Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews has been ruled out for Game 6 of the first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Bruins on Thursday.

Toronto trails the Bruins 3-2 in their best-of-seven and face elimination from the postseason with another loss.

Matthews missed the third period of Game 4 and all of Game 5 with what the Leafs have deemed a "lingering" illness.

Quinn Hughes, Roman Josi and Cale Makar are finalists for this year's Norris Trophy, the NHL announced Wednesday.

The Norris is awarded annually to the "defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position."

The Carolina Hurricanes have avoided a major injury concern for defenseman Tony DeAngelo while veteran blueliner Brett Pesce is nearing a return from a lower-body injury suffered in the second game of the playoffs.

Team president and general manager Don Waddell said Wednesday that Pesce has shed a walking boot, is doing work to return and should play at some point in the second-round series against the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers.

"If everything goes as expected, he shall play games this round," Waddell said in a Zoom call with reporters. "Maybe not right off the start, but will play games in this round."

Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said that he's "very hopeful" the team can re-sign captain Steven Stamkos, as the Lightning star approaches unrestricted free agency this offseason.

"Obviously Steven Stamkos needs a contract, and we want him part of that group," BriseBois said, two days after the Lightning were eliminated by the Florida Panthers in five games.

T.J. Oshie lingered on the ice long after many of his Washington Capitals teammates departed for the locker room following the loss that eliminated them from the playoffs.

His family was at all four games, including in New York, just in case. They could be the final ones he plays in the NHL.

Oshie, 37, isn't calling it a career just yet, but the winger acknowledged Tuesday he and doctors must find a solution to his chronic back problems before committing to return for a 17th season.

"I'd love to play next year, but I will need to come back with somewhat of a guarantee that my back won't be -- it's hard putting everyone through the situation," Oshie said. "I'd like to find just an answer and a fix to the problem before I make another run at it."

Connor Bedard, Brock Faber and Luke Hughes are this year's finalists for the Calder Trophy, the NHL announced Tuesday.

The Calder Trophy is awarded to "the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition" and is determined through voting by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

The Seattle Kraken have fired head coach Dave Hakstol after three seasons, the team announced Monday.

Hakstol, who was the first coach in the Kraken's short history, was dismissed after the team failed to make the playoffs after finishing with 100 points and advancing to the Western Conference semifinals last season.

The club on Monday also announced assistant coach Paul McFarland would not return next season.

Winnipeg forward Vladislav Namestnikov and defenseman Brenden Dillon are recovering from injuries and won't be available for Game 5 against Colorado on Tuesday night as the Jets try to avoid playoff elimination.

Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews is still feeling the effects of an illness that forced him from the third period of Toronto's 3-1 loss in Game 4 of Toronto's first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Bruins on Saturday.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin took the blame for his team's opening round sweep at the hands of the New York Rangers, the first time the star winger ever went scoreless in a playoff series.

"It's always tough to lose a series. We had pretty good chances. We just didn't score. Our line didn't score lots of goals," he said after a 4-2 Rangers win on Sunday night in Washington, D.C. "Blame me. I didn't play well."