• More change is sweeping through Philadelphia. The Flyers fired coach Dave Hakstol on Monday, this after Chuck Fletcher replaced Ron Hextall as GM earlier this month. Hakstol was the fifth coach this season to be relieved of his duties, and the dismissal came after the Flyers dropped the final four games of a five-game road trip to sit last in the Eastern Conference with 28 points. Scott Gordon, who was coaching the organization's American Hockey League affiliate, has taken over on an interim basis.

• After a ho-hum start, the Capitals are surging and look like they have a legit chance of repeating as Stanley Cup champions. And it's no surprise who's behind this charge. Captain Alex Ovechkin scored back-to-back hat tricks last week, finishing with a total of seven goals in three games. His current 14-game point streak is a career high.

• An obscure section of the NHL rulebook was referenced recently after a dump-in by St. Louis Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo last Tuesday bounced off referee Tim Peel and into the net behind Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo. The goal did not count because, according to rule 78.5, a goal is disallowed when it deflects directly into the net off an official — a distinction many Blues players said they didn't know about.