Key questions to be answered in NHL hub cities before Cup Qualifiers

The 24 teams competing in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers arrive in their hub cities Sunday, the Eastern Conference in Toronto, and the Western Conference in Edmonton.

Exhibition games, one for each team, start Tuesday. The Qualifer games -- eight best-of-5 series and the top four teams in each conference playing a round-robin -- start Saturday.

Here are some key questions that need to be answered this week:

When will Pastrnak be available?

David Pastrnak has not practiced with the Boston Bruins since July 15. It was the only time the forward got on the ice with his teammates during training camp.

Bruins president Cam Neely said Wednesday he's hoping Pastrnak, who scored 48 goals this season, sharing the NHL lead with Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, will be able to join practice when they get to Toronto. Neely couldn't say definitively, though.

It's not as clear for Ondrej Kase, a forward acquired in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 21. Kase did not practice at all in camp.

The Bruins will play in the round-robin portion of the Qualifiers against the Philadelphia Flyers (Aug. 2), Tampa Bay Lightning (Aug. 5) and Capitals (Aug. 9) to determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the East.

Boston has an exhibition game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, TVAS, NESN, FS-O, NHL.TV).

Will Crawford get up to speed?

Corey Crawford practiced for the first time Saturday after quarantining at his home in Chicago because he tested positive for COVID-19. He has a week to get his game caught up before the Blackhawks (32-30-8, .514 points percentage), the No. 12 seed in the West, play the No. 5 seed, the Edmonton Oilers (37-25-9, .585) in a best-of-5 series beginning Aug. 1.

If Crawford, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, can't get up to speed, Malcolm Subban might have to start.

Subban has never played in an NHL postseason game. He played one game with the Blackhawks, 1:10 without facing a shot on goal March 3 against the Ducks, after Chicago acquired him in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 24.

Crawford was 16-20-3 with a 2.77 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in 40 games (39 starts) this season.

The Blackhawks play an exhibition game against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday (6:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHLN, NBCSCH+, FS-MW+, NHL.TV).

How will the goalie battles shake out?

At least nine of the 16 teams to play a best-of-5 series have a decision to make on their starting goalie.

Igor Shesterkin might be the favorite for the New York Rangers, but Henrik Lundqvist and Alexandar Georgiev are getting a lot of reps and haven't been ruled out for Game 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes, who haven't announced if they will use Petr Mrazek or James Reimer.

Will it be Elvis Merzlikins or Joonas Korpisalo for the Blue Jackets against the Toronto Maple Leafs? Is two-time Stanley Cup champion Matt Murray going to start, or will it be Tristan Jarry for the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Montreal Canadiens?

Juuse Saros was emerging for the Nashville Predators before the NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, starting 15 of their final 21 games. Does he keep the job, or does it go back to Pekka Rinne for Game 1 against the Arizona Coyotes?

The Oilers are choosing between Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen. The Calgary Flames have David Rittich and Cam Talbot as options for Game 1 against the Winnipeg Jets.

The Minnesota Wild have Devan Dubnyk, Alex Stalock, Kaapo Kahkonen and Mat Robson available to them in their series against the Vancouver Canucks.

There are decisions for a few of the round-robin teams too.

The Golden Knights have to choose from Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner, who was acquired in a trade with Chicago on Feb. 24. The Colorado Avalanche have to decide between Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz, who has no NHL postseason experience.

Vegas and Colorado may use each of their goalies in the round-robin.

Will Hamilton be ready for his shot?

Dougie Hamilton's return to the Hurricanes lineup hit a snag Wednesday when the defenseman had to leave practice because of an apparent injury. He hasn't practiced since.

Hamilton missed Carolina's last 21 games of the season with a fractured left fibula. He started training camp healthy and playing with Jaccob Slavin, making up Carolina's top defense pair.

The Hurricanes play an exhibition game against the Capitals on Wednesday (4 p.m. ET; NBCSN, FS-CR, NHL.TV). Carolina (38-25-5, .596) is the No. 6 seed in the East and will play the Rangers (37-28-5, .564), the No. 11 seed, in a best-of-5 series beginning Aug. 1.

Can Bobrovsky regain his game?

Much of the Florida Panthers' hopes of going on a long playoff run are pinned to goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who struggled in the regular season.

Bobrovsky, who signed a seven-year contract July 1, 2019, was 23-19-6 with a 3.23 GAA and .900 save percentage in 50 games (48 starts). By comparison, he had a 2.41 GAA and .921 save percentage in 374 games with the Blue Jackets from 2012-19.

The Panthers (35-26-8, .565), the No. 10 seed in the East, need the Bobrovsky of old to have their best chane to defeat the No. 7 New York Islanders (35-23-10, .588) in the Qualifiers. He'll get his first test when the Panthers play the Lightning in an exhibition game Wednesday (noon ET; NHLN, FS-F, SUN, NHL.TV).

What is Stamkos' status?

Steven Stamko has skated but hasn't been a part of a full Lightning practice yet, possibly because of a lower-body injury the forward sustained during voluntary workouts before training camp.

His availability going into the final week before the Lightning begin play in the round-robin against the Capitals Aug. 3 is in question. If he doesn't get on the ice by Tuesday, it's unlikely he'll play in Tampa Bay's exhibition game against Florida on Wednesday.

Will Toronto load up one line?

The Maple Leafs have been experimenting in training camp using Auston Matthews, John Tavares and Mitch Marner on their top line. Matthews, Tavares and Marner scored 207 points (89 goals, 118 assists) in a combined 192 games this season.

Using the three of them together is not something Toronto did often this season, but it is an intriguing option if the expectation is for tight, potentially low-scoring games when the No. 8 seed Maple Leafs (36-25-9, .579) play the No. 9 seed Blue Jackets (32-22-15, .579) in a qualifier series beginning Aug. 2.

Will any top prospects become NHL players?

The NHL restart has provided the opportunity for some top prospects to potentially make an impact.

Video: TBL@BOS: Pastrnak rockets one-timer in for 48th goal, an 18-year-old forward, might have a chance to play for the Maple Leafs after playing for Peterborough in the Ontario Hockey League, scoring 86 points (55 goals, 31 assists) in 46 games.

Liam Foudy might play for the Blue Jackets in the same series. The 20-year-old forward played two games for Columbus this season on an emergency recall but played the majority of the season for London of the OHL, scoring 68 points (28 goals, 40 assists) in 45 games.

Video: TBL@BOS: Pastrnak rockets one-timer in for 48th goal could get his shot with the Oilers. The 19-year-old defenseman played 45 games with Skelleftea in the Swedish Hockey League this season. He wasn't supposed to have a chance to play in the NHL postseason, but he's staying in Edmonton and will be an option for the Oilers.

Is Lindblom an option for the Flyers?

Oskar Lindblom has not been ruled out from playing again this season for the Flyers after finishing his cancer treatments July 2. He hasn't played since Dec. 7, before he was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a form of bone cancer.

Lindblom signed a three-year, $9 million contract with the Flyers on Wednesday. He was tied with Travis Konecny for the Philadelphia with 11 goals when he was diagnosed.

The Flyers play the Penguins in an exhibition game on Tuesday (4 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NBCSP+, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV).

Will the Blue Jackets be ready?

John Tortorella is never one to mince words, especially when it comes to his teams. The Columbus coach on Thursday expressed his unhappiness with some his key players (he didn't name names) because of how they've performed in training camp.

Tortorella also was not happy with the Blue Jackets' practice Monday or their scrimmage Tuesday. After a day off Wednesday, he stopped practice early Thursday to lay into his team. He was calmer Friday, but the concern about their readiness is omnipresent.

Columbus plays Boston in an exhibition game Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, TVAS, NESN, FS-O, NHL.TV) before opening the Qualifiers against Toronto on Aug. 2.