Cup Qualifiers Buzz: Lightning reveal plans for goalies

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Qualifiers Buzz. The 24 teams who will be competing for the Stanley Cup are in their respective hub cities (Toronto for the 12 Eastern Conference teams, Edmonton for the 12 Western Conference teams). Exhibition games start Tuesday and the Stanley Cup Qualifiers begin Saturday.

Here's a look around the League at the latest from the Qualifiers:

Tampa Bay Lightning

Andrei Vasilevskiy and Curtis McElhinney will each play for the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.

"Vasilevskiy's going to get primarily most of the games here," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Tuesday. "Mac's definitely going to get in, but very similar to regular season where it's probably 70 percent-30 percent split."

Cooper said Vasilevskiy is likely to get the bulk of the starts, if not all, with McElhinney coming on in relief.

Vasilevskiy, a Vezina Trophy finalist, led the NHL in wins (35-14-3) for the third straight season and had a 2.56 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and three shutouts in 52 games this season. McElhinney was 8-7-3 with a 2.89 GAA, .906 save percentage and one shutout in 18 games.

The Lightning will play the Washington Capitals (Aug. 3), Boston Bruins (Aug. 5) and Philadelphia Flyers (Aug. 8) in the round-robin portion of the Qualifiers in Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub city, to determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the East. They will play an exhibition game against the Florida Panthers at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday (Noon ET; NHLN, FS-F, SUN, NHL.TV).

Cooper said the Lightning were "sticking to our plans" one day after saying forward Steven Stamkos would not play in the exhibition game.

Stamkos has participated in two full practices with the team and is still expected to play in the Qualifiers. He has been recovering from a lower-body injury sustained during voluntary workouts and was second on the Lightning with 66 points (29 goals, 37 assists) in 57 games before the season was paused. -- Amalie Benjamin

Carolina Hurricanes

Defenseman Dougie Hamilton and forward Martin Necas are each doubtful to play for the Hurricanes in an exhibition game against the Washington Capitals in Toronto on Wednesday (4 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NBCSWA, FS-CR, NHL.TV).

"I'd love to get them both in, obviously, but don't think they're going to be ready," coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I would say ... not going to happen."

Hamilton (unfit) hasn't practiced since Wednesday, when he left the ice in discomfort during power-play drills. Necas (undisclosed) hasn't practiced since leaving the ice during practice Saturday.

As part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, a team is not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information.

Brind'Amour said he knows which goalie will start the exhibition game but wouldn't say if it would be Petr Mrazek or James Reimer.

"You'll see both goalies but I'm not sure 100 percent how I'm going to do it," he said. "Halfway or two-thirds. I think we'll definitely get both guys action ... that's the plan as of now."

The Hurricanes will play the New York Rangers in a best-of-5 qualifier series at Scotiabank Arena beginning Saturday. -- Mike G. Morreale

Minnesota Wild

Alex Stalock will start for the Wild against the Colorado Avalanche in an exhibition game at Rogers Place on Wednesday (2:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, FS-N, FS-WI, ALT, NHL.TV), but it's not known if he will be their Game 1 starter for the Qualifiers.

"I wouldn't read into [Stalock starting]," coach Dean Evason said. "Obviously it's a lot like any other situation with training camp. Clearly evaluations are always going on and it's no different tomorrow. We always tell the goaltenders the day before [who is starting]."

The Wild play the Vancouver Canucks in a best-of-5 qualifier series in Edmonton, the Western Conference hub city, beginning Sunday.
Prior to the season being paused, Stalock started 11 of the Wild's past 14 games, going 7-3-1 with a 2.27 goals-against average and .923 save percentage.

Dubnyk, who had been the Wild starting goalie since being acquired in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 14, 2015, was 12-15-2 with a 3.35 GAA and .890 save percentage in 30 games (28 starts).

"My whole career has kind of been that way; you find out the day before games and practice the same way," Stalock said. "You know when you feel right and you know when you need work. For me it's (about)…being ready to go, and whoever it is Game 1, I know that they'll be ready." -- Jessi Pierce

Chicago Blackhawks

Corey Crawford could start for the Blackhawks in their exhibition game against the St. Louis Blues in Edmonton on Wednesday (6:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHLN, NBCSCH+, FS-MW+, NHL.TV).

"From our perspective, we're just trying to get as many reps as possible for him and trying to get him ready as quickly as we can," coach Jeremy Colliton said. "It's gone well so far, and we'll see how it plays out here in the next few days."

Crawford, who practiced Sunday and Tuesday with the Blackhawks in Edmonton, missed all but the final day of training camp (Saturday) following a positive test for COVID-19. He was 16-20-3 with a 2.77 GAA, .917 save percentage and one shutout in 40 games (39 starts) before the season was paused.

Collin Delia, Kevin Lankinen and Malcolm Subban are the other goalies on the Blackhawks roster.

Chicago will play the Edmonton Oilers in a best-of-5 qualifier series in Edmonton beginning Saturday. -- Tracey Myers

Arizona Coyotes

Whichever goalie starts for the Coyotes in an exhibition game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; NHLN, FS-A Plus, NHL.TV) likely will start Game 1 of the Qualifiers, coach Rick Tocchet said Monday.

"Me and (Coyotes goalie coach) Corey Schwab haven't discussed [the starter] and if we're going to split or not [in the exhibition], to be honest," Tocchet said. "The guy who is going to start Game 1, you'll probably want to start [in the exhibition] ... that's probably coaching 101."

Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta are healthy after each missed part of the season with a lower-body injury. Kuemper was 16-11-2 with a 2.22 goals-against average, .928 save percentage and two shutouts in 29 games before the season was paused on March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. Raanta was 15-14-3 with a 2.63 GAA, .921 save percentage and two shutouts in 33 games (32 starts).

The Coyotes will play the Nashville Predators in a best-of-5 qualifier series in Edmonton beginning Sunday, and Tocchet previously said Kuemper and Raanta would each start in the series.

"It's just being ready when your number gets called," Kuemper said. "Whether it's every game or some games, that's out of my control, so I'm just going to play as hard as I can when I'm in there." -- Mike G. Morreale