NEWARK, N.J. -- New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur skated Tuesday morning, but general manager Lou Lamoriello said there is no timetable for him to return from his back injury.

This is the first time Brodeur has skated since Feb. 24, when he pulled himself out of warmups prior to a home game against the Winnipeg Jets.

"There's no timetable on that until he's 100 percent," Lamoriello said. "It's part of his rehab to get strength. He's been off the ice for quite a while now. It's still going to be a little bit."

Sidney Crosby

Center - PIT

GOALS: 12 | ASST: 33 | PTS: 45
SOG: 91 | +/-: 16

There's a tendency to look beyond the obvious answer to a question sometimes in an effort to be edgy, or different, or drum up debate among fans. But when it comes to deciding which player has been the most valuable to his team up until this moment, it's unquestionably been the Pittsburgh Penguins star.

Let's start with the obvious: His statistics haven't been seen in the NHL in 20 years.

OTTAWA -- Things got chippy during the Boston Bruins' 3-2 shootout victory against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place on Monday, with Chris Neil on the giving and receiving ends of both incidents.

At 11:41 in the first period, Neil was driven into the boards by Adam McQuaid and fell to the ice. Neil took several minutes to get to his feet, requiring assistance from the Ottawa trainers to exit the ice. Neil returned to the bench several minutes later, but not before Patrick Wiercioch fought McQuaid on behalf of his teammate. McQuaid was given a boarding penalty for the hit and five minutes for fighting. Wiercioch received 19 minutes in penalties -- a fighting major, two minutes for instigating, two minutes for instigating while wearing a visor, and a 10-minute misconduct.

For all the good that Sidney Crosby's incredible vision and unique playmaking skills are doing for Chris Kunitz's production this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain said he is the one who has become a more reliable and complete player as a result of following the lead of his linemate.

Chris Kunitz

Left Wing - PIT

GOALS: 17 | ASST: 19 | PTS: 36
SOG: 59 | +/-: 21

Call him humble if you want, but this isn't Crosby just tossing out a benign complement. Kunitz means too much to him for that.

"With any teammate, you want to make sure you're accountable to him," Crosby told NHL.com. "He [Kunitz] is going in on the forecheck and creating loose pucks, so if I'm the first one in I want to make sure I'm doing the same thing. You build that trust.

"He's just so dependable and that's contagious. When a guy is that responsible, you want to make sure you're following that up."

Entering their game Tuesday against the Boston Bruins (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN), Crosby and Kunitz are the most productive duo in the National Hockey League this season because the chemistry and trust they have in one another is matching their combined skill and drive. It never was more evident than in Pittsburgh's 6-1 win against the New York Islanders on Sunday, when they each had five points, including a hat trick for Kunitz -- with Crosby assisting on all three goals.

FRISCO, Texas -- The news on Dallas Stars center Jamie Benn was mixed after practice on Monday. On one hand, the organization was happy that Benn, who had to leave the ice late in a 2-0 loss at Phoenix on Saturday following a hard shoulder hit from the Coyotes' Martin Hanzal, did not have a concussion.

Jamie Benn

Center - DAL

GOALS: 6 | ASST: 10 | PTS: 16
SOG: 51 | +/-: -7

However, the 23-year-old center has a wrist injury unrelated to the Hanzal hit that kept him out of practice and also might prohibit him from playing in Tuesday's game against the Nashville Predators, the start of a four-game homestand for Dallas.

"I feel good, had a little spa day today," Benn joked. "The wrist is a little sore today, so [I] took the day off. [I'll] skate tomorrow morning and see how it feels."

Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan termed Benn doubtful for Tuesday's game, but also expressed relief that his wrist was not broken. Benn has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) through 19 games for the Stars, tying him with Loui Eriksson as the club's second-leading scorer.

College hockey coaching legend Jack Parker announced on Monday that his reign as head coach of Boston University's men's hockey team will come to an end at the conclusion of the 2012-13 campaign and 40 seasons at the helm.

The announcement, made in the Francis D. Burke Club Room at Agganis Arena, came on Parker's 68th birthday. Joining Parker at the press conference were athletic director Mike Lynch and school president Robert Brown.

Lynch said a search for Parker's successor will begin immediately.

"This is a marquee job and it hasn't been open in a very long time," Lynch said. "It will be handled in the highest level."

What type of person would Parker choose as his replacement?

The Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday acquired forward Dan Sexton from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Kyle Wilson.

Sexton was an undrafted free agent signee by the Ducks in 2009. He had five goals and 16 points in 27 games for Anaheim's American Hockey League affiliate in Norfolk this season.

In July 2011, the Ducks re-signed Sexton to a two-year, two-way contract. In 88 career NHL games, all with Anaheim, he has 13 goals and 32 points.

Wilson, a 2004 ninth-round (No. 272) pick of the Minnesota Wild, has five goals in 22 games with Tampa Bay's American Hockey League affiliate in Syracuse this season. He has played 39 games in the NHL with the Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets, totaling four goals and nine assists.

He had four goals and 11 points in 32 games with the Blue Jackets in 2010-11.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Darryl Sutter often speaks his own language, his sayings dispensed with a unique bluntness that hits home through his farmer's tongue.

Getting him to wax poetic about a player takes patience because his compliments are tossed out like grenades: When they hit the ground it gets everybody's attention. So it was through Sutter-speak that he revealed some explanation of Jeff Carter's fast-drip scoring spree.

Jeff Carter

Center - LAK

GOALS: 17 | ASST: 2 | PTS: 19
SOG: 68 | +/-: -1

"You look at the goals … he scores goals on his off side. It's sort of like Jarome [Iginla] where he scores goals on his off side. He'll go up top, he'll go low. Where you're not just seeing how he shoots it. And then around the net, he just scores where it's natural. He's [shooting] to score, not just [shooting] to shoot.

"I like that -- when you're getting on guys to score on rebounds and all that instead of just another save. He's a hard guy to defend, I think, because it's not that he's perimeter, it's not like he's inside. It's like those guys that they're just going to compete to score. It's not something you've got to learn. It's something [that comes naturally]."

The National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety on Monday unveiled its "Clipping/Hip Checking" video, the fifth in a series of educational videos designed to help players and fans better understand how specific infractions are viewed and evaluated, what is legal and what merits the assessment of Supplemental Discipline.

This latest video takes viewers through the dynamics of determining the issues involving clipping and hip-checking infractions which can merit the possibility of Supplemental Discipline. It provides several examples of each incident and explains the key components that must be present for a clipping or hip-checking incidents to rise to the level of review by the Department of Player Safety.

During the course of the season, the department will produce videos focusing upon other types of infractions, as well.

The Phoenix Coyotes have signed forward Henrik Samuelsson, their first-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, to a three-year entry-level contract, the terms of which were not disclosed.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Samuelsson has posted 32 goals and 79 points in 67 games this season with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League. He currently ranks third on the team in goals and points.

The 19-year-old native of Scottsdale, Arizona finished the 2011-12 season with Edmonton, recording seven goals and 23 points in 28 games with the Oil Kings after recording two assists in 15 games with Modo Hockey Ornskoldsvik (Swedish Elite League).