He hasn't been on the ice, or in the public eye, but Steven Stamkos is still there, providing the Tampa Bay Lightning a lift.

The Bolts captain - who underwent surgery earlier this month to repair a blood clotting issue - is with the club, staying involved in the postseason run from behind the scenes.

"It's awesome having him around, he can still bring that leadership," Ryan Callahan said of his captain, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. "He's been there before, he knows what we're going through, how we're feeling.

"It's good, it's uplifting to have him around the room."

Presence, by its very definition, is hardly an onerous task. But it might be one of the harder things Stamkos will do, explains his coach, Jon Cooper.

"It's just killing him not being able to play," Cooper said.

He added: "He's been in touch with a lot of guys, he's staying out of the public eye, but it's just hard, we want him playing. He wants to be playing so bad."

Stamkos was given a one-to-three-month timeline for a return. He remains scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

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Henrik Lundqvist isn't going to change his equipment to avoid another injury scare.

The New York Rangers goaltender says the inadvertent high stick from teammate Marc Staal that came through the goaltender's mask and forced him from Game 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins was a freak accident.

“I haven’t seen many incidents like this over the years,” Lundqvist told Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. “Accidents happen, injuries happen. I feel still as a goalie you’re pretty well protected. I don’t see it as an issue.”

The Rangers goalie feared the worst after taking Staal's stick to the eye Wednesday night.

“For probably 20 or 30 seconds there, I had some really bad thoughts going through my head,” he said. “It was very scary, actually.”

Specialists confirmed there was no damage to Lundqvist's eye, and while his vision was blurry in the aftermath, it has improved since the incident.

He practiced Friday, and will be a game-time decision Saturday for Game 2 of the first-round playoff series.

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The Los Angeles Kings appear to be preparing for an immediate future without defenseman Alec Martinez.

Martinez suffered an undisclosed injury Thursday in the Kings' Game 1 loss to the San Jose Sharks, playing only 11:43. He wasn't on the bench in the third period and the Kings have been mum on his status.

On Friday, Los Angeles recalled defenseman Kevin Gravel from the American Hockey League's Ontario Reign, which means Martinez may not be able to play Saturday.

Martinez's loss would be a big one. He averaged 21:09 a game in the regular season and added a career-high 31 points. With Martinez out most of Thursday, Drew Doughty's ice time shot up to a game-high 29:19, while Jake Muzzin played 25:57.

Defensive depth has been an issue for the Kings this season and Sutter addressed it at practice Friday, according to Kings Insider's Jon Rosen.

"We've used a lot of guys. If you look over the course of the year, we've used, what is it now, 12? Whatever it is," Sutter said. "I don't know, count. I'm not really sure. We've used a lot of the kids ... So we've used a lot of guys. It's the toughest position, but hey, you still need them to give you, whether it's 10 minutes or 15 minutes, they've got to be quality. That's when you say, 'What did I think about it,' that’s what I base it on, is how they play."

Sutter admitted that going down to five defensemen affected his team Thursday night.

"The second period, it was clearly the difference in our game," he said. "That's because it's hard. You've rather spread (ice time) out as much as you can, but when you're top-heavy with a guy like (Doughty) and (Muzzin) and those guys, they're going to have to play more. That's going to be our best chance of winning."

Doughty played 28:01 a game during the regular season, the second-highest average of his career. That number may continue to push 30, as the Sharks are a handful up front.

Gravel, 24, has played five games in his career, all this season, and has yet to register a point. He has seven goals and 13 assists in 55 games in the minors.

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On brand, as they say.

BioSteel's best fraternized Thursday night in Toronto when Connor McDavid and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman - who threw eight innings of two-run ball versus the New York Yankees - met up for a photo opportunity.

Like most teenagers who spend their summers in Ontario, McDavid appears caught up in the frenzy that is World Series expectations for the hometown ball club. But McDavid will, however, miss a portion of the Jays season, as he'll soon head to Russia for next month's World Championship.

Shout to my man @cmcdavid97 for coming to support the boys tonight. @BioSteelSports

— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6) April 15, 2016

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The Minnesota Wild need a miracle. Erik Haula's a start.

The left winger practiced Friday and said he'll be in the Game 2 lineup Saturday, when the Wild hope to avoid going down 2-0 to the Dallas Stars in their best-of-seven series.

"We came here for a split," Haula said, according to The Star Tribune's Michael Russo.

Without Zach Parise, Thomas Vanek, and Haula, who is nursing an undisclosed injury, the Wild were shut out 4-0 in Game 1. And Dallas was missing Tyler Seguin, who is expected to play in Game 2.

Wild head coach John Torchetti didn't confirm Haula would play. "We'll see how he feels tomorrow," he said.

Haula had 14 goals and 20 assists in 76 games, the 25-year-old averaging 12:44 in ice time and setting career offensive highs across the board.

Haula: "I think we have a lot of confidence. We didn't play like we wanted to play and that's going to change." #mnwild

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 15, 2016

Haula practiced on a line with Nino Niederreiter and Jason Pominville.

"Haulsy brings a lot of speed to the lineup," Niederreiter said. "I think it'll definitely help."

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WASHINGTON - Centre Sean Couturier will miss the rest of the Philadelphia Flyers' first-round series against the Washington Capitals because of an upper-body injury. The team said Friday that he will be out at least two weeks. Couturier's los...

The Philadelphia Flyers will be without their best shutdown center, Sean Couturier, for the remainder of their first-round series against the high-powered Washington Capitals.

The Flyers announced Friday that Couturier will miss two weeks with an upper-body injury.

Couturier was injured roughly halfway through the second period of the Flyers' 2-0 loss in Game 1 when Alex Ovechkin, one of the players he was tasked with shutting down, delivered a heavy body check from a few feet away from the boards.

He landed shoulder-first, exited the ice and failed to return for the rest of the game.

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Good news for the Anaheim Ducks, bad news for the Nashville Predators.

Forwards David Perron and Rickard Rakell will be in the lineup when the Ducks open their first-round series Friday at home, head coach Bruce Boudreau confirmed. Perron hasn't played since March 20 due to a shoulder separation, while Rakell last played March 28, before being sidelined with appendicitis.

Perron's return is more surprising, as he was expected to miss four-to-six weeks. The pending unrestricted free agent has settled in nicely with Anaheim after a midseason trade from Pittsburgh, with eight goals and 12 assists in 28 games in SoCal.

Rakell, a first-round pick, 30th overall in 2011, broke out this season, scoring 20 goals and adding 23 assists in 72 games.

Meanwhile, defenseman Kevin Bieksa, dealing with an upper-body injury, is a game-time decision, Boudreau said.

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Sorry, Rangers fans, but you'll have to wait until puck drop to know if Henrik Lundqvist will be between the pipes for Game 2 versus the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After Lundqvist skated with the team Friday, practicing in what's traditionally the starter's net, New York head coach Alain Vigneault labeled the goalie a game-time decision.

After being struck in the eye by an errant stick from defenseman Marc Staal, Lundqvist initially feared the worst. He said his vision was blurry after the hit, but it became clearer as the night went on.

Specialists told Lundqvist there's no damage to his eye, but swelling ensued.

Antti Raanta closed out Game 1 for the Rangers, who recalled Magnus Hellberg from the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack in case Lundqvist is unavailable.

The Rangers' injury troubles don't end in goal, as Vigneault said defenseman Dan Girardi won't play Saturday due to a series of injuries.

Vigneault on whether Girardi has upper body/lower body injury. "The whole thing."

— Will Graves (@WillGravesAP) April 15, 2016

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The Philadelphia Flyers will have to play on without Sean Couturier, who's done for the remainder of the first-round series against the Washington Capitals.

The forward was trucked by Alex Ovechkin and forced to leave the game. He's gone for at least two weeks.

The Flyers had an optional skate Friday and it appears Scott Laughton will take the defensive wizard's spot in the lineup. The 21-year-old had seven goals and 14 assists in 71 games.

"I think I can bring a little fire to the series," Laughton said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Sam Carchidi.

Jakub Voracek joked that Scott Laughton is pretty "stupid," so he won't be nervous for his first playoff game. #FlyersTalk

— Jordan Hall (@jordan1hall) April 15, 2016

The Capitals were keeping their eyes on the story, too, before Couturier's status was updated Friday afternoon.

"If (Couturier's) out that's a huge loss (for Philadelphia)," said Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner, according to CSNwashington.com's Chuck Gormley. "He's probably the best defensive forward on that team."

The irony of the situation is tremendous. Couturier was expected to be the man to try to shut down Ovechkin. It turns out Ovechkin eliminated the guy who was supposed to eliminate him.

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