Capitals’ Burakovsky to join Sweden at World Championship

Andre Burakovsky is headed to Russia.

The Washington Capitals winger will join Sweden at the World Hockey Championship, the Capitals announced Friday.

The 21-year-old set career highs with 17 goals and 38 points in his second year in the league. Burakovsky last represented Sweden at the 2014 World Junior Hockey Championship, where he had seven points in seven games.

Sweden sits third in the Group A standings through four games with a 2-1-0-1 record.

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Watch: Germany’s Greiss allows goal from 170 feet away

Thomas Greiss will be extra thankful he won his debut for Germany at the World Championship on Friday, after an embarrassing mistake during the third period.

With Germany up 4-1, Belarusian forward Andrei Stas let a shot go from 170 feet away that appeared to be going wide, but Greiss put the puck into his own net while attempting to play it with his stick.

The goaltender joined the team after his New York Islanders were eliminated from the playoffs Sunday.

Germany went on to win 5-2.

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Fit for a King: Sutter had no interest in signing with any other team

The decision for Darryl Sutter to return as the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings appears to have been an easy one.

The team locked up its bench boss to a multi-year contract that will kick in during the 2016-17 season, a seemingly perfect fit.

"It was a clear and easy decision," Sutter said, according to NHL.com's Curtis Zupke. "I wasn’t interested in going elsewhere."

According to LA Kings Insider Jon Rosen, the team's strong nucleus ownership, and his family all played integral rolls in making his decision to stay.

In his five years as coach of the Kings, Sutter has recorded the team's best regular-season points percentage at .608 and the franchise's best playoff winning percentage at .641

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Penguins favorite to win Cup ahead of Conference finals

If oddsmakers are correct, the Pittsburgh Penguins will capture their first Stanley Cup since 2009.

Bodog released their odds for the upcoming series and Stanley Cup Final, with the Penguins leading the way with a 9/5 chance they will hoist Lord Stanley when all is said and done.

Team Odds to Win Stanley Cup
Penguins 9/5
Blues 2/1
Sharks 4/1
Lightning 17/4

It should be no surprise that with those odds the favored matchup heading into the finals is the Penguins and the St. Louis Blues with a 8/5 odds that will be the last remaining duo.

As for the Conn Smythe, despite only managing two points against the Washington Capitals in the second round, Sidney Crosby leads all skaters.

Player Odds to win Conn Smythe
Sidney Crosby 9/2
Vladimir Tarasenko 7/1
Brian Elliott 7/1
Ben Bishop 17/2
Logan Couture 19/2
Phil Kessel 19/2
Evgeni Malkin 10/1
Matt Murray 11/1
Joe Pavelski 11/1
Nikita Kucherov 12/1
Kevin Shattenkirk 14/1
Tyler Johnson 16/1
Martin Jones 16/1
David Backes 20/1
Brent Burns 20/1
Robby Fabbri 20/1
Kris Letang 20/1
Jonathan Drouin 35/1
Victor Hedman 50/1
Joe Thornton 50/1

Let the games and betting begin.

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Rangers sign top prospect Pavel Buchnevich to entry-level deal

The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with forward Pavel Buchnevich on an entry-level contract, the team announced Friday.

While the terms of the deal weren't disclosed, the 21-year-old is expected to arrive in North America in the summer to train ahead of next season, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

Buchnevich is coming off his fourth season in the KHL, splitting time between the Severstal Cherepovets and SKA St. Petersburg SKA. He totaled 16 goals and 37 points in 58 games.

Widely considered the Rangers' top prospect, the club drafted Buchnevich 75th overall in 2013.

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Stamkos hopes to return in Eastern Conference finals

Steven Stamkos is eyeing a return to the lineup during his team's Eastern Conference bout against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Tampa Bay Lightning captain took the ice Friday for an optional skate - wearing a regular jersey, not a non-contact one - and told reporters he hopes to play in this series.

The 26-year-old has been out since March 31 with a blood clot, and though he remains on blood thinners, he doesn't believe that will stop a possible return.

"There's a chance," Stamkos said, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. "That's why I'm putting in the hard work. If there wasn't a chance, I'd have pom-poms out and be a cheerleader."

Injured Tampa Bay defenseman Anton Stralman and forward J.T. Brown both skated Friday as well. Stralman will remain out of Friday's contest with a broken leg, but hasn't ruled out Game 2. Meanwhile Brown appears to be a game-time decision for Game 1.

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P.K. Subban shares adorable throwback photo on birthday

Even as a kid, P.K. Subban was stylish.

The Montreal Canadiens defenseman turned 27 years old Friday, and celebrated the occasion by sharing an adorable baby photo with his Twitter followers.

Subban also got a shoutout from the NHL's official Twitter account:

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Kings sign Darryl Sutter to multi-year extension

The Los Angeles Kings and head coach Darryl Sutter agreed to terms on a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Friday.

The news comes a day after Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times reported an agreement on a new deal.

While terms of the contract were not disclosed, Dillman reports that Sutter's annual salary will exceed the $3 million per year due to Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd McLellan.

Sutter has been at the Kings' helm since the 2011-12 season. In his tenure, he's coached the club to two Stanley Cups while amassing a regular-season record of 186-112-45 in 343 games.

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Seguin reveals calf injury kept him out of lineup

The Dallas Stars held their exit interviews Friday and Tyler Seguin addressed the injury that kept him out of 11 of his club's 13 postseason contests.

Seguin informed reporters that it was a calf injury suffered in Game 2 of the first-round series against the Minnesota Wild that sidelined him for the remainder of the playoffs.

According to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News, the team was hopeful he would have returned had the Stars advanced to the Western Conference finals.

It was also announced that forward Patrick Sharp - who managed four goals and two assists in the postseason - played through a separated shoulder. Meanwhile, forward Antoine Roussel had an abdomen strain.

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