Boston Bruins forward Marcus Johansson has been diagnosed with a lung contusion after taking a hard hit from Carolina Hurricanes forward Micheal Ferland during Tuesday's contest, the team announced. Johansson will be re-evaluated in approximately one week.

Here's a look at the hit, which occurred just minutes into the contest.

Johansson was hospitalized after sustaining the hit by Ferland. The 28-year-old struggled with injuries last season, playing only 29 games with the New Jersey Devils after suffering concussions on two separate occasions last year.

The Bruins acquired Johansson from the Devils for a 2019 second-round pick and a 2020 fourth-rounder at the Feb. 25 trade deadline.

The winger entered Monday's contest with 28 points in 51 games this season, including one assist in four contests with the Bruins.

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The Humboldt Broncos have secured a spot in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoffs, according to The Canadian Press.

Humboldt rebuilt much of its roster following the April 2018 bus crash that left 16 people dead - including 10 Broncos players - and 13 others injured. Brayden Camrud and Derek Patter were the lone survivors from last year's team to return this season.

The Broncos finished the regular season with a 35-19-3-1 record and 74 points, good for sixth place in the league. Humboldt will face the Estevan Bruins in the first round of the playoffs Friday.

On Monday, Morgan Gobeil became the last Broncos player to be released from the hospital after 333 days. His family said in a statement that he has yet to regain his speech or his ability to walk, but they "remain hopeful" about his recovery.

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The Vegas Golden Knights won't participate in Seattle's expansion draft, raising concerns that other teams could make deals with Vegas in order to work around the protection-list process.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly doesn't expect that to occur, but he warned that the league will scrutinize any transactions that might be related.

"I don't see that happening, they're just not part of this expansion," Daly said at Wednesday's GM meetings, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "Obviously, we'll make sure that Vegas isn't used in the process by other clubs to circumvent the purpose of intent of the expansion draft rules."

A team could theoretically trade a player to the Golden Knights and recoup some value instead of losing that player to Seattle for nothing or, in a more drastic move, come to an agreement in which Vegas would trade a player back after the expansion draft.

Daly noted that every transaction must be approved by the NHL.

"You can't park players on Vegas," Daly said. He added, "There are other things they could do that we might not approve. But I'm not going to create my own hypotheticals. I'll know it when I see it."

The Golden Knights are exempt from the Seattle expansion draft, although several general managers told LeBrun that they aren't happy with that arrangement. Vegas won't receive a cut of the expansion fee either.

Every other team will have to submit a list of protected players. Depending on its composition, the list can include 11 players (seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie) or nine players (eight skaters, regardless of position, and one goaltender). Seattle's expansion draft is set for June 2021.

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Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly NHL podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's National Hockey Writer.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify.

In this episode, John's joined by Luke Fox of Sportsnet and Joshua Clipperton of the Canadian Press. Topics include:

• Handicapping playoff races in East, West
• Awards watch: Jack Adams, Vezina, Norris
• How Lightning should approach stretch drive
• Will Erik Karlsson test free agency?
• Takeaways from GM meetings in Florida

... and more!

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David Backes appears set on dropping his gloves more frequently for the Boston Bruins down the stretch after a meeting with head coach Bruce Cassidy to determine his role with the team.

The 34-year-old has three fights in his last four games, with the most recent one coming against Carolina Hurricanes forward Micheal Ferland on Tuesday night. The new enforcer role is a concerning one for Backes, who's been diagnosed with three concussions since signing with the Bruins in 2016.

"You start piling them up, it's not fun when, or if, you have a concussion," Backes said in November. "You start adding them up and trying to work through it, if you're multiplying them on top of each other, it starts to get dangerous."

Backes has eclipsed three fights in a season only once over his 13-year career, squaring off with opponents on five occasions during the 2009-10 campaign with the St. Louis Blues, according to Hockey Fights.

With just 14 points in 54 contests this season, Backes is on pace for his least-productive campaign since becoming an NHL regular. He's on the Bruins' books at a $6-million cap hit until 2021.

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Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand insists there was no ill intent behind his viral tweet commenting on Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner's future contract.

After Marner hit the 80-point plateau Monday night in Calgary, Marchand tweeted this:

Marchand was later asked about what prompted the post.

"Some people really took that the wrong way," Marchand told reporters Tuesday, according to CLNS Media. "You gotta give the kid credit. He's a great player, that's all I was trying to get at. He's having a great year. It's a big milestone for him. Just giving some credit where credit's due, that's all."

Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas also commented on the matter Wednesday.

Marner's agent is adamant that negotiations on a new deal for the 21-year-old won't take place until the offseason.

With forwards Auston Matthews and William Nylander already locked in for the future, the Leafs will hope to sign Marner at an affordable number - something less than Marchand's estimate - to maximize their window as Stanley Cup contenders.

Whether Marchand was trolling or not, a first-round playoff meeting between Toronto and Boston is likely on the horizon.

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