Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Carlson heads in right direction for Capitals

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz. The field of 16 teams is set, with eight best-of-7 series. The first round begins Tuesday, with games in hub cities Toronto (Eastern Conference) and Edmonton (Western Conference).

Here's a look around the NHL and the latest from the playoffs:

Washington Capitals

John Carlson participated in an optional practice Monday and coach Todd Reirden remains hopeful the defenseman will be ready to play against the New York Islanders in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday (3 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS).

Carlson hasn't played since leaving in the third period of Washington's exhibition game against the Carolina Hurricanes on July 29.

"We'll continue to take that day by day," Reirden said. "He seems to be making some steps in the right direction here."

Carlson got tangled up with Carolina forward Nino Niederrieter and fell into the end boards with 14:53 remaining in Washington's 3-2 win. The 30-year-old played one more shift before leaving the game with 9:59 left.

Carlson has practiced regularly since Aug. 1, but he was held out of the Capitals' round-robin games against the Tampa Bay Lightning (3-2 shootout loss), Philadelphia Flyers (3-1 loss) and Boston Bruins (2-1 win) in Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub city.

Washington is the No. 3 seed in the East. The Islanders are the No. 6 seed.

A finalist for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the player voted as the best defenseman in the NHL, Carlson led all defensemen and set NHL career-highs with 60 assists and 75 points in 69 games. --Tom Gulitti

Philadelphia Flyers

Jakub Voracek will be a game-time decision for the Flyers when they play the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).

The forward was ruled unfit to play in the Flyers' 4-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in a Stanley Cup Qualifiers round-robin game Saturday that earned them the No. 1 seed in the East.

Rookie forward Joel Farabee skated in Voracek's place at right wing on the top line with center Sean Couturier and left wing Claude Giroux and scored a goal.

Voracek had one assist in the first two games of the round-robin.

"He will be skating today," coach Alain Vigneault said. "Still a game-time decision."

Voracek was third on the Flyers during the regular season with 56 points (12 goals, 44 assists) in 69 games. He had two assists in three games against the Canadiens, who are the No. 8 seed in the East. -- Adam Kimelman

Tampa Bay Lightning

Victor Hedman's availability for Game 1 between the Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday (3 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS) will be determined prior to the game, coach Jon Cooper said .

The defenseman left at 9:06 of the first period during Tampa Bay's 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in the round-robin portion of the Qualifiers on Saturday. His right ankle appeared to get twisted while turning to skate into the defensive zone, causing Hedman to stay down for several seconds before heading to the locker room.

The Lightning, the No. 2 seed in the East, could also be without captain Steven Stamkos for Game 1 against the Blue Jackets, the No. 7 seed, in Toronto. The forward did not play in any of their round-robin games because of a lower-body injury sustained before training camp.

"Status quo," Cooper said about Stamkos. -- Mike Zeisberger

New York Islanders

Johnny Boychuk is "highly probable" for the Islanders when they play the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of the first round in Toronto on Wednesday (3 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS).

The defenseman was injured in Game 1 of the Qualifiers after an illegal check to the head by Florida Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson. Boychuk was replaced by defenseman Andy Greene for the remainder of the best-of-5 series, which the Islanders won in four games.

Boychuk practiced with New York, the No. 6 seed, in Toronto for a second straight day. Washington is the No. 3 seed in the East.

"I think we're going to have a pretty well, a whole compliment," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "Everybody was out there. Johnny was out there. He's made great progress. I think it's highly probable that he'll be ready for Game 1."

Greene was traded to the Islanders by the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 16 for a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. Paired with defenseman Nick Leddy, the 37-year-old had one assist and was plus-2 in three games against the Panthers. -- Brian Compton

Arizona Coyotes

Forward Nick Schmaltz is close to returning and goalie Antti Raanta is improving.

It remains unclear if Schmaltz will play against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, the hub city in the West, on Wednesday (5:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN360, TVAS), Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. Schmaltz was injured in a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in an exhibition game July 30. He left in the second period after a hit by forward Ryan Reaves and did not play in the Arizona's best-of-5 qualifier series, a four-game win against the Nashville Predators.

"Nick felt better again today," Tocchet said. "It was a better day than yesterday. Same thing with (Raanta). Those two guys have responded well. I still have to get (Raanta) into a full practice and Nick had one (Sunday). He's close, I'm not sure about his availability Wednesday, but he's definitely getting close."

Raanta was ruled unfit to play after backing up Darcy Kuemper for one period in Game 2 of the Qualifiers. As part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, a team is not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information. -- Rick Sadowski