Penguins’ Murray to start Game 2 vs. Lightning

The Pittsburgh Penguins will look to even their Eastern Conference finals matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night, and they'll do so with Matt Murray in goal.

Head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed Murray will start, putting rumors of Marc-Andre Fleury's return to rest.

Murray allowed three goals in the Game 1 loss, but his fortitude has gained the trust of his head coach.

"He was a maturity level beyond his years and responds to adversity really well," Sullivan said.

The Penguins haven't lost consecutive contests since mid-January and will look to continue the streak in Game 2.

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Penguins’ Dumoulin expected to play in Game 2

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin says he feels well enough to play in Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday, and his head coach believes he will.

Dumoulin suggested Sunday that he could have returned to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final if there had been more time left when he was boarded by Ondrej Palat, according to Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Palat drove Dumoulin hard into the boards with under five minutes left in Tampa Bay's 3-1 win on Friday night.

The blue-liner is glad he avoided what could have been a more serious injury.

"It is scary, thinking it could be your head or neck," he said Sunday. "Thankfully it wasn't anything serious."

He told reporters that he went through concussion protocol, and is ready to play if cleared for Monday's game, according to ESPN's Joe McDonald.

Dumoulin and Kris Letang were paired together at practice Sunday. Letang left Game 1 after being boarded by Lightning forward Ryan Callahan, but returned before the intermission.

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Watch: Germany sinks USA late in regulation with Holzer point shot

Germany continues to climb the standings at the World Championship.

A point shot from Anaheim Ducks defenseman Korbinian Holzer with 33 seconds remaining in the third period clinched the win for the Germans.

The win vaults Germany ahead of USA for third spot in Group B, and was their first regulation win over the States in 23 years.

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Watch: Hungary basks in historic win with emotional national anthem

Hungarians don't get to hear their national anthem in hockey rinks very often, so forgive them for savoring the moment.

Players and fans alike basked in the glow of a rare national achievement at the World Championship on Saturday after Hungary earned its first top-pool victory at the tournament in 77 years with a 5-2 win over Belarus.

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Watch: Auston Matthews rips sublime wrister

Auston Matthews continues to impress against NHL-level competition at the World Championship.

The likely No. 1 pick in June's draft scored his third goal of the tournament on Sunday, flicking a terrific wrist shot past New York Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss on the power play to tie the game between the United States and Germany.

Matthews picked up his sixth point in six games.

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Babcock jubilant on lottery night: ‘I had my hands in the air’

Mike Babcock's reaction mirrored that of many Toronto Maple Leafs fans on the night of the draft lottery.

While team president Brendan Shanahan smiled and said all the right things on national TV following the announcement that the Leafs had won the right to select first overall, Babcock celebrated from his lakehouse.

"When we got in the top three I had my hands in the air,” the head coach told Postmedia's Michael Traikos from the World Championship in Russia on Saturday.

Related: Maple Leafs fans rejoice over draft lottery win

“I thought it was unbelievable and then obviously when we were set up to be No. 1 it was a real big thing for our franchise. There’s real good players and you get the chance to select a player that’s going to make a real difference, both as a human being and as a player in our city. And I think it gives our fans hope, which is so important.”

Babcock is in St. Petersburg, where he'll watch top prospects Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine play for the United States and Finland, respectively, on Sunday.

“Elite players,” said Babcock. “We’re going to have a big decision in the end. It’s exciting for us. We’ve all spent a long time watching these players. In the end, that’s why we pay (head scout Mark Hunter) the big bucks, to make that decision. I’m sure we’ll all have some input. But we’re excited.”

Babcock also knows the franchise player they choose will need some time to fully develop.

"They’re not going to be dominant players right away. I’m not saying that at all. But they’re going to be good players.”

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Ovechkin: Preparing for another long offseason is not fun

Alex Ovechkin is in Russia, competing to win the World Championship on his native soil, but that's not where he wants to be playing.

The Washington Capitals captain and face of the franchise is still coming to grips with another early playoff elimination. After winning the Presidents' Trophy, it appeared this was the year Washington was destined to breakthrough. Instead, the second-round hurdle tripped the Capitals once again.

Now 30, Ovechkin admitted gearing up for another offseason of training isn't as easy as it used to be.

"I start thinking about summer, training and all that kind of stuff," Ovechkin told Chuck Gormley of CSN Mid-Atlantic. "Right now you have to take months off or whatever and start doing it again. It's not fun, to be honest with you. When you get older, you have to take more time to practice and train (than) when you were 21 or 22 years old. But again, it's life and you have to live with it."

Ovechkin was the leader the Capitals needed, scoring 12 points in 12 games, but it still wasn't enough as the Pittsburgh Penguins won the most advertised series of the playoffs.

"Obviously, it's disappointing. Obviously you don't want to stand here and talk about finishing the year and all that kind of stuff," he said.

"It sucks when you lose in the first round, second round or third round - it doesn't matter. Your goal is to win the Cup, obviously."

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Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – May 15, 2016

Latest on Steven Stamkos, Henrik Lundqvist, Justin Faulk and more in your Sunday NHL rumor roundup.    Stamkos and Lundqvist. THE BUFFALO NEWS: Bucky Gleason recently examined why signing Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos does and doesn’t make sense for the Buffalo Sabres. Stamkos is eligible this summer for unrestricted free agency and the Sabres […]

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 15, 2016

Latest on Ben Bishop, Ryan Callahan, Logan Couture, Filip Forsberg and more in today’s collection of notable NHL headlines.  TAMPA BAY TIMES: Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop is listed as day-to-day with a “lower-body injury” after appearing to injure his left knee against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final. […]