The deal represents a strong return for the Senators, considering Conacher has been one of the most impressive rookies in the NHL and can immediately join the Senators’ lineup during their playoff push.

The 5-foot-8 Conacher has nine goals and 15 assists this season and is second among all rookies with 24 points, only one behind Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau.

But in Bishop, the Lightning immediately address their goaltending issues. The 6-foot-7 Bishop has been effective in Ottawa while playing for the injured Craig Anderson, posting a record of 8-5-0 with a .922 save percentage and 2.45 goals-against average.

The deal gives the Lightning another option at goalie for starter Anders Lindback, who has been inconsistent in his first season as an NHL starter. Lindback is recovering from an ankle injury and hasn’t played since March 20.

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“The best answer is ‘we don’t know,’ because my injury is something we haven’t seen in the past 12 years at least,” the Richard Petty Motorsports driver said on Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Annett said Petty Motorsports, NASCAR and the company that produces seat belts all are working to figure out what led to him needing surgery for injuries that doctors expect will sideline him for eight weeks.

“I was in a carbon-fiber seat, six-point harness,” Annett said. “We’ve met with a lot of people, and everything did what it was supposed to. There are things they are working on right now to improve on what we already have.

“But at the time of the accident, everything was installed properly. Nobody did anything wrong. It was just that everything came together in the worst way possible — the speed, the impact, the angle of the impact.”

Annett said 12 years ago, before NASCAR began implementing safety changes following the 2001 death of Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500, he probably wouldn’t be alive to talk about the 11-car crash that halted the race for 20 minutes.

“The steering wheel hadn’t moved, it wasn’t bent,” he said. “There wasn’t a mark on the helmet, a mark on the suit. It was pretty much my body stayed where it was supposed to and my sternum tried to come out of my chest. That’s all we know.”

Neither Annett nor NASCAR would not reveal the g-forces at the time of impact.

“We know what it was and it was definitely high,” Annett said. “The manufacturers of all the safety equipment we wear did its job and that’s why we test them at the numbers that I did hit at.”

Annett said he plans to meet with doctors on Monday in Charlotte, N.C., to see exactly where he stands on the recovery process. He hopes to get back in the car, being driven by Reed Sorenson in his absence, a week or so earlier than projected.

“I was doing better until I got a cold and found out that sneezing is about the most painful thing there is,” Annett said. “But other than that, I’m doing good. Honestly, I feel like I could be putting my suit on right now.

“We all heal differently. They said eight weeks, but they also said I would be in the ICU all night and I was there for 30 minutes. So hopefully, we can turn that eight weeks into six or seven.”

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Anthony first aggravated the knee in the first half of Monday’s win against the Cleveland Cavaliers and hasn’t been on the floor since.

Woodson said Anthony’s status remains day to day.

The coach said Anthony reported earlier Saturday that his knee is “so-so” after receiving treatment during the team’s morning shootaround.

Anthony’s isn’t the only health issue the Knicks have. The team announced on Saturday that forward Amar’e Stoudemire is scheduled to have a right knee debridement next week and will miss approximately six weeks.

As for Anthony, an MRI taken recently revealed no structural damage, he said. But there has been a fluid buildup in the back of it.

Woodson intimated that the team has no plans to drain the fluid in Anthony’s knee at this point. The Knicks will continue with treatment and will give him time to rest. The team hasn’t taken any further tests on the knee.

“I know he’s getting his treatment and you don’t always have to drain, you can treat and the swelling can go away that way as well,” Woodson said. “We’ve just got to give it time and see what happens.”

When Anthony does return, Woodson hopes to reduce his minutes.

Anthony has played an average of 37.8 minutes per game. He averaged 41 minutes per game in January and 38.8 in February. Woodson would like to play him closer to 35 minutes, his per-game average in November.

After Saturday night, the Knicks will embark on a season-long five-game, seven-day road trip against Western Conference teams.

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The league’s reigning MVP hasn’t played since his concussion after slamming into the end boards in a win over Florida on Feb. 22.

Coach Dan Bylsma says Malkin has passed all the mandatory NHL protocols following a head injury. Malkin says he has not experienced headaches, neck soreness or other symptoms. Malkin adds he did have short-term memory loss the day he was hurt.

Malkin has four goals and 17 assists this season. The Penguins went 2-2 in Malkin’s absence. The 26-year-old is to play on the second line with Beau Bennett and James Neal against the Lightning.

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“Dwight is our future,” Kupchak told “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” on ESPN Radio on Wednesday. “Kobe [Bryant] has one more year on his deal [this year, plus one]. That’s all I can bank on or this organization can bank on. I have no idea if he wants to continue to play beyond next year. As of now, we’re looking at a two-year window, [and that] plays to the urgency of the situation and how we build the team. … This team’s window to win is this year and next year.”

When asked if he agreed with Kupchak and thought he was the future of the Lakers, Howard said at the team’s shootaround Wednesday, “Yeah, I do. We talked about it plenty of times.”

However, when pressed over whether he will remain with the Lakers past this season, Howard stuck to his refrain of focusing on the present.

“The only thing that matters is right now,” Howard said. “Nobody can control what happens in the offseason. Like I said to you guys before, there’s no need to talk about it every day.

“There’s no need for me to make a decision right now. My goal hasn’t changed. I want to win a championship and I want to win one here. I’m here right now and this is our chance to get one this season. It’s been tough, but we have an opportunity to change all that.”

Kupchak reiterated his public stance that the 27-year-old Howard, who becomes an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, is off the market with the NBA trade deadline looming Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.

“We’ve been very consistent,” Kupchak said. “We’re not trading Dwight Howard. … He will not be traded, and there’s nothing that anybody can do today to call me today and ask me, ‘Would you do this?’ and get a positive result.”

Kupchak called Howard the best center in the league and expressed how difficult it is to acquire talent like him, especially with the restrictions in place since the league’s new collective bargaining agreement was ratified.

“It’s hard to get talent in this league, and to have a talent like Dwight Howard, we have no intention of trading Dwight Howard,” Kupchak said. “He belongs to have his name on the wall [as a retired uniform] and a statue in front of Staples [Center] at some point in time.”

The GM said he is not concerned with Howard’s playful demeanor curtailing his effectiveness on the court and added that Howard will not be fully embraced until he earns a championship ring.

“Players in this league are not going to get their due until they win a championship, and until they do, they’re under the microscope and they’re going to be criticized for every single little thing,” Kupchak said. “We’ve seen that with what’s taken place in Miami in the last year or two. LeBron [James] is playing at a ridiculously high level right now, but for several years he was criticized for everything he did. When he won a championship, everything changed. That’s just the way it’s going to be. With Dwight, when he wins his first championship — and he will — people will look at him differently.”

Howard’s game has looked different this season as he’s struggled to recover from back surgery and has been slowed by a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Howard’s 16.3 points-per-game average is his lowest scoring output since his second season in the league, and his 11.8 rebounds per game are his lowest since his rookie season in 2004-05.

Even with the drop-off in numbers, the Lakers are prepared to offer Howard a max five-year contract extension in the offseason and believe he will be able to return to the type of player who was the three-time defensive player of the year in Orlando.

“That type of [back] surgery takes at least a year to get back completely,” Kupchak said of the procedure Howard underwent 10 months ago last April. “He’s so young, he got back so quick, he’s going to have a 100 percent recovery.”

Kupchak acknowledged that Howard’s relationship with Bryant is evolving, but said that was more of a product of them only playing half a season together than it was a personality conflict.

“I think it’s a work in progress, probably the best way to say it,” Kupchak said. “I would say the same thing about Kobe and Steve Nash and Steve Nash and Dwight Howard.”

As for Pau Gasol, the other member of the Lakers’ “big four,” Kupchak said calls asking about the availability of the 12-year veteran have quieted since he suffered a torn plantar fascia in his right foot in early February.

“We’re not going to trade Pau today or tomorrow, but his name has come up in the past, and it would be misleading to say it won’t come up in the future,” Kupchak said of Gasol, who will have a $19.3 million expiring contract next season.

Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni also isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, according to Kupchak.

“Mike D’Antoni is going to be the coach here going forward,” Kupchak said. “We’re very happy with Mike D’Antoni. This is a very tough situation to walk into with no training camp, new players, a lot of injuries. There are no excuses there, whatsoever, because that’s what all teams in this league deal with, especially the injury part, but he’s brought energy, he understands the game, he’s been great and we’re very happy with him going forward.”

While Kupchak is busy fielding phone calls leading up to the trade deadline, he is also processing the death of longtime Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, who will be honored with a memorial service Thursday afternoon just hours after the deadline passes.

“The last two days have been very solemn around the office, and a lot of people [are] reflecting,” Kupchak said. “We’re going to miss him tremendously, but the franchise is in good hands. It really is. He made provisions to keep it in the family. My understanding is that’s what’s going to happen.”

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“It doesn’t prove nothing. That was a lockout season,” Evans told the New York Daily News on Wednesday when asked whether beating the defending champs would prove something to the rest of the NBA.

The Nets and Heat face one another for the third and final time on Wednesday night at Barclays Center. Miami won the first two meetings between the two teams by a combined 43 points.

For his part, James isn’t too impressed by the Nets, despite their recent turnaround under interim coach P.J. Carlesimo.

“Their offense hasn’t changed, their defense,” James said of the Nets on Wednesday. “They just picked up the intensity level. You can tell that they like to play for P.J.”

“It sucks that Avery (Johnson) had to take the hit of them not wanting to play at a high level,” James added.

Johnson went 14-14 this season as Nets coach before being fired in late December.

Carlesimo, who has gone 13-4 since taking over in Brooklyn, called James “unguardable” on Tuesday. But it sounds as though Evans disagrees.

“Our team is defending the Miami Heat. If our team has to defend one person, LeBron isn’t going to score nothing. LeBron is no different from Joe Johnson or Andray Blatche. No different,” Evans told the Daily News. “People need help (on defense). Some people don’t need help. Everybody has to be double-teamed, it doesn’t matter who you are. You just have to stop LeBron in transition.

“He’s quick in transition. If you look at Joe Johnson — Joe Johnson has two or three people trying to stop him. Whoever is guarding him.”

James went 6-10 in his first 16 games against the Nets’ franchise, but has gone 16-0 since. He has scored at least 20 points in his last 19 games against the Nets, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

James said Tuesday he “wasn’t losing any sleep” over playing in Brooklyn for the first time, according to The Miami Herald. But Evans’ comments could make him more motivated to have a big night.

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Hossa was hit illegally in the head by the Phoenix Coyotes’ Raffi Torres in Game 3 of the Blackhawks’ first-round playoff series on April 17, 2011. Hossa was taken off the ice on a stretcher and didn’t play the rest of the season. Torres was originally suspended 25 games and had it reduced to 21 games after an appeal.

“You can’t just be playing careful hockey,” Hossa said after Monday’s practice at Johnny’s IceHouse West. “I just want to be myself. Right now, I feel like that’s where I am.”

Hossa was cleared to play in December and said he hasn’t felt any lingering effects of last year’s injury. He went through his second official practice on Monday and said he continued to feel good.

“Right now when I step on the ice, my head is clear,” Hossa said. “That’s the main thing for me. I wasn’t like that before when I was still here in early November.”

One major stepping stone for Hossa was recently taking his first big hit and being able to skate away from it.

“Three days ago, (Brandon) Bollig hit me pretty hard by accident, so that was a good test,” Hossa said. “I know I passed it.”

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville has liked the look of Hossa, too. Quenneville said Hossa was in great shape and could again be highly depended on as he was in the past.

“He’s probably never been in this good of shape in his life,” Quenneville said. “He’s fine. He’s ready to go. He’s ready to play. We anticipate using him in all situations. We know the importance he brings to our team, what he can do for our team.”

Hossa has registered 50-plus points in the past 12 seasons. His 77-point total last season for the Blackhawks was the most he had since having 100 points for the then-Atlanta Thrashers in the 2006-07 season.

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The Detroit Red Wings’ prospect was arrested in October after being pulled over for driving the wrong way down a one-way street. According to reports, he had a blood-alcohol level of .30, which falls under Michigan’s tough “super drunk” designation. He was still in his purple Teletubby costume from Halloween at the time of the arrest, which was later captured on police video.

It added up to an embarrassing, life-altering event — but not a life-ending one.

“That was one of the things that haunts me the most,” Sheahan told ESPN The Magazine. “You hear so many of those horrific accidents. I think about it could have been me. It’s scary. I’m lucky. Now I can look at everything that happened and move on from it. Maybe live my life a little fuller.”

Sheahan is speaking with the media this week for the first time since the incident in hopes that it adds closure to what’s been a dark chapter in his life. But he has no intention of hiding from that night.

Aside from continuing his career with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins with hopes of joining the Red Wings if the NHL lockout ends, he plans on reaching out to speak to other young athletes to provide a cautionary tale.

“It’s so easy to say, ‘Don’t drink and drive.’ So many kids will be in that position and think they’ll be OK,” Sheahan said. “Just have the keys, ‘It’s a short little drive.’ They think it’s fine. But what you could go through, the possibilities of hurting somebody … that’s something I could tell younger athletes.”

Sheahan, 21, said he hasn’t had any alcohol since the incident, although he hasn’t ruled easing it back into his life at some point. He’s focused on taking advantage of the second chance given to him by the Red Wings organization and forgiving hockey fans.

He hopes the incident doesn’t define him. He’s playing some of his best hockey of the season right now, and the 6-foot-2, 2010 first-round pick is the kind of big body Red Wings coach Mike Babcock appreciates up front.

It’s a long road to erase the memory of an embarrassing and potentially dangerous incident, but he’s starting it.

“You read an article like that, and the first thing that comes to mind is, ‘That kid is an idiot,'” Sheahan said. “That’s something I brought on myself and that’s something I’m going to have to prove to everyone — I can be a good person and not make those kinds of decisions.”

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