With one free-agent winger off the board in Evander Kane, another is starting to gain attention.

Ilya Kovalchuk's agent, J.P. Barry of Creative Artists Agency, is "in discussions with teams" interested in bringing Kovalchuk back to the NHL, reports TSN's Darren Dreger.

Kovalchuk came off the voluntary retired list on April 15 - the day he turned 35 years old - officially becoming an unrestricted free agent. He and his camp can negotiate with any NHL team, but can't officially put pen to paper until July 1.

The New York Rangers are just one team that has officially gauged interest in Kovalchuk thus far, as GM Jeff Gorton stated a month ago that the club has "checked in" with him.

Kovalchuk was one of the game's elite talents before bolting for the KHL after the 2012-13 campaign, compiling 816 points in as many games with the Atlanta Thrashers and New Jersey Devils. He continued to be highly productive with SKA St. Petersburg, potting 31 goals and adding 32 assists in 51 games this past season.

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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has played a key role in the team's run to the Stanley Cup Final, a fact not lost on his teammates.

Fleury wasn't nearly at his best Monday in Game 1, allowing four goals on 28 shots, but the Golden Knights emerged with a 6-4 victory over the Washington Capitals.

It's clear that Fleury has earned a pass from his teammates, who attributed the goals to mere misfortune.

"He still made big saves," Golden Knights forward James Neal said via Dan Rosen of NHL.com. "You can look at the ones he let in, the one that got stuck in his pad and he pushed in, and he'll be hard on himself, but we'll battle and do anything for him to get a win."

"I don't think he should be hard on himself at all," Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland added. "It's a tip, couple wide-open tap-ins. I think he shouldn't be hard on himself. We kind of hung him out to dry there on those ones. We just know we can be better for him for the next game."

For his part, Fleury was quick to credit his teammates for their contributions while admitting he demands perfection from himself.

"I just want to stop them all, right?" Fleury said. "It doesn't matter. You can score 10, you still don't want to give up any. That being said, it's fun to play for a team that never quits, that always has a chance to come back in the game."

Should the Golden Knights win the Cup, Fleury will likely be raising the Conn Smythe Trophy as the first goaltender to win the postseason MVP award since Los Angeles Kings star Jonathan Quick in 2012.

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LAS VEGAS -- After a wild opening game in the Stanley Cup Final that featured 10 goals and four lead changes, Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was asked after practice on Tuesday if he expected Game 2 on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena to be a more boring game.

"I hope so," Fleury said with a smile. "(Game 1) was exciting to watch but it wasn't a goalie's favorite. We'll see. You never know. It's a long series."

The Golden Knights held on for a 6-4 victory on Monday night. Fleury, who had allowed just three goals in a four-game quarterfinal sweep of the Los Angeles Kings, surpassed that total in just one game against the Eastern Conference champion Washington Capitals, and it could have been a whole lot worse.

Washington defenseman John Carlson clanged two shots off the goal post and center Lars Eller had a chance to tie it with 40 seconds to go but whiffed on a close-in shot at a wide-open right side of the net off a pass from Tom Wilson, in part because Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb got just enough of Eller's stick to distract him. Tomas Nosek then added an empty-net goal to seal it with 2.7 seconds left.

"When you slow it down and watch it, you go, 'Just tap it in,' " Washington coach Barry Trotz said of Eller's late miss. "But when you're going 100 miles per hour and everybody is screaming -- you might be exhausted at that point -- and right at the end there was a two-hand chop on his stick. We tie it up there, who knows?"

What made the high-scoring contest even more unexpected is that Fleury had four shutouts and a .947 save percentage in his first 15 games in the playoffs while Washington goalie Brayden Holtby came in off back-to-back shutouts against Tampa Bay and had a scoreless streak of 166 minutes and 42 seconds ended by a first period blast from the point by Vegas defenseman Colin Miller on the power play.

"That's just the way the game goes some nights," Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. "(Fleury) has been our best player all playoffs long. There's no issue with Flower.

"Four goals sounds like a lot but again I thought he played okay last night. He's the first guy to say last night that I'm going to be better. He's been outstanding. We're here because of him. We know that. ... He's the backbone of our hockey team."

Vegas defenseman Deryk Engelland, who had two assists in the opener, said he expects a lower scoring game on Wednesday.

"I think it's going to tighten up a little bit," Engelland said. "Listening to everything (that was said after the game), they want to clean up some areas as do we. Not having those little breakdowns is huge. It seemed like every little breakdown was ending up in your net or in their net. Both teams are going to look to clean that up and come out ready to go."

Washington is no stranger to falling behind in a series en route to the Final. The Capitals fell behind 0-2 to Columbus in the quarterfinals before winning in double overtime come back to win that series in six games. They also lost their opener at home to two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh before rallying to win the series, 4-2. And they trailed Tampa Bay, 3-2, in the Eastern Conference finals before outscoring the Lightning 7-0 in the final two contests, including a 4-0 victory in Game 7 in Tampa.

Still, many view Wednesday night's game as a must-win for Washington. Teams that take a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final are 46-5 (90.2 percent) when it comes to going on to eventually hoisting the Cup. But the odds are only 55.6 percent (15-12) for a team that loses Game 2 after winning Game 1.

"If we make the adjustments that we need and everybody gets back to our foundation, I think we'll be back in the series real quickly," Trotz said.

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There appears to be a rift between Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan and star forward Phil Kessel, and the latter's displeasure with the former's lineup decisions during the playoffs is apparently at the forefront.

Kessel was reportedly furious that he didn't play on a line with Evgeni Malkin on a regular basis during the playoffs, according to Josh Yohe of The Athletic. Instead, Kessel spent the bulk of his postseason on a unit centered by either Derick Brassard or Riley Sheahan - something he felt was not conducive to team or personal success.

Sullivan believes Kessel's attitude about the lineup was selfish, Yohe wrote, while adding that multiple people in the Penguins organization believe Kessel was "pouty" about the situation.

Kessel had just one goal in 12 playoff games, and while he did notch eight assists, only two of them were at even strength.

Many assumed some sort of ailment had hindered Kessel's production during the postseason, but Sullivan told the media the forward wasn't dealing with a "significant injury" after the Pens were eliminated by the Washington Capitals in the second round. Kessel never commented on the matter.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Yohe also stated that Kessel is "the first guy off at practice most days and presumably spends more time at Rivers Casino than he does breaking down game film," so it's not surprising that some of his tendencies may drive a coach up a wall, even if he's popular among his teammates.

And Sullivan's power with the Penguins is "almost unlimited," according to Yohe. General manager Jim Rutherford has the final say, but he often defers to Sullivan and has a great amount of respect and praise for his coach.

Yohe believes Sullivan doesn't like Kessel very much, and that the feeling is mutual.

He added that the Penguins aren't "actively seeking a trade involving Kessel, but they're willing to listen if anyone makes an offer."

After a career-best 92-point season with a reasonable $6.8-million cap hit for the next four years (the Toronto Maple Leafs retain $1.2 million annually), there would presumably be no shortage of suitors for the 30-year-old.

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A couple who survived the mass shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas named their newborn baby girl after Golden Knights right winger Reilly Smith.

Lauren and Brad Sugars welcomed their daughter on May 18, according to The Associated Press. They initially had the name Austin in mind, but settled on Riley instead.

"We know a lot of other friends that went through the same experience and had a lot of trouble moving on, and I think we got a very clear reason to move on straight away," Brad said.

Fifty-eight people were killed and hundreds more were injured when a man opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on Oct. 1. The Sugars found out two weeks later that they were expecting a child.

"Route 91 was a very big negative, but our city turned it into a really big positive, and I think the Golden Knights has been a really big part of that," Brad said. "It's helped immensely to have something positive to focus on."

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Although there's a stark contrast in the roster composition between the Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals, both teams share a passion off the ice.

In a profile written by Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post, it was revealed that the Capitals and Golden Knights share an affinity for the Nintendo 64 classic video game "Mario Kart 64."

"You can’t practice all day, every day,” Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen said. “You’ve gotta find something to do with your downtime. It’s funny, too, because I’m not a gamer at all, but I can’t get enough of that."

Capitals forward Jay Beagle said the game provides some levity during the most important stretch of his and his teammates' careers.

"We do keep it loose, but at the right times, too," he said. "We’re also focused and dialed in, and keeping it loose, it allows you to have fun with it and realize this is a game and this is an opportunity that you only get once in a lifetime."

Nate Schmidt is credited with purchasing the Nintendo 64 console and the game for the Capitals during last year's playoffs, and started a similar tradition with his Vegas teammates this postseason.

"I thought I would leave it (the original console with the Capitals) so hopefully it would bring them to a place that’s here (the Cup Final), I guess," Schmidt said.

Mario Kart emphasizes speed, skill, and cunning tactics, so it's only fitting that both Cup finalists would be so enthralled with the game during their spare time.

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The Vegas Golden Knights have overwhelmed teams with their impressive speed and entries into the offensive zone this season, but Washington Capitals star Evgeny Kuznetsov - one of the most dynamic skaters in the Stanley Cup Final himself - doesn't agree that Vegas is all that intimidating.

ESPN's Emily Kaplan relayed the following exchange Tuesday:

The Golden Knights took Game 1 of the series 6-4, in large part due to their ability to generate pace through the wings and catch the Capitals flat-footed in their own end.

Kuznetsov, who notched an assist in the opener, will likely need to be a catalyst for Washington if the team hopes to keep up with Vegas and even the series on Wednesday night.

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The Vegas Golden Knights have overwhelmed teams with their impressive speed and entries into the offensive zone this season, but Washington Capitals star Evgeny Kuznetsov - one of the most dynamic skaters in the Stanley Cup Final himself - doesn't agree that Vegas is all that intimidating.

ESPN's Emily Kaplan relayed the following exchange Tuesday:

The Golden Knights took Game 1 of the series 6-4, in large part due to their ability to generate pace through the wings and catch the Capitals flat-footed in their own end.

Kuznetsov, who notched an assist in the opener, will likely need to be a catalyst for Washington if the team hopes to keep up with Vegas and even the series on Wednesday night.

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Tom Wilson's hit on Jonathan Marchessault has been one of the biggest talking points in what was a wild Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, but Wilson himself doesn't understand all the hoopla.

"It's a good hit," he told TVA Sports' Renaud Lavoie. "I don't know why there's so much media attention."

For those who missed it, here's a look at the check.

While Wilson avoided contact with the head, he did catch Marchessault well after he got rid of the puck.

Wilson also avoided supplemental discipline from the hit, as he won't have a hearing for the incident.

Wilson claimed Marchessault told him it was a good hit after he got up, though Marchessault said postgame that he expected the league to "take care" of the situation.

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