Randy Carlyle's job is apparently safe for now.

Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray made it clear Saturday during his exit interview that his head coach will return next season, but said he's also looking to make changes to the team's style of play, according to Mike Coppinger of The Los Angeles Times.

Carlyle guided the Ducks to the playoffs for the second time in as many seasons since returning behind the Anaheim bench before the 2016-17 campaign, but his club was swept out of the first round by the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night.

The Ducks made it to the Western Conference final in Carlyle's first season back in Orange County before losing to the Nashville Predators.

Carlyle is under contract through 2018-19, according to CapFriendly.

He also coached the team from 2006-07 to 2011-12.

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The Boston Bruins received a major boost Saturday as center Patrice Bergeron returned to the lineup for Game 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Bergeron sat out Game 4 with an upper-body injury.

The veteran pivot has been one of Boston's top producers in the opening-round series, as he's collected five assists across three games.

Bergeron reunited with linemates Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak in the pregame warmup ahead of Game 5.

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John Tortorella isn't even entertaining the possibility that Monday's Game 6 against the Washington Capitals will be the final game of the season for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"I won't have to say a damn word to them," the Blue Jackets head coach told reporters, including The Athletic's Aaron Portzline, after a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 5 on Saturday in Washington that gave the Capitals a 3-2 series lead.

"No," he continued. "We'll be back here for Game 7."

Tortorella's de facto guarantee is the second such declaration of the series, following Alex Ovechkin's prediction that the Capitals would tie the series at 2-2, which ultimately came true.

The Blue Jackets won the first two games of the series before the Capitals stormed back to win the next three.

If a Game 7 becomes necessary, it would be played Wednesday night.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are the first Eastern Conference team to move on in the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Mikhail Sergachev and Nikita Kucherov provided the offense as the Lightning knocked out the New Jersey Devils with a 3-1 victory in Game 5 on Saturday.

More to come.

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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.

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Anaheim Ducks forward Patrick Eaves missed all but two games this season with Guillain-Barre syndrome - a rare disorder that causes muscle weakness, reflex loss, and numbness or tingling in parts of your body - but it appears he'll be good to go for the 2018-19 campaign.

General manager Bob Murray announced that Eaves had surgery to repair a torn labrum - an injury he suffered during rehab from GBS, per Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register - and should be healthy by mid-October.

Eaves really started coming into his own prior to his diagnosis, scoring a career-high 32 goals while splitting time with the Dallas Stars and Ducks in 2016-17.

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Bill Peters is not without options.

A day after resigning as head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, Peters has been linked to two of the other three vacancies around the league.

The Dallas Stars spoke with Peters after seeking permission from the Hurricanes to do so, but TSN's Pierre LeBrun reports "all signs still point to Calgary at this juncture as the front-runner."

The Flames - who recently fired Glen Gulutzan - also reportedly asked for permission to speak with Peters. The Stars' vacancy was created upon the announcement of Ken Hitchcock's retirement.

Peters, who hails from Alberta, is currently preparing to serve as head coach of Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets will get Alexander Wennberg back in the lineup for Game 5 against the Washington Capitals on Saturday after the forward missed the past three contests with an upper-body injury suffered in Game 1, head coach John Tortorella announced.

Wennberg suffered the injury after he was rocked by Tom Wilson.

Despite partaking in just over 10 minutes in the series thus far, Wennberg has made his presence felt, as he scored Columbus' first goal of Game 1, and teammate Thomas Vanek scored on the power play that ensued from Wilson's charging penalty.

The 23-year-old had a breakout, 59-point season in 2016-17, but regressed this year, picking up just 35 points in 66 games. Regardless, secondary scoring has hampered the Blue Jackets all year and throughout their last two losses in Games 3 and 4, so they will surely welcome his return.

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Nazem Kadri is ready to roll.

After serving his three-game suspension for a dangerous hit on Boston Bruins forward Tommy Wingels in Game 1, Kadri made it clear he's excited to get back on the ice Saturday night for Game 5.

"I can't wait. I can't wait. I'm sick of watching games," he told TSN's Mark Masters. "It's tough to be up there and watch. It's a little bit frustrating so I'm anxious to just get back on the ice."

The anticipation could serve Kadri and the Leafs well, as he's known to play better when he's on edge - as long as he controls his temper. Given that he was on record saying he didn't agree with the length of the suspension, the Leafs will certainly hope Kadri comes out flying in Game 5.

And down 3-1 in the series, Toronto will need every advantage it can get.

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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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