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The league is investigating the alleged usage of a homophobic slur during Monday night's game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL Public Relations announced.

Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly could be the suspect, as he may have directed a homophobic slur to a referee.

Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas commented on the situation postgame.

"The club is aware of the reports surrounding a homophobic slur used during the Maple Leafs versus Lightning game on Monday night," he said in a statement. "The issue of homophobia is one the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club strong condemns and takes very seriously. We are in communication with the NHL and are cooperating fully with their office."

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Warning: Video contains coarse language

The league is investigating the alleged usage of a homophobic slur during Monday night's game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL Public Relations announced.

Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly could be the suspect, as he may have directed the slur at a referee.

Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas commented on the situation postgame.

"The club is aware of the reports surrounding a homophobic slur used during the Maple Leafs versus Lightning game on Monday night," he said in a statement. "The issue of homophobia is one the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club strongly condemns and takes very seriously. We are in communication with the NHL and are cooperating fully with their office."

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews offered a blunt evaluation of his team's performance Monday against the powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning.

"They pretty much just slapped us," he said postgame, according to The Athletic's James Mirtle.

The Leafs were embarrassed in their own barn, losing by a final score of 6-2. Tampa Bay held a 5-1 lead when the second period concluded.

"In the third period, we pretty much just quit," Matthews told TSN's Kristen Shilton. "That's on us as players. We have to wake up and do a much better job and hold each other accountable."

Teammate Nazem Kadri offered a different response when asked if the team quit in the final frame.

"I don't think so. We're not quitters," Kadri said, according to TSN's Mark Masters. "We've never been like that. We always finish it to the end. Did we want a better (overall) effort? Of course."

The Bolts controlled 55.8 percent of the shot attempts and 57.1 percent of the high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five during the contest, according to Natural Stat Trick.

If the Eastern Conference standings remain unchanged, Toronto and Tampa Bay would meet in the second round of the playoffs should each team win its first-round matchup.

"Tonight we really wanted to show them that's why we're the best team in the league," Lightning forward Cedric Paquette told Sportsnet's Luke Fox.

With the win, the Lightning became the seventh team ever to reach 110 points in 70 or fewer games.

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Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel disagrees with the NHL's decision to suspend him two games for his hit to the head of Colorado Avalanche forward Carl Soderberg on Saturday.

"If you look at the hit and you look at the rule book, I just didn't think it matched up," Eichel told Paul Hamilton of WGR 550.

Here's a look at the play, which Eichel was penalized for.

"That's not an illegal hit. I don't move myself to lower into him," Eichel said. "If you watch the hit, he is actually at fault for dropping his head down there. He puts himself in a vulnerable position, leans over, and his head goes off my back - his head's on my number."

Sabres coach Phil Housley shares his captain's point of view.

"I don't agree with the decision, but we have to live with it, that's all I'm going to say," he said.

Eichel leads the Sabres with 72 points in 65 games this season. He's eligible to return Saturday versus the Carolina Hurricanes.

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The NHLPA has reportedly filed an appeal of the two-game suspension dished out to Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakub Voracek, according to Dave Isaac of the Courier Post.

The appeal will take place Tuesday, according to Sportsnet's John Shannon, meaning Voracek will remain unavailable for the Flyers' contest versus the Ottawa Senators on Monday.

Voracek was suspended two games for interference after a reverse hit on New York Islanders blue-liner Johnny Boychuk on Saturday.

Any player can appeal on-ice discipline as long as written notice of the appeal is provided within 48 hours, according to the NHL Department of Player Safety. Appeal decisions are handled by commissioner Gary Bettman, but for suspensions of six or more games, players can then appeal to a neutral arbitrator if the commissioner upholds the original decision.

Voracek didn't appear to agree with his punishment, tweeting this shortly after the announcement of his ban.

If Voracek's suspension isn't lifted after review, he'll be eligible to return to the lineup Friday evening versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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Every Monday, theScore offers a weekly fantasy hockey column detailing a handful of moves you should make. This week's edition focuses on Round 2 of the fantasy hockey playoffs. Ownership percentages (as of March 10) and position eligibility are courtesy of Yahoo.

Scoop up Travis Sanheim

Team: Flyers
Position: D
Ownership: 16 percent

Quality defensemen are hard to come by this time of year, but Sanheim is still available in the majority of leagues. The former first-round pick has come into his own down the stretch, picking up 12 points in his last 12 games while averaging over 21 minutes per night - over two minutes more than his season average.

The Flyers play four games this week with only one contest on a busy game night, so you shouldn't run into any issues getting Sanheim into your starting lineup.

Take a flier on Sam Montembeault

Team: Panthers
Position: G
Ownership: 5 percent

The Panthers only play three games this week but there's a good chance Montembeault will be in goal for at least two of them. The 22-year-old rookie netminder has started each of Florida's last two games, stopping a combined 44 of 47 shots en route to two victories. The Panthers already have an eye toward next season and will likely want to see what they have in "Monty."

Montembeault is vastly unproven, but if you need help between the pipes in a deeper league, he's your guy.

Add Troy Terry

Team: Ducks
Position: RW
Ownership: 8 percent

The Ducks may be a complete and utter disaster, but there's still some fantasy value to be extracted from their roster. Terry has been a bright spot, picking up seven points in his last four games. The former U.S. Olympian has plenty of skill and has been seeing time on the Ducks' top power-play unit.

More importantly, the Ducks have four games over the next seven days but don't play on Saturday - the busiest night of the week.

Pick up Ryan Donato

Team: Wild
Position: C/LW/RW
Ownership: 23 percent

Donato is getting a chance to flourish with the Wild - something he wasn't afforded with the Boston Bruins. He has nine points in as many games since being traded to Minnesota and is currently skating on the club's top line alongside Eric Staal and Jason Zucker.

Donato's positional versatility and the fact the Wild have four games this week should help maximize his fantasy value for Round 2 of the playoffs.

Drop Kings, Golden Knights players

The Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights each have a league-low two games this week. In standard-sized re-draft leagues, anyone not named Mark Stone, Jonathan Marchessault, or Marc-Andre Fleury can be dropped for players with four games. In deeper re-draft leagues, Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty are worth hanging on to as well.

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