Joe Thornton is a wizard the puck.

So much so that he can make them disappear. The San Jose Sharks forward got the game started Sunday with a bizarre incident that saw a Brent Burns point shot get stuck in his pants, bringing play to a halt.

The search had to be taken to the bench where Thornton remained baffled. Luckily the puck was eventually found.

Video courtesy: NHL.com

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The NHL playoffs can get a bit hairy as teams move closer to the Stanley Cup Final.

San Jose Sharks forward Joe Thornton and St. Louis Blues forward David Backes proved this on Sunday when the two - in the midst of a tussle - gave a nice tug on each others's beard.

Backes clearly has the advantage in terms of beard length, but Thornton could get redemption as the series prolongs and Backes' beard grows.

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The St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks appear set to go shot-for-shot.

Just 34 seconds after David Backes deflected his seventh goal of the postseason past Martin Jones to give his club a 1-0 lead, Joe Pavelski knotted things up with an identical strike.

Pavelski's 10th of the playoffs pushes him one ahead of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov for the league lead.

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Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Darcy Tucker looks ready to back the city's MLB squad.

Following a crazy scene Sunday that saw Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor punch Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista in the face, setting off a bench-clearing brawl, Tucker made his free-agent status known.

Tucker amassed 1,410 penalty minutes and 82 career fights - according to hockeyfights.com - during his 16-year NHL career.

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Tampa Bay's blue line could receive a huge boost Monday night, as top-pairing defenseman Anton Stralman's status was upgraded to day to day, and he could be available for Game 2, head coach Jon Cooper said.

Stralman broke his leg in late March and hasn't played since, but is showing few ill-effects at this point, according to Cooper.

Stralman's recovery has to be a huge sigh of relief for the Lightning, who are also dealing with injuries to captain Steven Stamkos and goalie Ben Bishop.

In the regular season, Stralman registered nine goals and 25 assists while averaging 22:05 of ice-time.

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Ben Bishop might be Wolverine.

Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said Sunday that the goaltender hasn't been ruled out for Game 2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night, despite leaving Game 1 on a stretcher.

Bishop didn't practice Sunday, and Cooper said his netminder is still day to day after departing early in Friday's win following an awkward fall in the crease.

Andrei Vasilevskiy and Kristers Gudlevskis took the ice for Sunday's practice. Vasilevskiy stopped 25 of 26 shots after relieving Bishop in Game 1.

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The San Jose Sharks' new unofficial mascot has been adopted.

"Jo PAW-velski" - the black cat that ran on to the ice before a game between the Sharks and the Nashville Predators in San Jose last month - found a home Friday, the Sharks announced via the San Jose Mercury News.

"We are pleased to know that ‘Jo’ has found a good, loving home,” Sharks COO John Tortora said in a statement.

“I want to personally thank the staff and volunteers at the Humane Society Silicon Valley for the time and attention they have dedicated to ‘Jo’ and the other animals in their care.

"I also want to thank our fans who immediately expressed concern for the well-being of the cat. I would like to encourage all fans who were interested in adopting ‘Jo’ to now consider adopting one of the other many animals at HSSV in need of a home.”

Jo, a three-month-old kitten, was adopted along with a companion kitten and had been under the care of the HSSV since May 1.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will look to even their Eastern Conference finals matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night, and they'll do so with Matt Murray in goal.

Head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed Murray will start, putting rumors of Marc-Andre Fleury's return to rest.

Murray allowed three goals in the Game 1 loss, but his fortitude has gained the trust of his head coach.

"He was a maturity level beyond his years and responds to adversity really well," Sullivan said.

The Penguins haven't lost consecutive contests since mid-January and will look to continue the streak in Game 2.

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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin says he feels well enough to play in Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday, and his head coach believes he will.

Dumoulin suggested Sunday that he could have returned to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final if there had been more time left when he was boarded by Ondrej Palat, according to Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Palat drove Dumoulin hard into the boards with under five minutes left in Tampa Bay's 3-1 win on Friday night.

The blue-liner is glad he avoided what could have been a more serious injury.

"It is scary, thinking it could be your head or neck," he said Sunday. "Thankfully it wasn't anything serious."

He told reporters that he went through concussion protocol, and is ready to play if cleared for Monday's game, according to ESPN's Joe McDonald.

Dumoulin and Kris Letang were paired together at practice Sunday. Letang left Game 1 after being boarded by Lightning forward Ryan Callahan, but returned before the intermission.

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Germany continues to climb the standings at the World Championship.

A point shot from Anaheim Ducks defenseman Korbinian Holzer with 33 seconds remaining in the third period clinched the win for the Germans.

The win vaults Germany ahead of USA for third spot in Group B, and was their first regulation win over the States in 23 years.

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