Matt Cullen isn't sure if he's played his last NHL game.

The 40-year-old center saw 11:55 of ice time in Minnesota's 5-0 loss to Winnipeg on Friday, a result that eliminated the Wild from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. When asked if he's considering retirement, Cullen simply said he doesn't know just yet.

"My only thought here the last while was getting it back home for Game 6. So to be honest, I don't have an answer right now," he said Friday, per The Athletic's Michael Russo.

Cullen - a Minnesota native - signed a one-year deal with the Wild last summer to be closer to his family, and he'll now spend some time talking about his future with those closest to him.

"We need some time to get away from it all. As I've said in the past, it’s an important decision to me and my family so we'll give it its rightful due."

Cullen joined the Wild after two straight Cup wins with Pittsburgh, and he was also a member of Carolina's winning team back in 2006. He recorded 11 goals and 11 assists in 79 games with Minnesota this season.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

"The Hamburglar" is back.

Heading into an elimination game against the Nashville Predators without goaltenders Semyon Varlamov and Jonathan Bernier due to injuries, Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar called upon Andrew Hammond on Friday, and it worked out rather well.

The 30-year-old stopped 44 of 45 shots in Colorado's 2-1 win, forcing the series to a Game 6 back in Denver on Sunday.

Acquired from Ottawa on Nov. 5 as part of a three-team trade that saw Matt Duchene sent to the Senators and also involved Nashville's Kyle Turris, Hammond had started just three contests in 2018 prior to Game 5, two of which came in the AHL.

And dating back to the beginning of 2016-17, he'd made only five NHL starts, and his lone appearance with the Avalanche this season had resulted in a 2-1 loss to Philadelphia.

But Hammond stepped up for the Avalanche in a big way on Friday, stopping 11 shots in the first period, 15 in the middle frame, and 19 over the final 20 minutes to earn the win and extend the season.

On top of that, he became just the fourth goaltender in NHL history to win an elimination game after making no more than one appearance during the regular season, joining Earl Robertson (1937), Bert Gardiner (1939), and Ed Belfour (1990), according to the NHL.

"You never know when you’re going to get a second chance," Hammond said, per Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press. "I’ve played two games basically since the start of January - at times it felt as though that day would never come again when you’re going to play again. You keep battling in practice, you stick to the process, when you get your chance, you’re ready."

Hammond has played the hero before. He first exploded onto the scene with the Senators back in 2014-15, when he posted a record of 20-1-2 with a .941 save percentage to help Ottawa become the first team in the NHL's modern era (since 1943-44) to dig out of a 14-point deficit in the standings to reach the playoffs.

And with Bernier sidelined with a nagging lower-body injury that apparently worsened in recent days, Hammond is likely to be called upon again for Sunday's Game 6.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Nick Bonino put his best foot forward Friday night, and it gave the Nashville Predators a critical goal.

Bonino's goal that broke a 0-0 tie with less than 10 minutes remaining in Game 5 was initially waived off on the ice due to an apparent kicking motion, but it was then reversed and allowed to stand upon video review.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Only two other American-born goaltenders have done what Connor Hellebuyck did Friday night.

The Winnipeg Jets netminder joined Mike Richter and Brent Johnson as the only U.S.-born goalies in NHL history to notch consecutive postseason shutouts.

Hellebuyck turned aside all 30 shots he faced in the 5-0 series-clinching victory over the Minnesota Wild on Friday, after stopping all 30 shots in a 2-0 win in Game 4 on Tuesday night.

He hasn't allowed a goal since being named a Vezina Trophy finalist before Tuesday's game.

Johnson earned three straight clean sheets with the St. Louis Blues in Games 2, 3, and 4 of the 2002 Western Conference quarterfinals against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Richter posted two consecutive playoff shutouts with the New York Rangers in Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the New York Islanders back in 1994.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Winnipeg Jets rode a four-goal first period to a 5-0 victory in Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Related: Jets chase Dubnyk with 4 first-period goals

The series served as a giant stepping stone for the franchise, who not only won their first ever playoff game, but also their first ever series. Prior to this season the franchise's only other two playoff matchups resulted in 4-0 series loses.

The first came when the Atlanta Thrashers were swept in 2007 by the New York Rangers and the latter came in 2015 when the Jets lost four straight to the Anaheim Ducks.

Meanwhile, it marks the first time a Winnipeg Jets team has won a playoff series since 1987 when the Jets - now the Arizona Coyotes - defeated the Calgary Flames in six games.

The Jets will now await the winner of the series between the Nashville Predators and the Colorado Avalanche.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Winnipeg Jets rode a four-goal first period to a 5-0 victory in Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Related: Jets chase Dubnyk with 4 first-period goals

The series served as a giant stepping stone for the franchise, who not only won their first ever playoff game, but also their first ever series. Prior to this season the franchise's only other two playoff matchups resulted in 4-0 series loses.

The first came when the Atlanta Thrashers were swept in 2007 by the New York Rangers and the latter came in 2015 when the Jets lost four straight to the Anaheim Ducks.

Meanwhile, it marks the first time a Winnipeg Jets team has won a playoff series since 1987 when the Jets - now the Arizona Coyotes - defeated the Calgary Flames in six games.

The Jets will now await the winner of the series between the Nashville Predators and the Colorado Avalanche.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Colorado Avalanche are getting a big boost on the back end as they attempt to keep their season alive Friday night.

Samuel Girard returned to the lineup for Game 5 of the first-round series against the Nashville Predators after missing the previous three contests with what the Avalanche would only call an upper-body injury.

The 19-year-old defenseman was acquired by Colorado in the blockbuster trade that sent Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators and Kyle Turris to the Predators.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Winnipeg Jets forward Joel Armia left Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild on Friday with an upper-body injury, the team announced.

The 24-year-old played 5:24 in the first period, but did not return for the second.

Despite his early withdrawal, Armia had time to score the Jets' fourth goal of the first period when a Dustin Byfuglien slap shot from the point redirected off his midsection and in. The goal was his first of the series, and first in 17 games overall.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.