--By now, I’m sure you’ve heard about Chris Pronger’s hit on Justin Bieber during last weekend’s Celebrity All-Star Shootout in Los Angeles. If you haven’t seen it, you can watch it by clicking here. Pronger, who works for the NHL’s Department of Player Safety, jokingly said he fined himself $5 for the hit. (Associated Press)
--Canadian golfer MacKenzie Hughes brought a little bit of Canada to Scottsdale, Arizona. Hughes put on an Auston Matthews jersey while he was on the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale (Matthews’ hometown). You don’t see that every day. (BarDown)
--You might not have known this, but Brayden Schenn currently leads the NHL in power play goals with 12. He credits a lot of his success on the man-advantage to former teammate Scott Hartnell. “He was always good to me and helping me out along the way. Just watching him and his shot. He scored a lot of goals from that spot. If you watch him, he was always smart and got to the right areas and that’s something you can just pick up from a guy.” (Sports Illustrated)
--Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller and Chris Kreider combined to score the game-winning goal in overtime in the Rangers’ 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. You can watch that pretty goal by clicking the video at the top of the page.
--The Detroit Red Wings have a 25-year playoff streak on the line, but is that a good enough reason to make a push for a spot in the postseason? The ESPN roundtable debated whether or not they should try to make the playoffs or rebuild instead. Some of the answers may surprise you. For example, hockey insider Pierre LeBrun suggests that a weak 2017 draft class could put the rebuild on hold. (ESPN)
--No hockey player enjoys being a healthy scratch, but as he gets older, Sens forward Curtis Lazar has learned how to handle those kind of situations. “It’s never fun being out, but we have some great depth here. There’s no point in me pouting or letting the emotions get the better of me. I did that sometimes before the All-Star break. It’s about being a good teammate.” (Ottawa Citizen)
--Alex Ovechkin has hit a number of different milestones throughout his career. On Wednesday night, he scored his 550th goal, which put him ahead of Ron Francis for 27th on the all-time list. Even though he likes the individual spotlight, Ovechkin would prefer (finally) winning that elusive Stanley Cup ring. (NHL.com)