With just 24 games remaining in their season, the Edmonton Oilers rank second in the Pacific Division, just four points back of first place.

It's been a long, difficult wait in Edmonton, but the club is finally poised to make its playoff return after a decade on the sidelines. What the Oilers do beyond that, however, depends on whether or not they can find a solid backup netminder at the trade deadline.

That's not a knock on starting goalie Cam Talbot, as the Oilers' gamble on Talbot has clearly paid off. The former New York Rangers backup has been exceptional for Connor McDavid and Co. Among netminders who have made at least 40 appearances, Talbot's .920 save percentage is tied for fifth-best in the league.

Carrying the load

The only problem is the fact that the Oilers are leaning heavily on Talbot, seemingly without a viable contingency plan should his situation change.

The Oilers have played 58 games this season, and Talbot has started 52 of them - the biggest workload of any NHL netminder this season. Behind him, Jonas Gustavsson has suited up for just seven games and Laurent Brossoit has seen action in only three.

Neither backup has earned more than one win in that span. Brossoit boasts a strong save percentage of .919 - but only within a very limited sample size - while Gustavsson has struggled with his slightly bigger workload, posting a save percentage of .878.

Chiarelli's gamble

That leaves the Oilers in a bind, for two reasons.

Firstly, if Talbot goes down with an injury over the home stretch or during the playoffs - or sees his play drop off in any way - the Oilers will find themselves significantly limited.

Edmonton is all too familiar with having a strong offensive group with little to offer on the back end, and it's unlikely the team would last long without Talbot - even with McDavid doing work up front.

Secondly, the Oilers are risking overworking their starter. If nothing changes and they continue to start Talbot as much as they have thus far, he'll play 21 of those remaining 24 games, taking his season total to 73.

No netminder topped 70 appearances last season. Jonathan Quick and Braden Holtby are the only ones to do so in the past four seasons, both topping that mark in 2014-15.

Talbot's performance thus far suggests he can handle the increased workload, but leaving the club without a backup plan is a risky move for general manager Peter Chiarelli.

Plenty of options

Luckily, it wouldn't be too difficult to find one.

There are plenty of potential names to choose from at the moment, and while there's no merit in selling anything crucial to the team's future success to shore up their goaltending situation, there may be a lesser deal to be made.

Taking another look at Jaroslav Halak could be worthwhile, especially if the New York Islanders are willing to take a hefty contract back in return. Former Oiler Anders Nilsson is another option - he's found his game in Buffalo, is headed to unrestricted free agency, and likely isn't stealing the starting job from Robin Lehner. New Jersey Devils backup Keith Kinkaid is another option worth a look.

The potential is there, and with McDavid carrying the Oilers anyway, the club can afford to trim down elsewhere in the lineup to beef up the goaltending.

Might as well, because at this point it's one of the last remaining weaknesses for the quickly rising Oilers.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Back in the thick of the playoff hunt, the Florida Panthers won't be resting on any laurels in advance of the NHL's March 1 trade deadline.

"The goal is to be buying," president of hockey operations Dale Tallon told Arpon Basu of NHL.com. "I like where we're at, but I'd like to add some offense to get our power play going."

The Panthers sit one point back of Toronto for the second wild-card spot, but are currently carrying a 15.3 percent success rate on the power play, which ranks them 28th league wide.

The recent addition of Jonathan Huberdeau to the lineup is already proving to be a huge boost from within.

"I like our team, we've been waiting for (a healthy roster) for a long time," Tallon said. "Jonathan's made an extraordinary recovery."

In five games since returning from an Achilles injury suffered in training camp, Huberdeau has recorded three goals and four assists, but with only one point coming on the man advantage.

Tallon's club has over $9.5 million in available cap space to work with, and it certainly looks as though they're prepared to use it.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New York Rangers plan to pay tribute to a legendary former Blueshirt.

Jean Ratelle's iconic No. 19 will be lifted to the rafters of Madison Square Garden next season, the club announced Saturday.

The 76-year-old was named to the NHL's list of its 100 greatest players and took part in the All-Star festivities in Los Angeles last month.

Ratelle ranks second in franchise history with 336 goals, and third with 817 points.

His 491 career goals combined with the Rangers and the Boston Bruins rank 47th on the NHL's all-time list.

Ratelle was a two-time Lady Byng Trophy winner who spent parts of 16 seasons with the Rangers.

He was also a member of Canada's victorious 1972 Summit Series squad and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

MONTREAL - Patrik Laine and Mathieu Perreault each had a goal and an assist, and the Winnipeg Jets spoiled Claude Julien's return to Montreal with a 3-1 victory over the Canadiens on Saturday.

Joel Armia also scored for Winnipeg (27-29-5), and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 19 shots. The Jets had dropped five of six.

The Canadiens fired coach Michel Therrien on Tuesday and hired Julien in hopes of getting their season back on track. Julien also coached Montreal from 2003-2006.

But Julien's first game back was more of the same for the first-place Canadiens (31-20-8), who have lost three in a row and seven of eight.

Perreault made it 2-1 just 1:16 into the third period. He sent a backhand shot over Carey Price's shoulder after a nifty one-handed pass from Dustin Byfuglien.

Laine added an empty-netter at 18:43. The rookie has five goals in his last three games and 28 on the year.

Andrei Markov scored for Montreal, and Price had 31 saves.

The Canadiens were sloppy in their first game back following their bye week, and it cost the home side on Winnipeg's first goal.

With Montreal on the power play in the second period, defenseman Nathan Beaulieu skated out of his own zone, and then tried to dangle the puck around Armia in the neutral zone.

The Jets winger easily stole the puck, skated in on Price and scored Winnipeg's sixth short-handed goal of the season at 4:52. Montreal had 18 giveaways in the game.

In one of his first coaching decisions since rejoining the Canadiens, Julien put Alex Galchenyuk on the first line with Alexander Radulov and captain Max Pacioretty.

That move paid instant dividends on Montreal's first goal on a rarely seen pinch by defenseman Markov.

The Russian's forecheck on Blake Wheeler forced a giveaway in Winnipeg's zone, with the puck falling right to Galchenyuk. The center then found Pacioretty, who gave it back to Markov in the crease for the easy tap-in at 11:04 of the first.

Pacioretty has seven points in his last four games.

NOTES: Michael McCarron, recalled from the St. John's IceCaps on Friday, centered the fourth line for Montreal. David Desharnais and Sven Andrighetto were healthy scratches. ... The Jets have two more games remaining on their four-game road trip. ... Markov was also on the ice on Jan. 18, 2003, when Julien made his coaching debut in his first stint with the Canadiens.

UP NEXT:

Jets: Visit Ottawa on Sunday.

Canadiens: Visit the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Big man, bigger skill set.

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien recorded one of the nicest assists of the season, putting the puck behind his back with one hand, then kicking it over to Mathieu Perreault.

Perreault promptly backhanded the puck past Carey Price, who likely didn't expect Byfuglien to get it out in front of the net to begin with.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Robin Lehner stopped 16 shots in the third period and 37 overall, and the Buffalo Sabres snapped the St. Louis Blues' six-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory on Saturday.

Evander Kane and Nicholas Baptiste each had a goal and an assist in Buffalo's third straight win, matching a season best accomplished three times. Ryan O'Reilly also scored for the Sabres (26-23-10), who have three more wins than losses for the first time since closing the 2011-12 season 39-32-11.

St. Louis dropped to 7-2 since Mike Yeo replaced Ken Hitchcock as coach. The Blues also had won five consecutive road games.

Scottie Upshall and Vladimir Tarasenko scored for St. Louis, and Jake Allen stopped 25 shots.

The Sabres beat the Blues for the first time since Dec. 27, 2009, stopping an 0-8-1 drought. It was Buffalo's third win in 24 games against St. Louis dating to the start of the 1998-99 season.

Buffalo broke it open by scoring twice in the second period for a 3-1 lead.

Kane scored the go-ahead goal at 11:58 when he parked in front and deflected Zach Bogosian's shot from just inside the blue line. It was Kane's 20th of the season.

O'Reilly scored with 32 seconds left with Buffalo enjoying a two-man advantage. Playing give-and-go with Rasmus Ristolainen, O'Reilly worked his way into the right circle where he spun and beat Allen inside the far post.

Lehner was sharp after being beaten by Tarasenko on the short right side just 1:31 into the game, when the Blues capitalized on a delayed penalty.

Lehner's best save came 20 seconds into the second when he kicked out his pad to stop Jori Lehtera.

The Sabres scored three straight times, beginning with Baptiste being set up by Jack Eichel and slipping a shot through Allen's legs midway through the first period.

It was Baptiste's third goal of the season and came after he was recalled from the minors earlier in the day to replace Sam Reinhart, who was sidelined by an illness.

Upshall had a short-handed goal at 15:03 of the third, but the Sabres held on from there.

The start of the game was delayed by about five minutes because of poor ice conditions. Referee Dean Morton announced just as players lined up for the opening faceoff that the rink had to be re-flooded due to the integrity of the ice.

Ice conditions have been an issue around the league this season. The NHL Players' Association has asked players to rate the ice conditions following games after a series of concerns have been raised.

The game was played after crews worked overnight to remove the flooring from the ice surface after Buffalo hosted a National Lacrosse League game on Friday night.

NOTES: Blues C Kyle Brodziak returned after missing 10 games with an injury to his right foot. ... Blues F Paul Stastny (lower body) missed fourth straight game. He has a good chance of returning on Monday against Florida, Yeo said. ... Sabres D Cody Franson returned after missing four games with a foot injury. In recalling Baptiste, Buffalo placed D Taylor Fedun on waivers.

UP NEXT

St. Louis: Hosts Florida on Monday.

Buffalo: Hosts Chicago on Sunday.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

P.K. Subban for Shea Weber, Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson, and now Sergey Kalinin for Viktor Loov.

OK, maybe not, but the Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils gave trade-starved hockey fans something to digest on Saturday, swapping players in a not-so-impactful deal.

Regardless, here's what you need to know:

His resume

Kalinin is an undrafted 25-year-old centerman who's spent the past two years with the Devils after six seasons with Omsk in the KHL.

Over 121 NHL games, Kalinin's recorded 19 points, including four in 43 games this season.

His travel partner, Loov, was a seventh-round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2012, and has four NHL games to his name.

Insurance policy

Don't order your Kalinin jerseys just yet, he'll report straight to the AHL's Marlies to stay for the long term, barring a slew of injuries.

The Marlies needed some depth at center, and pivots Ben Smith, Frederik Gauthier, and Byron Froese will likely all be chosen for Maple Leafs duties before Kalinin.

Additionally, this move has nothing to do with the upcoming expansion draft:

Why didn't they just claim him?

Despite Kalinin recently being waived by New Jersey, Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello called up his old Devils friends and opted for a trade, which is much more sensible for Toronto.

Instead of only adding a contract, the Maple Leafs opted to give one up, keeping the club's total at 49 out of a league-maximum 50.

Furthermore, if Toronto simply claimed Kalinin off waivers, they'd have to waive him once acquired and send him to the Marlies, which would run the small risk of losing him altogether.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Buffalo Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly is shocked by what's become of his former club, the Colorado Avalanche.

The NHL's worst team this season, the Avalanche have won just 16 of their 56 outings. The franchise drafted O'Reilly in 2009 and he spent six seasons with the club prior to his trade to Buffalo in 2015.

"It's surprising. They have a lot of great players over there and maybe it's a lot of bad bounces," O'Reilly told Paul Hamilton of WGR 550. "I haven't been watching them too much, but to see them that low in the standings it's surprising and I think those years just happen."

The Avalanche have won just three times in their last 16 tries, dating back to Jan. 12. It's a steep fall for a club that finished with 112 points in 2013-14.

Colorado's poor showing has led to calls for change in Denver, with longtime stars like Matt Duchene and captain Gabriel Landeskog frequently mentioned in trade rumors.

If and when the Avalanche stars are moved elsewhere, O'Reilly just hopes it's not to the Atlantic, the Sabres' division.

"I don't want to have to play against those guys all the time," O'Reilly told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. "They're good players that will help any team."

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Don't expect the Detroit Red Wings to go away quietly.

The club may be on the cusp of seeing their historic playoff streak end this season, but winger Tomas Tatar made it clear they aren't going to go down without a fight.

The 26-year-old linked up with Henrik Zetterberg and Anthony Mantha during the club's tilt with the Washington Capitals Saturday afternoon, finishing off a beautiful passing play to tally his 13th of the year.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The 2016-17 season has been the Connor McDavid show from day one, as the young Edmonton Oilers captain has ramped up his production to a league-leading level in his second campaign.

It's clear the 20-year-old is one of the top scorers in the game at this point, likely rivaled only by fellow phenom Sidney Crosby, but that's only half the story. He's also emerging as the most important offensive presence in the league.

Why exactly? Because McDavid isn't just putting up more points than the opposition, he's also carrying more of his team's offensive load than any other player in the big leagues.

Bob Waterman of the Elias Sports Bureau elaborated on the subject for the Edmonton Journal's Terry Jones.

"The best McDavid MVP argument would be that he's recorded a point on 40.2 percent of his team's goals this season (66 of 164)," Waterman said. "The highest percentage of any NHL player in 2016-17. Brent Burns is second at 38.4 percent (61 of 159)."

McDavid has been on the ice for 52.4 percent of the Oilers' goals this season - the second-highest such percentage in the league, topped only by Nathan MacKinnon's 53.2 percent, Waterman also pointed out.

A look at the rest of the league's top scorers shows just how much of the load McDavid has taken on. While Crosby sits just two points back of the league lead, he's recorded a point on only 32 percent of the Pittsburgh Penguins' total goals.

Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeni Malkin round out the top five scorers in the league, and the two centermen have factored in on just 31.4 and 29.5 percent of their team's total goals, respectively.

It isn't simply a matter of McDavid posting more points than the competition; it's also a statement about his supporting cast. While the rest of these stars have other elite talents on their rosters, McDavid has pushed the Oilers up the standings largely through his own sheer will.

That's a strong argument for the young pivot's Hart Trophy chances, and surely just the beginning of a long line of impressive numbers illustrating the Oilers leader's importance to the game.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.