Nathan MacKinnon showed once again why he's the top offensive player available for the 2013 NHL Draft.

The Halifax Mooseheads center, No. 2 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters for this year's draft, showcased his full offensive arsenal, scoring a second-period hat trick as his team cruised to a 7-4 victory against the Portland Winterhawks in round-robin play at the MasterCard Memorial Cup on Saturday at Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The game was billed as MacKinnon against Portland defenseman Seth Jones, Central Scouting's top-ranked North American skater -- they're expected to be the first two players picked at this year's draft. It marked the fourth time they had met on the ice this season. MacKinnon and Canada beat Jones and the U.S. in the preliminary round at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship, but Jones got his revenge with a 5-1 win in the semifinals en route to winning the gold medal. Jones' Team Orr also beat MacKinnon's Team Cherry at the 2013 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

The San Jose Sharks were without two of their key forwards, Logan Couture and Martin Havlat, due to injury during Game 3 of their Western Conference Semifinal series against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Couture was favoring his left leg as he skated to the bench following a collision midway through the second period. He went to the dressing room after playing 7:41, then returned late in the period.

BOSTON -- Despite a Hall of Fame resume, Boston Bruins forward Jaromir Jagr is in a battle with his confidence heading into Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Rangers.

Jagr hasn't scored a goal in eight Stanley Cup Playoff games this season and is goalless in 17 consecutive playoff games dating to last season. It's the longest postseason drought of his career.

"It doesn't really matter how many goals you've scored before, the confidence comes with any play -- any good play can give you the confidence, any good pass that can score a goal can change it around," Jagr said after practice Saturday at TD Garden, where Game 2 will be played Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBC, RDS, TSN). "You've just got to work hard and go through it. I'm not going to give up. Of course I'd like to help this team a little more than I do right now, but the only thing I can do about it is work hard."

Jagr's work ethic has never been in doubt. With the Philadelphia Flyers last season he had keys to the practice facility so he could work out whenever he wanted to. It wasn't the only place he's done that.

CHICAGO -- The Detroit Red Wings needed a performance like the one they put on the ice Saturday at United Center.

After talking about their tired legs following a series-opening loss to the rival Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Wednesday, the Red Wings needed to come out skating fast, hitting hard and putting on offensive pressure in waves.

That's exactly what they did. The Red Wings evened the best-of-7 series 1-1 with a 4-1 win, seized home-ice advantage for the remaining five games, and gave the Blackhawks their first loss on home ice in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Now it's up to the Blackhawks to respond.

CHICAGO -- It was a rough night for the Detroit defensemen in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the top-seeded Chicago Blackhawks, but the amount of fault placed on them for the defeat might have been overstated.

Brendan Smith

Defense - DET

GOALS: 2 | ASST: 1 | PTS: 3
SOG: 12 | +/-: -2

Rookie Brendan Smith was one of the players who received a share of the criticism, but Red Wings coach Mike Babcock made it clear before Game 2 of the series Saturday that the forwards were not helping the defensemen nearly enough, which led to a lot of the turnovers and missed outlet passes that hemmed in the Red Wings.

Those same defensemen, with the proper support from the forwards, looked a lot better in Game 2, and in particular Smith, who was one of the heroes when the seventh-seeded Red Wings defeated the Blackhawks 4-1 to even the best-of-7 series.

OTTAWA -- If the Ottawa Senators have any hope of regaining a foothold in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they need their defense, specifically Erik Karlsson, to spring to life.

Karlsson logged 15:37 of ice time during the Senators' 4-3, Game 2 loss to the Penguins on Friday, an all-time Stanley Cup Playoff low for the Swede. With Ottawa down 2-0 in the best-of-7 series, and Game 3 Sunday at Scotiabank Place (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, RDS), the Norris Trophy winner knows he has to step up.

"I'm not playing the way I want to," Karlsson said. "I [have to] play a little bit more poised with the puck and a little bit faster in our own zone. I can't doubt myself."

NEW YORK -- The San Jose Sharks have been fined $100,000 for public comments by General Manager Doug Wilson pertaining to the suspension of Sharks forward Raffi Torres, the National Hockey League announced today.

The fine was issued for violation of League Rules that prohibit formal team statements to the media during the 48-hour period following a disciplinary decision. The Rule calls for an automatic fine of $25,000. The Sharks were fined an additional $75,000 under Article 6 of the League's Constitution due to the inappropriate nature of the comments.

SAN JOSE -- The Los Angeles Kings know how dangerous a team can be when it comes home after digging a 2-0 hole in a Stanley Cup Playoff series.

The Kings lost their first two games in the Western Conference Quarterfinals to the St. Louis Blues on the road then reeled off four straight wins to capture that series. After that, the Kings opened the semifinals with two straight wins against the San Jose Sharks at Staples Center.

Which brings us to Game 3 on Saturday night at HP Pavilion (9 p.m. ET, NBCSN, RDS, TSN).

"Yeah, we're aware of what we did in the first round, but coming in here, it's a tough building to play in," Kings captain Dustin Brown said after his team's morning skate. "We have to be ready to go. The main thing is we have to take care of our game. We have to play better as a group and for 60 minutes. That's what we should be focused on. We've got to worry about our game and the rest will take care of itself."

BOSTON -- New York Rangers forward Derick Brassard can live with the decision he made with the puck near the end of overtime of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Bruins, the decision that directly led to the Bruins' game-winning goal.

He did say he would like the opportunity to rewind to the moment so he could try it again.

"It was the right play," Brassard said Saturday after the first full-team practice since his team lost 3-2 in overtime in Game 1. "I just need to make it."

Brassard carried the puck down the right wing with speed. He looked to his left and saw linemate Rick Nash coming down from the point into open space near the circle and Ryan McDonagh cutting through the middle to the net. Brassard tried to get the puck to Nash, but Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara used his long stick and reach to poke it away, setting up a 2-on-1 for Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.

A Switzerland national team with little NHL experience assured the country of its first medal at the IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship in half a century with a 3-0 win against the United States in the semifinals of the 2013 tournament Saturday.

New York Islanders prospect Nino Niederreiter scored the winning goal and added an assist as Switzerland advanced to the championship game Sunday, where it'll face Sweden, a 3-0 winner against Finland earlier Saturday in the other semifinal. It's the first time Switzerland will play for the gold in the tournament's modern era.