Predators’ Forsberg, Josi battled playoff injuries

Playing injured in the Stanley Cup Playoffs isn't uncommon, just ask a pair of Nashville Predators stars.

Regular-season leading scorer Filip Forsberg told reporters Saturday he suffered a back injury, and still isn't 100 percent healthy, while top-pairing defenseman Roman Josi played through a broken nose and finger.

Forsberg struggled in the franchises longest playoff run to date, scoring only four points in 14 games with a minus-11 rating.

Josi, meanwhile had one goal and eight assists in the postseason while averaging nearly 28 minutes of ice time. His injuries will prevent him from joining Switzerland at the World Championship.

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Bishop day to day after being stretchered off in Game 1

Ben Bishop appears to have dodged a major bullet.

Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman said Saturday that the goaltender is day to day with a lower-body injury, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.

Bishop was taken off the ice on a stretcher after falling awkwardly in his crease early in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper wouldn't provide an update on Bishop's status Saturday, but said he was relieved the injury wasn't as serious as it may have appeared.

X-rays taken after the game were negative, and Cooper said Friday night that Bishop was "definitely hurt, but there's nothing structurally wrong."

Andrei Vasilevskiy came on in relief and stopped 25 of 26 shots to preserve Tampa Bay's 3-1 win.

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Dallas Zoo makes good on elephant poop bet after Stars eliminated

During the second-round playoff series between the Stars and Blues, the Dallas and St. Louis zoos made a friendly bet on Twitter that the loser's vice president would have to shovel elephant poop while wearing the winning team's gear.

Dallas Zoo vice president, Sean Greene, made good on the bet Friday, cleaning up 250 pounds of elephant poop while donning a Blues jersey.

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Penguins’ Sullivan refuses comment on Callahan avoiding discipline

Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan is playing coy. Either that, or he's incredibly focused on Game 2.

In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan drove Penguins defenseman Kris Letang head-first into the boards.

Callahan was assessed a five-minute major, and was thought to be the target of the NHL Department of Player Safety, but reports indicate the Lightning forward won't be suspended.

Sullivan is adamant on leaving the incident in the past.

"I don't have any thoughts or observations," Sullivan said, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. "We're just going to play hockey."

Friday's Game 1 had no shortage of fireworks, and expect the same Monday in Game 2.

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Hungary earns historic win at World Championship

They'll be partying in the streets of Budapest.

Hungary defeated Belarus 5-2 at the World Championship on Saturday, earning its first victory in the tournament's top pool in nearly 80 years.

Hungarian fans were full of emotion in the final moments.

The win temporarily moved Hungary out of the basement in Group B and ahead of Belarus, which is in now danger of being relegated for the first time since 2003.

Hungary has been part of the IIHF since 1927, and entered the 2016 tournament ranked 19th in the world.

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3 backup goalies pushed into the playoff spotlight

Tampa Bay Lightning fans held their collective breaths Friday when Vezina Trophy finalist Ben Bishop went down with a knee injury in Game 1, but thankfully backup netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy was ready to calm their nerves.

Vasilevskiy made 25 saves in relief, and although it's unknown how long Bishop will be out, the Lightning crease belongs to the 21-year-old for the time being.

Fear not, Lightning supporters, it's not completely uncommon for a backup to take the reins in the playoffs.

Here are three instances when an unsuspecting goalie was thrust into the postseason spotlight:

Jussi Markkanen - 2006

Riding the momentum of a magical playoff run, the Edmonton Oilers saw their underdog lives flash before their eyes when starter Dwayne Roloson went down in Game 1 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final.

Markkanen got the nod in Game 2 - a 5-0 loss - but the Finn turned things around. He allowed one goal in Game 3, then posted a shutout in a do-or-die Game 6. He led the Oilers to Game 7, but ultimately lost 3-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes in the championship-deciding contest.

Steve Shields - 1997

Dominik Hasek was the backbone of the Buffalo Sabres in the 1990's, leading the team to the playoffs nearly every season during his Hall of Fame career. It was a different story in 1997, however.

Hasek won his third of six Vezina trophies as the Sabres won their division, but a knee injury in the postseason's opening round saw Shields take over.

Shields helped the Sabres take down the Ottawa Senators in seven games, then remained in goal versus the Philadelphia Flyers, who ended Buffalo's run in five games with Hasek sidelined.

Matt Murray - 2016

Vasilevskiy's counterpart knows the feeling.

Murray took over for an ailing Marc-Andre Fleury, and while some wrote the Penguins off, the rookie has shined.

The 21-year-old has a .929 save percentage and 2.15 goals against average in his first taste of playoff action, and has proven to be more than adequate between the pipes.

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Watch: Kuznetsov bats puck out of mid-air for sensational goal

Blink and you'll miss a terrific goal by Evgeny Kuznetsov.

The Washington Capitals forward showed impressive hand-eye coordination while representing Russia at the World Championship on Saturday, following his own shot and batting the puck out of mid-air into Switzerland's net.

The Capitals' trio of Kuznetsov, Alex Ovechkin, and Dmitry Orlov were playing their first game for Russia at the 2016 tournament.

The host country entered the game sitting in third place in Group A, with three wins and one regulation loss.

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Report: Callahan won’t have hearing for boarding Letang

Ryan Callahan reportedly won't be disciplined further for his hit on Kris Letang.

The NHL's Department of Player Safety does not have a hearing scheduled with the Tampa Bay Lightning forward, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.

Callahan drove the Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman into the boards early in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Friday night.

He was given a five-minute major for boarding but was not ejected. Letang was forced to leave the game, but returned before the first intermission.

Callahan said after the game that he thought the position Letang was in made the hit "worse than it was".

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Penguins looking to give better effort in Game 2

One game into the Eastern Conference final and the Pittsburgh Penguins are still gauging their opponent.

Since head coach Mike Sullivan took over, the Penguins have feasted on opposition with speed and skill in transition, but the Tampa Bay Lightning beat them to the punch with the same game plan Friday in Game 1.

A breakaway goal from Alex Killorn, and a perfectly executed 2-on-1 finished by Jonathan Drouin provided Tampa Bay's margin of victory, and Pittsburgh knows they'll have to stifle those opportunities going forward.

"That's where they got all their opportunities, from transition," Penguins goalie Matt Murray told Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. "It's nothing they're doing that's overwhelming us. We're just giving them a couple too many turnovers and they're a fast, skilled group in transition. I think it's something we game to them. It's not necessarily them outplaying us. It's something that can be fixed for sure."

Pittsburgh outshot Tampa Bay 35-20, but fell victim to the Lightning striking on their mistakes, and Sullivan knows that was the difference.

"We've got to make sure that we're diligent with out decisions with the puck and in those 50-50 battles," Sullivan said. "We've got to stay above people and stay on the right side so we don't allow some of the odd-man rushes."

The Penguins haven't lost consecutive games since mid-January, and have to focus on their own game rather than becoming fixated on the strengths of the Lightning.

"I think we need to be better just understanding how they play, what it looks like," Sidney Crosby said. "We've got a better feel for that, but at the end when it's all said and done here we still have another level we've got to find if we want to win games."

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NHL Rumor Mill – May 14, 2016

Updates on on Tyson Barrie Justin Faulk & P.K. Subban, plus the latest on the Oilers, Ducks, Coyotes and Senators in your NHL rumor mill.  Tyson Barrie and Justin Faulk.    630 CHED (via TODAY’S SLAPSHOT): Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman thinks Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie is “definitely in play”. He gets the impression the Barrie camp […]