The Colorado Avalanche moved captain Gabriel Landeskog to long-term injured reserve, ColoradoHockeyNow.com reported Saturday.

The move, which provides the team some salary cap relief, was not a surprise as the forward was projected to miss about 12 weeks following arthroscopic knee surgery on Oct. 17.

Landeskog, who turns 30 on Nov. 23, has not played this season.

Landeskog recorded 59 points (30 goals, 29 assists) in 51 games last season before having knee surgery in March. He returned for the playoffs and added 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in 20 games to propel the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup title.

He has totaled 571 points (248 goals, 323 assists) in 738 career games since being selected by the Avalanche with the second overall pick of the 2011 NHL Draft.

–Field Level Media

Washington Capitals forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel faces a disciplinary hearing Saturday following an illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Cal Foote.

Aube-Kubel received a match penalty 1:56 into the second period of the Capitals’ 5-1 home win on Friday night.

Foote did not return to the game and was not feeling well after the game, according to Lightning coach Jon Cooper.

“Not great,” Cooper said. “He obviously couldn’t come back. That’s a tough hit. That defines the word blindside.”

Lightning forward Pat Maroon and Capitals forward Garnet Hathaway got into a fight as the officials were reviewing the incident and both received five-minute fighting majors and 10-minute game misconduct penalties.

On Saturday, the NHL fined Maroon $2,702.70 and fined Hathaway $4,054.05 for unsportsmanlike conduct. Both amounts were the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement.

Aube-Kubel, 26, was skating in just his third game with Washington after being claimed off waivers from Toronto on Nov. 5.

He has no points in nine games this year. He has 50 points (21 goals, 29 assists) in 178 career games over five seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche, Maple Leafs and Capitals.

–Field Level Media

The New Jersey Devils placed goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood on injured reserve Saturday with a knee injury.

Blackwood has a sprained MCL and is expected to miss three to six weeks. His IR designation is retroactive to Nov. 3.

The Devils recalled goalie Nico Daws from Utica of the American Hockey League in a corresponding transaction.

Blackwood, 25, is 4-2-0 with a 2.79 goals-against average and an .880 save percentage in seven starts this season.

He is 59-53-16 with eight shutouts, a 2.93 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 137 games (130 starts) over five NHL seasons, all with the Devils.

–Field Level Media

With three of their former players entering the Hockey Hall of Fame this weekend, the visiting Vancouver Canucks will be out to honor them by defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

Former Canucks forwards Henrik and Daniel Sedin and goaltender Roberto Luongo are among those being inducted into the Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Vancouver has split the first two games of a five-game trip after losing 5-2 to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.

Toronto has dropped two straight after losing 4-2 to the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night in the Hall of Fame Game.

The Canucks will need to start faster Saturday than they did against the Canadiens. Goaltender Thatcher Demko allowed three goals in the first 12:23 of the first period on Wednesday.

“Thatcher owes us nothing,” Canucks captain Bo Horvat said. “He has stolen so many games for us and we have to play well in front of him. He’s an elite goaltender and has been doing this for a long time. … We know the start wasn’t good enough and there’s no excuse for it. There were parts I really liked — when we established a forecheck and got on their defense — but they’re a fast team and it wasn’t good enough all around.”

Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau said he saw at least one thing he liked in the game.

“If you’re looking for positives, we never quit,” he said. “We don’t hit the post on the power play and all of a sudden it’s 4-3 and then who knows? They probably let up in the third period and we came on a bit. You wish you could keep your foot on the gas for 60 minutes, and that’s the goal.”

Demko said he let the team down, however.

“I’m not doing as good a job as I know I can do,” he said on Friday. “It’s something that as a teammate, as a competitor, you know, it kind of eats at you.”

Canucks backup goalie Spencer Martin will play at least one of the games this weekend. Vancouver will visit the Boston Bruins on Sunday.

Maple Leafs goaltender Erik Kallgren was not happy with his performance, either, on the go-ahead goal Friday by Pittsburgh’s Brock McGinn early in the third period in a 4-2 loss to the Penguins.

“It’s not good enough, by me,” said Kallgren, who made 19 saves. “Got to save that one. Make that save and we have a good chance of winning the game.”

Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said Kallgren needs to move past that game.

“I thought he played well and has been playing really well for us,” Keefe said. “So shake that one off and feel good about how you’ve been playing, giving your team a chance to win.”

Keefe would not say who would start in goal on Saturday. Matt Murray (groin injury), who has not played since Oct, 12. is close to a return, but Keefe said Murray would not play Saturday.

Ilya Samsonov (knee) is out. Kallgren’s backup has been Keith Petruzzelli, who would be making his NHL debut if he plays.

“It’s our job to make (Petruzzelli) feel comfortable,” defenseman Morgan Rielly said. “He’s been doing a great job for us in practice. He is always ready. If he’s in (Saturday), our group is confident.”

During pregame ceremonies Friday, former Maple Leafs defenseman Borje Salming received a long, emotional ovation. He announced in August that he has
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Now 71, Salming played with the Maple Leafs from 1973-89, then spent his final season with the Detroit Red Wings (1989-90). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1996, becoming its first Sweden-born player.

–Field Level Media

Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Kirby Dach are emerging as a dependable core that serves the Montreal Canadiens quite well.

The relatively young trio will look to continue their early success and help beat the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night, when the Canadiens will aim for a season-high third straight win.

Montreal has scored 42 regulation and overtime goals during its 7-6-1 start. The 23-year-old Suzuki (nine goals), Caufield (eight) and Dach (four) — the latter two who will turn 22 in January — have combined for half of that total.

Dach scored twice, Suzuki had a goal with an assist and Caufield added an assist during Wednesday’s 5-2 victory over Vancouver — the Canadiens’ second in a row following an 0-2-1 rut.

“There’s a lot of things we feel we’re doing well right now, and that’s got to continue,” Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher said. “And also a lot of areas we can correct.”

Suzuki, the Canadiens’ leader with 17 points, has blossomed into an NHL All-Star and team captain while starting his fourth season. He’s totaled six goals with four assists in his last six games and has 21 goals and 51 points in the 51 games since Martin St. Louis took over as Montreal coach. The team is 21-25-5 in that span.

“(St. Louis) brought his own energy,” Suzuki told The Hockey News. “He’s a guy that likes to think about the game and teaches everyone.”

After Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin opened the scoring with two second-period goals at Montreal on Oct. 17, Suzuki and Caufield tied it with a goal apiece in the third, and Dach’s overtime score gave the Canadiens a 3-2 triumph.

Montreal’s Sam Montembeault (3-1-1, 2.38 goals-against average) made 26 saves against Pittsburgh, and 31 vs. Vancouver this week. Meanwhile, Canadiens starter Jake Allen (4-5-0, 3.11 GAA) could have a chance to win consecutive starts for the first time this season after stopping 41 shots during Tuesday’s 3-2 shootout win over Detroit on Tuesday.

Two nights after the Penguins ended an 0-6-1 slide with their 4-1 victory at Washington, they won 4-2 at Toronto on Friday to post consecutive road triumphs for the first time this season. Brock McGinn scored the tie-breaking goal 1:54 into the third period and Jake Guentzel added an empty-netter to push his consecutive-goal streak to four games.

“It’s better winning games,” McGinn, who has two goals in the past two games, told AT&T SportsNet PIT. “Just play a full 200-foot game. We did a good job with that.”

Malkin had a goal with an assist on Friday and has posted 10 of his 15 points for the season in nine road contests. He’s totaled 12 goals and 16 assists in 23 career games at Montreal.

Fellow Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby has 58 points in 44 overall games against the Canadiens but was blanked at Montreal earlier this season.

Casey DeSmith (2.67 GAA) made 28 saves Friday for Pittsburgh in his second straight start. He made a season-high 36 saves at Montreal last month.

However, Tristan Jarry could be back in the Penguins’ goal due to this back-to-back scenario. Jarry posted a 2.01 goals-against average while winning his first four starts, but since thenhe is 0-3-1 with a 4.73 GAA.

–Field Level Media

NHL roundup: Friday

Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild defeated host Seattle 1-0 Friday night, snapping the Kraken’s franchise-record five-game winning streak.

Mats Zuccarello scored the game’s lone goal, helping the Wild avenge a 4-0 loss to the Kraken on Nov. 3 in Saint Paul, Minn. Minnesota wrapped up a three-game swing along the West Coast to Los Angeles, Anaheim and Seattle with a 2-1-0 record.

It was Fleury’s 72nd career shutout, breaking a tie with Harry Lumley and Lorne Chabot and moving him into sole possession of 12th place in NHL history. Fleury is third with 526 career wins.

The 37-year-old Fleury, in his 19th NHL season, got plenty of help from his defense, as the Wild had a 22-5 edge in blocked shots. Seattle’s Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand both had chances from in close in the final seconds, but Fleury turned them aside. In the loss, Seattle’s Martin Jones stopped 20 of 21 shots.

Penguins 4, Maple Leafs 2

Brock McGinn scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and visiting Pittsburgh went on to defeat Toronto.

Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh. Jason Zucker and Jake Guentzel also scored for the Penguins, who have won two straight after losing seven in a row. Casey DeSmith stopped 28 shots for Pittsburgh in his second consecutive start.

Zach-Aston Reese and William Nylander scored for Toronto in the annual Hall of Fame game. Erik Kallgren made 19 saves for the Maple Leafs, who have lost two in a row.

Capitals 5, Lightning 1

Sonny Milano scored his first two goals for Washington, John Carlson returned from a six-game absence and notched his 600th career point in a victory over visiting Tampa Bay.

Carlson, a defenseman, set up left winger Milano on a breakaway for the milestone point. Milano scored again in the third. Nickl Jensen had an assist for his 100th career point. Anthony Mantha, Aliaksei Protas and Conor Sheary tallied, while goaltender Darcy Kuemper stopped 28 shots.

Tampa Bay’s Nick Perbix scored his second career goal and has points in three straight matches, but Nikita Kucherov’s 11-game point streak ended. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves.

Sharks 5, Stars 4

Timo Meier and Logan Couture scored 1:05 into the second period to break a tie game, then visiting San Jose held on to snap a five-game winless rut with a victory vs. Dallas.

Alexander Barabanov and Tomas Hertl had a goal with an assist each, and James Reimer made 25 saves for the Sharks, who were mired in an 0-3-2 slide. San Jose also snapped a seven-game losing streak at Dallas.

The Stars were handed a second straight loss despite two goals from Jamie Benn. Jason Robertson’s six-game goal streak ended, but he had two assists. Jake Oettinger allowed a season-high five goals and made 13 saves after missing the last four games with a lower-body injury.

–Field Level Media

The Detroit Red Wings will be looking to bounce back when they open a four-game road trip in Los Angeles against the Kings on Saturday night.

The Red Wings, who are 3-1-1 in their past five matches but lost 8-2 on Thursday, will be taking a new offensive piece with them to the West Coast — Jonatan Berggren.

The rookie made his NHL debut in Detroit a good one on Thursday, setting up his former American Hockey League teammate Joe Veleno late in the first period to tie the home match with the New York Rangers at 1-1.

Berggren, a second-round pick (33rd overall) in the 2018 draft, received a feed on a break from former Grand Rapids Griffins linemate Veleno along the right half-boards. The Uppsala, Sweden, native then returned the pass to Veleno, trailing in the high slot, for his second goal of the season at 18:46.

It was a give-and-go that Veleno knew was coming.

“It doesn’t really surprise me,” Veleno said of the primary assist from Berggren. “I had the opportunity to play with him a bit in (Grand Rapids) last year when I got sent back down. I just know that he’s got incredible vision. He has dynamic ability and creativity. I built a little bit of chemistry with him last year.”

Skating on a line that also featured Austin Czarnik, Berggren logged 14:18 of ice time on 15 shifts. The 22-year-old right winger had three hits, a blocked shot and was plus-1.

Lucas Raymond hit the net for the sixth time in the past seven games for Detroit, but the Rangers tallied four times over 2:57 in the third — six goals overall in the period — to turn a 2-2 tie into an eventual 8-2 rout.

“This game proves if we’re not exact, not at the top of our game, we’re just not good enough,” said coach Derek Lalonde, whose club’s eight goals allowed matched its season high set in Buffalo on Oct. 31.

The Kings have been on the winning side more often than not since the start of the 2014-15 season against Detroit. They own an 11-4-0 slate, which includes an active streak of five consecutive victories.

Nine of the 11 wins are in regulation with the other two decided in overtime. In the most recent matchup in Detroit on Oct. 17, the Kings prevailed 5-4 when Phillip Danault scored 1:12 into the extra session. The other OT match occurred when Alex Iafallo tallied just 23 seconds into the extra frame three years ago in Los Angeles.

The Kings have played some of their best hockey over the past seven games (5-1-1) and continued that run at home against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.

After Philipp Kurashev slid and blocked Danault’s close attempt on a two-on-two rush in overtime, Danault got the puck and whipped it over to Kevin Fiala, who buried his fourth goal of the season with 1.4 seconds left in the overtime session for a 2-1 win.

“This is more Kings hockey right now,” said Danault. “We’re playing good defensively, which creates frustration with the other team, and we create some chances on our side, so that’s Kings hockey right now.”

Los Angeles forward Trevor Moore assisted on the Danault game-winning marker for his 100th NHL point (37 goals, 63 assists over 220 games). The Thousand Oaks product is the seventh California-born player in history to achieve 100.

–Field Level Media

Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild defeated host Seattle 1-0 Friday night, snapping the Kraken’s franchise-record five-game winning streak.

Mats Zuccarello scored the game’s lone goal, helping the Wild avenge a 4-0 loss to the Kraken on Nov. 3 in Saint Paul, Minn.

Minnesota wrapped up a three-game swing along the West Coast to Los Angeles, Anaheim and Seattle with a 2-1-0 record.

It was Fleury’s 72nd career shutout, breaking a tie with Harry Lumley and Lorne Chabot and moving him into sole possession of 12th place in NHL history. Fleury is third with 526 career wins.

The 37-year-old Fleury, in his 19th NHL season, got plenty of help from his defense, as the Wild had a 22-5 edge in blocked shots. Seattle’s Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand both had chances from in close in the final seconds, but Fleury turned them aside.

Seattle’s Martin Jones stopped 20 of 21 shots.

Zuccarello scored the lone goal at 18:19 of the first period. Jon Merrill fired a puck from the left point diagonally off the far side boards, the puck taking a lively bounce past two teammates until reaching Zuccarello in the high slot. He put a wrist shot into the upper-right corner of the net, past Jones, who was screened. Kirill Kaprizov also got an assist on the goal.

Seattle went 0 for 4 on the power play, with nary a shot on goal. Minnesota rookie Mason Shaw had a short-handed breakaway early in the third period, but Jones made a kick save.

Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Thursday, giving Cale Fleury a chance to move into the lineup. The Kraken had used the same six defensemen in each of their first 14 games this season, the last team in the league to need a replacement among its blue liners.

–Field Level Media