Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, New Jersey Devils forward Taylor Hall, and Los Angeles Kings forward Anze Kopitar were named the finalists for the 2018 Hart Trophy as the league MVP, the NHL announced Friday.

This year's race was widely considered one of the most open in recent memory, with several candidates worthy of recognition. However, breakout seasons from MacKinnon and Hall, as well as a bounce-back from Kopitar, ultimately won out.

MacKinnon ranked fifth in league scoring with 97 points despite playing in just 74 games, and was the main reason the Avalanche qualified for the playoffs one season after finishing dead last in the standings.

The same can be said about Hall, who led the Devils to the postseason for the first time since 2012 after notching 93 points in 76 games - a run that included a historic 26-game point streak.

Kopitar was the centerpiece of a resurgent Kings team that returned to the playoffs after a one-year absence. The Los Angeles captain finished seventh in league scoring with 92 points and topped all forwards with more than 22 minutes logged per game - a resume that also earned him recognition as a Selke Trophy finalist.

The winner will be revealed at the NHL Awards on June 20 in Las Vegas.

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The San Jose Sharks will be without Evander Kane for Game 2 versus the Vegas Golden Knights, as the forward was suspended one game for a cross-check to the face of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, the Department of Player Safety announced.

Here's a look at the play, which occurred in the third period of Thursday night's blowout.

Kane was assessed a five-minute major and was tossed from the game after the incident.

The Golden Knights ultimately took the series-opening contest 7-0, and will look to win their sixth consecutive playoff contest Saturday night in Game 2.

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NHL linesman Don Henderson has been ordered by a judge to pay the Calgary Flames and former defenseman Dennis Wideman $11,000 to cover a fraction of the legal costs spent in their dismissed lawsuit, according to The Canadian Press.

Henderson filed a lawsuit against the NHL, the Flames, and Wideman seeking $10.5 million in damages after the 2016 incident in which Wideman struck Henderson from behind on his way to the bench.

Wideman was suspended 20 games for the play, while Henderson suffered permanent back and shoulder issues, a concussion, and depression as a result, and hasn't worked since. The suit was dismissed in February.

Henderson will have to pay Wideman $3,000 and the Flames $8,000.

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There are mixed messages coming from the NHL's head office.

The league's deputy commissioner, Bill Daly, insisted Friday that the NHL never told the Boston Bruins or Brad Marchand to tone down the tongue.

“No, we did not contact the Bruins or Brad Marchand regarding this incident,” Daly told USA Today Sports' Kevin Allen on Friday. "It’s just not true.”

Earlier on Friday, the talented Boston Bruins agitator denied receiving the warning by replying to tweets from the NHL on NBC and The Boston Globe accounts with "false" and "this is false," respectively.

Daly's denial came less than 24 hours after a league representative stated to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski that the league had asked Marchand to stop licking players after he did just that to Toronto Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov in Game 1 of the teams' first-round series.

From Wyshynski's story, which followed up on a note from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman:

"The NHL felt Marchand's actions were a little less cute. A league spokesperson confirmed a report by Sportsnet that the NHL demanded Marchand not repeat that particular antic again. A message was communicated to Marchand through the series' supervisor of officials Mick McGeough."

After sending the "false" tweets, Marchand texted NBC Sports Boston's Joe Haggerty to reiterate his denial and to accuse the NHL of being controlled by "the Toronto media" if they were to call him about it.

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Pending unrestricted free agent Tyler Bozak would prefer to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs next season.

"It would be my top priority to stay here," Bozak said, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton. "My family loves it here, my kid loves it here, he thinks he owns the place. It’ll be tough on him if I’m not back."

Bozak has spent his entire nine-year career with the Maple Leafs after signing with the club as a college free agent out of Denver University in 2009.

The 32-year-old is coming off the final season of a five-year, $21-million contract, in which he put up his lowest goal total (11) since his rookie campaign and 12 fewer points (43) than he had in three fewer games last season.

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The Winnipeg Jets will welcome defenseman Toby Enstrom back to the lineup for Game 1 of their second-round series against the Nashville Predators on Friday, the team confirmed.

"This is exciting times, the time of year you want to play hockey so I’m just happy to be back," Enstrom said.

The 33-year-old has been sidelined since Mar. 23 with an ankle injury, but will slot back in alongside his regular defense partner Dustin Byfuglien.

"I played with him for a long time, so of course it's easier. I feel happy to have him on my side," Enstrom said of Byfuglien.

Enstrom was limited to 43 games this season where he contributed one goal and six points from the back end.

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Todd McLellan isn't going anywhere.

He will return as Edmonton Oilers head coach next season, while assistant coaches Jim Johnson and Ian Herbers will not, the club announced Friday.

Jay Woodcroft, who served as the other Oilers assistant coach this season, will be the new head coach of Edmonton's AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.

McLellan's squad underachieved and missed out on the postseason this spring after getting back into the playoffs and winning a series for the first time in 11 years last April.

He joined the Oilers after spending seven seasons as head coach of the San Jose Sharks.

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San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane will have a hearing for his cross-check on Vegas Golden Knights forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced.

For the infraction, Kane was assessed a major and a game misconduct, which occurred 3:25 into the third period. The Golden Knights subsequently scored two power-play goals with the man advantage en route to a 7-0 blowout in Game 1 of the series.

Luckily for the Golden Knights, Bellemare was not seriously injured on the play.

Meanwhile, any suspension to Kane would be a big loss for the Sharks as the 26-year-old shares the team lead with three goals in five games this postseason.

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Auston Matthews insists there's no tension between himself and head coach Mike Babcock.

"Our relationship is fine," the Toronto Maple Leafs star told reporters, including Sportsnet's Chris Johnston, at the club's dressing-room clean-out session Friday.

Matthews was presumably asked about it because Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos speculated Thursday morning that Babcock lost trust in Matthews down the stretch.

The 20-year-old center said that notion is totally untrue and that the media will speculate as they choose, adding that he wasn't pleased when he heard it being floated, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton.

On another note, Matthews acknowledged he doesn't make the lineup decisions but said he'd like to play with Mitch Marner more in the future, per Johnston.

Marner echoed that sentiment, according to NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger.

Matthews spent much of the season alongside Zach Hyman and William Nylander, ultimately finishing up the series against the Boston Bruins primarily alongside Hyman and Connor Brown.

Marner and Matthews played a total of 72:46 together at 5-on-5 over 62 games in the regular season, posting a 61.64 Scoring Chances For percentage and a 48.57 Corsi For percentage.

They played together for 11:28 across the Leafs' seven first-round playoff games, compiling a 54.55 Scoring Chances For percentage and a Corsi For rate of exactly 50 percent at 5-on-5.

(Analytics courtesy: Natural Stat Trick)

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The Montreal Canadiens named Dominique Ducharme assistant coach on Friday, the team announced.

Ducharme had spent the last two years as head coach of the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL and had previously served as bench boss of the Halifax Mooseheads . He also served as head coach of Canada's world juniors the last two years, helping the team capture silver in 2017 and gold this year.

"With Dominique, we are very confident that we hired an excellent coach, a man who proved himself at the Junior level in the QMJHL," general manager Marc Bergevin said in a release. "Furthermore, his experience on the international stage with Hockey Canada has given him valuable knowledge which will allow him to make the jump to the professional ranks. We are very happy to have him join the Canadiens' organization."

In conjunction with the hiring, the club also announced that assistant coaches Jean-Jacques Daigneault and Dan Lacroix would not return. Meanwhile, the team agreed to a new contract with goaltending coach Stephane Waite.

Ducharme will have some familiarity with the Canadiens having coached forward Jonathan Drouin, who played his junior career with the Mooseheads.

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