Considering the well-documented magnificence of the Toronto Maple Leafs' rookie class this season, it's hard to imagine there's yet another dynamic freshman to add into the fold, right?

Wrong - enter Kasperi Kapanen, who's cemented his presence into Toronto's lineup, and his name into the minds of hockey fans everywhere in a mere matter of weeks.

Kapanen only played eight games for the Maple Leafs in the regular season, but those who follow the club closely knew his promotion from the AHL would help Toronto's balance in the stretch run, as the 20-year-old is a lightning-quick, offensively gifted winger who happened to rack up 43 points in 43 games with the AHL's Marlies in 2016-17.

Deployed on the fourth line alongside Brian Boyle and Matt Martin, Kapanen's full offensive potential appears untapped to this point, but he's undoubtedly staked his claim as a big-game player.

He earned the reputation first and foremost at the 2016 world juniors, where he clinched the gold medal on home soil for his native Finland with an overtime winner, and early in his NHL career, the clutch gene has transferred over.

With a playoff berth on the line, it was Kapanen that notched his first NHL goal versus the Pittsburgh Penguins to tie the game - setting the table for goals from fellow rookies Connor Brown and Auston Matthews to send the Maple Leafs to the dance.

Saturday night, it was Kapanen who stepped up again, first tying the game at 2-2, then following up with a double-overtime winner to send the series back to Toronto with a desperately needed split.

As the centerpiece of the Leafs' return in the Phil Kessel trade, Kapanen, drafted 22nd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014, is expected to grow into a more prominent role in Toronto's quest to become a consistent contender, and based on his early impact, it may come sooner than later.

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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 Pittsburgh Penguins will start Matt Murray in Game 1 versus the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night, head coach Mike Sullivan announced.

Murray backstopped the Pens to the Stanley Cup last spring in his first taste of the NHL playoffs, but split the 2016-17 regular season with veteran Marc-Andre Fleury.

Fleury only made one start last postseason, but is one of the club's leaders and could be riding out his final playoffs with the franchise as expansion looms.

In 21 postseason starts last year, Murray was phenomenal, posting a 15-6-2 record with a 2.08 goals-against average and .923 save percentage.

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Sidney Crosby led more than just the NHL's goals race this season. He's the league's No. 1 jersey seller, too.

The NHL announced its top sellers Wednesday, and to no surprise, No. 87 is at the top, followed by Blackhawks teammates Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

The rest of the list, full of the usual suspects, is as follows:

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We made it, folks. The NHL playoffs are upon us.

With an 82-game schedule now in the books, the fun begins Wednesday night, with a full slate of five first-round games.

As you prepare to spend the next eight weeks glued to your television, take a look at the top storylines in the race for the Stanley Cup.

1. Canada's back

Following a disappointing no-show last season, five Canadian teams qualified for the playoffs this time around, each with something to prove.

Edmonton ended an 11-year drought, while Toronto defied all odds to qualify with a rookie-laden roster. Montreal has a revenge date with the Rangers, while Ottawa and Calgary quietly had terrific seasons.

This should be fun.

2. The kids vs. the favorites

The Maple Leafs put together a stellar month of March to secure their first playoff berth in an 82-game season since 2004. Their reward? Facing the best team in hockey.

The Capitals' season is just beginning; anything short of a Stanley Cup will be considered a failure for the Presidents' Trophy winners, and an early matchup with the up-and-coming Leafs makes for arguably the most compelling opening round series.

3. McDavid & Co.

He put a ribbon on the Art Ross in reaching 100 points, he's the odds-on favorite to win MVP, and now he gets to taste the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time. Sit back, relax, and let's see how far captain Connor can carry the Oilers.

4. New faces, new places

Remarkably, seven of the 16 head coaches in the tournament are in their first year on the job with their respective clubs.

• Claude Julien (Montreal)
• Bruce Cassidy (Boston)
• Guy Boucher (Ottawa)
• Bruce Boudreau (Minnesota)
• Mike Yeo (St. Louis)
• Glen Gulutzan (Calgary)
• Randy Carlyle (Anaheim)

There's plenty of intrigue among these bench bosses, as Julien, Cassidy, and Yeo took over mid-season - the same thing Mike Sullivan did before leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Stanley Cup last June.

What's more, Yeo is facing his former team in Minnesota, as is Todd McLellan, who spent seven years with the Sharks before joining Edmonton in 2015-16.

5. Quest to repeat

The Penguins' mission to defend their Stanley Cup championship comes with a first-round matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets - who won't be intimidated.

By no means will it be an easy path for the Pens, as no team has repeated since the Red Wings in 1997-98. Pittsburgh's depleted blue line will surely be tested, and a potential path back to the final will likely require Crosby vs. Ovechkin Vol. III.

(Photos Courtesy: Action Images)

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The Dallas Stars will hire Ken Hitchcock to fill the club's head coach vacancy, according to multiple reports.

The club announced recently Lindy Ruff wouldn't return next season after a disappointing campaign, and general manager Jim Nill has apparently acted quickly upon searching for an experienced replacement.

Hitchcock was let go by the St. Louis Blues in February after five-plus seasons behind the bench, and previously stated he'd retire at the conclusion of the 2016-17 schedule.

The 65-year-old ranks fourth on the all-time coaching wins list (781) - just one victory behind the legendary Al Arbour. He spent seven seasons with the Stars to begin his NHL coaching career, winning the Stanley Cup with the club in 1999.

After winning the Central Division in 2015-16, the Stars followed up with a turbulent 79-point season, and Hitchcock will be tasked with transforming the talented, defensively deficient team back into a contender.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs fell flat in their opportunity to climb up the standings Sunday night, falling to the Columbus Blue Jackets by a final score of 3-2 in regulation - ultimately setting up a first-round meeting with the Washington Captials next week.

With the result, the Ottawa Senators will face the Boston Bruins.

Toronto needed just one point to jump into the third seed in the Atlantic Division, and looked to be in the driver's seat early, jumping out to a 2-0 lead on two goals from James van Riemsdyk. However, the Blue Jackets roared back with three goals in the second period, the dagger coming on a shorthanded tally from Cam Atkinson.

Both Toronto and Boston finished the regular season with 95 points, but by virtue of regulation and overtime wins (ROW), the Bruins' 42 outweigh the Leafs' 39.

Toronto posted a record of 1-1-1 versus the Presidents' Trophy winning Capitals during the regular season.

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The Montreal Canadiens didn't necessarily have to beat the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night, but they probably should have. Instead, the Habs fell 2-1 in overtime on a rather fancy goal from Anthony Mantha.

The loss continued a recent trend in which Montreal's top guns have lacked their usual offensive spark. Over the past nine games, the Canadiens' first line has produced just two goals, both coming from Max Pacioretty in a 4-1 win over Edmonton on March 12.

Those struggles led head coach Claude Julien to split up his usual top-line trio of Alexander Radulov, Alex Galchenyuk, and Pacioretty late in the game against Detroit.

Julien then shuffled his lines at practice Wednesday, moving Galchenyuk to the wing beside Andrew Shaw and Arturri Lehkonen, while Phillip Danault was reunited with Pacioretty and Radulov as the first-unit center.

Ostensibly, putting the more skilled player in Galchenyuk between Montreal's top two wingers makes sense for a No. 1 line, but Radulov and Pacioretty have been much more productive while flanking Danault this season.

(All stats listed at five-on-five, courtesy corsica.hockey)

It should be noted that Danault's sample size on the top line is much larger than Galchenyuk's, who missed a significant portion of Montreal's schedule with a knee injury.

Whether Julien opts to run his new variations on Thursday versus Carolina remains to be seen, but either way, the Canadiens will certainly need their top players to start producing in order to fend off the lurking Ottawa Senators for the Atlantic Division title.

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Each day this week, we'll publish mock expansion keeper lists by division, and last but not least is the Central. On Friday, we'll publish our mock expansion Las Vegas Golden Knights roster.

Atlantic | Pacific | Metropolitan | Central

*NMC = No-movement clause
*All first- and second-year professionals, along with unsigned draft choices, will be exempt from selection (and will not be counted toward their club's applicable protection limits).
*Notable protected 2017 unrestricted free agents are kept based on the assumption they will re-sign with their respective teams before Las Vegas' window to negotiate with UFAs opens.

Chicago Blackhawks

• Thanks to numerous no-movement clauses, the Blackhawks protection list is practically automatic. Artemi Panarin and Nick Schmaltz being exempt certainly helps, too.
• With such a wide range of contract situations here, center Marcus Kruger - an important role player during two Stanley Cup runs - is likely to be exposed.

Colorado Avalanche

• Colorado's disastrous roster could look very different by next season, but leaving trade chips exposed for nothing simply isn't an option.
• There are plenty of ugly contracts on the roster - particularly Carl Soderberg, whose possible departure for Vegas would be a blessing for Colorado's brass.
• A No. 1 option in goal for the NHL's newest team could be Semyon Varlamov, though he does have two more years and $5.9 million remaining on his current deal.

Dallas Stars

• The Stars might wish for a world in which they could expose both Niemi and Kari Lehtonen based on their appalling seasons in goal, but Niemi ultimately gets the nod due to a smaller cap hit.
• GM Jim Nill said 2013 first-round pick Valeri Nichushkin, currently in the KHL, will probably be protected despite his slow development.

Minnesota Wild

• Minnesota is bound to lose a good player, be it a forward or defenseman.
• If GM Chuck Fletcher was to replicate the list above, forward Jason Zucker would be free, as would blue-liners Jonas Brodin and Marco Scandella.

Nashville Predators

• The rationale behind choosing to protect Mattias Ekholm over Ryan Ellis comes down to term, as Ekholm is under contract until 2022 at a reasonable cap hit, while Ellis is due for substantial raise in 2019.

St. Louis Blues

• With zero no-movement clauses to deal with, keeping the Blues' core intact seems relatively simple.

Winnipeg Jets

• Going with the four forwards, four defensemen, one goaltender strategy could lose the Jets one of Adam Lowry, Marko Dano, Joel Armia, or Andrew Copp, but securing both Myers and Trouba on the back end should be a priority with several strong forward prospects still in the system.

(Photos Courtesy: Action Images)

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It wasn't just an ordinary game for P.K. Subban.

The charismatic blue-liner, playing in the Bell Centre for the first time in Nashville Predators colors, was the story all night long, and was put front and center prior to Thursday's puck drop with a touching video tribute.

In the months since the Montreal Canadiens shipped him of town, speculation's swirled as to why Subban, clearly a fan favorite, didn't fit in the their future plans. Still, despite his shocking exit, Subban was moved by his so-called homecoming.

"It's a first-class organization, so I'd expect nothing less," Subban told reporters postgame.

He was visibly overcome with emotion after the tribute, shedding tears while saluting his former home crowd.

"All those memories come back, whether it's stuff to do with the hospital or kids, family, teammates, whatever it is," Subban said. "I felt that I shared that with all the fans and the community here, I guess that's how it all came out."

Subban managed an assist on the Predators' lone goal in the 2-1 loss.

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