Brooks Orpik may soon be suiting up against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Washington Capitals defenseman, who missed the final three games of his team's first-round series against Philadelphia, practiced Tuesdaym but remains day-to-day and is questionable to be ready for Game 1 on Thursday.

"I still have to do some stuff with the doctors just to make sure everything is going all right," Orpik said, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post. "That’ll happen in the next couple of days. But it was a good step getting back on the ice."

Orpik was injured after being drilled into the glass by Flyers forward Ryan White in Game 3 of the six-game series, and the exact nature of his injury has not been disclosed.

"It was just one of those ones I didn’t see it coming," Orpik said of the hit. "If I saw it coming, probably nothing comes of it. I’ve been hit a lot harder than that and been fine. I think it’s just bad luck."

Orpik was limited to 41 regular-season games, averaging 19:49 of ice time a night.

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R.J. Umberger believes he's cleared out his Philadelphia Flyers locker for the last time.

The forward will turn 34 on May 2 and expects the Flyers to buy him out of the final season of his contract, according to the Courier-Post's Dave Isaac. He's slated to make $4.5 million in salary, while his cap number is $4.6 million.

It'll cost the Flyers $1.5 million to buy Umberger out, and $1.6 million against the cap, according to General Fanager.

Umberger didn't play much this season, scoring two goals and adding nine assists in 39 games. He was unable to get into the club's postseason lineup, as the Flyers were bounced by the Washington Capitals in six games.

The Pittsburgh native began his career with Philadelphia, and had his most productive seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2008-09 through 2011-12.

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NEW YORK, N.Y. - Philadelphia Flyers forward Brayden Schenn has been suspended by the NHL for three games for a high hit on Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie. The punishment was announced by the league's department of player safety on Tu...

The Nashville Predators are in uncharted territory.

After staving off elimination at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 on Monday night, the Predators forced a do-or-die Game 7 - their first in franchise history.

Six players on the current Predators roster have played in a Game 7, but those who haven't are doing their best to prepare.

"The mindset is a little bit different," Predators goalie Pekka Rinne told Adam Vingan of the Tennessean. "Just facing Game 7, you know what it means and what's at stake."

James Neal, one of the few Predators who's already suited up in a winner-take-all series finale, feels his teammates will be ready.

"I think the pressure's been on them the whole series," Neal said. "Everyone's picked them to win. We know what kind of team we have here in Nashville. We did everything all year to push ourselves to this point. Why not win one more game?"

Having already survived one elimination game, head coach Peter Laviolette is taking the same approach that extended the series.

"Our Game 7 is really no different than our Game 6," Laviolette said. "If we didn't win (Monday) we were done. I think we've got that going for us. We've already taken on an elimination game as a young group and found success. ... Our guys will be ready to play."

Nashville has only escaped the first round twice in franchise history, and a win Wednesday night would set up a second-round clash with the San Jose Sharks.

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Philadelphia Flyers forward Brayden Schenn has been suspended three games for charging Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Tuesday.

Schenn, whose Flyers were eliminated by the Capitals in the first round, will miss his first three games of the 2016-17 season. The hit occurred in Sunday's Game 6 when Schenn left his feet to hit Oshie, his shoulder driving into Oshie's head.

Schenn "approaches with speed and launches up and into his hit, making significant contact with Oshie's head," the DOPS explained. "This is charging. ... Rather than staying low and delivering a hit through Oshie's shoulder or chest, Schenn launches himself up and into Oshie, making substantial contact with Oshie's head. Schenn's elevation is evident, as he remains airborne until he crashes into the boards."

Schenn's history played into the suspension, as he'd been fined and suspended once before.

Oshie finished Game 6 against the Flyers and is considered good to go for Game 1 of Washington's second-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The series between the Flyers and Capitals was extremely physical. Unfortunately, Schenn's hit crossed the line, and he'll be watching early next season.

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The Boston Bruins have signed 20-year-old netminder Daniel Vladar to a three-year entry-level contract, the club announced Tuesday.

Selected 75th overall by the Bruins in 2015, Vladar spent last season with the Chicago Steel of the USHL, where he posted a 12-12-4 record with a 2.31 goals against average and .920 save percentage.

Vladar stands tall at 6-foot-6, 185 pounds, and represented the Czech Republic at the 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki.

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The St. Louis Blues still have a long way to go.

The day after a dramatic and emotional Game 7 win over the rival Chicago Blackhawks, forward Troy Brouwer - who scored the series-clinching goal - said the club is well aware there's plenty of hockey left to play before realizing the ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup.

"We’re still not where we want to be," Brouwer told reporters. "We want to be playing in a month and half still, but it’s a big confidence booster."

Brouwer initially missed opportunities to net the game-winner, and joked after the game that he would have quit hockey if it didn't go in.

Since it did, the Blues are set to face off against the Dallas Stars in the second round and remain 12 wins away from being the last team standing in June.

Knocking off the defending champions, however, is no small feat.

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The highly-anticipated second-round matchup between Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Ovechkin's Washington Capitals is set to get underway Thursday, April 28 in prime time.

Here's the complete schedule.

Date	Time (ET)	Location	Networks
Thu. April 28	8 p.m.	Washington	NBCSN/TVA Sports
Sat. April 30	8 p.m.	Washington	NBCSN/TVA Sports
Mon. May 2	8 p.m.	Pittsburgh	NBCSN/TVA Sports
Wed. May 4	8 p.m.	Pittsburgh	NBCSN/TVA Sports
*Sat. May 7	TBD	Washington	TBD
*Tue. May 10	TBD	Pittsburgh	TBD
*Thu. May 12	TBD	Washington	TBD

* If necessary

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CHICAGO - Game 7 of the Blackhawks-Blues series drew the largest TV audience for a first-round NHL playoff game on NBCSN. St. Louis' 3-2 win Monday to eliminate the defending Stanley Cup champions averaged 1.35 million viewers. The telecas...

The Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues will begin their second-round Stanley Cup Playoff series on Friday, April 29.

Here's a look at the complete schedule.

Game	Date	Time (ET)	Location	Television
Game 1	Friday April 29	8 p.m.	St. Louis at Dallas	NBCSN TVA Sports
Game 2	Sunday May 1	3 p.m.	St. Louis at Dallas	NBC TVA Sports
Game 3	Tuesday May 3	8 p.m.	Dallas at St. Louis	USA TVA Sports
Game 4	Thursday May 5	8 p.m.	Dallas at St. Louis	NBCSN TVA Sports
*Game 5	Saturday May 7	TBD	St. Louis at Dallas	TBD
*Game 6	Monday May 9	TBD	Dallas at St. Louis	TBD
*Game 7	Wednesday May 11	TBD	St. Louis at Dallas	TBD

*If necessary

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