Tuukka Rask, who is off to a 6-5-2 start with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.Boston’s offense is also making an adjustment that skews younger. Center Patrice Berge

DALLAS (AP) Liam Kirk was on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean Pittsburgh Penguins Hats Authentic , about 4,600 miles away from Dallas, on Saturday when he became the first player born and trained in England to be selected in the NHL draft.Early in the seventh and final round of the draft, the Arizona Coyotes took the 18-year-old Kirk with the 189th overall pick .”To finally see my name on the board was just incredible,” Kirk said by phone from England. ”And to get a call from the GM was even better, just to know that’s the place I’m going. And that’s what I’m aiming to be, and to play my NHL career.”The 6-foot, 161-pound Kirk played this season for Sheffield Steelers in the Elite Ice Hockey League, the highest level of competition in the United Kingdom, and for a team where the average age is 28. He had nine goals and seven assists in 52 games for the Steelers in his second season with the team.Even though cricket and soccer are much more popular sports in England, Kirk already was dreaming about playing for Sheffield when he was only about 6 years old and going to Steelers games with his parents and older brother. He started to learn about the NHL within a couple of years.Tim Bernhardt, Arizona’s director of amateur scouting, said NHL Central Scouting identified Kirk. The Coyotes then sent one of their scouts in Europe to see him, and more followed.”He’s a thin kid, needs a lot of physical development, but they said he’s got a good idea of the game, and his natural skills were very good,” Bernhardt said.Born in Rotherham Custom Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys , Kirk this year became the first player born and trained in England to attend the NHL’s pre-draft scouting combine in Buffalo. Now he is the first to be drafted, and he wants to be the first to play in the NHL.”I just want to prove myself, and prove I can play,” said Kirk, who will soon move to North America to start playing here.The Coyotes were among the teams that met with Kirk at the combine, and he knew there was a chance that they would take him. But he didn’t know for sure while watching the draft with his family.His name finally got called Saturday night in England, six hours ahead of Dallas time, where it was early afternoon when he got picked.”He wants to be here. He’s coming over here to play now,” Bernhardt said. ”He’s played in the men’s league. It’s hard for him to find a spot to play because he’s too good for the juniors. … You’re not going to find that kind of skill in the seventh round, so let’s go for it and see where we can get it to.”— SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers (10-10-5) should be well rested when they play host to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.With no game Sunday or Monday, it’s the Panthers’ biggest break since they got back from Finland one month ago.“It was our fifth game in eight days,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said of Saturday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. “We started the week with a back to back, and we ended with a back to back. You could tell our tank was a little bit empty toward the end.”Article continues below ...Indeed, the Panthers have blown multi-goal leads in two of their past three losses.Meanwhile, the Bruins (14-8-4), who are Florida’s rivals in the Atlantic Division, have also been off since Saturday www.officialsharks.com , although they did have to make the trip down to Sunrise while the Panthers rested.Boston is trying to win now while also breaking in young players, and that’s especially true on defense, where injuries have taken out the Bruins’ top two players: Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy. Chara is out with a knee injury, and McAvoy has a concussion.Two other Bruins defensemen who have played this season are also on injured reserve: Kevan Miller (throat) and top rookie Urho Vaakanainen (concussion).Due to those injuries, the Bruins have been forced to play rookie defensemen Connor Clifton, 23; and Jeremy Lauzon, 21. Between the two of them, they have just 22 games of NHL experience.The Bruins will rely on their more experienced defensemen — Brandon Carlo, John Moore, Torey Krug and Matt Grzelcyk — for most of the playing time against a potent Panthers offense.The hottest Panthers forwards at the moment are Jonathan Huberdeau, who has a five-game, multi-point streak; and Mike Hoffman, who has 24 points in his past 23 games.Panthers center Vincent Trocheck, who has scored 54 goals the past two seasons, is out with a fractured ankle. But the Panthers still have captain/center Aleksander Barkov (10 goals, 23 points), winger Evgenii Dadonov (12 goals, 26 points) and a power play that has scored in 14 of their past 15 games.Defenseman Keith Yandle San Jose Sharks T-Shirts Authentic , the quarterback of Florida’s power play, earned career assist No. 40 on Saturday.The job of being the last line of defense against that offense on Tuesday will likely belong to Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, who is off to a 6-5-2 start with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.Boston’s offense is also making an adjustment that skews younger. Center Patrice Bergeron, 33, who scored 30 goals last season and has nine this season, is out due to a shoulder injury.David Pastrnak, 22, leads the Bruins in goals (19) and points (30). Jake DeBrusk, also 22, has 10 goals after scoring 16 last season.The Bruins are also still looking for breakthroughs from players such as Ryan Donato, a rookie from Harvard who produced nine points in 12 games late last season and has two goals and no assists in 13 games this season.“We’ve got some young wingers who are learning their way,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said.After Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, Cassidy bemoaned Boston’s inability to finish chances at the net. But, he added, “there was fire in the group.”