The 2017-18 season was a lost one for Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Kesler.

He missed the first half of the regular season after undergoing offseason hip surgery, playing in just 44 games and picking up only 14 points. It was his lowest point-per-game average since his second year in the league.

Kesler opened up about some of the challenges he faced following the surgery.

"Learning how to basically skate again, and coming back behind the eight ball when everybody is in mid-season form and you're in training camp mode, is hard," Kesler said. "It's not an excuse. I'm way better off now than I was before the surgery."

Kesler added that he lost 20 lbs in an effort to regain some of the speed he lost from the surgery. He plans to play at the same weight again next season.

NHL.com, Hockey Reference, and HockeyDB all have Kesler listed at 202 lbs. Assuming these weren't updated midseason, that means Kesler played at nearly 180 lbs this year.

Even though Kesler will be entering his age-34 season, it wouldn't be surprising if he returned as one of the game's better two-way centers in 2018-19.

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New Jersey's Brian Boyle, Florida's Roberto Luongo, and Carolina's Jordan Staal have been named Masterton Trophy finalists, the NHL announced Saturday.

The trophy is awarded annually to "the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey."

At the beginning of Devils training camp, Boyle was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, a type of bone marrow cancer. He was able to return to the ice for his season debut on Nov. 1, and recorded 10 goals over his first 25 games, including a memorable one on the night New Jersey hosted 'Hockey Fights Cancer Night.'

Boyle also represented the Devils at the NHL All-Star Game in Tampa Bay.

Luongo dealt with early hand and groin injuries but later helped the Panthers challenge for a playoff spot with his exceptional play. His impact, however, went far beyond the ice following a tragic school shooting in nearby Parkland.

In late February, Staal and his wife, Heather, announced their daughter, Hannah, was delivered stillborn due to a terminal birth defect previously diagnosed by doctors. The Hurricanes co-captain missed only three games and registered 46 points (19 goals, 27 assists) in 79 games while serving in a leadership role within the young roster.

The NHL Awards will be handed out June 20 in Las Vegas.

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Bryan Little wasn't going to spend too much time celebrating the first playoff series win in franchise history.

The Winnipeg Jets center said it was definitely nice to get the series win over Minnesota, but they're looking forward to continuing the run, and apparently Little knows their next opponent.

"We're celebrating for half an hour in here, then we're getting ready for Nashville," Little told reporters before quickly covering his tracks by adding, "Or whoever wins. Don't want to get ahead of myself.

That caveat is necessary, as the Predators failed to close out their series with the Avalanche on Friday, with Colorado pushing it to a sixth game Sunday in Denver on the strength of some heroics from Andrew Hammond.

A Jets-Predators showdown has been anticipated for some time. Little, however, has given the Avs some bulletin board material, at the very least.

Little has been with the Thrashers/Jets since being drafted 12th overall in 2006, and the five playoff games so far this season mark a new career high.

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Desperate times call for desperate measures.

With the Toronto Maple Leafs on the brink of elimination against the Boston Bruins, head coach Mike Babcock is pulling out all the stops for his team to live to see another day. That includes splitting up Auston Matthews and William Nylander, demoting the latter to the bottom six.

Here's a look at their lines during Saturday's morning skate, according to TSN's Mark Masters:

It can be debated as to whether an Andreas Johnsson-Tomas Plekanec-Nylander trio would actually serve as the team's third or fourth line, as many beat writers following the team have the latter two groups swapped. Nonetheless, it's quite a dramatic shakeup, which Babcock confirmed was legitimate after practice.

Babcock was not pleased with Matthews' and Nylander's performances following a Game 4 in which they failed to generate much offense, so this lineup shuffle isn't all that surprising.

Related: Babcock expected Matthews, Nylander to dominate Bergeron-less Bruins

As for Toronto's newly-formed top line, Matthews is no stranger to being flanked by Zach Hyman and Connor Brown. In nearly 500 minutes together at 5-on-5 throughout the past two regular seasons, this threesome has generated 49.1 percent of the shot attempts, but 62.2 percent of the goals scored while on the ice together, per Corsica.

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All signs are pointing toward Patrice Bergeron returning to the Boston Bruins' lineup for Game 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

"Looked good this morning, I anticipate he'll play," Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We'll make a final decision after warmup. Looking good."

Bergeron was a surprising late scratch prior to Game 4 due to an upper-body injury, but the Bruins were able to pull off a 3-1 victory without their four-time Selke Trophy winner in the lineup.

Saturday's morning skate was nothing out of the ordinary, as Bergeron skated between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak during line rushes, and took his usual spot on the power play.

Game 5 is set for 8 p.m. ET in Boston.

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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.

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"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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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