Training Camp Buzz: Lindblom on Flyers roster for playoffs

Welcome to the Training Camp Buzz. The 24 teams who will be competing for the Stanley Cup began training camp at their facilities July 13. The teams are scheduled to head to their respective hub cities (Toronto for the 12 Eastern Conference teams, Edmonton for the 12 Western Conference teams) on Sunday, with the Stanley Cup Qualifiers set to begin Aug. 1.

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

Philadelphia Flyers

Oskar Lindblom is among the 31 players (17 forwards, 10 defensemen, four goalies) on the Flyers roster for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The 23-year-old forward did not travel to Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub city, Sunday. He is in Sweden and general manager Chuck Fletcher said he's expected to join the Flyers in the near future.

Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a form of bone cancer, in December and was expected to be out the rest of the season. He completed his treatments July 2 and signed a three-year, $9 million contract ($3 million average annual value) July 22.

"I am very excited to be a part of the Flyers for the next three seasons," Lindblom said. "The support that the organization, the fans and the entire NHL has given me has been quite overwhelming. I can't wait to get back skating with the boys and being the professional hockey player I know I can be. I want to thank the Flyers for giving me this opportunity, and I look forward to the day I'm back and contributing to the team's success."

Lindblom could have become a restricted free agent after the season. He is a finalist for the Masterton Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

The Flyers will play the Boston Bruins (Aug. 2), Washington Capitals (Aug. 6) and Tampa Bay Lightning (Aug. 8) at Scotiabank Arena to determine seeding for the playoffs.

Philadelphia will play the Pittsburgh Penguins in an exhibition game Tuesday (4 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NBCSP+, ATTSN-PT).

Arizona Coyotes

Oliver Ekman-Larsson returned to practice with the Coyotes on Saturday after the defenseman was shaken up in a mid-ice collision with forward Carl Soderberg during a scrimmage Friday.

Coach Rick Tocchet said the Coyotes are healthy as they head to Edmonton, the Western Conference hub city, for the Stanley Cup Qualifiers against the Nashville Predators beginning Aug. 2.

Arizona (33-29-8, .529 points percentage) is the No. 11 seed in the West and will play Nashville (35-26-8, .565), the No. 6 seed, in one of four best-of-5 series at Rogers Place. The winner advances to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the loser will have a chance at the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft in the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery, scheduled to be held Aug. 10.

The Coyotes' attention to detail, execution and rustiness concerned Tocchet earlier in camp, but he said there's been steady and noticeable improvement since.

"I really liked our energy [Saturday], I've been searching for that level of energy," Tocchet said. "We had pockets of it all camp, but I think coming into the plane ride [Sunday] to Edmonton, this was our best practice, so that's a great sign."

Tocchet singled out forward Clayton Keller, who scored three goals during a scrimmage Friday. Keller scored four goals in the final six games of the season before it was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

"He's probably been our best player in camp consistently," Tocchet said. "I look for guys who stay consistent. There hasn't been a drop-off in his play, and [he's had] a lot of confidence. Now he's got to continue that and get it into a game situation."

The Coyotes will play the Vegas Golden Knights in an exhibition game at Rogers Place on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; NHLN, FS-A Plus, NHL.TV). -- Alan Robinson

Montreal Canadiens

Jesperi Kotkaniemi is on the Canadiens roster for the Qualifiers.

The 20-year-old center, who has recovered from a spleen injury sustained while playing for the Laval of the American Hockey League on March 6, was on a line with forwards Paul Byron and Artturi Lehkonen and worked out with the second power-play unit during Montreal's final practice Saturday.

Kotkaniemi, Nick Suzuki, 20, Phillip Danault, 27, and Max Domi, 25, make the Canadiens a young group at center playing against an experienced Pittsburgh Penguins lineup featuring three-time Stanley Cup champions Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

The Canadiens (31-31-9, .500 points percentage) are the No. 12 seed in the Eastern Conference and will play the No. 5 seed, the Penguins (40-23-6, .623), in one of four best-of-5 series in Toronto beginning Aug. 2.

"For us to have a chance to win, we're going to have to play at a fast and aggressive pace," coach Claude Julien said Saturday. "I won't have the luxury of telling Danault to match up against Crosby or Malkin all the time. We have Danault, then we have Suzuki and Kotkaniemi, both young, and then Domi as our other center. We won't have the last line change (in Games 1 and 2), so our lines will have to do the work. So if our lines are balanced enough, it's going to be important that everybody raises their game a notch and that they'll be able to do their job well enough against certain lines where normally we would have liked to have a better matchup but we can't have it."

Montreal plays the Toronto Maple Leafs in an exhibition game at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS). -- Sean Farrell

Minnesota Wild

Joel Eriksson Ek returned to practice Sunday. The forward left during the third period of an intrasquad scrimmage Thursday and missed practice Friday. The Wild were off Saturday.

Eriksson Ek and the rest of the Wild are healthy for the Qualifiers, coach Dean Evason said. Minnesota (35-27-7, .558 points percentage) is the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference and will play the Vancouver Canucks (36-27-6, .565), the No. 7 seed, in Edmonton beginning Aug. 2.

Minnesota will play the Colorado Avalanche in an exhibition game at Rogers Place on Wednesday (2:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, FS-N, FS-WI, NHL.TV).

"Certainly, to have everybody available to us is awesome," Evason said.

Minnesota has not decided on a starting goalie. Alex Stalock, Devan Dubnyk, Kaapo Kahkonen and Mat Robson will travel to Edmonton.

"We've got some time still," Evason said. "We're still communicating and evaluating to make the right decision." -- Jessi Pierce

Chicago Blackhawks

Connor Murphy (groin) skated in Edmonton but it's uncertain if the defenseman will play against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers on Aug 1.

"We don't know, but we're ramping him up slowly and he's doing more and more every day," Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said. "Hopefully we can get him with full participation with the main group soon. But there's lots of time for us to get him ready to go and we'll make that decision then."

Murphy practiced Saturday but did not participate in an instrasquad scrimmage. He skated on his own last Tuesday, Thursday and Friday after missing four straight practices.

"I tweaked my groin one of the first two days (of camp)," Murphy said Friday. "Just one of those things. I'm trying to get up to full speed. The fast switch on the groin doesn't feel too good, so I had to sit out a bit."

Murphy scored 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 58 games before the pause.

Chicago (32-30-8, .514 points percentage), the No. 12 seed in the Western Conference, will play Edmonton (37-25-9, .585), the No. 5 seed, in one of four best-of-5 series in Edmonton, the Western hub city. The winner will advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the loser will have a chance at the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft in the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery.

The Blackhawks will play an exhibition game against the St. Louis Blues at Rogers Place on Wednesday (6:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, NBCSCH+, FS-MW+). -- Tracey Myers

Edmonton Oilers

Philip Broberg is on the Oilers roster for the Qualifiers.

The defenseman, chosen by Edmonton with the No. 8 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, made an impression during training camp after scoring eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 45 games for Skelleftea of the Swedish Hockey League.

"The plan was he was going to come over here for Phase 3 and when we went into the hub, talking about a plan a month ago, the plan was about Friday or Saturday this week he'd go back to Skelleftea," general manager Ken Holland said July 22. "I talked to Dave Tippett in advance of Phase 3 to say, 'Let's keep a close watch on Broberg. Let's see how he plays. If he plays well enough, we can take him into the hub.' It's been a fabulous experience for him to be at an NHL camp for 10 days and it'll go on for at least a couple of more weeks. It'll be good for him and his development."

Edmonton will play the Calgary Flames in an exhibition game at Rogers Place on Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, NHL.TV).

Vancouver Canucks

Micheal Ferland is ready to provide a physical presence for the Canucks in the Qualifiers against the Minnesota Wild.

The forward missed 55 games this season because of recurring concussion symptoms and hasn't played an NHL game since Dec. 10 but scored twice in training camp scrimmages and played a physical role on the third line with Antoine Roussel and Adam Gaudette. Ferland said his past problems were more about not being able to keep up with the "stimulation" and "speed" of players on the ice, which left him disoriented.

"I was never worried about contact, so once the game starts, I'm going to be hitting and I'm going to be hitting hard," Ferland said Saturday. "Playoff hockey, there's going to be big hits that can really change the momentum."

Ferland scored five points (one goal, four assists) in 14 games in his first season with the Canucks after signing a four-year contract July 10, 2019. His last attempt to return ended after the first period on a conditioning assignment for Utica of the American Hockey League on Feb. 14, but he said being off the ice two months after the NHL paused the season was probably the best thing for him.

"For me, he almost looks better -- when I say better, just more alive, really excited to be on the ice, engaged -- maybe more so than even at the beginning of the season," coach Travis Green said. "It's nice to see from a personal standpoint and then obviously, from a coach's standpoint and team standpoint, a healthy Micheal Ferland is important. … If he's in the lineup, he's a handful."

The Canucks (36-27-6, .565 points percentage) enter the Qualifiers as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and will play the No. 10 seed, the Wild (35-27-7, .558) beginning Aug. 2. Vancouver will play the Winnipeg Jets in an exhibition game at Rogers Place on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, NHL.TV). -- Kevin Woodley

Washington Capitals

Connor McMichael has been included on the Capitals roster for the Qualifiers.

The 19-year-old forward, who was selected in the first round (No. 25) of the 2019 NHL Draft, was third in the Ontario Hockey League with 102 points (47 goals, 55 assists) in 52 games this season with London. He also helped Canada finish first at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship, scoring seven points (five goals, two assists) in seven games.

"I think it'd be a great learning experience for Connor," general manager Brian MacLellan said May 29. "He seems to be a guy that can pick up things from good players, from watching them and being around them. ... I think he would take a big leap in his development just from being in that environment."

Coach Todd Reirden said earlier in training camp that if McMichael made the team he'd be trusted to play in the Qualifiers and Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"If we didn't think he was an option to be able to play, then that would be a player that we wouldn't probably bring to the hub city with us," Reirden said. "So if he's going to be there, and he's going to be in Toronto, then to me he's an option because so many things can change so quickly with everything that's going to happen this bubble."

The Capitals will play the Tampa Bay Lightning (Aug. 3), Philadelphia Flyers (Aug. 6) and Boston Bruins (Aug. 9) in Toronto to determine seeding in the East for the playoffs.

They will play the Carolina Hurricanes in an exhibition game Wednesday (4 p.m. ET; NBCSN, FS-CR, NHL.TV).