the last 20 games - an 80% hit rate.

While I don't expect the Panthers forward to sustain that kind of shot productivity the entire season, I do like him to stay hot against the Stars - even in a mediocre matchup.

With Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart out of the lineup, Florida is missing two of its best weapons. Bennett's absence, in particular, leaves more shots up for grab, which Huberdeau generally claims.

Huberdeau recorded 15 shots in the three games Bennett missed over the last few months, hitting the over on each occasion.

Look for that trend to continue in Dallas.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs placed forward Nick Ritchie on waivers, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Ritchie has struggled to produce with his new team after signing a two-year, $5-million deal as a free agent in the offseason. He's tallied a goal and seven assists in 30 games while averaging 12:14 minutes per contest.

He's posted poor underlying numbers over the past three seasons, too.

The 6-foot-2, 230-pound winger was given a chance in Toronto's top-six forward group early in the season but has since been relegated to fourth-line duties.

Even if Ritchie goes unclaimed, the Leafs will save $1.125 million in cap space by assigning him to the taxi squad, according to The Athletic's James Mirtle.

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We are off to a fantastic start to the week with our best bets, nailing both picks in consecutive days.

We'll look to stay hot as we attack this huge 11-game slate.

Penguins (-235) @ Flyers (+185)

The Philadelphia Flyers posted a respectable 5-3-2 record over their last 10 games, but they're not playing overly well. At five-on-five, Philadelphia ranks 25th in expected goals against and 31st in shot attempts against per 60 minutes.

Those numbers aren't good, and there's reason to believe they're about to get even worse for the Flyers. As if playing without their best forward (Sean Couturier) and best defenseman (Ryan Ellis) wasn't problematic enough, the team recently placed Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny, Ivan Provorov, and Travis Sanheim, among others, onto the COVID-19 list.

Philadelphia is now severely lacking in both star power and depth. That's far from ideal, especially against a team like the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins own a remarkable 9-1-0 record over their last 10 games. Pittsburgh ranks in the top three in both shot share (56.42%) and expected goal share (58.29%) over this hot streak.

What's impressive is the Pens did a lot of that while missing key players. Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust just returned, and Jeff Carter may be back for Thursday's contest.

Pittsburgh is firing on all cylinders, and Philadelphia's key players are dropping like flies. I think this is a big mismatch, and - even in a back-to-back situation for the Penguins - I expect that to shine through.

Bet: Penguins inside regulation (-135)

Blue Jackets (+135) @ Devils (-160)

The Columbus Blue Jackets are in a really tough spot. They've won just three of their last 10 games and struggled mightily to defend in that time.

At five-on-five, the Blue Jackets sit 28th in expected goals against per 60 and dead last in shot attempts against per 60. They've fared no better on the penalty kill, conceding expected goals at a higher rate than all but the New York Islanders.

A lot of those numbers came with Zach Werenski in the lineup. Columbus put the star blue-liner onto the COVID-19 list ahead of the team's game Tuesday. His Blue Jackets certainly missed him as they gave up eight goals, 38 shots, and 77 shot attempts to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The New Jersey Devils are not Tampa Bay's caliber. However, they've played better hockey of late, winning three of four on the back of a breakout from Jack Hughes (nine points in four games).

I expect Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and some of the Devils' top weapons to cause Columbus all kinds of problems in this game.

Bet: Devils inside regulation (-105)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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It's Tuukka Time again.

Goaltender Tuukka Rask signed a professional tryout agreement with the AHL's Providence Bruins, the team announced Thursday. Providence expects him to start on Friday.

Rask, who was an unrestricted free agent, had reiterated on several occasions that the only NHL team he'd play for is the Bruins.

The 34-year-old underwent surgery on a torn hip labrum in June and was expected at the time to be out until January, leading to the midseason signing.

Rask's potential arrival in Boston could cause a logjam between the pipes. Rookie Jeremy Swayman and veteran Linus Ullmark - who signed a four-year, $20-million contract as a UFA to essentially replace Rask - have formed a solid tandem for the Bruins this season.

Swayman would not need to go through waivers if he was sent down to the AHL. Ullmark would.

Rask is Boston's all-time wins leader with 306 and ranks fourth in league history with a career .921 save percentage. The 2014 Vezina Trophy winner recorded a .913 save percentage in 24 games for the Bruins last season. He started 11 more contests in the playoffs while sporting a .919 save percentage.

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