Zdeno Chara is no longer in Boston after the Bruins captain signed with Washington. And the Sabres made an even bigger splash in free agency by landing 2018 NHL MVP Taylor Hall in October. Hall, for example, signed a one-year, $8 million deal with Buffalo by realizing the free-agent market was going to be tight. Oilers general manager Ken Holland chalked it up to the new economic realities facing the NHL. “It’s salary-cap related, which is related to the pandemic, which has given us a hard, flat cap for the foreseeable future,” Holland said.

TAMPA – Brayden Point scored a power-play goal in the third period and the Tampa Bay Lightning extended their winning streak to three games with a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night. Tampa Bay has won 16 consecutive regular-season games against the Red Wings, the longest winning streak in Lightning franchise history against one opponent. After a scoreless first period, Tampa Bay opened the scoring at 4:10 of the second period. Fabbri pulled the Red Wings even when Filip Zadina disrupted a clearing attempt by Cedric Paquette and kept the puck in the offensive zone. … Red Wings’ G Jonathan Bernier made his first start since leaving a game at Toronto on Dec. 21 after suffering a groin injury.