The Anaheim Ducks got a big boost on Wednesday night when Ryan Kesler was cleared to play against the Arizona Coyotes.

Kesler missed the Ducks' first three regular-season games while dealing with his bothersome hip, which required surgery in June 2017.

He was cleared for contact in September but didn't receive medical clearance to play in a game until Wednesday.

The 34-year-old missed essentially the first half of the 2017-18 season with the injury, returning in late December and producing 14 points in 44 contests before suiting up in all four of Anaheim's playoff games.

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Vegas Golden Knights forward Paul Stastny will miss at least the next three games due to a lower-body injury, head coach Gerard Gallant said Wednesday, according to Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press.

Stastny will be re-evaluated when the team returns to Vegas at the conclusion of its five-game road trip that wraps up Saturday in Philadelphia.

While the team didn't disclose how the injury occurred, it's expected it came during a collision in the final minutes of the club's 4-2 loss against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.

Stastny has gone pointless in his first three games as a member of the Golden Knights.

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The New York Rangers' highest-paid defenseman is expected to take in Thursday's game against the San Jose Sharks from the press box.

After watching his team start the season with three straight losses, rookie head coach David Quinn will shake up his lineup, and it's expected defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk will be a healthy scratch, according to Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post.

The 29-year-old, who's making $8 million this season, said he understands the decision even if he isn't happy about it.

"You have to learn from it, obviously. I'm not a guy that would take that the wrong way and mope about it," Shattenkirk said. "It's the NHL; if you're not playing well, there are guys that are playing well. Tony DeAngelo played a phenomenal game the (Sunday) night (in Carolina). He's earned a spot on the roster. I think all the 'D' have earned a spot on the roster, and I'm probably the guy that needs to fight a little bit harder to get my spot back. It's on me, for sure.

"I know that it's a process, but this is probably a good little kick to get me going and get me out of this - I don't want to say slump - but just get my confidence back and start playing the game I know I have."

After playing 20:41 in the club's season opener against the Nashville Predators and then 22:23 against the Buffalo Sabres, Shattenkirk had his minutes slashed in Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, playing just 7:29. Through the first three games, Shattenkirk has gone pointless and is a minus-4.

Last season, Shattenkirk suffered a torn meniscus in training camp and was subsequently limited to just 46 games in his first year with the Rangers. It's an injury Quinn feels Shattenkirk is still dealing with.

"He and I have talked about playing with more urgency, and I think he's still a little bit hesitant because of what happened last year. He's got to get his confidence back. He's going to have every chance to get his confidence back. This is a process. This isn't a punishment."

The Rangers are one of three teams yet to record a single point on the season.

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Warning: Story contains coarse language

Claude Giroux did not mince words when asked about the Philadelphia Flyers' effort in Tuesday night's 8-2 drubbing at the hands of the San Jose Sharks in his club's home opener.

"I just think we played like shit tonight," the Flyers forward told reporters postgame, according to NHL.com's Adam Kimelman. "The score shows it. We just left our goalie to dry and (Brian Elliott) played a good game, he didn’t deserve that and it’s on us."

Elliott allowed all eight Sharks goals on 48 shots.

The Flyers were outshot by 15 and committed twice as many giveaways (14-7). San Jose also held a 59.57 to 40.43 edge in five-on-five Corsi For percentage, according to Natural Stat Trick.

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The San Jose Sharks blew out Philadelphia 8-2 on Tuesday night, and Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott was left in for all eight of the markers.

The last time San Jose scored eight goals in a game was Oct. 8, 2013, in a 9-2 victory over the New York Rangers.

Elliott faced 48 shots in the loss.

He has started all three of the Flyers' games so far in 2018-19, allowing two goals in a 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night, and four more in a 5-2 defeat to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.

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Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly NHL podcast hosted by national hockey writer John Matisz.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, and Google Play.

John is joined by Gus Katsaros of McKeen's Hockey to craft an early-season viewing guide centered around unique traits. Topics of discussion include:

• Why is Elias Pettersson so effective?
• A rebuttal to the Auston Matthews hype
• How teams can limit Nathan MacKinnon
• A full scouting report on John Klingberg
• What's Evgeny Kuznetsov's ceiling?

... and more.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins reportedly won't seek goaltending assistance from outside the organization in the wake of Matt Murray's latest concussion diagnosis.

"(The) Pens are optimistic that it may not be too long (for Murray to return), but in the meantime, the Pens will not be looking externally for any help," TSN's Bob McKenzie said on Tuesday's edition of "Insider Trading."

"Casey DeSmith is scheduled to be the starter against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. Tristan Jarry is coming back off (an) injury, DeSmith is ready to play, but for the foreseeable future, as long as Murray is out of the lineup, it's expected to be DeSmith and Jarry."

The Penguins revealed Tuesday that Murray sustained a concussion in Monday's practice.

It's his second in about eight months. He also suffered one in practice back in February.

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Rick Nash remains undecided about whether he will play in the NHL again.

The 34-year-old elected to forgo the July 1 signing period and remains an unrestricted free agent due to concussion symptoms that hampered his 2017-18 campaign.

"I miss it; I love the game," Nash said, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline. "The game has been my whole life, so it's been a hard adjustment to not show up for training camp, for fitness testing ... it's been really tough.

"But my family is what's most important to me, and I have to get my health in the right spot before I figure out what my plans are, and I don't know when that will be.

"There's a chance I could get healthy, come back, and be great. But there's definitely a chance that I don't."

On Tuesday, rumors surfaced that Nash was going to submit his paperwork to retire. However, Nash's agent, Joe Resnick, gave a statement to TSN's Darren Dreger refuting the claim.

Nash has a history of concussions and suffered his latest one as a member of the Boston Bruins on March 17 against the Tampa Bay Lightning after taking a hit from forward Cedric Paquette. Nash subsequently missed the final 12 games of the regular season before returning for the playoffs.

While Nash's career remains up in the air, he admits he's happy he currently has more time to spend with his family.

"I'm in a good place," Nash said. "I'm in the city that I love. I have my kids, they're healthy, and that's No. 1 in my life. Sure I miss it, but I'm more worried about my health and getting back to 100 percent. You can't put a price on that."

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