A touching moment occurred Friday in Arizona, as Tuscon Roadrunners captain Craig Cunningham laced up his skates for the first time since collapsing on the ice Nov. 19.
Cunningham, 26, had part of his leg amputated after suffering an acute cardiac arrest ventricular fibrillation which nearly ended his life, and has openly shared his positive recovery process.
Since the incident, the hockey community has sent an outpouring of support Cunningham's way, and the Roadrunners will honor their captain April 8 with a pregame ceremony.
It's hard to believe the Stanley Cup playoffs are less than two weeks away, but here we are.
Ten teams have already clinched postseason berths, but several races remain as the 2016-17 campaign hits the home stretch.
Between now and Sunday night, there could be significant movement among those jockeying for divisional supremacy and teams trying to snag the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
Here's a handful of can't-miss contests in what should be a wild weekend of NHL action:
San Jose Sharks @ Calgary Flames
The Flames have a chance to punch their playoff tickets when they host the Sharks on Friday night.
Calgary can secure its berth by defeating San Jose in any fashion. The Flames can also get in with a single point against the Sharks and a Los Angeles Kings defeat at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks in any fashion, or simply if the Kings lose to the Canucks in regulation.
So, it could be a big night for the Flames, who are looking to make the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
The Sharks have already clinched a spot, but they're stumbling into the postseason with only three wins in their last 10 games. Still, the matchup carries weight for them as well.
San Jose can - at least temporarily - overtake the Edmonton Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division with a victory.
Minnesota Wild @ Nashville Predators
A Saturday matinee could also serve as a first-round playoff preview.
The Wild are pretty firmly entrenched as the second-place holders in the Central Division, but a single point separates the Predators from the third-place Blues, although St. Louis has that game in hand, along with the edge in regulation or overtime wins.
If Nashville can beat St. Louis on Saturday, it would help the Predators greatly in their quest to occupy third place at season's end, and that would pit them against the second-place Wild in the opening round.
Anaheim Ducks @ Edmonton Oilers
Both the Ducks and Oilers have assured themselves of playoff positions, but that doesn't mean Saturday's tilt will be free of drama.
Even if the Sharks overtake them for second place in the division Friday, the Oilers can reclaim top spot one night later.
That's how tight the Pacific is, and it should make for quite the nightcap.
Nashville Predators @ St. Louis Blues
The Predators have a firm grip on the second Western Conference wild-card spot, but Sunday's game against the Blues is a big one regardless of what happens between St. Louis and Colorado, and between Nashville and the Wild on Saturday.
If Nashville has any hope of stealing the third spot and sending St. Louis into wild-card territory, this game could be their chance to do it.
Washington Capitals @ Columbus Blue Jackets
The Capitals have gained a bit of breathing room over the Blue Jackets in the Presidents' Trophy race, but Columbus can get back in the hunt for the hardware and the Metropolitan Division crown with a win Sunday.
It's the final regulation meeting between the two clubs, and while they've both booked playoff spots, neither wants to face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round.
The Blue Jackets would do just that if the postseason began Friday, but it doesn't. If they can beat Washington on Sunday, they could have a shot at taking first place and handing the Capitals the tougher first-round opponent, depending on what happens earlier in the weekend.
Letdown seasons across the hockey landscape could soon lead to sweeping changes.
While the easiest and often most impactful move is to orchestrate a change behind the bench, these three coaches should be cautious of the hot seat:
Lindy Ruff
A coach is only as good as what he's given, and Ruff hasn't been provided with much in Dallas, particularly in goal.
The Dallas bench boss returned with a coin toss between the pipes this year, rotating between Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi, neither of which has provided stability and own the second-worst save percentage. The Stars' inability to keep pucks out of their own net is the biggest reason for a major step back after capturing the Central Division last season.
Also working against Ruff is the fact that he doesn't have a contract through next season, making it easier for general manager Jim Nill to facilitate a change.
Willie Desjardins
The Vancouver Canucks coach has spent the year under the gun, but with the team's season soon coming to a disappointing close, Desjardins may not avoid the ax much longer.
Desjardins is in his third season with the Canucks, with one playoff appearance to his credit. This year, the expectation in Vancouver was a return to the postseason, but that won't happen. The Canucks are already eliminated from the playoff chase, having collected 69 points in 76 games.
With the Sedins now staring down the back nine and the team inching close to a traditional teardown, the Canucks will continue to rework their roster, and could seek out a new voice behind the bench to boot.
Darryl Sutter
Will two Stanley Cups be enough to save Sutter? The Los Angeles Kings coach arrived in Hollywood in 2012 and guided the franchise to its first Stanley Cup, and then repeated the feat two years later. But the winning ways have been few and far between ever since, with just one playoff series appearance since 2014, as the Kings fell to the San Jose Sharks.
General manager Dean Lombardi opted to build a team to fit Sutter's grinding style, equipping his team with the likes of Dustin Brown, Jake Muzzin, and the recently acquired Jarome Iginla. But that hasn't paid off for Los Angeles this year, with the Kings on the verge of missing the postseason.
Sutter signed a multi-year extension with the club last May, after much deliberation, but the added term may not stop the Kings from changing course, particularly with a viable candidate in assistant John Stevens already in place.
It’s been quite a week for the Boston Bruins, who have pulled ahead in the race for the second wild-card spot with just over a week remaining in the regular season. They’ll hope to get some help from the home crowd, too, as the B’s play four of their final five games at TD Garden.
And for fans looking to take in the final push towards a playoff spot, there are deals to be had on Bruins tickets through next Saturday.
On search engine TicketIQ, the average resale price for Bruins tickets over the team’s four remaining home games is $158. That’s on par with the season average of $160 across all 41 games at TD Garden, which indicates that no premium is being placed on the Bruins’ final homestand.
Tuesday’s game against the Lightning will be the cheapest remaining Bruins home game to attend this year. As it stands now the average resale price for tickets is $112 with a get-in price of just $45. The B’s welcome the Senators two days later in their second cheapest game, with tickets averaging $128 and starting from $55 each.
Should the Bruins still have ownership over the second wild-card slot come next Saturday, their matchup with the Capitals will be an early look into their first-round playoff series. Tickets to the game currently average $241, making it the Bruins' ninth most expensive game on average this season (a New Year’s Eve battle with the Sabres averaged a season-high $669 ticket). The cheapest available ticket is fetching for $90.
Expect prices to jump should the Bruins clinch a wild-card berth. Over three potential home games in the first round, Bruins playoff tickets are averaging $345 on TicketIQ. The team’s first home playoff game owns the cheapest tickets at $155 each. Additional savings on all Bruins games can be found on the TicketIQ app.
TicketIQ is a leading event ticket search engine with one simple goal: providing consumers with the most transparent and affordable buying experience. We aggregate listings from hundreds of certified sellers across every major sporting, music and theater event - including deals from Ticketmaster's Official Exchanges and our Low Price Guarantee listings. Start discovering and saving now.
Cadence Weapon dropped a new track dedicated to Connor McDavid on Wednesday, and it also features plenty of nods to the phenom's teammates.
The Edmonton-based rapper, whose real name is Roland "Rollie" Pemberton, told CBC News' Wallis Snowdon that the inspiration to write about the Oilers captain came back in December.
"I felt the energy when I was in Edmonton over the holidays and it was like a fever pitch," he said. "People were going so crazy about Connor McDavid and the Oilers and I wanted to harness that energy in a song, and it feels like the timing is perfect now."
Only a few more weeks until Reid Duke has some new teammates.
Duke, the first play to sign with the Vegas Golden Knights, appeared in a video Friday, poking fun at the franchise that has not yet compiled its roster.
The former Brandon Wheat Kings forward is the only player on the Golden Knights after joining the team as a free agent.
Duke showcased that independence by taking part in a pregame tradition, even though he was short a few participants.
Patrik Elias and the New Jersey Devils were synonymous with success.
The franchise's all-time leading scorer and the chart topper in several other categories, Elias' 18-year run with the Devils was decorated with winning, and the Czech winger played a major role during the team's dominant years.
Eliminating the Flyers
On the road to the franchise's first Stanley Cup, the Devils ran into some stiff competition, matching up against divisional foes the Philadelphia Flyers. The two sides squared off in a seven-round bout, with the deciding game appearing destined for overtime.
Enter Elias. After opening the scoring in the first frame, only for Philadelphia to tie it in the second, Elias fired home the game-winner with just over two minutes remaining in the third period, beating a sprawling Brian Boucher and clearing the Devils' path to the Stanley Cup Final.
Creating the overtime winner
Elias captured his first Stanley Cup with the Devils in 2000, and did so in style. Ahead 3-2 in the series and with the silver mug in their sights, the Devils battled the Dallas Stars through a double-overtime Game 6, a contest that went into the early hours in Dallas.
Midway through the second bonus frame, with Elias positioned in the corner, he fed a no-look, backhand pass into the slot. Jason Arnott buried the setup past goaltender Ed Belfour to bring New Jersey its first Stanley Cup.
Taking down the Ducks
Fast forward three years and Elias was competing for his second Stanley Cup, this time against the then-Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Riding red-hot netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere to hockey's final round, it appeared Lord Stanley was headed to Disneyland, but the Devils had plans of their own.
Elias scored 20 points during the team's 2000 Cup run, but wasn't nearly as dynamic three years later. Luckily, he seemed to save his show for the Final. There, Elias once again came up clutch, posting seven of his 13 playoff points from that run - including another game-winner - as New Jersey claimed its second Stanley Cup in four seasons.
A new lawsuit doesn't exactly paint Eugene Melnyk in the best light.
The Ottawa Senators owner and his club are the targets of a court filing by former chief marketing officer Peter O'Leary, who argues that his termination was a breach of contract and that Melnyk both verbally and electronically abused team executives, according to Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen.
Melnyk allegedly "at times used profanity and leveled insults at executive team members, including constantly calling into question their competency. Mr. Melnyk sent abusive emails to the executive team and frequently threatened to dismiss them."
O'Leary was fired in December 2016 after more than two years with the organization.
The Senators owner and his holdings group, Capital Sports, have filed a notice to defend, with Melnyk declining comment to Scanlan via email.
The allegations have not yet been tested in court.
A slow and steady rebuild has begun to take shape in Raleigh, where general manager Ron Francis has collected youth through lost seasons to construct his current club.
That patience has started to pay off. The Hurricanes are currently riding a 13-game point streak (9-0-4), a late surge that has lifted Carolina within four points of the playoff picture after spending most of the season near the bottom rung.
Now in his third year of stewardship, the Hurricanes have improved each season under Francis. After finishing with 71 points in 2014-15, Carolina jumped to 86 points a year ago and is on pace to pass that number this season, at 84 points with six games remaining.
The Hurricanes faithful are hoping for the playoffs after seven seasons on the outside looking in. Carolina's last postseason trip came in 2009, its only such appearance since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006.
While the March charge may not be enough for a last-minute ticket to the postseason dance - the Hurricanes are chasing two teams for two spots, the Bruins and Lightning - it's the first step toward building a better tomorrow.
The Hurricanes are realizing the fruits of their labor, having slowly built through the draft. A budget team, Carolina's success is born at the draft table, where the club has hit home runs outside of the opening round in recent seasons:
Player
Draft Year
Round/Pick
Games
Points
Justin Faulk
2010
2/37
395
190
Victor Rask
2011
2/42
236
124
Jaccob Slavin
2012
4/120
139
53
Brett Pesce
2013
3/66
145
34
Sebastian Aho
2015
2/35
76
47
That's not to overlook the success Carolina's had with early picks either, selecting Jeff Skinner (seventh overall) in 2010, Elias Lindholm (fifth overall) in 2013, and defenseman Noah Hanifin, the No. 5 pick in 2015.
The Hurricanes have turned over the reins to many of these picks this season, particularly on the blue line, where 22-year-old Slavin leads the team in ice time by taking in more than 23 minutes a night. It's a defensive corps where, at 25 years old, Faulk is the elder statesman.
A similar movement is just around the corner for the forward ranks as the Hurricanes integrate their next wave of offensive talent. That process began with Aho, and the second phase isn't far off with Julien Gauthier, Nicolas Roy, and Janne Kuokkanen, among others.
All will play key roles for the Hurricanes in the coming years as Carolina continues its charge back into the league's elite.
