After getting tangled up with Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, Pavel Datsyuk's hopes of escaping what may be his final NHL postseason in one piece ended, as the Detroit Red Wings forward lost a tooth after getting high-sticked in the mouth.

Thankfully, Datsyuk's long-time teammate and captain, Henrik Zetterberg, was there to support him, skating to the sideboards to retrieve the lost tooth.

To add insult to injury, Datsyuk was given a two-minute minor for roughing on the play, and Hedman was not penalized.

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The temperature is continuing to rise in the first-round series between the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning.

The latest inflammatory act was some borderline body contact from Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser, who smothered Ondrej Palat with a crushing hit beneath the goal line.

Palat went to the room briefly but surely passed his cognitive testing on the first go, returning almost immediately.

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Vincent Trocheck could be back on skates as early as this weekend.

The Florida Panthers' dynamic secondary scorer could test out his injured ankle - beyond recently shedding his walking boot - in an on-ice workout Saturday, according to George Richards of the Miami Herald.

Scoring wasn't necessarily a concern for the Panthers in their Game 1 loss to the New York Islanders, but Trocheck will most certainly be a welcomed sight. He had a breakout season centering the second line, scoring 25 goals, totaling 53 points, and carrying a 61.3 percent goals-for percentage at even strength.

Until the Panthers say otherwise, he remains doubtful for the pair of games to be played at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

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The score was tied at the time, but Danny DeKeyser was playing from behind.

The Detroit Red Wings blue-liner made a cheeky defensive play early in Friday's Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, preventing an Alex Killorn goal with his rear end.

The Detroit defense eventually cracked when Nikita Kucherov scored the opening goal of the game later in the period.

It wasn't quite rock bottom for the Red Wings, though, as the Lightning entered the intermission sitting on a 1-0 lead.

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The absence of captain and leading goal-scorer Steven Stamkos doesn't seem to be bothering the Tampa Bay Lightning early in their first-round series against the Detroit Red Wings as Nikita Kucherov continues to roll.

After scoring two goals and an assist in Game 1, the 22-year-old winger opened the scoring in Game 2 on Friday as he wired home a one-timer past Jimmy Howard on a five-on-three power play.

With an assist from Tyler Johnson, the team's top line with Kucherov and Alex Killorn has now combined for nine points in their first four periods of the postseason.

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He hasn't been on the ice, or in the public eye, but Steven Stamkos is still there, providing the Tampa Bay Lightning a lift.

The Bolts captain - who underwent surgery earlier this month to repair a blood clotting issue - is with the club, staying involved in the postseason run from behind the scenes.

"It's awesome having him around, he can still bring that leadership," Ryan Callahan said of his captain, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. "He's been there before, he knows what we're going through, how we're feeling.

"It's good, it's uplifting to have him around the room."

Presence, by its very definition, is hardly an onerous task. But it might be one of the harder things Stamkos will do, explains his coach, Jon Cooper.

"It's just killing him not being able to play," Cooper said.

He added: "He's been in touch with a lot of guys, he's staying out of the public eye, but it's just hard, we want him playing. He wants to be playing so bad."

Stamkos was given a one-to-three-month timeline for a return. He remains scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

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Henrik Lundqvist isn't going to change his equipment to avoid another injury scare.

The New York Rangers goaltender says the inadvertent high stick from teammate Marc Staal that came through the goaltender's mask and forced him from Game 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins was a freak accident.

“I haven’t seen many incidents like this over the years,” Lundqvist told Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. “Accidents happen, injuries happen. I feel still as a goalie you’re pretty well protected. I don’t see it as an issue.”

The Rangers goalie feared the worst after taking Staal's stick to the eye Wednesday night.

“For probably 20 or 30 seconds there, I had some really bad thoughts going through my head,” he said. “It was very scary, actually.”

Specialists confirmed there was no damage to Lundqvist's eye, and while his vision was blurry in the aftermath, it has improved since the incident.

He practiced Friday, and will be a game-time decision Saturday for Game 2 of the first-round playoff series.

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The Los Angeles Kings appear to be preparing for an immediate future without defenseman Alec Martinez.

Martinez suffered an undisclosed injury Thursday in the Kings' Game 1 loss to the San Jose Sharks, playing only 11:43. He wasn't on the bench in the third period and the Kings have been mum on his status.

On Friday, Los Angeles recalled defenseman Kevin Gravel from the American Hockey League's Ontario Reign, which means Martinez may not be able to play Saturday.

Martinez's loss would be a big one. He averaged 21:09 a game in the regular season and added a career-high 31 points. With Martinez out most of Thursday, Drew Doughty's ice time shot up to a game-high 29:19, while Jake Muzzin played 25:57.

Defensive depth has been an issue for the Kings this season and Sutter addressed it at practice Friday, according to Kings Insider's Jon Rosen.

"We've used a lot of guys. If you look over the course of the year, we've used, what is it now, 12? Whatever it is," Sutter said. "I don't know, count. I'm not really sure. We've used a lot of the kids ... So we've used a lot of guys. It's the toughest position, but hey, you still need them to give you, whether it's 10 minutes or 15 minutes, they've got to be quality. That's when you say, 'What did I think about it,' that’s what I base it on, is how they play."

Sutter admitted that going down to five defensemen affected his team Thursday night.

"The second period, it was clearly the difference in our game," he said. "That's because it's hard. You've rather spread (ice time) out as much as you can, but when you're top-heavy with a guy like (Doughty) and (Muzzin) and those guys, they're going to have to play more. That's going to be our best chance of winning."

Doughty played 28:01 a game during the regular season, the second-highest average of his career. That number may continue to push 30, as the Sharks are a handful up front.

Gravel, 24, has played five games in his career, all this season, and has yet to register a point. He has seven goals and 13 assists in 55 games in the minors.

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On brand, as they say.

BioSteel's best fraternized Thursday night in Toronto when Connor McDavid and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman - who threw eight innings of two-run ball versus the New York Yankees - met up for a photo opportunity.

Like most teenagers who spend their summers in Ontario, McDavid appears caught up in the frenzy that is World Series expectations for the hometown ball club. But McDavid will, however, miss a portion of the Jays season, as he'll soon head to Russia for next month's World Championship.

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The Minnesota Wild need a miracle. Erik Haula's a start.

The left winger practiced Friday and said he'll be in the Game 2 lineup Saturday, when the Wild hope to avoid going down 2-0 to the Dallas Stars in their best-of-seven series.

"We came here for a split," Haula said, according to The Star Tribune's Michael Russo.

Without Zach Parise, Thomas Vanek, and Haula, who is nursing an undisclosed injury, the Wild were shut out 4-0 in Game 1. And Dallas was missing Tyler Seguin, who is expected to play in Game 2.

Wild head coach John Torchetti didn't confirm Haula would play. "We'll see how he feels tomorrow," he said.

Haula had 14 goals and 20 assists in 76 games, the 25-year-old averaging 12:44 in ice time and setting career offensive highs across the board.

Haula practiced on a line with Nino Niederreiter and Jason Pominville.

"Haulsy brings a lot of speed to the lineup," Niederreiter said. "I think it'll definitely help."

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