Andre Burakovsky is ready to go.

The Washington Capitals forward will return to the lineup Friday for Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Burakovsky missed the past 10 games after undergoing minor surgery in April.

At practice Friday, Burakovsky skated on the third line alongside Chandler Stephenson and Brett Connolly.

Burakovsky notched 12 goals and 13 assists in 56 appearances this season.

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The season is over for the Nashville Predators, but Eeli Tolvanen isn't ready for a break, as the first-year forward will join Finland for the remainder of the World Championship, the team announced Friday.

Tolvanen headed to the Predators in March after finishing his KHL season with Jokerit, for whom he tallied 36 points in 49 games.

The native of Vihti, Finland, appeared in just three games for the Predators, and was held off the scoresheet in each contest. He didn't dress for any of Nashville's 13 playoff games.

The Preds selected Tolvanen with the 30th pick in the 2017 draft.

Finland has won three of its four games thus far at this year's World Championship.

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In looking to shake things up, the Carolina Hurricanes turned to a familiar face.

Rod Brind'Amour was formally announced as the team's new head coach at a press conference Wednesday, with new club owner Tom Dundon and recently appointed general manager Don Waddell also on hand.

Brind'Amour had served as an assistant coach with the Hurricanes since 2011 under former bench bosses Kirk Muller and the recently departed Bill Peters, who exercised an exit clause in his contract that allowed him to accept another coaching job.

While Brind'Amour has been a longtime member of the organization - he also played for the Hurricanes for 10 seasons, captaining the franchise to its lone Stanley Cup win in 2006, before joining the coaching ranks - he quickly made a positive impression on Dundon, who assumed ownership of the Hurricanes in January.

Dundon went as far as to call Brind'Amour the franchise's best asset, and expressed confidence that the former player can help the owner implement his vision.

"The culture is going to change because we are going to change it," Dundon said. "... I know I can do it and I know (Rod) can do it because he's done it."

On Wednesday, the Hurricanes also formally introduced Waddell as general manager. He replaces the outgoing Ron Francis. Waddell served as GM of the Atlanta Thrashers from 1998 to 2010.

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As the Washington Capitals prepare for the third round, their lineup could get a boost.

Forward Andre Burakovsky is inching closer to returning from an upper-body injury, Capitals coach Barry Trotz announced Wednesday, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. Burakovsky underwent minor surgery in April, and has been sidelined for all but two playoff games.

He'll travel with the Capitals as they head to Tampa Bay for Friday's Game 1 against the Lightning.

Burakovsky missed 20 games earlier this season due to a broken thumb. The 23-year-old wrapped the regular season with 25 points in 56 games.

Washington is making its first appearance in the conference finals since the 1998 postseason.

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Martin Jones will watch the rest of this one from the pine.

The San Jose Sharks netminder got the hook midway through the final frame of Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights after allowing four goals on 31 shots. Backup Aaron Dell entered the game in relief.

Jones posted a 34-save shutout against Vegas in Game 4.

Entering Friday's contest, he owned a .934 save percentage and a 2.01 goals-against average this postseason.

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It's all the same to Ryan Callahan.

The Tampa Bay Lightning forward, who was on the receiving end of lick from Boston Bruins agitator Brad Marchand in Friday's Game 5, was left stunned when the incident didn't result in an infraction.

"I don't know what the difference is between that and spitting in someone's face," Callahan told Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Related: Twitter disgusted by another Marchand lick

According to the NHL rule book, spitting on an opponent can result in a game misconduct.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper didn't bite his tongue when discussing Marchand's antics, either:

There's no word yet on whether Marchand will be disciplined moving forward.

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That's certainly one way to get the opposition off its game.

Boston Bruins agitator Brad Marchand was back to some familiar antics Friday, as he licked the face of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan.

It's been a too-frequent tactic from Marchand, who also hit Toronto Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov with his tongue in the first round of the postseason.

Reports originally indicated that the league warned Marchand for his conduct, but NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly later denied it.

Not surprisingly, Twitter was quick to react to Marchand's latest gross misconduct:

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Carl Hagelin is ready to go.

The Pittsburgh Penguins forward will return to the lineup for Game 4 against the Washington Capitals after missing the last three with an upper-body injury.

Hagelin suffered the injury in Round 1 when he was on the receiving end of a huge hit by Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux.

In six playoff appearances, Hagelin has notched two goals and an assist. He finished the regular season with 31 points in 81 games.

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David Quinn will not be the next coach of the New York Rangers.

The Boston Terriers bench boss was in the running, but has now withdrawn his name from consideration, a source told Larry Brooks of the New York Post.

The Rangers are in search of a new coach after Alain Vigneault was fired at season's end. Vigneault spent the past five seasons with New York.

As for Quinn, he's set to return to Boston University, his home for the last five seasons. He guided the Terriers to regular-season championships in 2015 and 2017.

Prior to joining the college ranks, Quinn spent four seasons with the Colorado Avalanche, including one year as an NHL assistant coach and three seasons as the bench boss of Colorado's AHL affiliate.

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Washington Capitals winger Tom Wilson has been suspended three games following an illegal check on Pittsburgh Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese.

The suspension comes after Wilson landed a head check on Aston-Reese in Game 3 of the second-round series between the Capitals and Penguins.

Wilson was not penalized on the play in question. Following the Capitals win, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan noted Aston-Reese suffered a concussion and a broken jaw as a result of the hit.

The suspension comes just one game after Wilson escaped further discipline following a check to the head of Penguins blue-liner Brian Dumoulin.

The Capitals currently hold a 2-1 series lead over the Penguins.

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