Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Okposo in lineup for Panthers against Lightning

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoff Buzz. With the postseason underway, NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.

Florida Panthers

Kyle Okposo will play his first Stanley Cup Playoff game in eight years on Thursday in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Tampa Bay Lighting at Amalie Arena (MAX, TBS, BSFLX, BSSUN, BSFL, TVAS2, SN).

The time the 36-year-old played in a postseason game was May 8, 2016, when he played for the New York Islanders in a 4-0 loss to the Lightning in Game 5 of the second round.

"He's very excited about the game," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. " He will relish this, the opportunity. Serious pro, very detailed guy. He's going to be all wired in for the game but there's also going to be a piece of him that understands that there's not 15 more seasons of playoffs ahead of him. This is something he needs to enjoy.

Okposo has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 24 NHL postseason games, all with the Islanders.

He was acquired by the Panthers from the Buffalo Sabres ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline on March 8 and had no points in six regular-season games with Florida, which leads the best-of-7 series 2-0.

Okposo will replace forward Sam Bennett, who sustained a hand injury in a 4-3 overtime win in Game 2. Forward Ryan Lomberg also remains out with an illness. -- Bill Price

Washington Capitals

Defensemen Rasmus Sandin (upper body) and Nick Jensen (upper body) remained in noncontact jerseys for practice on Thursday and their status remains unclear for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the New York Rangers at Capital One Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MAX, MNMT, truTV, TNT, MSG, SN360, TVAS).

"They're just working their way back," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. "I can't give you any other update than that. They're still in noncontact, skated today, so we'll see how they are tomorrow."

Sandin hasn't played since being injured on a hit from Parker Kelly in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators on April 7. Jensen has been out since being injured on a hit from Michael Eyssimont in a 4-2 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 13.

Forward Sonny Milano did not practice Thursday for what Capitals called, "maintenance," and Carbery said, "We'll see tomorrow morning," if he'll be able to play in Game 3. Rookie forward Ivan Miroshnichenko took Nicolas Aube-Kubel's spot at right wing on the fourth line with Beck Malenstyn and Nic Dowd on Thursday and could make his Stanley Cup Playoff debut Friday.

"I don't know if they play me. I don't know," Miroshnichenko said. "But I am ready the whole time." -- Tom Gulitti

Vancouver Canucks

Tyler Myers practiced Thursday and is expected to be in the lineup against the Nashville Predators for Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round at Bridgestone Arena on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, TBS, BSSO, TVAS2, SN).

The defenseman missed a 4-1 loss in Game 2 on Tuesday because of the flu.

"Definitely better today so happy to get back at it," Myers said. "Any player would tell you, to have to miss a game for that, it's not fun. It's not fun to watch."
Myers led the Canucks with three blocked shots in 19:08 of ice time in a 4-2 win in Game 1. He also had two shots on goal and five hits.

"He looks good," coach Rick Tocchet said. "He had a good practice. He's fine."

Forward Brock Boeser left practice early after appearing to get hit in the left hand with a puck during a power-play drill, but Tocchet wasn't concerned.

"I think he's fine," Tocchet said. "I didn't really see it. He didn't say anything to me." -- Adam Kimelman

New York Rangers

Alex Wennberg (maintenance) didn't skate at practice Thursday and no further update was given by coach Peter Laviolette.

"I'll probably just leave it as maintenance for today," Laviolette said after practice.

Wennberg played 17:48, the fifth most ice time among Rangers' forwards, in their 4-3 win in Game 2 against the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference First Round on Tuesday.

He was on the ice for the last 2:14 of the third period with the Rangers defending a 5-on-6 situation in their own end as the Capitals pushed for the game-tying goal.

New York leads the best-of-7 series 2-0 going into Game 3 at Capital One Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MAX, MNMT, truTV, MSGSN, TNT, MSG, SN360, TVAS).

The Rangers are scheduled to have a morning skate at Capital One Arena on Friday, when Wennberg's status will become clearer.

However, in practice Thursday, Filip Chytilskated in Wennberg's spot as the third-line center between left wing Will Cuylle and right wing Kaapo Kakko when the Rangers did line rushes.

Chytil is working his way back from an upper-body injury that is believed to be a concussion that he initially sustained Nov. 2. He had a setback in his recovery Jan. 26.

He is medically cleared and has been practicing unencumbered with the Rangers since April 12, participating in contact and battle drills, but there remains no timetable for his return to game action.

Chytil stayed on the ice for extra work with the other players who are expected to be scratched for Game 3, including defensemen Chad Ruhwedel and Zac Jones, and forwards Adam Edstrom and Jonny Brodzinski.

Chytil is traveling with the Rangers to Washington on Thursday and Laviolette said he is still in the process of working his way back to being ready to play in a game.

"He's not under restriction, he's not being held back from anything," Laviolette said. "We're working on that, working toward that." -- Dan Rosen

Carolina Hurricanes

Brett Pesce will likely be out for the rest of the Eastern Conference First Round against the New York Islanders, coach Rod Brind'Amour said Wednesday.

The defenseman sustained a lower-body injury in the second period of a 5-3 win against the Islanders in Game 2 at PNC Arena on Monday. Pesce appeared to injure himself away from the play, curling to join the rush. There was no contact.

"He's a big part of what we're doing, so that's a big blow," Brind'Amour said.

Pesce had one shot on goal and two blocked shots in 8:47 of ice time in Game 2; he had an assist, blocked a shot and had two hits in 19:49 of ice time in a 3-1 win in Game 1.

Tony DeAngelo took Pesce's spot with Brady Skjei on Carolina's second defense pairing in practice and will play in Game 3 at UBS Arena on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSSO, ESPN2, SN360, TVAS).

DeAngelo had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) averaging 14:20 of ice time in 31 games this season. He played the final three games of the regular season but was a scratch for the previous three weeks.

"It's never good when you lose one of the best players on our team," DeAngelo said. "Hopefully, I can come in and try to pick up what he's been doing and try to help the team win."

DeAngelo had 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 14 playoff games with the Hurricanes in 2022 after he had 51 points (10 goals, 41 assists) in 64 regular-season games. He played with the Philadelphia Flyers last season before returning to Carolina on a one-year contract this season.

"He's been here before," Brind'Amour said. We had him for a whole year. We know what we've got in that player. That's why we went and got him. Unfortunately, he didn't get to play much this year because we were healthy."

The Hurricanes have two other defensemen on the roster. Scott Morrow, who signed his entry-level contract with the Hurricanes on April 2 after finishing his season with the University of Massachusetts, played two regular season games, averaging 18:23 of ice time. Dylan Coghlan, who played in a 6-3 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 16, was recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League on Tuesday.

Carolina will also be without forward Jesper Fast, who missed the first two games of the series with an upper-body injury. He has not practiced since he was injured in the regular-season finale against Columbus. -- Kurt Dusterberg