Minnesota Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk knows that expectations will be high with fans wondering what he'll do for an encore.

"I've thought about it a ton," Dubnyk told the St. Paul Pioneer Press this week. "It would be nice not to have to go 27-9 again there at the end. We have to get going faster, have a more consistent start."

Henrik Lundqvist is determined to lead the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup championship that's eluded them despite three trips to the Eastern Conference Final and one to the Stanley Cup Final in the past four seasons.

"If I look back at the last four years, we've had a lot of great moments, especially in the playoffs," the goaltender told the New York Daily News at The Citi Henrik Lundqvist Hockey ProCamp at Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers on Sunday. "You learn from it and you appreciate it, but obviously the main goal is to take that final step."

When it comes to baseball, Steven Stamkos would rather play defense.

The Tampa Bay Lightning captain worked out with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, taking infield and batting practice prior to their game against the Detroit Tigers at Rogers Centre.

"I think I was more excited to field the balls than to hit them," Stamkos told The Canadian Press. "I've taken BP before, but to actually get on the field and field balls and throw them, that was pretty fun."

Dallas Stars center Jason Spezza was excited to see the acquisitions of forward Patrick Sharp, defenseman Johnny Oduya and goaltender Antti Niemi, knowing their skill and experience could help the Stars reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

A year ago, the talk was that Spezza's arrival in Dallas after a trade with the Ottawa Senators was supposed to help the Stars advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Instead they missed the postseason for the sixth time in seven seasons.

Spezza said this week he hopes the players from last season learned a few things that will help them in this one.

Arizona Coyotes forward Max Domi, preparing for his third NHL training camp, has learned to set his priorities.

"I just want to make the team," Domi told the Coyotes website this week. "I'm not looking too far ahead. There's a lot of young guys here that are trying to come in and earn a spot too."

Domi, the 12th pick of the 2013 NHL Draft, was one of the final players cut by the Coyotes the past two seasons.

EDMONTON -- Johnny Boychuk admits he was pleasantly surprised with his first season with the New York Islanders.

The veteran defenseman wasn't sure what to expect after being traded to the Islanders from the Boston Bruins on Oct. 4, six days before the 2014-2015 NHL season began.

Boychuk, 31, was so pleased by his experience with the Islanders, he agreed to a seven-year contract extension reportedly worth $42 million on March 12, opting not to test free agency in the summer.

"I had no idea what it was going to be like when I first got there," Boychuk said this week after attending Perry Pearn's 3-on-3 Hockey Camp in Edmonton. "I knew when I got traded, I was going to a younger team on [Long Island]. You look at it, and I'm one of the oldest guys on the team, I guess. I went there, and they used me a lot. It was a positive environment, and the coaches were great. Even though we had a lot of youth there, they worked extremely hard and they build into a good, strong, physical team."

Bill Torrey had to work hard to convince Al Arbour that he'd be the right man to coach the second-year New York Islanders.

Once he did, it turned into a marriage made in hockey heaven.

"We had a very special relationship, one I never regretted for a day," Torrey said of Arbour, who died Friday at age 82 in Sarasota, Fla. "Al Arbour was a special person. He was a special man. He was a great family man. He was a great hockey man. Outside of his family, nothing was more important to him than his players and his team."

Torrey, New York's general manager, needed all of his powers of persuasion to get Arbour to take over as coach after the expansion Islanders set NHL records for fewest points (30) and victories (12) in 1972-73.

It wasn't easy.

The hockey world lost a true legend on Friday when former New York Islanders coach Al Arbour passed away at the age of 82.

Arbour, who won the Stanley Cup four times as a player (Detroit Red Wings in 1954, Chicago Blackhawks in 1961 and the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1962 and 1964), guided the Islanders to 19 consecutive series victories in the Stanley Cup Playoffs from 1980-84 and four straight championships (1980-83).

Here are reflections from some of the people Arbour impacted over the course of his career:

A timeline of the life of Hockey Hall of Fame member Al Arbour, who died Friday at age 82.

Nov. 1, 1932: Born in Sudbury, Ontario

1953-54: Makes his NHL debut when he was called up to the Detroit Red Wings. Arbour has one assist in 36 regular-season games; however, he does not play in Detroit's run to the Stanley Cup.

1955-56: After two seasons in the minor leagues, Arbour is recalled and has one assist in four Stanley Cup Playoff games for Detroit.

1957-58: He plays a full NHL season for the first time, finishing with one goal, seven points and 104 penalty minutes in 69 games for the Red Wings.

1958-59: After being claimed by the Chicago Blackhawks in the intra-league draft, Arbour plays all 70 games, finishing with two goals and 12 points.

Pittsburgh Penguins rookie forward Sergei Plotnikov feels at home when he's on the ice. Everything else is an adjustment.

The 25-year-old Russian signed with the Penguins on July 1 after playing six seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League. He arrived in Pittsburgh on Aug. 16 and is trying to get used to life in North America, on and off the ice.

That starts with the language; he doesn't speak English, though he's trying to learn.

"Most of the time I spend at the rink and around the area," Plotnikov told the Penguins website Thursday through a translator. "I'm trying to learn as quickly as possible. Right now I'm trying to find a place to live and adjust myself."