Carolina Hurricanes assistant coach Rod Brind'Amour has thrown his hat into the ring to become the team's next bench boss.
"If you never try, you'll never know," Brind'Amour told Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer. "The reason for saying 'why not?' is I've been doing it for eight years and I really believe I can help out one way or the other and see if I can put us over the hump."
Brind'Amour has been an assistant coach with the Hurricanes since 2011, serving under Kirk Muller and the recently departed Bill Peters, whose resignation made the head coaching job available.
Brind'Amour feels he learned a lot from Peters, and he's ready to take on the top job. Prior to becoming an assistant coach, the 47-year-old, who's under contract for one more season, spent one season as the director of player development.
"I don't think as an assistant I'm going to get any better or learn any more. So now's the time," Brind'Amour added. "They're going to find the best guy to do it, and if it's me, that's great, and if not I understand. But I felt like I could at least step up and see if it could happen.
"I think the attraction to me is you can really put your plan in place and decide how to pull all the strings. You decide the ice time. You decide who's playing or not, and in certain situations. That's the allure of it. They know I'm interested and we'll see where it goes."
Prior to entering the coaching ranks, Brind'Amour spent 10 seasons with the Hurricanes, captaining the franchise to its lone Stanley Cup championship in 2006.
Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson lasted just two periods into Game 3 against the San Jose Sharks on Monday, getting the hook after allowing five goals on 24 shots.
Ducks coach Randy Carlyle turned to backup Ryan Miller to start the third period.
The Sharks carried a 5-1 lead into the final frame, and added three more on Miller to take the contest 8-1 and extend their series lead to a commanding three games to none.
After a regular-season performance that put him in the conversation for MVP honors - Hall notched 93 points in 76 games, including a 25-game streak - the Devils forward needs a similar showing in the playoffs to give New Jersey any hope against the heavily favored Lightning.
And that's a tall task. This Tampa Bay squad waltzed through the regular season en route to a franchise-record 113 points, and there's no denying Hedman was a big contributor.
When he wasn't putting a career-high 17 goals past the opposing goaltender, Hedman was making life easier for Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy, regularly pushing in-close chances away from Tampa Bay's crease.
With that in mind, can the smaller Hall do enough to get around the hulking Hedman to help the Devils' chances?
New Jersey won all three matchups against the Lightning this season, and Hall picked up an assist in each contest. But he couldn't score a goal of his own, apparently losing the battle in the net-front area where both players excel.
If Hall can't translate his regular-season success to the playoffs and Hedman thrives in this shutdown assignment, it could be a short series.
The Hall versus Hedman showdown begins Thursday in Tampa Bay.
Due to injuries, the two stars laced up in just one game against each other this season, but in that Feb. 3 meeting, Chara went to work. Matthews was held pointless in a 4-1 loss, one of just a handful of games this season in which he failed to pick up a point.
It's no secret that the Maple Leafs superstar is most dangerous in front of the opponent's net, and since the Arizona native is as skilled a playmaker as he is a goal-scorer, his creativity makes him even more difficult to defend.
Shutting him down is a role Chara relishes, as the hulking greybeard can still neutralize oncoming attacks thanks to his intensity and tremendous reach.
When the veteran defenseman is on the ice, it's especially difficult for opponents to get shots from Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask's doorstep.
Still, it's not all bad news for Matthews; as strong as Chara's performance has been in front of the cage, his shot-suppression abilities dip below the league average further out between the dots. That leaves plenty of dangerous areas for the forward.
Round 1 of Matthews versus Chara begins Thursday in Boston.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs have arrived, so it's time to dust off the crystal ball and make some predictions. Here's our outlook for how the West will play out:
Nashville Predators (1) vs. Colorado Avalanche (WC2)
The Avalanche pulled out all the stops to clinch the West's second wild-card seed, including a knockout victory over the St. Louis Blues in the final game of the regular season. Even more impressive is that the Avalanche did it with starter Semyon Varlamov and top defender Erik Johnson on the sidelines.
But after completing their second-half surge, how much do the Avalanche have left to make some noise in the playoffs, particularly given the team must face off against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Predators?
Nashville took all four regular-season contests against Colorado, with three coming in regulation. Expect a similar showing in the postseason, especially with the banged-up Avs forced to turn to backup netminder Jonathan Bernier.
Prediction: Preds cruise to second round with sweep of Avs
Winnipeg Jets (2) vs. Minnesota Wild (3)
Bruce Boudreau's NHL coaching record is impressive, if you stop reading after Game 82. That's because for all the success the affable bench boss has had in the regular season, he hasn't translated those victories to when it matters.
In eight full seasons behind an NHL bench, Boudreau's squads have always cracked the 100-point plateau, but he's failed to carry over that success to the playoffs, with just five series wins since 2008. That includes four opening-round wins and just a single year where his team has made the Conference Finals.
It's not about to get any easier this spring, with the Wild set for date with the high-flying Jets. Winnipeg boasts plenty of offensive options, and Boudreau's inability to adjust to the opposition will contribute to Minnesota's demise.
Prediction: Wild coach Boudreau still can't translate success to spring
Vegas Golden Knights (1) vs. Los Angeles Kings (WC1)
It's been a year of rewriting the record books for the Golden Knights, and there's no reason to believe that will stop in the postseason.
Already the first modern-era expansion team to win its division in its inaugural campaign, and the lone first-year club to reach 100 points in its first season, is the possibility of a playoff series win all that far-fetched?
The Golden Knights will have their work cut out for them against the Kings, who've won two Stanley Cups since 2012 and who boast the fewest goals against this season. Still, the Knights bring their own strengths to the table, as only three teams found the back of the net more often than Vegas, while netminder Marc-Andre Fleury's .927 save percentage is amongst the league's best.
Prediction: Knights set another expansion record with series win
Anaheim Ducks (2) vs. San Jose Sharks (3)
No opening-round matchup in the West will be as tightly contested as this battle of California foes, and a series peppered with frequent overtime will be a good indication of that.
While the Sharks took three of four regular-season meetups, two of those games were decided in a shootout, as was Anaheim's lone win against San Jose. In all, on just one occasion was a winner decided in 60 minutes.
Adding intrigue is that both sides enter the series with a host of key names in the injury ward, counting Cam Fowler and John Gibson for the Ducks, while Joe Thornton is still sidelined for the Sharks. Nor are there any assurances the latter two will be ready to return in time for Game 1.
Prediction: Ducks need three OT wins to knock out Sharks in seven
The Los Angeles Kings netminder is the recipient of the William M. Jennings Trophy for the 2017-18 season, awarded to the goaltender whose team allows the fewest goals against.
In 64 appearances this season, Quick posted a 33-28-3 record, allowing just 147 goals. He finishes the regular season with a .921 save percentage and 2.40 GAA. The Kings allowed just 203 goals across 82 games.
Quick is a two-time winner of the Jennings Trophy, as he also took home the award in 2013-14.
The Washington Capitals captain capped the 2017-18 campaign by winning the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal-scorer on the back of a 49-goal season.
This marks the seventh time Ovechkin has won the award, and the fifth time in the past six seasons. He first earned the honor in 2007-08.
Ovechkin's 49 goals represent the lowest output he's needed to win the trophy save for the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign, when he netted 32 goals in 48 games.
His most memorable goal this season was likely his 600th career tally, as Ovechkin became just the 20th NHL player to ever reach that plateau and the fourth-fastest to get there.
The NHL introduced the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in the 1998-99 season.
The Edmonton Oilers captain has been added to the Canadian roster for the upcoming World Championship in Denmark.
"Going to World Championships is not where you want to be playing in May," McDavid told Oilers beat reporter Paul Gazzola. "But ultimately, it's so special to represent your country."
It marks the second World Championship for McDavid, who was a part of Canada's gold medal-winning squad in 2016.
McDavid will be joined by Oilers teammate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who had a fifth-place finish at the World Championship in 2012.
The netminder has agreed to a three-year extension with the Arizona Coyotes, which TSN's Bob McKenzie reported will carry an annual cap hit of $4.25 million.
"We're extremely pleased to sign Antti to a three-year contract," general manager John Chayka said. "When we acquired Antti last summer, we believed that he had the talent and desire to become an elite starting goaltender and he certainly proved that this season.
"You can't be successful in this league without an outstanding No. 1 goaltender and now we have that with Antti. I'd also like to thank our owner, Andrew Barroway, for providing us with the resources to get this very important deal done."
In 46 appearances this season, Raanta has posted a 21-16-6 record, alongside a .930 save percentage and 2.24 GAA, both of which rank third best in the NHL.
The Finnish puck-stopper is currently in the second year of a two-year deal that carries a $1-million annual cap hit.
