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And no one in Toronto will be OK with that.

TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT

With David Pastrnak leading all players with 10 goals in nine games, here’s another reminder that the Bruins forward is earning $6.66 million this year. Along with Winnipeg’s Mark Scheiefele ($6.125 million) and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon ($6.3 million), he remains one of the best bargains in the NHL … The worst bargain? Vancouver’s Loui Eriksson is on the books for a team-high $6 million. That’s a lot for a player who’s been a healthy scratch in eight of nine games this year … Patrick Marleau will play in his 1,500th game with the Sharks on Friday. On its own, playing that amount of hockey is pretty rare. That he’s done it with the same team is almost unheard of in today’s salary cap world. “It’s incredible,” said teammate Joe Thornton. “You’re not going to see that too, too often anymore” … Flames fans won’t like to hear that goalie Mike Smith (ranked 10th in the NHL with a 2.15 GAA) has much better numbers in Edmonton than Cam Talbot (ranked 18th with a 2.46 GAA) has in Calgary. What’s even worse is that David Rittich is ranked 33rd with a 2.85 GAA … Would anyone be opposed if the Flames and Kings played each other once a week? At the very least, can Drew Doughty and Mathhew Tkachuk please be voted to the All-Star Game — and forced to play on opposite teams?

HERE’S ONE FOR YOU

Putting Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner together on the same line is supposed to lead to more goals. But according to Bruins defenceman Charlie McAvoy, it also prevents opponents from scoring. “Those guys are special,” said McAvoy. “They play the game responsibly. I think the two of them have good sticks defensively, too, so I think that’s something that maybe sets them apart from other elite players” … Buffalo’s 24-year-old Victor Olofsson leads all rookies with six goals. But keep an eye on Vancouver’s Thatcher Demko, who has a league-best .943 save percentage after three games and is trying to become the first goalie since Steve Mason in 2009 to win the Calder Trophy … Could the 3-5-1 Sharks, who rank last in the Pacific Division, turn things around like the Blues did last season? Yes, but like St. Louis, it’s probably going to cost them a head coach in the process … Seattle has narrowed down its search for a team name to five finalists, with Sockeyes reportedly being one of them. But if they want a fish theme, I’d choose Kraken. After all, I never heard a story of a salmon ever sinking a ship.