Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will serve as the backup behind Matt Murray for Monday's Game 3 against the Washington Capitals, the Penguins announced.

Great to see Marc-Andre Fleury back out there for warmups! pic.twitter.com/yiySMDVNOI

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) May 2, 2016

Fleury has not been available to play since suffering a concussion during a March 31 start against the Nashville Predators.

In other lineup news, defenseman Derrick Pouliot will draw in to replace Olli Maatta - who was injured during the first period of Game 2 after a hit from former Penguin Brooks Orpik.

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Competition for top rookie honors in the NHL is down to a talented trio.

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, Chicago Blackhawks winger Artemi Panarin, and reigning No. 1 overall draft selection Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, were named Calder Trophy finalists Monday.

McDavid's nod comes despite being limited to 45 games because of a broken clavicle suffered a month into his professional career. He was, however, the only rookie to average better than a point per game, scoring at a rate that exceeded Sidney Crosby and Tyler Seguin, with his 16 goals and 32 assists. He finished just eight points behind No. 2 overall selection Jack Eichel, who appeared in 81 games.

The 24-year-old Panarin, too, had no trouble producing in his debut season. The dynamic winger hit the jackpot with 30 goals and 47 assists in 80 games, triggering the bonuses built into his contract with a top-10 finish in NHL scoring.

Finally, Gostisbehere was a puck-moving catalyst for the Flyers, who turned around their season when he was called up in mid-November. The 23-year-old scored 17 goals - including four in overtime - and totaled 46 points in his 64 games.

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Artemi Panarin took the NHL by storm in his rookie season with the Chicago Blackhawks, leading all first-year players with 30 goals and 47 assists on a line with the Art Ross winner Patrick Kane.

Though playing with the league's leading scorer certainly helped his numbers, Panarin credited his center, Artem Anisimov, for their success in an interview with sport-express.ru's Igor Eronko.

More Panarin: Kane pumped my tires or I his? I'd say Anisimov pumped us both. He was our janitor running after us with a scoop and a pot

— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) May 2, 2016

In the interview, Panarin also told Eronko he hopes to win the Calder Trophy, alluding to the extra incentive of being nominated.

To follow last tweet: Panarin said that with a smile and added he hopes he'd be nominated cause he wants to get to Vegas and get some fun

— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) May 2, 2016

Calder nominees will be announced Monday night.

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Since @EASportsNHL left me off the cover-vote ballot this year... I am running as an independent! #NHL17Henrique pic.twitter.com/iIbxP6aHE5

— Adam Henrique (@AdamHenrique) May 2, 2016

Adam Henrique will not be silenced.

With eight NHL stars officially battling it out to be featured on the cover of EA Sports' NHL17, the New Jersey Devils center is putting his name in the race as an independent.

His hashtag was not trending hours later, and the campaign isn't likely to take off, but you never know ... he might just Trump the opposition yet.

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Though nothing will be official until June 24, Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning appears to have an idea of who he wants to build his team around.

The Canucks entered the lottery Saturday with the third-highest chance at landing a top-three pick, but ultimately wound up fifth in the order.

The fall, admittedly, was tough to swallow for Benning.

"I won't lie, I was disappointed," he told TSN 1040 Vancouver.

Forwards Pierre-Luc Dubois and Matthew Tkachuk, as well as defensemen Jakob Chychrun and Olli Juolevi are projected to be the best fits at the No. 5 slot, and Benning revealed he's more enticed by adding a forward at this point.

"I think that sounds more realistic to me," Benning said when asked if he's leaning towards picking a forward such as Dubois or Tkachuk.

"I don't know if there's a true No. 1 defenseman in the draft," he added. "If you look through the league right now, there's maybe eight or 10 No. 1 defenseman in the whole league."

The talent level of defensemen, as well as the Canucks aging roster, contribute to Benning's reasoning.

"If we felt there was a true No. 1 defenseman ... then that's where our focus would be," he said. "But having said that, with Henrik Sedin getting older now, we have to look at the future, too."

The Edmonton Oilers' selection at No. 4 will likely have an impact on what Benning and the Canucks choose to do, as the Oilers are largely in the market for a blueliner, whether it be via the draft or a trade.

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Tyler Seguin is making progress in his return to the Dallas Stars.

The injured center skated Monday for the first time since suffering an undisclosed injury in Game 2 of Dallas' first-round series against Minnesota.

He won't, however, travel with the team to St. Louis for Game 3 against the Blues, although head coach Lindy Ruff joked there are plenty of flights available if he's needed.

Prior to the start of the second round, general manager Jim Nill indicated Seguin would need four-to-five days after resuming skating before he could return to game action, meaning it's possible he could play Game 5 on Saturday if all goes well.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed defenseman Nikita Zaitsev to a one-year entry level contract.

The 24-year-old Russian recorded eight goals and 18 assists in 46 games for KHL club CSKA Moscow this past season, with an additional four goals and nine assists in 20 playoff games, tied for most points among defensemen in the postseason.

A fellow defenseman sees loads of potential in Zaitsev:

Interested to see how he plays in NHL. He was just as impressive to me in KHL as Panarin was when I was in Russia https://t.co/mD5Mzlm4Ry

— Ryan Whitney (@ryanwhitney6) May 2, 2016

Zaitsev will represent his home country at the 2016 IIHF World Championships and is expected to dress as one of Toronto's top-six defensemen next season.

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PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Washington Capitals defenceman Brooks Orpik says he has no problem with the three-game suspension the NHL levied on him for making contact with Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Olli Maatta's head in Game 2 on Saturday night. O...

Brooks Orpik is owning up to his actions.

Suspended three games by the NHL for a late and high hit on Olli Maatta of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Washington Capitals defenseman didn't try to cast a silver lining around the incident.

"I think (the suspension) was fair," Orpik told reporters. "It was a bad hit. It was intended to be a hard hit, definitely not at his head, but I don't think there's anything you can argue that it was definitely late. That was pretty black and white. I said that during my hearing yesterday. I'm just disappointed. It's a split-second decision you make, and you've just got to live with it.

"That's about all I've got. It was a bad decision, it was late. There was obviously no intention to hit him in the head. That was the result, that's why I'm not playing."

Capitals head coach Barry Trotz wasn't quite as comfortable with the league's ruling.

Barry Trotz says Orpik's suspension is so long because the hit came against the #pens. Asked to clarify: "Take it for whatever you want."

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 2, 2016

A victim of a head shot in the first round, Orpik said it was hard to watch Maatta struggle to get up and off the ice after the hit.

"I was in a similar spot two weeks ago," Orpik said. "It's tough hearing people try to say I was intentionally trying to hit him in the head. I've dealt with enough head and neck issues. That was tough to watch.

"Whatever they gave me was something I was just going to have to accept. Hopefully across the league, they start punishing everything else the same way."

Orpik will be eligible to return for Game 6 (if necessary), while Maatta has been ruled out of Game 3 but could return later in the series.

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NEW YORK, N.Y. - The New York Rangers have agreed to a deal with backup goalie Antti Raanta. The 26-year-old Raanta appeared in 25 games with the Rangers this season after being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in June. He had an 11-6-2 r...