The Pittsburgh Penguins will call on Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets after starter Matt Murray suffered an apparent injury in the pregame warmup.

Murray will not dress, leaving Tristan Jarry to back up Fleury.

Fleury appeared in 38 games this season, posting a 18-10-7 record alongside a .909 save percentage.

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Boston Bruins center David Krejci was announced as a late scratch from Game 1 against the Ottawa Senators.

Krejci, who did not practice Monday but was still expected to suit up, is listed as having an upper-body injury, per the team.

In 82 games this season, Krejci recorded 23 goals and 31 assists while playing a second-line center role. He was replaced in the lineup by rookie Sean Kuraly.

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Will he or won't he return?

The status of Buffalo Sabres coach Dan Bylsma remains up in the air after general manager Tim Murray failed to provide a ringing endorsement of his bench boss at Wednesday's season-ending press conference.

"He's the coach today like I'm the GM today," Murray told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. "I haven't had any thoughts of firing him up to this point. The reason I always say today is because something could happen tomorrow."

Despite Bylsma being only two years into a five-year pact, there are murmurs the Sabres could make a change behind the bench. That discussion kicked into overdrive Sunday, when the Dallas Stars fired Lindy Ruff.

Ruff previously coached the Sabres for 15 seasons and his availability could cut short Bylsma's tenure in Western New York.

The Sabres had a disappointing second season under Bylsma, finishing with 78 points, three fewer than the previous campaign. The coach could reason star center Jack Eichel was lost for a quarter of the year after suffering a high-ankle sprain in training camp, but in the end the Sabres failed to make progress where it matters.

This season marks six straight years of a playoff-less spring in Buffalo, the league's longest active drought behind only the Carolina Hurricanes, who have gone eight years without seeing the postseason.

On Wednesday, Murray lamented the team's poor puck possession, adding it's up to him to add more speed and skill to the lineup. But is the Sabres' biggest issue behind the bench?

"Players have legitimate gripes about the coach," said Murray, who conducted exit interviews with the players at the beginning of the week. "I think players have some legitimate gripes about the way our team is built and that's me. And I think players have some gripes that aren't legitimate and are excuses. Again, we're all to blame."

Murray will meet with Bylsma and team owner Terry Pegula next week, where it's believed the coach's fate with the club could be decided.

If the Sabres are to make a change - and if they want to give Bylsma a fair shot at open positions in NHL circles - they'll need to act quick.

Reports indicate the Stars will soon scoop up Ken Hitchcock, while the Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, and incoming Vegas Golden Knights also need to appoint a head coach.

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Leave it to Scott Hartnell to fuel the fire.

In advance of Game 1 of an opening-round series between his Columbus Blue Jackets and the Pittsburgh Penguins, the veteran winger was asked whether the opposing team had matured since he last saw them in the playoffs as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers.

His response, singling out Sidney Crosby, was a backhanded compliment at best.

"Maybe Sid," Hartnell said, per Sam Werner of the Post-Gazette. "He's not whining all the time."

Hartnell, who was traded by the Flyers to Columbus in 2014, is set to suit up in his first playoff game as a member of the Blue Jackets. He brings 91 postseason appearances to the table, and recorded two goals and three assists in the six-game series victory for Philadelphia over Pittsburgh in 2012.

Clearly, old rivalries die hard.

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That looks familiar.

The Arizona Coyotes took to Twitter on Wednesday, jabbing the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves after the club unveiled a new logo that looks awfully similar to the design worn by the desert hockey club.

The Coyotes released their howling logo in 2003 after sporting a kachina-style design through their first seven seasons in Arizona.

If only the Coyotes' on-ice play was as strong as their social media game.

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We might have another Jimmy Vesey situation on our hands.

Colorado Avalanche draft pick Will Butcher - who is coming off a Hobey Baker win as the best player in NCAA hockey and a Frozen Four victory with the Denver Pioneers - is in no rush to sign his entry-level contract, he told Mike Chambers of the Denver Post.

"I told him (Joe Sakic) I didn’t want an offer yet," Butcher, who met with Sakic on Tuesday, said. "I wanted to sit with him, talk with him about my year, what they’re thinking, what their philosophy is going to be. My parents are coming in this weekend for the banquet, and I want to talk to my parents before they offer me anything."

The news comes after Sakic told the Denver Post that he wanted to present Butcher with a contract after the Frozen Four tournament wrapped up.

Butcher is hoping to keep his options open and for now just wants to gather information from the Avalanche.

"He (Sakic) came in and gave me his whole spiel about changes in the program, going younger and everything like that. I told him I’d get back in touch with him," Butcher said. "I’m weighing all my options right now. I want to take my time. I don’t have anything to rush into right now. I’m not going to play anywhere right now. So I might as well take my time."

Last season, Predators draft pick Vesey elected to not sign in Nashville and instead become a free agent. He ultimately agreed to a deal with the New York Rangers - also upon winning the Hobey Baker Award.

The Avalanche have until Aug. 15 to sign Butcher to a contract before he hits free agency.

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Boston Bruins defensman Charlie McAvoy will make his NHL debut on center stage Wednesday, as the coveted blue-line prospect will suit up for Game 1 versus the Ottawa Senators, head coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed.

McAvoy initially signed an amateur tryout with the Bruins in late March, but following injuries to Brandon Carlo and Torey Krug, the club gave the 19-year-old an entry-level deal, signed Monday.

The Bruins selected McAvoy with the 14th overall pick in June, and he played a huge role in the United States' gold medal run at the world juniors, along with recording 26 points in 38 games with Boston University.

McAvoy is expected to pair with Kevan Miller on Wednesday.

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The Los Angeles Kings made a somewhat surprising move this week, announcing the club was going in a different direction with the firings of head coach Darryl Sutter and general manager Dean Lombardi.

Firing Sutter means that one of the most successful head coaches of the past decade is now available for hire - just what the Vegas Golden Knights were hoping for, right?

The expansion franchise has been mum on its pending hire, after it was reported back in January that Vegas was accelerating its search with an aim toward finding a coach before the regular season concluded.

However, here we are, which is no closer to knowing who will be leading the team's inaugural roster.

It could be a case of mulling over a few options, but the more likely reason for this is that George McPhee and company expected exactly what's transpired over the past week - more big names becoming available.

Related - Report: Stars to hire Hitchcock as head coach

The Dallas Stars made it known that Lindy Ruff isn't coming back, Willie Desjardins was canned by the Vancouver Canucks, and Jack Capuano and Gerard Gallant both remain available after being shown the door earlier in the season.

It gives the team a pick of a pretty fine litter.

All that considered, let's get back to Sutter, who as it stands looks to be the best option for the Golden Knights.

Even before a roster is assembled, it's safe to project that the team will have a hard time competing with the elite franchises of the league. With that in mind, it's clear Vegas is going to need a coach who can get the best out of very little.

Related: Vegas Golden Knights' expansion mock roster

Sutter would be perfect for this. The straight shooter of a coach has become renowned for deploying a smothering defensive system that can win championships, as we saw in 2012 and 2014

He also - for the mathematicians out there - still had his Kings lead the league in Corsi-for this season, a notable achievement for a club that finished eight points out of the final wild-card spot in the West and 25th in goals scored. In fact, Los Angeles' 55.71 percent mark since the 2011-12 season also leads the league.

This year didn't work out for Sutter for a few reasons: First, Jonathan Quick was injured most of the year; second, Jeff Carter was the only player who could score; third, that Dean Lombardi gave Sutter very little to work with. Despite that, he remains a top-notch coach.

Sutter's odd, quirky sense of humor and the fact that Vegas is just a four hour drive from Los Angeles should also provide Golden Knights fans with a coach they're familiar with - something that matters more for an expansion franchise.

McPhee appears to have played the market perfectly, and even before he makes his decision he deserves a tip of the cap for that. The Golden Knights are doing everything in their power to make sure the club is set for success in the future.

The next step in that plan is to hire Sutter.

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The fantasy hockey playoffs bring not only nightly excitement on television without the need of having to worry about the Colorado Avalanche or Arizona Coyotes erroneously popping up on your screen, but they also provide an extra reason to get mad at your friends and work colleagues via playoff pools.

Whether it be a box pool, a draft format, or freely choosing your own collection of a set amount of players, all pools follow the same general principals.

DO: Be right

It might be difficult to resist the temptation to be wrong, but this point is the biggest of all. Take it from someone with years of experience with being wrong in playoff pools (and in other ways). Winning a playoff format requires having more players from the champions of each conference than anyone else involved in the pool. Start with a bracket, pick the winner of each matchup, and load up on the players from your hypothetical Stanley Cup Final.

DON'T: Share

Sharing is caring - unless you care about winning. In the real world, not all the star players play for the same team (a total of just 56 players suited up for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks this season). This will cause participants unwilling to follow the first DO to pick only star players and be left with guys on five or more teams. The more concentrated your fantasy roster is on the real-life champion, the better your chances of success.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

DO: Play to win

Playing to win means coming up with a strategy and a roster no one else in your pool will have. This requires selecting some less obvious names who will be a a factor for the eventual Stanley Cup-winning team. Look for third-line players who also see time on the power play, or defensive role players who are likely to see plenty of ice time at the ends of games and in overtime.

DON'T: Be loyal

Unless you're part of the rapidly growing fan bases of the Penguins and/or Blackhawks, chances are your team won't win the Stanley Cup, even with an unlikely (or overdue) playoff appearance. Unlike a sea captain, you don't need to go down with the ship. Playoff pools are the time for bandwagon jumping, even if it means pledging temporary allegiance to a long-time rival.

DO: Take risks

It's not easy (or logical) to select third or fourth liners who struggled to hit 30 points in the regular season over a 80-point star. These decisions are gut-wrenching hours before the postseason starts, but can result in a nice bank account boost once Lord Stanley's mug is passed around. Look to maximize the number of games played by your team as a whole. The stats will follow.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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