Alex Ovechkin scored twice, becoming the third player in NHL history to have at least 20 goals in 19 consecutive seasons and lifting the Washington Capitals past the Calgary Flames 5-2 on Monday night in a critical game in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.

The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames. Hanifin was ranked No. 2 on ESPN's NHL trade deadline board. 

Hanifin's contract carries a $4.95 million cap hit. He was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

Hanifin is the second key player the Golden Knights have added ahead of Friday's NHL trade deadline. Vegas acquired Capitals winger Anthony Mantha on Tuesday, with Washington retaining 50% of his salary.

The Dallas Stars addressed what was arguably their biggest need Wednesday when they acquired defenseman Chris Tanev as part of a three-team trade with the Calgary Flames and the New Jersey Devils.

In total, the Stars received Tanev and the rights to University of Massachusetts prospect goaltender Cole Brady. The Flames, who will retain 50% of Tanev's salary, received prospect defenseman Artem Grushnikov from the Stars along with their 2024 second-round pick and a 2026 conditional third-round pick.

The Devils received the Stars' 2026 fourth-round pick for serving as a third-party broker that retained 50% of Tanev's salary.

The Flames had one lone All-Star representative at the start of Wednesday in Elias Lindholm. By the end of the day, they had none after trading him to the Canucks.

Lindholm's future with the Flames had been in question as he was slated to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. h 8.

That's also the reason the Canucks parted ways with forward Andrei Kuzmenko, a pair of prospect defensemen in Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo, and a 2024 first-round pick and a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick to bring Lindholm to Vancouver.

Four NHL players were charged with sexual assault in London, Ontario, on Tuesday, their respective legal teams confirmed to ESPN.

Lawyers for Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dube, and New Jersey Devils center Michael McLeod and defenseman Cal Foote, all members of Canada's 2018 World Junior Championships team, addressed the situation later Tuesday. All four players had previously been granted leaves of absence from their NHL teams.

Five players from Canada's 2018 world junior team have taken a leave of absence from their current clubs in recent days amid a report that five members of that team have been asked to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges.

Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils, Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames and former NHL player Alex Formenton, who is now playing in Europe, all have been granted indefinite leave, with the absences announced in the past four days.

Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dube is taking an indefinite leave of absence to address his mental health, the team said Sunday.

"Dillon is under the care of health professionals, and we request that Dillon's privacy is respected during the period," a team statement read.

After weeks of speculation, the Calgary Flames traded defenseman Nikita Zadorov to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

The Flames received a 2024 fifth-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick in exchange for Zadorov, who will give the Canucks another top-four defenseman who offers a physical presence. Zadorov is also expected to help with a penalty kill that came into Thursday just outside the bottom 10 of the league with a 76.4% success rate.

The Hockey Hall of Fame got an infusion of goaltenders on Monday with the induction of Henrik Lundqvist, Tom Barrasso and Mike Vernon.

The ceremony in Toronto also included players Pierre Turgeon and Caroline Ouellette, coach Ken Hitchcock and late executive/agent Pierre Lacroix.

For Vernon, the call to the Hall was a long time coming.

"To have this happen 21 years after I finished my NHL career, this means more to me and my family than you could possibly know," Vernon said. "Mom, you asked me once if I was ever going to go into the Hall of Fame? Well, I made it."

Captain Connor McDavid returned from injury on Sunday night, and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the rival Calgary Flames 5-2 in the NHL's Heritage Classic outdoor game.

McDavid, 26, a three-time Hart Trophy recipient initially thought to be out for one to two weeks with an upper-body injury, returned early and rejoined a struggling team that had lost four in a row before Sunday's offensive breakout.

"It's such a unique experience, maybe it's something you get to experience once or twice, if you're lucky," McDavid said of the outdoor atmosphere. "You just try to soak it all in. And obviously, it was a big win for our group."