The Winnipeg Jets rode a four-goal first period to a 5-0 victory in Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Related: Jets chase Dubnyk with 4 first-period goals

The series served as a giant stepping stone for the franchise, who not only won their first ever playoff game, but also their first ever series. Prior to this season the franchise's only other two playoff matchups resulted in 4-0 series loses.

The first came when the Atlanta Thrashers were swept in 2007 by the New York Rangers and the latter came in 2015 when the Jets lost four straight to the Anaheim Ducks.

Meanwhile, it marks the first time a Winnipeg Jets team has won a playoff series since 1987 when the Jets - now the Arizona Coyotes - defeated the Calgary Flames in six games.

The Jets will now await the winner of the series between the Nashville Predators and the Colorado Avalanche.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Colorado Avalanche are getting a big boost on the back end as they attempt to keep their season alive Friday night.

Samuel Girard returned to the lineup for Game 5 of the first-round series against the Nashville Predators after missing the previous three contests with what the Avalanche would only call an upper-body injury.

The 19-year-old defenseman was acquired by Colorado in the blockbuster trade that sent Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators and Kyle Turris to the Predators.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Winnipeg Jets forward Joel Armia left Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild on Friday with an upper-body injury, the team announced.

The 24-year-old played 5:24 in the first period, but did not return for the second.

Despite his early withdrawal, Armia had time to score the Jets' fourth goal of the first period when a Dustin Byfuglien slap shot from the point redirected off his midsection and in. The goal was his first of the series, and first in 17 games overall.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

This isn't how the Minnesota Wild wanted to start their quest to stave off elimination Friday night.

The Winnipeg Jets erupted for four goals on 10 shots in the first period of Game 5, as Joel Armia ended Devan Dubnyk's night with a goal that made it 4-0 at about the 12-minute mark of the opening frame.

Jacob Trouba opened the scoring 31 seconds in, after which Bryan Little, Brandon Tanev, and Armia followed suit, sending Alex Stalock into the Wild crease with only 11:59 elapsed in the game.

The Jets entered Friday's game leading the best-of-seven series 3-1.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers will not play in Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild, the team announced.

The omission comes after Ehlers was noticeably absent from the pregame warmup. The 22-year-old has two assists in four games, but played 14:05 in Game 4 without recording a shot on net.

Veteran Matt Hendricks draws into the lineup in his place. This marks Hendricks' first taste of playoff hockey since the 2012-13 season when he was a member of the Washington Capitals, and his first game action since Mar. 12.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Philadelphia Flyers will turn to Michal Neuvirth in a must-win Game 5 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night, the team announced.

The move comes after Brian Elliott, who started the previous four games, was pulled for the second time in Game 4 after giving up three goals on 17 shots.

Neuvirth's lone appearance in these playoffs came in relief in Game 4, when he made 11 saves on 13 shots in just under 32 minutes.

The team also announced that forward Sean Couturier is back in the lineup after missing Game 4 due to a lower-body injury suffered in practice Tuesday.

The Flyers trail the series 3-1.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers, William Karlsson of the Vegas Golden Knights, and Ryan O'Reilly of the Buffalo Sabres are the 2018 finalists for the Lady Byng Trophy, the NHL revealed Friday.

The award is given annually to the player adjudged by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.

O'Reilly somehow managed to take just one two-minute minor all season, while posting 61 points in 81 games. He won this honor in 2014.

Karlsson was assessed only 12 penalty minutes while amassing 43 goals and 78 points in 82 regular-season contests.

Barkov collected only 12 penalty minutes while racking up nearly a point per game in his own right (78 in 79). He finished second for this award two years ago.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL's Department of Player Safety is attempting to explain the different types of hits that constitute a suspension.

On Friday, the department released a detailed video explaining Rule 48 as it pertains to illegal checks to the head and provided four examples from this season's playoffs - two that resulted in suspensions and two that did not - to further explain how the rule is applied.

To begin, Rule 48 was explained in detail. The department noted that just because a player makes contact with an opposing player's head while completing a check, it does not necessarily mean it was the "main point of contact."

In reviewing the four incidents: Drew Doughty's hit on William Carrier that resulted in a one-game suspension, Ryan Hartman's hit on Carl Soderberg that garnered a one-game ban, Ryan Johansen's check to Tyson Barrie and Nikita Kucherov's hit on Sami Vatanen, which both saw no discipline, the video outlines how Rule 48 was applied in each situation.

In the cases that resulted in suspensions, the video suggested that the head was the main point of contact, which is distinguishable by the player's head snapping back upon impact from the attacking player.

Meanwhile, the other two hits saw the attacking player make contact with the head, but only as he followed through after making initial contact with the shoulder or body.

The department concludes the video suggesting the difference between an illegal and legal hit can come down to mere inches and, at the end of the day, their job is to "apply the rulebook as it was written."

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Peter DeBoer doesn't see any need to make adjustments as he prepares to face the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The San Jose Sharks head coach expressed as much when asked if he might consider inserting Joakim Ryan with Brent Burns on the top defense pairing instead of Paul Martin.

“We just won four straight against a great hockey team and I’d be an idiot to make lineup changes," DeBoer told reporters, including Bay Area News Group's Curtis Pashelka, on Friday. "We’ll let you guys overthink that. Make as many lineup changes as you want. But unless we find it necessary, why would you mess with how we’re playing right now?”

Ryan played alongside Burns for much of the regular season before getting hurt last month. Martin took Ryan's spot down the stretch and remained there for the start of the first-round series, even when Ryan returned to health.

The Sharks swept the Anaheim Ducks with a victory in Game 4 on Wednesday, one night after the Golden Knights did the same to the Los Angeles Kings.

The schedule for the second round has yet to be determined.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Boston University's David Quinn will coach the United States at the 2019 World Junior Hockey Championship, USA Hockey announced Friday.

Quinn, who has been at Boston U since 2013, joins the coaching staff having previously served as an assistant coach at the 2016 World Championship, where the Americans finished fourth, and as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche during the 2012-13 season.

"We're thrilled to have David leading our national junior team," executive director of USA Hockey Pat Kelleher said in a release. "He knows the international stage and our player pool extremely well and has been a big part of our program for a long time. We know that David and our outstanding group of assistant coaches will do a tremendous job with our team."

Mike Hastings of Minnesota State, David Lassonde of Dartmouth College, and Steve Miller of Ohio State University will round out Quinn's staff.

The Americans are coming off a bronze-medal finish at this year's tournament in Buffalo. The 2019 installment will take place in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.