Carolina Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven (illness) practiced on Friday. He was situated between his usual linemates, Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake. Walt Ruff noted that nothing appeared out of the ordinary with Stankoven during practice. The 23-year-old was missing from Thursday's practice due to a minor illness. The center moved around the middle six a bit but found a home on the second line during the season. Stankoven is one of Carolina's hottest players going into Round 1 with 11 points in his previous eight contests. This means the second line and power play unit will be 100% for Saturday afternoon against the Ottawa Senators.

St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas skated into the offseason after scoring a hat trick in Thursday's 5-3 road win over the Utah Mammoth. He had two goals in the second period to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead and then added an empty-net goal with less than a minute left in regulation. The 26-year-old celebrated his second career hat trick. Both of his three-goal games came this month. Unfortunately for Thomas, he can't carry this momentum into the playoffs, as the Blues couldn't overcome a horrible start to the season. But Thomas should be full of confidence entering next season, having secured his third consecutive campaign with a scoring pace of at least one point per game. Despite playing in only 64 games, Thomas finished as St. Louis' leader in all the main offensive categories, notching 64 points with 25 goals and 39 assists.

San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini closed out his sophomore year with a three-point performance in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets, setting a new franchise record for most points scored in a single season. Celebrini had one goal and two assists in the season finale, finishing the campaign with 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists) in 82 contests. The previous record was established by Joe Thornton in 2006-07, with 114 points. San Jose's young superstar finished the year as the league's fourth-highest scorer. Celebrini has all the tools to become a regular Art Ross Trophy contender, and his name even popped up in MVP talks this season. At just 19 years old, his fantasy stock can only go up.

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood recorded a 22-save shutout in Thursday's regular-season finale against the Seattle Kraken, backstopping the team to a 2-0 victory. The Avalanche did just enough to close out the campaign with a win, while resting some of its key players, such as Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. Colorado dominated the league during the regular season, finishing with the best record, the most goals scored, and the fewest goals allowed. The latter achievement brought Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood the 2025-26 William M. Jennings Trophy. Including six shootout deciders, the Avalanche netminders gave up only 203 goals during the season. Wedgewood finished the campaign with a 31-6-6 record, a 2.02 goals-against average, a .921 save percentage, and four shutouts.