Vancouver Canucks stud prospect Quinn Hughes is feeling healthy and ready for his NHL debut once he's medically cleared.

"If I'm not 100 percent, I'm very close," Hughes said Wednesday. "Skating these past five days has been great. I'm ready when my number is called."

Hughes signed a three-year entry-level contract with Vancouver on March 10 but has been sidelined with a bone bruise after blocking a shot while still with the Michigan Wolverines.

Canucks head coach Travis Green said he hasn't confirmed Hughes' status with the club's medical team but is hoping the 19-year-old will be cleared to debut Thursday versus the Los Angeles Kings, according to The Canadian Press.

Vancouver drafted Hughes seventh overall in 2018, expecting him to be a franchise cornerstone on the blue line as the Canucks continue to rebuild. Hughes notched a team-leading 33 points in 32 games with Michigan this season.

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Frederik Andersen hasn't been himself of late, but he's looking at the final push before the postseason as his chance to get back on track.

"These last games are as close to a preseason as you can be without being back there, but you're trying to get your swagger and get your confidence and feel good about yourself going into the playoffs," the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender told reporters Wednesday. "That's the main thing for everyone in this room."

The 29-year-old said he's not concerned with how many games he plays before the regular season concludes.

"I don't really care what that exact number is, that's a waste of time for me," he said.

Andersen is 35-15-5 with a .917 save percentage this season, but he only has two wins and an .841 mark over the last six contests, having allowed four goals or more four times in that span.

Despite an eight-game absence earlier this season, only seven netminders have played more minutes than Andersen in 2018-19.

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J.P. Barry is not happy about his client getting hurt in a seemingly unnecessary scuffle.

The prominent agent, who represents Montreal Canadiens winger Paul Byron, is questioning the unwritten rules of hockey that encourage players to settle scores by fighting.

Byron was injured in a fight with Florida Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar on Tuesday night. The bout was apparently Weegar's response to Byron's high hit on him in January, which drew a three-game suspension.

"This wasn't a hockey fight," Barry texted to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "Paul knew he had to deal with it then or likely later. Paul probably gives up five inches and 50 pounds to a very tough player - how is this the code?"

Barry added, "Player Safety already gave Paul three games for an improper check and now the 'code' gets to give him several more? ...

"This exact situation is Exhibit A for re-examining our current rules for fighting. If the fight is patently retribution for something that happened long before this game was ever played, how is that allowed to occur without being addressed?

The agent said he expected many others to praise Byron as a "warrior" who "answered the bell."

"These are the people that believe in the old 'code,'" Barry continued. "It's time for Player Safety to be the new 'code.' What really matters is eliminating avoidable concussions wherever we can."

Byron struggled to skate off the ice after the fight and didn't return to the game.

Weegar asked Byron whether he wanted to fight and the Canadiens forward said yes, the Panthers blue-liner told La Presse's Richard Labbe postgame.

Byron won't play on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets and he'll be evaluated on a daily basis, his club announced Wednesday.

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The Buffalo Sabres aren't parting with Phil Housley, but the team's owners say the bench boss has room for improvement.

Terry and Kim Pegula, who also own the Buffalo Bills, said as much at the NFL owners meetings in Arizona on Tuesday. They also acknowledged general manager Jason Botterill recently giving the head coach a vote of confidence.

"The season obviously hasn't finished yet. But, I think Botts has said it pretty well that he supports Phil," Terry told WIVB's Nick Filipowski. "Phil communicates with the players well. Are we happy with the way the season has gone? Absolutely not. So, something has to change. We don't know what but we're going to put our heads together and talk about it."

He was then asked about justifying bringing Housley back for a third season in 2019-20.

"He's a young coach," Terry said. "He was a great player and I think he can grow as a coach."

Kim echoed that sentiment.

"I don't think, anytime these things happen, it's usually not just one thing or just on one person," she said. "We'll figure all that out. Know that, Terry and I, our staff, everybody in the organization we want to get better, no doubt about it.”

The Sabres reeled off a 10-game win streak in November, but have since plummeted in the standings, sitting third-last in the Atlantic Division with the fourth-worst record in the Eastern Conference.

Entering Wednesday's action, Buffalo ranks 26th in goals scored per game and ninth-worst in goals allowed per contest. The team also sits in the middle of the pack in power-play and penalty-kill efficiency.

Buffalo finished with a 25-45-12 record in 2017-18, Housley's first campaign as an NHL head coach. Despite adding Jeff Skinner and first overall pick Rasmus Dahlin for the 2018-19 season, the club has posted a 31-36-9 record with six games left.

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Evgeny Kuznetsov is flapping back at Don Cherry for criticizing his bird-themed goal celebration again.

“If he want(s) to say something, he can call me or he can meet me, but to call me (a) jerk on TV doesn’t make him look good, you know? But whatever he said, my parents (taught) me a lot of good things when (I was) young, and I’m not going to say anything bad about a guy who’s much older than me," the Washington Capitals Russian forward told Scott Allen and Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post on Tuesday.

During Saturday's edition of "Coach's Corner," Cherry called Kuznetsov a "jerk" for doing the bird celebration after scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning, insisting that players should "never inspire the other team" with such behavior.

Kuznetsov said on Tuesday that he's a fan of the Carolina Hurricanes' "Storm Surge" celebrations, which Cherry also infamously bemoaned, calling that team "a bunch of jerks."

“That’s what hockey should be for, for fun,” Kuznetsov said. “Fans like it, and you know, the way (Cherry) talk(s), it doesn’t make him look good, right? If he thinks he’s good, he should check his record when he was coaching in the CHL and that’s it, he should shut his mouth.”

Cherry's Mississauga IceDogs went 11-47-10 during his stint behind the bench in 2000-01.

The "Hockey Night in Canada" pundit knocked Kuznetsov in January for doing the move in front of the Columbus Blue Jackets' bench after scoring a game-tying goal, noting that the Blue Jackets then did it themselves to mock him following their overtime winner.

A similar move in the "FIFA" video games inspired Kuznetsov's celebration, and he says his daughter loves it, according to The Post.

When the Capitals host the Hurricanes on Tuesday night, they'll be giving away bobbleheads featuring Kuznetsov doing his trademark post-goal routine.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning signed head coach Jon Cooper to a multi-year extension on Tuesday, the team announced.

Tampa Bay has a league-leading 122 points - 21 more than the second-best team - with five games remaining. The historic campaign could put Cooper in the running for the Jack Adams Trophy.

The Lightning are 302-157-44 since Cooper became head coach during the 2012-13 season. He led them to the Stanley Cup Final two years later, though they fell to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Prior to coaching the Lighting, Cooper led the AHL's Norfolk Admirals to a Calder Cup championship in 2012.

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